20 questions for the topics for these broadcasts. Check out the link http://bit.ly/2h67g9Z to the personalized health assessment if you want to see all of the questions – and get your own results. See how you measure up going into 2017!

Today’s question is:

How do you sleep?

• Great, 7–8 hours of uninterrupted bliss
• Fine, I just don’t get enough
• I have trouble falling asleep
• Not great, I wake up several times throughout the night

Sleep is incredibly important – think what you are like if you don’t get enough?
Quality as well as quantity are important. Fitbit can measure quality.
If you occasionally need help with sleep, some simple tweaks to your bedtime habits and diet can help.
Sleep is more closely tied to health than you might imagine.
In the short term, lack of sleep reduces performance and increases accidents.
Poor sleep has been tied to overweight, poor blood sugar control, increased nervousness, sad mood, substance abuse, and more.

Sleep hygiene starts by improving your bedtime routine. Including:
• going to bed at the same time every night
• reducing caffeine or other stimulants, and
• avoiding screens (TV, phone, computer) for a few hours before bed (good luck with this one)
Natural support for sleep includes valerian, chamomile, and magnesium.
Are naps a good idea? Depends on you.

Remember that not being able to sleep well may be the result of a serious condition. If your lack
of sleep is persistent, consult with your health care provider.

Conclusion:

I hope this made some sense for you
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Check out the health assessment to see how you are doing!

See you next time

Sleep is a vital part of our physical and mental well being but unfortunately, thousands of people suffer from a variety of sleep disorders.  Some can be very mild and barely noticed by the effected person such as snoring or grinding of the teeth while asleep.  Others, can be much more severe and even dangerous such as the type of sleep disorders that interfere with breathing or that cause a person to fall asleep at random times beyond their control.

Sleep disorders symptoms causes and treatment

Symptoms:

Disorder sleep symptoms can range from small, minor symptoms to much more severe and troublesome.  Here is a list of some of the more common sleep disorders and their symptoms.

Restless Leg Syndrome: As the name suggests this disorder is characterized by involuntary jerky leg movements that can make falling sleep difficult.

Bruxism: This disorder involves a clenching of the jaw or grinding your teeth while you are asleep and is often not noticed by the person suffering from the disorder.

Sleepwalking: Perhaps one of the most well known sleep disorders, this disorder sleep symptom involves walking or performing other routine activities such as getting dressed or making breakfast while in a sleep state.  Again, the sleepwalker is unaware of their actions.

Narcolepsy: One of the more serious and dangerous of the sleep disorders; those who suffer from Narcolepsy may fall asleep while performing regular activities such as talking or driving.  It is characterized by an uncontrollable urge to sleep regardless of how much rest you may have gotten the night before.

Insomnia: Restlessness or an inability to fall asleep.  This can be mild and occasional or severe and reoccurring.

Sleep Apnea:  This is one of the other more worrisome of the sleep disorders.  This disorder’s sleep symptom can be somewhat frightening since it involves a pause or stop in breathing while asleep.

These are but just a handful of the some of the more widely known sleep disorders; however, there are dozens of others that you may want to learn about.

Causes:

Sleep disorders stem from a variety of causes including physical pain such as back pain, pain from a recent injury, neck pain, and headaches.  Stress and anxiety can also be leading causes of sleep disorders.  Hormonal changes due to pregnancy, the onset of menopause, or menstruation can also be factors that interfere with normal sleep.  The side effects of various medications can lead to sleep disorders as can some medical conditions such as sciatica and endocrine imbalances.  Environmental noise and distractions can also be culprits in stealing your sleep.

Treatments:

Sleep disorders have a variety of treatments from using aromatherapy oils blended to aid sleep, for example by using one of the sleep mists that you can spray your linens with before you go to bed to help you relax.  A variety of herbal remedies using chamomile and other herbs can be effective.  When stress and anxiety is causing the disorder’s sleep symptom, learning relaxation and stress management techniques can often have a great effect on your ability to get much needed sleep.  Some disorders are more severe and may require medication and treatment by a physician.  So if you feel that you are suffering from a sleep disorder and one of the standard remedies do not seem to help, consult your health care provider.

PS:  Click here to check out an excellent natural sleep remedy.