Night Owls Stay Alert Longer Than Early Birds
by Anne Minard
National Geographic News
April 23, 2009
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/090423-night-owls-brains.html?source=email_gg_20090429&email=gg
Score one for the night owls—sort of.
Early birds may be chipper in the morning, but they mentally wear out faster, a new brain-scan study reveals.
Scientists monitored the brain activity of self-described early birds and night owls in a sleep lab.
The team, led by Christina Schmidt of the University of Liège in Belgium, also took hourly saliva samples to measure the sleepers' levels of melatonin, a hormone thought to help naturally regulate sleep cycles in mammals.
Both night owls and early birds were allowed to stay on their preferred sleep schedules, but each group was awake for the same number of hours each day.
An hour and a half after waking, the groups scored the same on tests that required them to pay attention to a task.
But ten hours after waking, early birds showed reduced activity in brain areas linked to attention compared with the night owls. The "morning people" also felt sleepier and performed more slowly on tests.
To read the full article: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/090423-night-owls-brains.html?source=email_gg_20090429&email=gg
Showing posts with label healthy: sleep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy: sleep. Show all posts
Friday, May 1, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The Stunning Consequences of Not Getting Enough Sleep
The Stunning Consequences of Not Getting Enough Sleep
By Allison Ford, Divine Caroline
April 1, 2009
Nothing feels worse than hearing your alarm clock ring in the morning when your body is screaming for a few extra hours of rest. Given the opportunity, who wouldn’t get more sleep? If I had a choice between a year of unlimited Easter candy and a year of unlimited sleep, I’d say “Bye-bye Cadbury” and “Hello, bed!”
Many people don’t get as much sleep as they should. Since the invention of the light bulb, people sleep about 500 hours per year less than they used to. Whether we’re kept awake by our partner’s snoring or we stay up too late watching TV, we wake up tired, groggy, and cranky. No wonder the coffee industry does so well. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation has some side effects and they can’t all be remedied with a little extra caffeine.
This Is Your Brain on Sleep
While the mechanism of sleep isn’t fully understood yet, doctors and scientists do know that it’s one of our body’s most important processes. Studies show that sleep is important for cellular renewal, helping to replace muscle tissue and dead cells throughout the body. Studies have also shown that sleep is a key time for the brain to process and archive information, including memories. Deep, restorative REM sleep, the kind associated with dreaming, seems to stimulate regions of the brain used in learning.
Every night without adequate rest is like adding to a sleep debt—eventually it will have to be repaid. Even after one sleepless night, we can feel the first effects of sleep deprivation—irritability, memory loss, and drowsiness. Continued sleep deprivation can result in trouble concentrating, blurry vision, impaired judgment, and even more severe mental effects. After just a few days without any sleep, people can begin to experience hallucinations, mania, and nausea. Luckily, if you repay your sleep debt right away, those effects vanish immediately.
Short-Term Side Effects
Sleep deprivation doesn’t just cause mental deficits; our physical abilities are diminished too. Studies have demonstrated that not sleeping can reduce glucose metabolism by as much as 40 percent. We use stored glucose for energy and sleep deprivation can interfere with how the body stores and processes it. Sleep-deprived athletes also experience high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, as well as lower levels of human growth hormone, which is important for muscle repair. The immune system is also thought to be maintained while asleep; people who don’t get enough sleep tend to be more susceptible to infections and have slower healing times.
To read the full article: http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/134516
http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/134516/the_stunning_consequences_of_not_getting_enough_sleep/
http://www.alternet.org/story/134516/
By Allison Ford, Divine Caroline
April 1, 2009
Nothing feels worse than hearing your alarm clock ring in the morning when your body is screaming for a few extra hours of rest. Given the opportunity, who wouldn’t get more sleep? If I had a choice between a year of unlimited Easter candy and a year of unlimited sleep, I’d say “Bye-bye Cadbury” and “Hello, bed!”
Many people don’t get as much sleep as they should. Since the invention of the light bulb, people sleep about 500 hours per year less than they used to. Whether we’re kept awake by our partner’s snoring or we stay up too late watching TV, we wake up tired, groggy, and cranky. No wonder the coffee industry does so well. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation has some side effects and they can’t all be remedied with a little extra caffeine.
This Is Your Brain on Sleep
While the mechanism of sleep isn’t fully understood yet, doctors and scientists do know that it’s one of our body’s most important processes. Studies show that sleep is important for cellular renewal, helping to replace muscle tissue and dead cells throughout the body. Studies have also shown that sleep is a key time for the brain to process and archive information, including memories. Deep, restorative REM sleep, the kind associated with dreaming, seems to stimulate regions of the brain used in learning.
Every night without adequate rest is like adding to a sleep debt—eventually it will have to be repaid. Even after one sleepless night, we can feel the first effects of sleep deprivation—irritability, memory loss, and drowsiness. Continued sleep deprivation can result in trouble concentrating, blurry vision, impaired judgment, and even more severe mental effects. After just a few days without any sleep, people can begin to experience hallucinations, mania, and nausea. Luckily, if you repay your sleep debt right away, those effects vanish immediately.
Short-Term Side Effects
Sleep deprivation doesn’t just cause mental deficits; our physical abilities are diminished too. Studies have demonstrated that not sleeping can reduce glucose metabolism by as much as 40 percent. We use stored glucose for energy and sleep deprivation can interfere with how the body stores and processes it. Sleep-deprived athletes also experience high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, as well as lower levels of human growth hormone, which is important for muscle repair. The immune system is also thought to be maintained while asleep; people who don’t get enough sleep tend to be more susceptible to infections and have slower healing times.
To read the full article: http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/134516
http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/134516/the_stunning_consequences_of_not_getting_enough_sleep/
http://www.alternet.org/story/134516/
Friday, November 7, 2008
6 Ways to Boost Your Athletic Performance
Six Ways to Boost Your Athletic Performance
by www.SixWise.com
Whether you're a professional skier, an avid golfer or just trying to make it through your daily workout, most everyone would enjoy an improvement in their athletic performance.
|
You must win your "mental game" in order to conquer the physical one, which is why meditating daily is an excellent way to improve your performance. |
And though this typically comes over many months of practice, patience, and dedication to your particular sport, there are things you can do right now to improve your physical endurance, focus, skill and energy levels come game (or gym) time. Best of all, these tips for getting you to the top of your game are so simple, we all can do them.
1. Put on a Little Music
Olympic gold medal winner Michael Phelps always has his headphones on before a race, and you should too. Why? Music soothes your mind and calms your nerves, helping you to get into the right mindset for the sporting event. As a bonus, listening to music during your workout may not only motivate you to work harder and longer, it may actually make you smarter too. A 2004 study in the journal Heart & Lung found that people who listened to music while they exercised performed more than twice as well on a verbal fluency test than people who listened to no music.
Studies conducted at the University of Memphis Exercise and Sport Nutrition Laboratory by Dr. Richard Kreider found that honey is a superior source of energy for athletes. In one trial nine competitive cyclists were given a honey, glucose or placebo gel prior to and at 10-mile intervals of a simulated 40-mile race. The honey was found to significantly increase power and speed over the placebo. To get the most health "bang" for your buck, look for raw honey, which still contains its beneficial enzymes and nutrients.
| Need a Boost After Your Workout? ORANG-O ENERGY to the Rescue! Orang-O Energy keeps you hydrated, helping you to function better, and is ideal after a workout, tiring day or anytime you need a boost. Plus, it's 100% natural with NO caffeine, no preservatives, synthetic food colors or artificial flavors.
|
3. See a Chiropractor
If your body is out of alignment, particularly because you've had a past injury, it could be hindering your athletic abilities. If your body leans forward or your head is slightly forward of your neck and chest, you may not be functioning as well as you should. A chiropractor can correct these misalignments, which may help you to run faster, jump higher, and even increase your endurance.
4. Get Extra Sleep
Researchers at Stanford University found college basketball players who got some extra sleep were able to decrease their sprint times and increase their average free throw percentage. They also reported increased energy and improved mood during their games and practices. What's more, getting extra sleep for as little as two weeks was enough to significantly improve the players' athletic performance.
|
A spoonful of honey before your big game or long run may increase your power and speed, researchers say. |
5. Meditate Daily
Meditating for even short periods daily can increase your focus and attention, both of which are essential for your athletic abilities. In fact, a study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that even those new to practicing meditation were able to enhance their cognitive performance and ability to focus attention. If you're interested in giving meditation a try, the Pure Relaxation CD is ideal. It includes guided meditations by a leading meditation expert, Mary Maddux, and music by a renowned meditation music composer with 20 years experience. These meditations are unique in that they guide you to relax in a natural, effortless way, making them great for a post-workout cool down or anytime you need to get focused and calm.
6. Try out Compression Clothing
Compression clothing is still relatively new in the amateur sports world, but those who have tried the odd looking socks, arm sleeves, and leggings swear by them. Perhaps most popular are the socks, which use graduated pressure that is heavier at your foot and lessens toward your knee. This helps blood to flow back to your heart and lungs, get oxygen, and then return to your legs. The clothing also compresses muscles, which reduces unnecessary vibration and reportedly decreases fatigue and muscle pain. Athletes who wear compression clothing say they have less muscle fatigue and leg pain, improved circulation and recovery time, and like the way the clothing keeps their muscles warm during a workout.
Recommended Reading
14 Things to do if You Feel Tired and Sore After Working Out
The 10 Keys to Start an Exercise Program -- and Finally Stick to It!
Boost your Creativity
Want to Boost Your Creativity?
Here's the Secret You Should Know
by www.SixWise.com
http://www.sixwise.com/Newsletters/2008/November/5/Want-to-Boost-Your-Creativity-Heres-the-Secret.htm?source=nl
Creativity is the ability to use your imagination to develop new and original ideas and things. This skill is valued by employers, teachers, mothers, lovers and just about everyone in between.
In fact, one in five workers said they would leave their job to join a workplace where they could be more creative, even if it meant earning less money, according to a survey by Ipsos Public Affairs, commissioned by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. Meanwhile, 29 percent of the survey respondents said they would move their place of residence to be part of a creative community.
A bit of creativity is often also all it takes to come up with solutions to your personal problems, better ways to manage your time, and even start up that business of your own you've been dreaming about.
Indeed, Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."
Yet, as productive and beneficial as creativity can be, it is often an elusive skill, one that seems to disappear just when you need it most. Fortunately, you can actually boost your creativity by doing something very simple: sleeping.
Sleeping Your Way to Creativity
There's a reason why innovative companies like Google, Cisco Systems and Procter & Gamble have installed EnergyPods -- leather recliners with hoods that block noise and light -- to give their employees a bit of shuteye during the workday. Sleep has been found to increase creativity by 33 percent, according to Dr. Jeffrey Ellenbogen, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School and director of the Sleep Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Sleep not only enhances performance, learning and memory, but it also assists your brain in making connections between unrelated ideas, which increases the chances that a new insight will come to light.
It turns out that thoughts need a type of "incubation period" during which your brain can process the problem. After sleeping on a problem, people are 33 percent more likely to infer connections among distantly related ideas, according to Dr. Ellenbogen.
"It's more that sleep brings a change of approach," Mark Holmes, an art director at Pixar Animation Studios who worked on the film "Wall-E" told the New York Times. "You can get tunnel vision when you're hammering away at a problem. You keep going down this same path, again and again, just tweaking, making incremental changes at best. Sleep erases that. It resets you. You wake up and realize -- wait a minute! -- there is another way to do this."
For those of you who fall peacefully into a slumber the second your head hits the pillow, this is great news. But for the rest of us, getting the sleep we need to be creative can be more of a challenge. According to The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) you should sleep at least seven to nine hours each night.
But NSF's 2008 Sleep in America poll found that the average time spent in bed is just 6 hours and 55 minutes -- with 6 hours and 40 minutes spent actually sleeping. If you need some help getting your shuteye, try:
Creating a relaxing bedtime routine.
Keeping your bedroom cool, quiet, and dark.
Drinking a cup of relaxing tea, like chamomile.
Massaging your feet.
Stretching a bit before you lie down.
Once you are in bed, listening to relaxing music or a relaxation or sleep CD, such as the highly recommended Sleep Easy: Guided Meditations for Deep Rest to help you "shift gears" and relax into sleep.
What Else Can You do to Become More Creative?
If you need to get those creative juices flowing so you can solve a major headache at work, get started on your masterpiece novel, come up with a new way to make a living or any number of other potential reasons, the following tips will help.
1. Don't leave home without a notebook. This way you can jot ideas down whenever they hit you.
2. Change your atmosphere. Taking a walk outside, switching rooms, going to the gym or ... taking a quick nap can all help your mind to get thinking in different ways.
3. Learn to love reading. The more you read -- magazines, books, newspapers, Web pages -- the more ideas you'll be exposed to, and the greater your chances are of reading something that will spark an idea in your mind.
4. Brainstorm. Take five minutes and write down everything that comes to your mind, even if it doesn't seem like a good idea at a time. Later, look over your list and see if any ideas are triggered. For even better results, try brainstorming with one or two other people.
5. Get into a positive frame of mind. Being happy may "free your mind" and increase your creative thinking abilities, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. So make an effort to curb negative thoughts or self-criticism as often as you can.
6. Put on some music. Music is known to elevate your mood and positively influence your brain function.
7. Try the "Six Hats" method. This technique can help you to get thinking about a problem from different points of view, which may inspire creative ideas. For any given problem, examine it from the perspective of the:
Red Hat: Look at the situation emotionally. What do your feelings tell you?
White Hat: Look at the situation objectively. What are the facts?
Yellow Hat: Use a positive perspective. Which elements of the solution will work?
Black Hat: Use a negative perspective. Which elements of the solution won't work?
Green Hat: Think creatively. What are some alternative ideas?
Blue Hat: Think broadly. What is the best overall solution?
Here's the Secret You Should Know
by www.SixWise.com
http://www.sixwise.com/
Creativity is the ability to use your imagination to develop new and original ideas and things. This skill is valued by employers, teachers, mothers, lovers and just about everyone in between.
In fact, one in five workers said they would leave their job to join a workplace where they could be more creative, even if it meant earning less money, according to a survey by Ipsos Public Affairs, commissioned by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. Meanwhile, 29 percent of the survey respondents said they would move their place of residence to be part of a creative community.
A bit of creativity is often also all it takes to come up with solutions to your personal problems, better ways to manage your time, and even start up that business of your own you've been dreaming about.
Indeed, Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."
Yet, as productive and beneficial as creativity can be, it is often an elusive skill, one that seems to disappear just when you need it most. Fortunately, you can actually boost your creativity by doing something very simple: sleeping.
Sleeping Your Way to Creativity
There's a reason why innovative companies like Google, Cisco Systems and Procter & Gamble have installed EnergyPods -- leather recliners with hoods that block noise and light -- to give their employees a bit of shuteye during the workday. Sleep has been found to increase creativity by 33 percent, according to Dr. Jeffrey Ellenbogen, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School and director of the Sleep Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Sleep not only enhances performance, learning and memory, but it also assists your brain in making connections between unrelated ideas, which increases the chances that a new insight will come to light.
It turns out that thoughts need a type of "incubation period" during which your brain can process the problem. After sleeping on a problem, people are 33 percent more likely to infer connections among distantly related ideas, according to Dr. Ellenbogen.
"It's more that sleep brings a change of approach," Mark Holmes, an art director at Pixar Animation Studios who worked on the film "Wall-E" told the New York Times. "You can get tunnel vision when you're hammering away at a problem. You keep going down this same path, again and again, just tweaking, making incremental changes at best. Sleep erases that. It resets you. You wake up and realize -- wait a minute! -- there is another way to do this."
For those of you who fall peacefully into a slumber the second your head hits the pillow, this is great news. But for the rest of us, getting the sleep we need to be creative can be more of a challenge. According to The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) you should sleep at least seven to nine hours each night.
But NSF's 2008 Sleep in America poll found that the average time spent in bed is just 6 hours and 55 minutes -- with 6 hours and 40 minutes spent actually sleeping. If you need some help getting your shuteye, try:
Creating a relaxing bedtime routine.
Keeping your bedroom cool, quiet, and dark.
Drinking a cup of relaxing tea, like chamomile.
Massaging your feet.
Stretching a bit before you lie down.
Once you are in bed, listening to relaxing music or a relaxation or sleep CD, such as the highly recommended Sleep Easy: Guided Meditations for Deep Rest to help you "shift gears" and relax into sleep.
What Else Can You do to Become More Creative?
If you need to get those creative juices flowing so you can solve a major headache at work, get started on your masterpiece novel, come up with a new way to make a living or any number of other potential reasons, the following tips will help.
1. Don't leave home without a notebook. This way you can jot ideas down whenever they hit you.
2. Change your atmosphere. Taking a walk outside, switching rooms, going to the gym or ... taking a quick nap can all help your mind to get thinking in different ways.
3. Learn to love reading. The more you read -- magazines, books, newspapers, Web pages -- the more ideas you'll be exposed to, and the greater your chances are of reading something that will spark an idea in your mind.
4. Brainstorm. Take five minutes and write down everything that comes to your mind, even if it doesn't seem like a good idea at a time. Later, look over your list and see if any ideas are triggered. For even better results, try brainstorming with one or two other people.
5. Get into a positive frame of mind. Being happy may "free your mind" and increase your creative thinking abilities, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. So make an effort to curb negative thoughts or self-criticism as often as you can.
6. Put on some music. Music is known to elevate your mood and positively influence your brain function.
7. Try the "Six Hats" method. This technique can help you to get thinking about a problem from different points of view, which may inspire creative ideas. For any given problem, examine it from the perspective of the:
Red Hat: Look at the situation emotionally. What do your feelings tell you?
White Hat: Look at the situation objectively. What are the facts?
Yellow Hat: Use a positive perspective. Which elements of the solution will work?
Black Hat: Use a negative perspective. Which elements of the solution won't work?
Green Hat: Think creatively. What are some alternative ideas?
Blue Hat: Think broadly. What is the best overall solution?
Friday, October 10, 2008
7 Super Foods for Good Sleep
by Sheryl Walters (see all articles by this author)
Source: Seven Super Foods for Good Sleep
(NaturalNews) Sleep is essential for our health and wellbeing. It allows our body to rejuvenate and restore itself. Sleep deprivation is one of the biggest causes of aging. Tiredness can also affect your mood and how you feel. Chronic tiredness can increase your risk of depression and anxiety. It can also affect the way that you respond and react to the people around you.
It can also affect your cognitive ability and your ability to use your brain. This can cause you to be less constructive and creative. It can also decrease your ability to think quickly which may impair your ability to drive or do daily tasks.
There is no set amount of time that everyone needs to sleep, since it varies from person to person. Studies indicate that people are generally most effective when they sleep an average of 7 hours, but people can find anywhere between 5 and 7 hours okay for them.
Insomnia can be caused by deficiencies in certain nutrients. The foods that we eat can help us to gain those nutrients and help us sleep. These 7 super foods can help us get a good night's sleep at last so that we can feel refreshed and energized in our daily life.
Bananas
Bananas are a delicious sleepy time fruit. They balance melatonin and serotonin levels, which are the neurotransmitters necessary for deep sleep. They also contain magnesium, which is a muscle relaxant.
Chamomile tea
Chamomile is a mild sedative that calms and relaxes, making it the perfect natural antidote for restless minds and bodies.
Honey
While sugar is stimulating, honey helps the brain to turn off because it contains orexin, a recently discovered neurotransmitter that's linked to alertness.
Potatoes
Potatoes contain tryptophan, which will ensure you get your ZZZZZZZZs.
Oatmeal
Oats are a rich source of sleep inducing melatonin
Almonds
A handful of my favorite food can help one relax and unwind because they contain the snooze helping nutrients tryptophan and magnesium.
Flaxseeds
Flaxseeds are a rich source omega-3 fatty acids, which make them a natural mood lifter. They are one of the 7 super foods for a good night's rest.
Source: Seven Super Foods for Good Sleep
(NaturalNews) Sleep is essential for our health and wellbeing. It allows our body to rejuvenate and restore itself. Sleep deprivation is one of the biggest causes of aging. Tiredness can also affect your mood and how you feel. Chronic tiredness can increase your risk of depression and anxiety. It can also affect the way that you respond and react to the people around you.
It can also affect your cognitive ability and your ability to use your brain. This can cause you to be less constructive and creative. It can also decrease your ability to think quickly which may impair your ability to drive or do daily tasks.
There is no set amount of time that everyone needs to sleep, since it varies from person to person. Studies indicate that people are generally most effective when they sleep an average of 7 hours, but people can find anywhere between 5 and 7 hours okay for them.
Insomnia can be caused by deficiencies in certain nutrients. The foods that we eat can help us to gain those nutrients and help us sleep. These 7 super foods can help us get a good night's sleep at last so that we can feel refreshed and energized in our daily life.
Bananas
Bananas are a delicious sleepy time fruit. They balance melatonin and serotonin levels, which are the neurotransmitters necessary for deep sleep. They also contain magnesium, which is a muscle relaxant.
Chamomile tea
Chamomile is a mild sedative that calms and relaxes, making it the perfect natural antidote for restless minds and bodies.
Honey
While sugar is stimulating, honey helps the brain to turn off because it contains orexin, a recently discovered neurotransmitter that's linked to alertness.
Potatoes
Potatoes contain tryptophan, which will ensure you get your ZZZZZZZZs.
Oatmeal
Oats are a rich source of sleep inducing melatonin
Almonds
A handful of my favorite food can help one relax and unwind because they contain the snooze helping nutrients tryptophan and magnesium.
Flaxseeds
Flaxseeds are a rich source omega-3 fatty acids, which make them a natural mood lifter. They are one of the 7 super foods for a good night's rest.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
