According to Wayne Peacock of the Baptist Hospital’s Sleep Disorder Center, getting a healthy amount of sleep each night is the key to maintaining a healthy weight. Many people skip some of their sleep in order to have more time to work out and do other activities (usually in an effort to lose weight), but hitting the hay for a longer period of time may be your best workout.

“Research suggests that even a modest amount of sleep deprivation can increase appetite by altering the behavior of the hormones leptin and ghrelin, which are responsible for regulating metabolism.” - Wayne Peacock

When you lose sleep you can have stronger cravings for carbs and other high-calorie foods which are obviously bad for you in the long run.

Here are a few tips from the article that may help you get some more Z’s and put you well on your way to a slimmer waistline:

• Make sleep a top priority — getting optimal sleep allows you to feel your best and be productive. Healthy sleep also helps to regulate your metabolism.
• Maintain a consistent sleep schedule — going to bed and waking up at the same time every day keeps your biological clock in tune.
• Establish a relaxing bedtime routine — a regular routine, such as having a bath or listening to soothing music, can help you fall asleep and stay asleep.
• Use your bedroom only for sleep — clear your bedroom of distractions such as computers, phones and other “sleep stealers” in order to create a positive sleep association with the bedroom.
• Avoid foods and drinks high in caffeine (coffee, sodas and tea) for at least eight hours before bedtime, and avoid alcohol for a few hours before bedtime.
• Exercise regularly, but finish your workout at least three hours before bedtime.
• If you are experiencing a sleep problem, such as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, or if you suffer from chronic daytime sleepiness despite allowing adequate time for sleep, talk to your health care professional.

Some hotels are looking to add another luxury to their list of amenities. Travelodge in Britain is planning to test Dermasilk Pajamas to help increase the comfort of their guests. According to a survey that was recently conducted, 23 percent of adults experience discomfort as a result of itchy sleepwear. Sixty-six percent of those who experience discomfort also experience poor sleep as a result.

Dermasilk pajamas, made from natural knitted silk, will provide more air to the skin, help regulate body temperature, as well as keep skin moisture in check. Travelodge claims that aside from providing their customers with a better night’s rest, their pajamas will help control body odor, as well as some skin disorders.

There is no information regarding whether or not the space-suit-like pajamas will protect against bed bugs, dust mites or other stimulants that may affect skin allergies.

Unfortunately, unless you’re planning on staying at hotels in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester or Edinburgh in the U.K., you won’t get an opportunity to give them a spin unless their debut is successful. Something tells us that hotel-issue pajamas wouldn’t fly in the U.S., however.

Studies conducted at Johns Hopkins University have discovered that obesity not only increases risk of diabetes, hypertension and heart attack, but it also makes it harder to sleep, which, in turn, can increase food cravings and perpetuate the issue.

Researchers have found that those who sleep poorly are more likely to be overweight or obese than people who get a healthy amount of sleep. It’s a vicious cycle because it works both ways—sleep deprivation can alter hormone levels that control appetite, leading to such issues as obesity.

According to a survey, only half of U.S. adults get seven to eight hours of sleep a night. The other half isn’t getting nearly enough sleep, so there’s an obvious correlation between sleep deprivation and the increasing obesity problem. But why are we sleeping so little? Researchers say that we have too many distractions, including the Internet and how it lures people in for all-night shopping sprees. Junk food and fast food obviously don’t help either.

It’s no longer about “if you don’t get enough sleep tonight, you’ll be tired tomorrow.” You have to look at the broader scope of things and how your sleeping habits will affect your health. Healthy sleep should be a part of anyone’s diet or exercise plan.

Somewhere between 50 million and 70 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder, and the stress associated with holiday shopping, parties and unrelenting work schedule only adds to the problem.

Jose Oliveros, a registered sleep technologist at the North Shore Medical Center in Miami, Florida, has no doubt that stress has an effect on sleep disorders, whether it’s sleep apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy or any other condition.

Lack of sleep is one problem in of itself, but what results are physical ailments, such as increased illnesses, a weaker immune system and impaired judgment, not to mention that obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes have all been linked with lack of sleep. Mental and emotional side effects result as well, including crankiness and depression.

What does that mean for us? While a December schedule is hard to keep up with, and you feel like you need to cut something out, make sure that it’s not sleep. ‘Tis the season to be jolly, so make sure you get your rest!

Indoor pollution is a big problem, especially during the winter months when we spend more time inside our homes, at work or at school. While these places have become more airtight with new technologies, this can be working against us. Here’s an excerpt from an insightful article from GlobeandMail.com that outlines some of the indoor pollutants that we are subject to every day and what we can do to limit our exposure.

Biological pollutants
The air you breathe is full of living organisms such as mold and mold spores, pet dander, bacteria, viruses, dust mites (and their waste). These pollutants need two things to grow: food and moisture, and there is plenty of both in every home. Household dust is 90 per cent sloughed-off skin—a feast for dust mites.

Showers, laundry, cooking, air humidifiers, condensation and leaks from the outside all produce the kind of indoor moisture that mold needs to grow. When it does, it releases spores into the air. These are small enough to breathe in, and they will aggravate allergies and asthma.

Off-gassing
Many things in your house release chemicals and VOCs (volatile organic compounds): furniture, carpets, synthetic fabrics, cabinets, paint, wallpapers, cleaning products, glues and some cosmetics.

Some older building materials can emit toxic dust into your home. Insulation or drywall compound that contains asbestos, as well as paint that contains lead, can release dust particles.

Products you use every day in your house can adversely affect indoor air quality. They include household cleaners and air fresheners, perfume and pesticides, glues and tobacco smoke. Appliances and fireplaces give off gasses as well as particles.

Too much humidity
If you keep your house too humid, you will encourage the growth of dust mites and mold. You need to control moisture levels—exhaust fans that vent to the outside are essential in your bathrooms and kitchen. Because of the way we build houses now, your basement is probably not insulated properly. If you don’t have a proper thermal break on your basement walls, you’ll need to run a dehumidifier, especially in muggy summer weather. Insulate cold-water pipes and toilet tanks so condensation doesn’t form.

Clear the air
Get rid of the source of the contaminants. Clean up mold. Don’t store any chemicals or solvents in your home. Make sure you keep your stove, water heater, furnace, fireplace, wood stove and chimney properly maintained and inspected. And clean your furnace ducts every year; hire a company that uses a camera and scope to view the ducts before and after.

Ventilation
Make sure there’s a sufficient air exchange rate in your home. This will help control humidity and get rid of some chemical pollutants. Poor ventilation contributes to higher humidity levels and leads to condensation. If your home is too airtight, you’ll have poor air quality. So open windows, or install a high-quality exhaust fan.

Filtration
Your furnace has a filter on it that traps some particulates in the air; change it often. I recommend you have an air cleaner installed by a specialist in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). Get a unit with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter, which will remove biological contaminants and airborne particles. Some models also contain activated carbon filters that absorb odours, chemicals and VOCs. Others have UVC induct units that can be mounted to your HVAC system. These use ultraviolet light to sterilize and kill 99 percent of the bacteria and viruses.

Perusing through the hundreds of catalogs you’ll receive during the course of a few weeks will yield nothing but a few laughs at some of the ridiculous gifts there are out there. Our favorite: The Snore Stopper Watch, an anti-snoring device brought to you by Healiohealth. Here, read the product description for yourself.

Anti-Snoring Device Snore Stopper watch uses natural biofeedback technique to reduce snoring frequency and volume. The bio-sensors of this snoring device can detect a sleeper’s snore and issue a gentle electronic acupuncture massage pulse to train the body to relax the muscles and end the snoring. This snore relief watch is worn on the wrist and worn while sleeping. The sensitive micro-sound detector of this quit snoring device will detect your snoring and send a mild, harmless electric signal. The detector distinguishes snoring from other noises and emit a signal only when you are snoring; the signal is so gentle it won’t wake you or disturb your sleep. Through its biofeedback system, snore stopper will teach your body to avoid the electric signals by not snoring during sleep. This stop snoring device has intelligent sensors which distinguish the sleeper’s snores from other sounds. This unique integration makes sure that your body gets trained by ensuring that only the snoring triggers the snore stopper.

Now, here’s our criticism: The Snore Stopper doesn’t cure allergies, asthma, colds or sinus infections, some of the leading causes of snoring. It’s claimed to train the body to stop the muscles in your throat from relaxing while you’re sleeping. Although omitted from Healiohealth’s description, the “training” that your body receives requires a considerable amount of brain function. At least, it would appear that way, no? So, if your body is constantly going thought this anti-snoring training session, your body and your mind is never getting fully rested. The product aims to dissuade from sleep apnea symptoms, but it appears that it could only make the problem worse.

So, folks, before you shell out the $89 for the Snore Stopper Watch, realize that the only thing it will prevent against is healthy sleep.

The American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA) needs help, folks. The President has recently vetoed a bill that would have allocated $1,000,000 in funding for sleep disorder research. His decision is currently held up in Congress where it stands the chance to be overturned, but the ASAA is asking for your help.

The federal grant would go a long way in supporting the research of sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, that may lead to a greater understanding and potential cures. Sleep disorders must be at the forefront of our medical research, considering that it can trigger heart disease, one of the leading causes of death globally.

If you’d like to assist keeping the proposal alive, contact your senator or representative’s office and speak with your Health Legislative Assistant. Try to solicit votes by taking this opportunity to voice your opinion.

A list of Congressional members may be found at http://capwiz.com/sleepapnea/dbq/officials/?lvl=C

For additional information on sleep apnea advocacy, check out the American Sleep Apnea website at
www.sleepapnea.org/advocacy

Snoring can prevent you from getting a good night’s rest, whether you’re the one sawing wood or the one that has to listen to it it all night long. There are several causes of snoring, some of which are more serious than others, which is why you should always get checked by your doctor if you’re a chronic snorer.

Snoring is caused by the vibration of tissue in our nose and throat, and is usually caused by less serious problems. Often, snorers have too much throat and nasal tissue, but others simply have loose tissue. Also, the tongue can impair smooth breathing. For the most part, the biggest imposition that any of these conditions would cause is an obnoxiously loud snore.

On the flip-side of that, being overweight and having sleep apnea are two serious conditions that can cause snoring. When you’re overweight, extra fat tissue in the neck and throat can press in on the airways, narrowing the channels and causing the tissues to vibrate, resulting in snoring. Being overweight is unhealthy for obvious reasons, including potential heart risks and diabetes, and can even play a hand in our next culprit, sleep apnea.

When someone is suffering from sleep apnea, the airway intermittently gets blocked completely while they are sleeping. This typically results in restless sleep, loud snoring, gasps and snorts, and can lead to health problems if not treated. While being overweight can cause the sleep disorder, anyone can be at risk.

Dr. James Maas, a psychologist at Cornell University, made a list of the effects of sleep deprivation to follow up his list of Golden Rules to ensure a healthy sleep that we wrote about yesterday. Hopefully as you read this list you’ll begin to understand the importance of getting a plentiful and efficient sleep each night.

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation

1. Missing out on sleep seriously impairs the body’s ability to process blood sugar, impeding the action of insulin much as in diabetes. Sleep deprivation may be an important contributor to obesity. It also elevates the stress hormone cortisol.
2. A midday nap reverses information overload, those feelings of irritation, frustration and declining performance on mental tasks that set in during intense encounters with new information.
3. Sleeping for six hours a night may sound pretty good, but it’s not likely enough to keep your immune system happy. Restricting your sleep by a mere two hours a night for one week provokes the process of inflammation, which may set people up for heart disease.
4. The late stage of sleep, sometimes missed by early risers, can boost by 20 percent your acquisition of co-ordination crucial for playing a sport, a musical instrument or any fine motor control.
5. Sleep strengthens the nerve circuits that underlie learning and memory, allowing the brain to make and consolidate new neural connections.
6. Sleep deprivation curtails your ability to come up with creative solutions to life’s challenges.

Cornell psychologist Dr James Maas, one of the leading advocates of healthy sleep in the U.S. and author of the book “Power Sleep” urges Americans to not only sleep more, but to sleep more efficiently. It’s absolutely vital for us to have efficient sleep in order for us to perform at our best. He outlines some things to keep in mind when trying to get the most out of your sleep.

Dr. James Maas’ Golden Rules for Healthy Sleep

1. Get an adequate amount of sleep every night. Identify the amount of sleep you need to be fully alert all day and get that amount every night. It will dramatically change your mood and your ability to think critically and creatively. For some people, six hours a night may be adequate. One or two in a 100 can get by on five hours. Many others will need as much as nine or 10 hours. Whatever the amount, most people need 60 to 90 minutes more sleep than they presently get.
2. Establish a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed every night at the same time and wake up without an alarm clock at the same time every morning, including weekends. Within six weeks the hours you spend in bed will begin to synchronise with the sleepy phase of your biological clock. Your mood will be the winner.
3. Get continuous sleep. For sleep to be rejuvenating, you should get your required amount of sleep in one continuous block.
4. Make up for lost sleep. And do so as soon as possible, even though you cannot replace lost sleep all at once. And when you sleep longer to catch up, try to do so by going to bed earlier than usual. Otherwise your normal waking time will shift and you’re unlikely to get to sleep at the usual time the following night.