Sleep paralysis treatments – Part 3

There is no cure for sleep paralysis but there are treatments, therapies and life style changes that can make the condition more tolerable. Sleep paralysis happens when there is a malfunctioning of the normal sleep pattern. Specifically, this sleep disorder, sleep paralysis, occurs when the timing of chemicals that controls the REM phase of sleep where dreaming takes place, and the time of awakening is out of order.

Sometimes when speaking of this condition, one could say, with some amount of truth, that the sleeping and waking wiring system is somewhat crossed. Normally, sleep paralysis happens when the body is in the REM, rapid eye movement phase of sleep. This is normal, as some experts believe, to prevent the sleeping one from harm during this dreaming phase of sleep.

Sleep paralysis is abnormal when the brain awakens and the body is still asleep, or paralyzed. This is of short duration, at the maximum not more than one or two minutes. It is frightening for the individual, however. At least until he leans exactly what is taking place. This is the common type of sleep paralysis.

There is however, another type and unlike the common type that occurs during the first phase of sleep hallucinatory sleep paralysis occurs in the fourth stage. The brain awakens to a dream going on and not knowing the difference thinks it is real and this gives rise to the nightmarish hallucinatory episode that seems real to the awakening person. It lasts longer than the simpler variety of sleep paralysis, sometimes lasting up to six or seven minutes.

So, what are the treatments? A change in life style, no alcohol, no tobacco, drugs only that are prescribed by a physician who has carefully checkout the condition. A rigid sleep schedule is good, and an overall stress reducing life style. It is important that sleep paralysis patients seek medical help. They need all the reassurance they can get that although this condition is not life threatening, it can be controlled by changes in life styles.

Sleep to be carefree is a dream of everyone but even a normal person with a relatively normal sleep pattern, will on occasion have trouble falling asleep. The more one worries and frets about this and the more attention given it, only seems to make it worse. I would suggest when you have trouble sleeping at night to keep a sleep diary. On a daily basis jot down all your habits, what you eat, and any sleep times such as napes or sleepy times, etc. Then as time dictates analyze everything possible that could be interfering with your sleep.

Every medication has some kind of side effect and even if you’ve taken this for a long time, it coupled with other changes hat is going on in your body, aging, diet, stress, whatever, combined with this medicine could be keeping you awake. Don’t quit taking the medicine if it is important but talk it over with your doctor. Every body if they are to function normally needs a good night’s sleep. The solution may be simple and your sleep problems may not be as serious as they seem. Only you will be able to hone in on them and check for problems.

Source:

http://www.sleepdisorderguide. com/sleep

Maintaining a healthy sleeping pattern while working night shifts

Working night shifts affects each of us differently. I have colleagues who can happily leave work at 7am, take the kids to school or attend at appointment, have just a few hours sleep and be up and about again just a few hours later. There are others who drive precariously home, half asleep and half awake, fall into bed and sleep so long that they are in danger or overlaying for the next shift! My experience has shown me that neither of these groups seem either fresh and relaxed when back at work. Rather alarmingly the result of both too much and too little sleep seems to be the same – fatigue.

Night shifts are part of my work pattern, these days it is an advancing cycle of two early shifts, two afternoon shifts and then two nights. This is far easier, both to live with and to recover from, than the previous pattern, which involved a group of seven straight night shifts once a month – at that time it was imperative to maximize my energy by maintaining a healthy sleeping pattern. Although I still suffer if I don’t sleep well, the consequences are never as severe as they were during the seven-nights-straight times.

When I first started to work nights I believed that I should stop drinking any liquids after about 2am, to avoid a call of nature once in my bed – but I soon realized that it made me feel ill – understandable really, after spending my working hours in a very dry atmosphere, and a room overheated by many computers I was becoming dehydrated by the end of the shift.

Maintaining a healthy sleeping pattern while working nights is only ever achievable, for me at least, by looking after myself during my waking hours.

Eating regularly, and this includes eating during the night, is vital. Going to bed hungry and empty can have many effects on the body. The hunger itself can cause you to wake, as can indigestion and for me more especially heartburn.

Taking regular exercise is a must too. Those people who work at a physical occupation may well be getting that exercise through their job, but for me that is not the case. I sit at a desk for ten hours on a night shift, getting up and getting the blood flowing and the digestion working should not be neglected, nor should including roughage in the diet and drinking plenty of water. It’s hard to motivate yourself to do some sort of sport when your body feels “upside down” but a brisk walk or a swim before going back to work can make an enormous difference to your feeling of wellbeing.

People who don’t work nights often find it difficult to understand the needs of those of us who do…..I was lucky that my husband had first hand experience of them. One friend had to gently explain to her parents that, although she loved their home cooking, just because it was dinner time when she got out of bed, her need was not for roast beef and Yorkshire pudding – they were greatly affronted that she preferred a bowl of cereals! And my kids still don’t really get it. If I stay in bed beyond 3pm my daughter wakes me, worried that I am ill – but since I don’t get to bed until after 8am (work it out, that is seven hours) I don’t feel it is excessive to occasionally sleep beyond noon!

In conclusion; eating healthily and regularly, drinking plenty of liquids – especially water, taking regular exercise – both during your shift and at home, and educating those around of your needs and feeling all make it easier to maintain the healthy sleeping pattern so important to those of us who work the night shift.

Lunesta as a treatment for insomnia

Lunesta as a new treatment for insomnia

Nothing is more frustrating than chronic problems with sleep. When you and your doctor have exhausted all of the logical sleep hygiene tips, and over the counter medications for insomnia are not doing the trick, there is now a new and potentially much safer option. Lunesta, known by it’s generic name as eszopiclone, is a popular new medication to help you get to sleep.

Prescription sleep medications, also called hypnotic agents, have gone through an evolution from the use of barbiturates, to long acting benzodiazepines, to shorter acting benzodiazepines. All three of these groups, while very effective, had definite potential to become habit forming and were only intended for short term use. These drugs all have not only the potential to become habit forming, but it is also common to develop an accelerated need for higher doses of the drug. The more barbiturates and benzodiazepines you use over a long period, the more you need to achieve the same effectiveness.

Unfortunately, the need to treat insomnia is not a temporary situation for many people.

Many individuals need a safe, hypnotic agent on a more long term basis. They need and want the option of a medication they can take for a long time without the risk of becoming truly dependent on the drug.

Lunesta (eszopiclone) is a novel compound approved as a sleep agent. It is effective at inducing and maintaining sleep for a full night.

It is important to note that Lunesta is approved for long term use and does not diminish effectiveness over at least a six month period. Studies were done on people with insomnia over this six month time frame and showed at it was equally effective during that time, even at the same doses.

As with any medication, there are some potential side effects of taking Lunesta. It is possible to have an allergic reaction to Lunesta. If you experience swelling of your lips, throat, face or tongue, you should stop taking Lunesta immediately and contact your doctor. Of course Lunesta will make you sleepy, so you should not take the drug if you are not prepared for a full 8 hours of sleep.

If you are going to need to drive, or do anything that requires your full attention, you should not take Lunesta. You should not suddenly stop taking Lunesta without talking to your doctor first. Stopping the medication quickly could lead to a rebound effect where you are less likely to get to sleep. Instead, the medication should be tapered off over a period of time under the care of your doctor.

Women who are pregnant or who think they could be pregnant should not take Lunesta. This medication has also been found to be able to pass in to breast milk, so it should be avoided in mothers who are nursing you don’t want a drugged up baby after all!

Even though Lunesta is more expensive than the many of the older agents which are already available in generic form, it is potentially much less habit forming, can be used longer term and allows a better quality of sleep.

The benefit of this option clearly can outweigh the increased cost for many individuals. If you have further questions about Lunesta and whether it is a good option to treat your insomnia, talk to your doctor. Good luck and sleep well.

Should parents allow their babies to cry themselves to sleep?

Imagine: you are in a brand new place. You don’t speak the language. In fact you cannot speak at all. You can cry. You can not move. You can not do anything for yourself except possibly stand. You can’t walk over to what you want and even if you could walk or crawl to it, chances are you cannot use it effectively.

You depend on the creatures who live with you, and you must communicate your needs by crying.

The key word here is “needs”. When a baby cries, he is not trying to manipulate you. He doesn’t know such a complex idea yet. You also cannot “spoil” him by giving him love and affection. You can spoil him by giving him too many material things, not too much love and support.

If, by maybe 9-12 months old (because your child’s sleeping habits will probably change 2 or 3 times before that), the baby still is not sleeping through the night, you may want to try a method, or two, or three, to get him to sleep. Some of these methods include small periods of crying, some try to avoid any distress at all. But even some of the methods that promote “crying it out” say that if your child *needs* something, such as relief from sickness or teething, it is wrong to let that child cry.

Every parent knows that one cannot feel the pain and frustration of losing sleep and dealing with a crying baby in the middle of the night unless you’ve actually done it. If you’re feeling this unique feeling of despair, it’s always better to leave the room and let your baby cry than to stay and risk losing it. But it is never necessary to leave your child alone all night to cry.

It’s important to teach your child how to sleep. They don’t know. They were lulled into their own schedule when they were in the womb. When they come out, they likely have their days and nights switched. This is the first stepping stone in the long road of teaching your child when and when not to sleep. Routines, comfort, and lots of support can help you on your way much better than enduring the heartache (on both ends) of letting a baby cry.

Of course it all comes down to what works for you and your family. If it works for you to leave your baby alone in his room to work through his sleep issues before you’ve taught him how, by all means, don’t let this stop you.

Follow your own instincts-and this is an important point too. If what you’re doing feels at all wrong in your heart, don’t do it because your parents told you to, or your friends told you to, or a book told you to. Do what feels right.

8 Toxic Terrors in your Daily Food

There will be a whole load of invitations to parties during the year-end festivities and most diets would be flushed down the drain.

Still, it’ll be sad when the Christmas tree finally has to come down but you soon realised you’re coming down with something yourself too.

The many hours of partying, feasting, and downing bottles of wine are likely to leave you with the post party-bloat which is quite unattractive and definitely, unhealthy. A good friend once joked, “If you are what you eat, then I am fat and sweet”. It sounded funny at the time, but the sentence may have more truth to it than I dared to think. But before you dismiss it thinking, “Nah, I don’t binge like that,” we urge you to reconsider the toxic terrors you might unconsciously be ingesting on a daily basis. And we all know the daily habits are the worst.

Your Daily Latte

The benefits of caffeine or lack of it is a constant debate. But while you sit sipping your late and wait for the scientists’ final verdict, be aware that you’re consuming more fats and sugar than you can afford. Your daily caramel latte has enough full fat milk and sugar that could average a medium sized chocolate bar.

Your Alcohol

A glass of red once in a while may have some health benefits. Problem is, in this day and age, we never stop at one glass especially when you find that buying a bottle is cheaper than going by glasses. Line up the men in a bar and they can easily perform a beer belly dance for you. That’s because just one pint could contain the same number of calories as a sugary doughnut – imagine the many doughnuts that fill the jug! A pint a night could tot up to a thousand calories a week or every year, up to 6kg ! Bad for your figure, heart and your liver!

Your Fizzy Drink

One can of fizzy drink contains 6-7 teaspoons of sugar. Add that up and it totals up to 24 bags of sugar a year. Fizzy drinks are laced with additives, some of which have ben linked to health problems, including bloating, headaches, asthma, allergies, and possible hyperactivity and poor concentration in kids.

Your Happy Meal

With fast food chains popping up at every corner, it won’t be long until we eat around two billion fast food meals in a year. A Burger King® meal has around 1800 calories. That is almost all of the calories you need for a whole day, which for most people is around 2000 calories. There is a lot of fat, including over 8 grams of unhealthy trans fat.The large order of fries contains 500 calories, half of which come form fat. There are 28 grams of total fat, 6 grams of saturated fat

and 6 grams of trans fat. The french fries also have over 800 milligrams of sodium and 60 grams of total carbohydrates, no different from those pack of potato chips you’ve been trying to avoid. Also, avoid sodium and MSG intake often used in Chinese food takeaways. Try to cook at home whenever possible because only then can you monitor what goes into your mouth.

Your White Stuff

The nutritionist will tell you that to lose weight you need to cut out all the white stuff: white bread, white rice, and white pasta. Foods such as those become white after being bleached and stripped of all their nutrients. For instance, processed white bread is full of chemical improvers and double the amount of yeast that you really need, which can lead to vaginal infections and thrush.

Your Processed Meat

Processed and ground meats from supermarkets are often derived from bone, fat, gristle and skins as fillers. On top of that, fat mixture is a whole lot of other health-damaging ingredients such as gelatine, natrium, starch, preservatives and additives. You slap the ham between slices of bread to make a sandwich and use the ground meat for cooking pasta – all the while thinking you’re consuming healthy, lean meat. You’re better off substituting grilled chicken for ham and chopping your own chicken breast to ensure you get only lean meat in your cooking.

Your Chocolate and Cookies

Take a walk down the supermarket aisle. You’d notice that the imported chocolates are getting bigger and we get plenty of high-fat cookies to choose from. If you comped a standard size bar every day of the year on top of your normal daily intake, you could gain anything up to 12kg! So chocoholics be warned – it would take about 1 hour on a bike to burn off a single bar!

Your Hidden Sugar

Sugar is found in almost every food and if you’re not careful, you might be consuming additional sugar. One can of baked beans can contain up to 4 teaspoons of sugar, a tub of fruit yogurt could contain as many as 7 teaspoons of sugar. You should also avoid high sugar fruits such as mangoes, pineapples and bananas. Have them only as a treat. Choose healthier fruits such as berries, kiwis, and apples which are high in fibres.

Book reviews: The Long Walk, by Stephen King

“The Long Walk” is a fantastic early novel by Stephen King, dystopian science fiction short novel that was published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. Set in the near future, the plot of the novel revolves around a group of 100 teenagers who are the contestants of a game show like walking contest, held annually by a despotic and totalitarian version of the United States Army.

One hundred teenage boys (picked at random from a large pool of applicants) participate in an annual walking contest called “The Long Walk.” Each walker must maintain a constant speed of four miles per hour or higher, or he receives a warning. A walker gets three warnings, the first three are just warnings, but then on the fourth, he is executed.

Warnings are given for a variety of other offenses aside from walking too slowly, including assaulting another walker, or deviating from the Walk’s course. The good news for the walkers is that they can walk off a warning by walking for a full hour without being warned. So even with two warnings a walker can get a clean slate after two hours of solid walking.

Walkers may lose warnings by walking for an hour without being warned. If a walker with three warnings slows down again he is “ticketed.” At the start of the book, the meaning of the term “ticketed” is kept vague, but soon after the start of the Walk it becomes clear that to “buy a ticket” means to be executed by soldiers monitoring the event from the moving vehicles. The leeway period between warnings is thirty seconds.

The event is run by a character known only as “The Major,” who is the overseer of The Long Walk and is alluded to have a great deal of power, and remains extremely popular. The reason that teenagers actually apply for such a deadly sport is the honor of meeting the Major at the end, and getting whatever they want (that’s the grand prize).

There are no stops, rest periods, or a finish line during a Long Walk. The “Long Walk” ends when 99 of the 100 contestants are dead and there’s only one left alive. The winner receives “The Prize,” which is anything he wants for the rest of his life.

The novel notes that many, maybe even most, of the winners of The Long Walk have died soon after the walk due to the severe trauma from a three day walk without rest. The Long Walk is not only a physical trial, but a mental one, as the Walkers are continually pressed against the idea of death and their own mortality. The story has several characters who suffer complete mental breakdowns, and most characters experience some mental degeneration from the stress and lack of proper sleep.

The Walk begins every year at 9:00 AM on May 1 at the Maine/Canada border and continues down the eastern coast of the United States until the winner is found. The protagonist of the novel is Ray Garraty, a 16-year-old boy who has an undefined relationship with his family and possibly The Major. Through him, and the eyes of other contestants, Stephen King explores the darkness in the human mind, mortality, loneliness.

This is an intense story, that is vastly underrated despite King’s skills on full display in this novel. This is one of my favorite Stephen King novels, and I won’t give away the ending, but it was an absolutely incredible ending to a fine novel, and is one of those rare and beautiful works that reminds me every time I read it why I have always wanted to be a writer.

If You Have Sleep Apnea What Should You Do Next?

Upon suspecting that you might have sleep apnea it is advisable that you read through your insurance policy to see if you are in any way covered. Costs can reach anything up and beyond $1000 per person. Certain insurance policies only cover specific procedures/ consultations, some policies don’t cover durable medical equipment (the most commonly used devices to treat sleep apnea).

Once having visited your local primary care physician you may be referred to a sleep specialist and also a sleep testing facility. In some cases the physician will order the sleep tests themselves, collecting the results. Testing areas can either be laboratory based, or in the comfort of your own home. Split-night studies do occur in sleep labs. This type of study involves testing for sleep apnea in the first half of the night. If you are found to have the sleeping condition then the second half of the night is spent using methods to treat it.

The range of doctors that can have the required knowledge in sleep science is wide. Suitable practitioners can have specialized in other areas e.g. neurologists, pulmonologists, otolaryngologists, psychiatrists or primary health carers (e.g. family practitioners or interns).

Sleep knowledge could have come from studying sleep medicine via a residency program, training with other sleep specialists, continued medical education (CME) courses, or scientific meetings. Various individuals may have opted for further tests in sleep studies so that they became certified by a well known body, such as the American Board of Sleep Medicine (ABSM). Sleep doctors may therefore hold a lot of degrees meeting the ABSM requirements, e.g. a DO, MD, MB, PhD or PsyD in a related health field. Dentists have even been known to practice sleep apnea research and treatment since they can be called on to fit oral sleep apnea preventing appliances.

When ever you meet with a sleep professional you should still make the effort to enquire about their past experience and qualifications. Ensure you are pleased with their answers to your questions and that you know exactly how they plan to diagnose and treat your potential ailment.

Complete lists of all competent sleep doctors and sleep facilities don’t exist, the ABSM not endorsing any healthcare provider, product or company. A physician, sleep center and laboratory list does exist, produced by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), containing those companies and/ or people that pay their membership fees. You can see the up-to-date list on their website. Do remember that perfectly good practices may not be on the lists, for what ever reason e.g. they are still being approved, or have chosen not to be.

Sleep activity can be measured in tests using devices like electroencephalograms (EEG) which measure brain waves, and electroculograms (EOG) to evaluate eye and chin movements. These two devices monitor the various sleep stages that occur. Electrocardiograms take the heart rate of the patient, recording the rhythm, breathing movements are measured with chest bands. Other monitoring devices look at blood oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, and leg movements. No degree of pain is typically seen with the use of any of these practices, not single injection needle is used either!

A negative result after testing may simply mean you need further tests to elucidate whether you have sleep apnea or not, particularly if you still display the symptoms (e.g. falling to sleep a lot, even after good nights sleep). Further, more elaborate and sophisticated contraptions may be necessary which aren’t often used in sleep tests.

For further information regarding sleep testing any treatment consult your local doctor or sleep expert.

Remedy to have sound sleep:

Sleep is the most important aspect for maintaining both Health and Wealth in the life of the human beings. When does a man sleep? He sleeps only when his inner mind or his soul, his sensory organs like ears, eyes, mouth, etc., stop their daily functioning. Sound sleep is one which is had at the proper time. To have proper health, one should have sound sleep. Some people can sleep at any place. Say in the train, bus, in the office, on the floor, immediately after getting into the bed. Such people seem to be extremely lucky as they can enjoy sleep which helps them keep good health. But others who do not get to enjoy this kind of sleep can read some tips given below.

Have an early dinner. Walking helps digesting food. So you should walk for some time. Read books and then go to sleep after 2 hours.

When you come home from work, have bath. Apply talcum powder all over your body and wear loose clothes.

Before going to bed apply oil to your head. Every alternate day put oil in your ears, then wait for some time and allow the excess oil to drip down. Massage oil to your feet also.

While in bed forget about your day’s incidences. Do not think about tomorrow’s work. If you are unable to relax and sleep, then just keep your eyes closed and think nothing. Sleep on your left side.

Sleep in the east west direction. Do not sleep with the feet in the south direction. It is alright if you sleep with your head in the south direction Change your bed sheet daily.

In the end, all need rest and sleep.

Various home remedies are available around us. Visit web sites and find the right remedy when needed.

Suggestions for film subjects

So say it’s Saturday night and unfortunately you’re stuck with nothing to do, the movies are always a good choice to occupy your night, but what movie is there to see? There are a number of good movies out there from chick flicks to comedies.

Eragon, an okay see filled with action. Based off the novel, a boy named Eragon finds a dragon egg and has to defeat the evil forces within the times. It has a great story line and a good message.

Another movie pack with action is Blood and Chocolate. Based off werewolves, this movie is about a werewolf girl who falls in love with a human. This is forbidden and looked down upon by the rest of the pack who for the most part remain clueless. This thrilling action, and romantic movie is a great go see with a big group of friends.

Going further on the chick flick side of things there is Flicka, a touching tale of a girl and her horse and how they connected as animal and rider. Sixteen-year-old Katy has to face her dad and fight for her horse. Don’t forget the tissues for this one.

Not in the mood for a sappy movie? Then Epic Movie would be a good choice. The laughs just don’t stop watching this hilarious, and slightly perverted comedy. It’s a remix spoof version of a collected hit movie over the course of the last couple of years. A great comedy to go see on a boring Saturday night for the non-stop laughs.

Of course we always have our thrill seekers, those brave enough to have the urge to watch the horror films. Three new ones hit theaters, now it just time for you to chose which one your up for. The Hitcher, a movie about a man who terrorizes a man and a woman by first hitching a ride with them. Then we have the third in the series, Saw III, and a new one, The Messenger. Watch these people die of fright from these scary next world beings.

So now all you have to do is get a couple bucks and run to the nearest theater.

Are you Getting Enough Sleep?

After you put the last dinner dishes away and the evening news, you probably think about going to bed. But for the 40 million estimated Americans who suffer from a chronic sleep disorder, going to bed doesn’t necessarily mean going to sleep. And for the 20 to 30 million others who experience occasional sleep disturbances, nighttime isn’t a picnic.

Some researchers have postulated that the United States is the most sleep deprived country. And it’s no wonder. With 24-hour factories and malls, high stress levels at work, and round-the-clock schedules, Americans barely have time to breathe, much less sleep a good 8 hours every night.

Even when you want to sleep, the cares of the day sometimes keep you from closing your eyes. In fact, according to the National Sleep Foundation, on any given night, slightly more than 1-4 Americans rate the quality of their night’s sleep as either “fair” or “poor”

Of course, the Americans aren’t alone in their devotion to round-the-clock living. Scandinavians stay up quite late as a way of dealing with their midnight sun. and many Northern European countries have more shift workers than the United States, and their citizens tend to their coffee and more of it than Americans.

But maybe you don’t have a chronic sleep disorder. Perhaps you are just stressed out and your bedroom is too crowded and too hot, or your mattress too hard.

Sleep, Blessed Sleep

Perhaps you take the ability to sleep for granted, but for the estimated 40 million Americans who suffer from a sleep disorder, falling asleep and staying asleep doesn’t come so easily. A person with a sleep disorder usually sleeps poorly or not enough so they wake up lousy.

Too frequently sleep disorders go unrecognized, undiagnosed and untreated. The cost to individuals and to society is huge: more than 100,000 automobile accidents, many fatal, are directly attributed to sleep-deprived workers.

In addition, experts say that many on-the-job accidents are caused in part by poor decisions and responses made by sleep-deprived workers. Because sleep-deprived people tend to be irritable and have short fuses, they aren’t much fun to be around, which can profoundly affect both personal and work relationships

In addition, a lack of sleep adversely affects both memory and concentration, which can negatively influence a person’s job performance. And the list of problems caused by lack of sleep goes on and on

If you or your significant other, like a child, a family member or close friend has a problem sleeping, the first step is to identify the problem and to seek treatment as soon as possible. Remember, chronic sleep deprivation, no matter what the cause is dangerous and potentially fatal.

If you don’t get the sleep you need, you don’t restore and refresh you brain and body. You are basically running on empty.

Also sleeplessness can be torture. Interrogators commonly use sleep deprivation as part of the interrogation process designed to break and confuse prisoners (whether criminal, war or political) in order to extract information.

After being deprived of sleep, many people are ready to answer any question as long as they’ll be allowed to sleep. With little or no sleep, people feel sick. Their bodies are sluggish and uncoordinated, and their minds feel mush.

Their one overriding thought is their desire for sleep and even the most defiant individual may become quiet compliant if he thinks his cooperation can help him get sleep sooner, but since you are not a prisoner in future articles I will do my best in helping you get to sleep and give you tips and suggestions on how to get rid of your sleep deprivation once and for all

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