10 Myths About Sleep

We sleep about one-third of the day, but we know very little about sleep. Understanding these 10 sleep myths will help you clear up misunderstandings and get more and better sleep each night.

1. Sleep is Just Rest

Sleep is more than simply a period of rest; it is an essential time for your body to perform routine maintenance, creating long-term memories and repair damage from your day. Sleep brings many health benefits. Getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night assures that your body and mind will function well the next day. Make sleep a priority for your health and energy.

2. Losing an Hour of Sleep is No Big Deal

If you get less sleep than you need, your ability to do certain cognitive and physical tasks is decreased. If that sleep loss builds over time, it can interfere with the hormones that monitor appetite, changing your mood and increasing your risk of some chronic illnesses. Get 7 to 9 hours every night for good health.

3. You Adjust to Sleep Changes Easily

Your body gets on schedule based on your activity and exposure to daylight. When you travel across many time zones or work night shifts, you confuse body”s sense of time, making sleep difficult and inhibiting some necessary sleep functions. For every one- to two-hour time change, it takes your body 1 day to adjust. That means it could take your body 6 to 12 days to adjust to a trip from New York to China.

4. Older People Need Less Sleep

Older people need the same amount of sleep as everyone else, 7 to 9 hours per night. There is a cultural belief that as you age, you need less sleep. Unfortunately, because of this myth, many older people do not seek help for their sleep problems. Often, older people sleep less than they need to because of illness. Many of the medications older people may be using interfere with sleep. Talk to your doctor to find out more.

5. Extra Sleep Helps Fatigue

Some people assume that if they feel tired during the day, then they should sleep longer at night. This is not necessarily true. If a person is getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night, then he or she should seek another source for their fatigue. Some sleep disorders decrease sleep quality, even though the person is getting enough sleep. Many medical conditions can cause fatigue. If you are sleeping long enough but are still tired, try some exercise and daylight exposure during the day. If that doesn”t help, see your doctor.

6. You Can “Catch Up” During the Weekend

Many people sleep late on Saturday, hoping to compensate for sleep lost during the week. While sleeping late helps catch up on your sleep debt, it alters your sleep schedule. You sleep late one or two days and then wake up early again on Monday. Your body must adjust to these changes. During this adjustment, your quality of sleep is poor. It is much better to have a consistent daily sleep schedule that gives you 7 to 9 hours each night.

7. Naps are Wasteful

Naps can be a great way to catch up on lost sleep. After taking naps, people function better and do certain cognitive tasks quicker. Napping can also help you train yourself to fall asleep quicker. However, napping longer than an hour or after 3 p.m. may make it more difficult for you to fall asleep at night.

8. Snoring is Normal

While snoring is common during sleep, frequent snoring can indicate serious sleep disorders like sleep apnea. If you are a frequent, loud snorer, see your doctor about being assessed for sleep apnea. Treatments are available and you (and your partner) will have more energy during the day.

9. Children With a Sleep Deficit Will be Tired

Children are different from adults. When children are overtired, their
adrenaline kicks in and they seem energetic, even hyper. Children with sleep deficits may have behavior and attention problems. So don”t use daytime energy levels to assess your child”s sleep; use the clock. Children need an incredible amount of sleep. Find out how much sleep your child needs and troubleshoot your family”s schedule to make sure this happens.

10. Insomnia is Caused by Worry

While worry and stress can interfere temporarily with sleep, insomnia is often caused by other factors. Medications and medical conditions can keep a person from falling asleep. These conditions include depression, anxiety, asthma, arthritis and other conditions which worsen at night.

HEART ! - Must read

Mail from a I.T professional who has undergone this 

incident 

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I wanted to share an incident of my life with you.

Dear colleagues,

I am working in Blore Software City

I wanted to share an incident of my life with you, hoping that it may be an eye opener to you so that you can live more years.

�On 27 ^th October afternoon I had severe heart attack symptom and I was rushed to the hospital.

Here I would thank my colleaguesKrishna Reddy, Ajit, Rayalu andArjun, w ho have saved my life by taking perfect decisions and helped me in all needs. The Procedure that I have gone through was really expensive and I couldn”t have made it with out Value Labs and Dr.Abdul karim”s team.

After reaching to the hospital the doctors prescribed a test called angiogram. This test is basically to identify blood flow of heart arteries. When they finished the test they found a 94% block in the main artery, please see the image below with red circle.

At this point I wanted to share my living style which has caused this block in my heart arteries. Please see the below points of my life style, if any of these points are part of your life style then you are at risk, please change yourselves.

I was not doing any physical exercise for more than 10 years, not even walking 30 minutes a day for years.

My food timings are 11:00 AM Breakfast or no Breakfast, 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM Lunch and dinner at 11:00 PM to 12:00 AM.

Sleeping in very odd timings, going to bed between 12:00 AM and3:00AM.Waking up atbetween9:00AMand10:30AM Some timesspending sleepless nights.

I used to eat heavily because of long gaps between lunch and dinner and I used to make sure that Non-Veg is available most of the time, there where times when I did survey on city hotels to find delicious Non-Veg dishesJ. I was never interested in vegetable and healthier food.

Above all I was chain smoker form years.

My father passed away due to heart problems, and the doctors say the heart problems are usually genetic.

Once they identified the major block they have done immediately a procedure called angioplasty along with 2 Stents, mean they will insert a foreign body into the heart arteries and open the blocked area of arteries. Please see the below image after the procedure.

I learnt form the doctors that 60% people will die before reaching the hospital, 20% people will die in the process of recovering form heart attack and only 20% will survive. In my case I was very lucky to be part of the last 20%.

Doctors instructions:

Need to have physical exercise for minimum of 45 minutes daily.

Eat your food at perfect timings, like how you eat during your school days. Eat in small quantities more times and have lot of vegetables and boiled food, try to avoid fry items and oily food. Fish is good than other non-vegetarian food.

Sleep for 8 hours a day, this count should complete before sun rising.

Stop smoking.

Genetic problems, we can not avoid but we can get away form it by having regular checkups.

Find a way to get relived from the stress(Yoga, Meditation . etc).

So I urge you all to please avoid getting into this situation, it is in your hands to turn the situation up side down, by just planning / changing your life style, by following simple points above. Because life is wealth and GOD gives you life only once. I pray to GOD that no one should face this situation.

Wish you a healthier life.

So friends. this is the request to all please have above 6 points in ur life.. or be prepare with 2.60 LAKH RS forANGIOPLASTY and that too with only20% chance of living. if u are admitted within 5 minutes.

Follow the mentioned tips to lead a healthy and a happy life.

ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR FAMILY DOCTOR

TIPS TO RESIST SMOKING

Teen smoking might begin innocently enough, but it can become a lifelong habit. In fact, most adult smokers began smoking as teenagers.Your best bet? Help your teen resist taking that first puff.

These 10 tips can help.

1. Understand the attraction.Sometimes teen smoking is
   a form of rebellion or a way to fit in with a particular group of friends. Some teens light up in an attempt to lose weight or to feel better about themselves. Others smoke to feel cool or independent. To know what you”re dealing with, ask your teen how he or she feels about smoking. Ask which of your teen”s friends smoke. Applaud your teen”sgood choices, and talk about the consequences of bad choices.
2. Say no to teen smoking. You may feel as if your teen doesn”t hear a word you say, but say it anyway. Tell your teen that smoking isn”t allowed. Your disapproval may have more impact than you think. In one study,
   teens who thought their parents would disapprove of them smoking were less than half as likely to smoke as those who thought their parents wouldn”t care.
3. Appeal to your teen”s vanity.Smoking isn”t glamorous. Remind your teen that smoking is a dirty, smelly habit. Smoking gives you bad breath. Smoking makes your clothes and hair smell, and it turns your teeth yellow. Smoking can leave you with a chronic cough and less energy for sports and other activities you enjoy.

4. Do the math. Smoking is expensive. Help your teen calculate the weekly, monthly or yearly cost of a pack-a-day smoking habit. You might compare the cost
   of smoking with electronic gadgets, clothes or other teen essentials.
5. Expect peer pressure.Friends who smoke can be convincing — but you can give your teen the
   tools he or she needs to refuse cigarettes. Rehearse how to handle tough social situations. It might be as simple as, “No thanks, I don”t smoke.” The more your teen practices this basic refusal, the more likely he or she will say no at the moment of truth.
6. Take addiction seriously. Most teens believe they can quit smoking anytime they want. But teens become just as addicted to nicotine as do adults, often quickly and at relatively low doses of nicotine. And once you”re hooked, it”s tough to quit. Consider this: Of adolescents who”ve smoked at least 100 cigarettes, the American Lung Association reports that most would like to quit but are unable to do so.
7. Predict the future. Teens tend to assume that bad things only happen to other people. But the long-term consequences of smoking — such as cancer, heart attack and stroke — may be all too real when your teen becomes an adult. Use loved ones, friends or neighbors who”ve been ill as real-life examples.
   
8. Think beyond cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco, clove cigarettes (kreteks) and candy-flavored cigarettes (bidis) are sometimes mistaken as less harmful or addictive than traditional cigarettes. Hookah smoking — smoking tobacco through a water pipe — is another alternative sometimes touted as safe. Don”t let your teen be fooled. Like traditional cigarettes, these products are addictive and can cause cancer and other health problems. Many deliver higher concentrations of nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar than do
   traditional cigarettes.
9. Get involved. Take an active stance against teen smoking. Participate in local and school-sponsored anti-smoking campaigns. Support bans on smoking in
   public places

BONES OF CONTENTION

Are you an unknowing victim of osteoporosis or a 'bone survivor'? Here's how to reduce the risk..

The biggest danger of osteoporosis is that it is silent. And with the power to cripple it”s victims, it can easily be called one of the most dangerous ailments threatening the old and the nearly-old of our country. (Over 300 million people suffer from osteoporosis in India without realising that every osteoporosis-related bone fracture doubles the risk of death.) It is high time you know the 'whys and hows' about this killer bone disease WHAT IS OSTEOPOROSIS? Osteoporosis happens when bones weaken and fracture. The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines osteoporosis as a bone mineral density (or bone mass) that is 2.5 standard deviations below peak bone mass. Those with standard deviations of 1-2.5 below the norm are said to have osteopenia or low bone mass. Individuals within one standard deviation below the norm are considered to be at low risk of osteoporotic fracture. Women are more susceptible because they have less bone mass than men and, during menopause, bone protecting oestrogen also reduces. It”s known as the silent epidemic because bones often break without warning. UNDER 20S By 20, about 90 per cent of bone density is established, so it”s important to maximise bone-building potential. BEAT IT! Eat plenty of milk products. Include one dairy food or drink, such as yoghurt or milk, inevery meal. Dairy contains calcium for strong bones. Avoid fats 'Amenorrhoea, a condition where periods stop or fail to start, can be caused by faddy eating, being underweight or over-exercising. Women whose periods stop for six months or longer for these reasons have a higher risk of osteoporosis. Also, say no to fizzy drinks ' they are high in phosphate, which can deplete calcium. Lastly, stop before you start smoking. Smoking lowers levels of oestrogen, which guards against bone loss in women, and testosterone, which is known to protect men's bones. 20s' 30s You may think it isn't the age but your bone mass peaks between 25 and 30, after which it's difficult to grow any more. BEAT IT! Go easy on the booze- too much interferes with the balance of calcium in the body, and the production of vitamin D, which helps calcium absorption. Stick to 14 units a week for women and no more than three units on any day. Safety limits for men are 21 units a week and four a day. Swap espressos for lattes - studies show a link between high caffeine intake and bone loss. Add milk to coffee to counteract this, or try caffeine-free options. 30s' 50s Bone loss begins now, so aim to slow it down asmuch as possible. BEAT IT! Assess your risk ' If you have a family history of fractures, you may be at risk. Other factors include taking oral steroids for a long time (maybe for asthma), having thyroid disease, ora condition like Crohn”s or coeliac disease, which interferes with nutrient absorption. See your GP. Tackle heavy drinking - years on the booze affect hormone levels, increasing osteoporosis risk. THE MENOPAUSE Bone loss accelerates due to the drop in oestrogen, with the risk of fractures rising from two per cent at 50, to 25 per cent by 80. The older you are, the worse the consequences - within 12 months of a hip fracture, 20 per cent of sufferers die. BEAT IT! Reassess your risk ' If you've had an early menopause (before 45), your doctor may recommend a bone scan. Get walking - walking for four hours a week can reduce your risk of a hip fracture by 41 per cent compared with those who walk for just an hour a week. Improve your balance to reduce the risk of falls with dance, yoga or Pilates. Over the age of 65 your skin is four times less able to produce vitamin D, so boost your intake from foods such as eggs, oily fish and fortified cereal. PREGNANCY AND BREASTFEEDING � Your developing baby needs calcium to grow strong bones, teeth and a healthy heart. � Your body too undergoes changes during pregnancy. So absorb more calcium. And if you breastfeed you will need to boost your supply. � Pregnant women should especially read the label while having processed food. Most of it contains salt, which can increase the amount of calcium the body gets rid of through urine. A high amount is more than 1.5g salt (or 0.6g sodium) per 100g.

Get enough calcium ' recommended intake during pregnancy is 700mg, the same as for a non-pregnant woman. However, during breastfeeding you need an extra 550mg a day (a couple of glasses of milk), and if you don”t get enough, your bones could weaken. Other sources of calcium are sesame seeds, soybeans, peanuts and green vegetables too.

HEALTH IS WEALTH

Follow the above mentioned tips to lead a healthy and a happy life.

ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR FAMILY DOCTOR