sleep

Leave a comment Posted on October 25, 2016October 31, 2016 Fatigue

Self-help tips to fight fatigue

[Original article on NHS Choices website]

Many cases of unexplained tiredness are due to stress, not enough sleep, poor diet and other lifestyle factors. Use these self-help tips to restore your energy levels.

Eat often to beat tiredness

A good way to keep up your energy through the day is to eat regular meals and healthy snacks every three to four hours, rather than a large meal less often.

Perk up with exercise

You might feel too tired to exercise, but regular exercise will make you feel less tired in the long run, and you’ll have more energy. Even a single 15-minute walk can give you an energy boost, and the benefits increase with more frequent physical activity.

Start with a small amount of exercise. Build up your physical activity gradually over weeks and months until you reach the recommended goal of two-and-a-half hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as cycling or fast walking, every week.

Lose weight to gain energy

If your body is carrying excess weight, it can be exhausting. It also puts extra strain on your heart, which can make you tired. Lose weight and you’ll feel much more energetic. Apart from eating healthily, the best way to lose weight is to be more active and do more exercise.

Sleep well

It sounds obvious, but two-thirds of us suffer from sleep problems, and many people don’t get the sleep they need to stay alert through the day. The Royal College of Psychiatrists advises going to bed and getting up in the morning at the same time every day; avoid naps through the day, and have a hot bath before bed (as hot as you can bear without scalding you) for at least 20 minutes.

Read more about how to get a good night’s sleep.

Try these NHS-approved sleep apps to help you sleep well.

Reduce stress to boost energy

Stress uses up a lot of energy. Try to introduce relaxing activities into your day. This could be working out at the gym, or a gentler option, such as listening to music, reading or spending time with friends. Whatever relaxes you will improve your energy.

Talking therapy beats fatigue

There’s some evidence that talking therapies such as counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) might help to fight fatigue. See your GP for a referral for talking treatment on the NHS or for advice on seeing a private therapist.

Cut out caffeine

The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends that anyone feeling tired should cut out caffeine. It says the best way to do this is to gradually stop having all caffeine drinks (this includes coffee, tea and cola drinks) over a three-week period. Try to stay off caffeine completely for a month to see if you feel less tired without it.

You may find that not consuming caffeine gives you headaches. If this happens, cut down more slowly on the amount of caffeine that you drink.

Drink less alcohol

Although a few glasses of wine in the evening helps you fall asleep, you sleep less deeply after drinking alcohol. The next day you’ll be tired, even if you sleep a full eight hours.

Cut down on alcohol before bedtime. You’ll get a better night’s rest and have more energy. The NHS recommends that men and women should not regularly drink more than 14 units a week, which is equivalent to six pints of average strength beer or 10 small glasses of low strength wine.

Read more about how to cut down on alcohol.

Drink more water for better energy

Sometimes you feel tired simply because you’re mildly dehydrated. A glass of water will do the trick, especially after exercise.

Read about healthy drinks.

Leave a comment Posted on July 8, 2016July 7, 2016 Children's health

5 Tips on Camping Safety for Parents

Boys Playing in the Leaves

Camping is one of the top summer activities, particularly if you live near a national forest. The fresh air, escape from city noise, and beauty of nature make camping one of the best family-friendly trips one can take in the summer. However, camping often comes with its own set of risks, especially for children. There are a few ways you can make your family camping trip as fun and safe as possible. Here are a few tips:

Be Diligent with Mosquito Repellent

For the most part, mosquitos are only annoying pests that make you itchy. They don’t often pose a major health risk to you or your kids. However, they can carry diseases such as West Nile Virus, malaria, and yellow fever. Although diseases from mosquitos are somewhat rare in North America, it certainly is better to be safe than sorry.

People often also scratch open mosquito bites, which leaves behind an open wound. Kids tend to be very nonchalant about picking and scratching at bug bites, which makes them susceptible to infection. The best way to prevent disease and infection is to prevent mosquito bites altogether.

Life Jackets are a Must

Life jackets are a necessity if you are going to be camping near a body of water. Keep in mind that rivers may seem placid on the surface while concealing a strong current beneath. Rivers easily pull even the best swimmer under and drag them across the river bottom.

Lakes pose a threat to children, especially those who are boating, because they have less endurance. If children are thrown from the boat, they could be stunned by the impact, and it will not take much time for them to lose strength and dip below the surface of the water. Accidents can happen even under the watchful eye of the most observant parent. It is best to take safety precautions.

Maintain a Similar Sleep Schedule

Sleeping in the great outdoors can be a very exciting prospect for kids. It is their vacation and they are more than likely prepared to stay awake for the duration of the trip. Unfortunately for them, it is important that their sleep schedule does not deviate too much from their usual routine. Try to keep bedtime within a half an hour of their normal bedtime. To encourage sleep, you may want to bring some foods that aid sleep. It also helps to stick to your home routine as much as possible.

Apply and Reapply Sunscreen

There’s nothing like a sunburn to make a vacation uncomfortable. Sunburns cause pain and peeling along with an increased risk for skin cancer when the child reaches adulthood. To avoid these issues, apply sunscreen a half an hour before your kids are exposed to sunlight. A good rule of thumb is to reapply sunscreen every two hours, but you should reapply it more frequently if the kids are splashing around in a creek.

Pack Plenty of Water

Dehydration is a very common problem in active kids. The excitement of the vacation, along with the hot sun, are a recipe for a dry mouth or other issues related to dehydration. To avoid this problem, offer your children water, not soda or juice, every half hour. You also can take advantage of the rehydration time to reapply sunscreen.

Keeping your kids safe while camping is, in reality, a fairly easy task. If you keep yourself on the same rehydration, sunscreen application, and sleep schedule, keeping track of what your kids need becomes much easier. However, it also is important that you don’t spend your entire trip worrying about your children. If you forget to reapply sunscreen after a dip in the lake, your children will survive. This is your vacation too; take some time to relax and enjoy.

Sean Morris is a former social worker turned stay-at-home dad. He knows what it’s like to juggle family and career. He did it for years until deciding to become a stay-at-home dad after the birth of his son. Though he loved his career in social work, he has found this additional time with his kids to be the most rewarding experience of his life. He began writing for LearnFit.org to share his experiences and to help guide anyone struggling to find the best path for their life, career, and/or family.

Leave a comment Posted on June 2, 2016May 25, 2016 Patient Talk

4 Alternative Sleeping Cycles That You Didn’t Know About

From Visually.

Leave a comment Posted on March 22, 2016March 22, 2016 Patient Talk

Tips for a Healthy Life After Facing a Difficult Diagnosis

When diagnosed with an aggressive and potentially life-threatening disease, like cancer, it’s natural to become overwhelmed with all of the “what if’s and what now’s” and while you’re eager to fight your disease, it’s difficult to know where to begin. Although your diagnosis may be one of the most challenging things you have or will face, your health is now even more important than ever. Here are some tips for adjusting to a difficult diagnosis, taking care of yourself, and making the best of your life:

Educate Yourself

Unless you’re a medical professional, such as an oncologist, you may know very little about your recently diagnosed disease. Take mesothelioma, for example. Mesothelioma is a cancer that typically affects the lungs and is related to asbestos exposure. Since mesothelioma is often diagnosed decades after the exposure occurred, many patients have no idea they have the cancer in their body until they are faced with a late stage diagnosis.

While the initial diagnosis can be daunting, especially if faced with an aggressive and advanced stage, it’s still advantageous for patients to learn as much as they can about mesothelioma and what types of treatment options are available. When your health changes dramatically, you, as a patient, have a right and responsibility to gain as much information as you can about your disease (regardless of the stage). Not only can you help yourself, but you’re raising awareness and helping others around you.

Surround Yourself with Support

Surrounding yourself with family and friends that care about you and having a support system can help you get through some of your roughest times. Whether your neighbor gives you a ride to your chemotherapy treatments, your best friend brings over a week’s worth of food, or a co-worker offers to go on a walk with you, allow these people to help you and be part of your journey. You may want to push people away and you may get tired of talking about your diagnosis, but the people around you want to help and their offers may be the only way they know how to show support. If you don’t have a support system of your own, consider joining a support group of people who are facing the same health challenges as you.

Exercise, Eat Well, & Get Sleep

Whether you exercise regularly or not, exercise is a great way to stay healthy when you body is fighting a disease. Not only does exercise boost your serotonin levels, which can help you overcome depression and fatigue, but even taking a short walk outdoors can give you a much needed dose of Vitamin D. Before you start exercising, always check with your doctor and he or she will help you choose a suitable exercise regime such as walking or swimming.

In addition to making exercise part of your daily routine, a healthy diet and a good night’s sleep of at least 7 to 8 hours per night will benefit you through your recovery.

Stay Positive

When facing a tough diagnosis, it’s natural to be afraid and experience the five stages of loss and grief. You may feel helpless and you may feel depressed, but studies show that if you choose to have a positive attitude about your life and your diagnosis, your recovery may be faster and your health may improve. By having a positive outlook, your physical, emotional, and mental health may experience a significant boost. Positive thinking may come easier for some than others, but by surrounding yourself with support and practicing healthy routines, you may find it easier to be optimistic about your future.

Leave a comment Posted on February 4, 2016February 4, 2016 Insomnia

Over three quarters of us experience problems sleeping – Read our interview with sleep expert Sammy Margo for some great tips

Sammy Mango

We’ve all heard the theories of what can help and hinder you having a good night’s sleep, but how much of what we all believe is fact and how much is fiction?

A new survey released today put a number of truths and untruths around sleep to respondents to see how clued up the public is about sleep:

Only 12% believe the theory that eating cheese before bed gives you nightmares – Certain cheeses do give you nightmares, Stilton cheese for example has proved to give people vivid dreams

One in seven think going to the gym in the evening helps you sleep – This is a myth, as the body will be overheated meaning people would have trouble going to sleep. Going to the gym during the day though would definitely help you have a better quality night’s sleep

One in seven believe you can catch up on sleep at weekends – This is a myth, the only way people can catch up on their sleep is by having early nights

One in eight believe watching TV helps you sleep – Yes and no. It can help you sleep and relax you, though the blue light can disrupt somebody’s sleep

One in ten believe drinking alcohol will give you a better night’s sleep – Drinking alcohol will help you sleep but it will prevent you from having a good quality night sleep

Almost 60% believe caffeine keeps you awake – yes it does keep you awake, but it also differs from person to person. People are advised to not drink it after 11pm

Almost a quarter of people believe everyone needs eight hours of sleep a night – This varies from person to person, the average amount of sleep is between 6-8 hours

In fact, the research by Intel saw almost 30% say they need more than eight hours sleep, while almost a quarter say they need less than seven hours.

The survey also saw over 80% say they have experienced sleep problems, with one in five saying it is an ongoing problem. Over a third of Brits (38.8%) are also saying that they believe their bad sleep quality and duration are factors affecting their health.

When it comes to what people believe are the best ways to get a good night’s sleep, regular exercise, a warm bath, a healthy diet, listening to relaxing music and avoiding technology topped the list – but do all these methods work?

Sleep expert Sammy Margo (Author of the Good Sleep Guides for adults and children, and qualified chartered physiotherapist) talks us through sleep fact and fiction and reveals the nation’s 2016 surprising resolutions.

Patient Talk – So what constitutes a good night sleep for a child and adult?

Sammy Margo- A good night sleep for a child an adult is fundamental and important for your general health and wellbeing. A goodnight sleep is all about a blend of quality and quantity sleep. And some recent research carried out by intel using 2000 respondents looked at understanding what is considered to be a good night’s sleep. And many people believe that a good night’s sleep is somewhere in the region of 8 hours sleep. But in fact that’s not quite true, this varies from person to person. The average amount of sleep is between 6-8 hours but the reality is that it’s very personal, so, if I say to you “how do you feel when you wake up in the morning?” and you feel fabulous and you’ve only had 4 hours of sleep that suits you, however if I say to you “how do you feel in the morning?” and you’ve actually only had 8 hours of sleep and you feel rubbish it may be that you’re not getting the quality and quantity sleep that you need.

Patient Talk – What are the benefits of a good night’s sleep both in terms of health and wellbeing?

Margo – The benefits of a good night’s sleep both in terms of health and wellbeing range from the fact that you feel great, you look good, you perform well at work, you’ve got a good memory, you’re sharp, you’re happening. Your weight is well under control, it can be because the hormones are affected, your sleep hormones affect your weight. Generally over rule your life is a better place to be. We also know that there is a strong correlation and there’s a huge amount of research around depression and insomnia or insomnia and depression, we’re not sure which comes first, the chicken or the egg but we know that there is a strong correlation between the two.

Patient Talk – What problems may arise from a poor night’s sleep?

Margo – A poor night’s sleep may well mean that you can’t concentrate, you’re irritable, you don’t feel great, you feel edgy. But over a long period of time these may well result in more severe consequences. And bearing in mind that we spend 1/3 of our lives asleep and 2/3 of us are struggling to get a good night’s sleep, and there are many health conditions associated with this we really need to take sleep very seriously.

Patient Talk – What are the main causes of a poor night’s sleep?

Margo – the main causes of a poor night’s sleep are often related to anxieties, concerns, worries, that’s the mental side of things. But also may be due to poor sleep hygiene, such as not having a bedtime routine, not sleeping in a decent bed, with a pillow not being in a good position, being uncomfortable, aches and pains, and other medical conditions or snoring. There are so many causes of a poor night’s sleep and these really need to be addressed.

Patient Talk – How should a person prepare for a good night’s sleep?

Margo – As a sleep expert one of the most important things that I encourage is setting yourself aside time for a bedtime routine. Many of us are so busy leading 24/7 lifestyles we’re sedentary, were mentally overactive and physically underactive, so definitely setting aside time for a bedtime routine which includes a hot drink, a warm bath, listening to some audio be it on the radio or audio book, and then dimming the lights and going to sleep. That really is how to prepare for a good night’s sleep. However, for some people buying these activity and sleep tracking devices such as the basis peak (?) can help you understand your statistics for your daytime and night time. And by using one of these devices this will actually allow you to accumulate data so that you can then move on to impacting on different aspects of your life. So for example if you’re a coffee drinker and you reduce the amount of caffeine that you’re drinking and you check in with your basis peak you may well understand that caffeine impacts your sleep in a major way and you can do something to change it. So anything that you can measure, any data that you can measure and correlate you can then have an impact on and it’s a really useful tool to use.

Patient Talk – What’s your views on napping during the day?

Margo – I’m a big fan of napping during the day. And this is something that’s culturally done in Spain and in Japan. However, what I will say is this is a bit of a tricky one when you’re a busy working person, it’s virtually impossible. And the way our culture works, although I have to say it’s changing, is that were not geared up to nap during the day. I am a big fan, so if you’re planning on napping, nap between 12 and 2, um somewhere in the region of 30 min to an hour is absolutely fine for a nap. Try not to nap too close to your bedtime because that may well disrupt your night’s sleep and you need to do it on a regular basis in a regular position so I’m a huge fan, there’s lots of different styles of naps and think about doing it but obviously for those you who are working it’s very difficult to nap.

Patient Talk – What myths are there about sleep that you would like to see, so to speak, put to bed?

Margo – There are certain myths that I need to put to bed and I’m going to read them to you, and this is based on research that’s been carried out by intel, so this research found that only 12% believe the theory that eating cheese before bed gives you nightmares. But in fact certain cheeses do give you nightmares, stilton cheese for example has been proven to give people vivid dreams. And this research carried out by intel, says that 1 in 7 people think that going to the gym in the evening helps get you to sleep but this is a myth as the body will be overheated meaning that people would have trouble going to sleep. Going to the gym during the day though would definitely help you have a better quality night’s sleep. And 1 in 7 people believe that you can catch up on sleep on the weekends but this is a myth, the only way people can catch up on sleep is by having early nights. 1 in 8 believe watching tv helps you sleep, yes and no, it can help you sleep and relax you, though the blue light can disrupt somebody’s sleep. 1 in 10 believe drinking alcohol will give you a better night’s sleep, drinking alcohol will in fact help you sleep but it will prevent you from getting into the deep quality, the deeper stages of sleep. And almost 60 % believe that caffeine keeps you awake. Yes it does, it does keep you awake, but it also differs from person to person, people are advised not to drink after 11 am. And almost ¼ of people believe that everyone needs 8 hours of sleep. This varies from person to person, the average amount of sleep is between 6-8 hours. These are some of the myths that we’ve had to shatter based on the research of 2000 respondents carried out by intel.