Sleep Management + Original Articles

How many hours of slumber do experts suggest for a healthy heart? Chronic lack of sleep can do more than just leave you feeling drowsy the next day, it can lead to a constellation of serious health problems, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, mood disorders, cardiovascular disease and hypertension (high blood pressure).

Here's a sampling of how just 15 extra minutes in the morning can make a big difference in your life. Are you on intimate terms with your snooze button, hitting it several times until you finally roll out of bed 20, 30, or even 40 minutes after the first alarm goes off? If the answer is yes, you're missing out on a great opportunity to improve your health.

You'd think that with the work they put into their day, sleep would come easily. The truth is, that's when the tossing and turning begins. Women today have more to do than ever before, juggling family, career, education, social, and community responsibilities.  The only time they have to relax is when their head hits the pillow.  You'd think with all the work they put into their day, sleep would come easily.

Did you know that in addition to being a nighttime nuisance, snoring can also be downright dangerous? If your partner is a snorer, you're all too familiar with this irritating habit. But did you know that in addition to be a nighttime nuisance, snoring can also be downright dangerous?  In fact, research suggests that heavy snoring may raise the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Sleep apnea doesn't just happen to adults--don't miss these symptoms in your children. If you're like most parents, you want to be sure that your child gets enough sleep. A good night's sleep is essential to so many aspects of your child's everyday functioning, including physical and mental development, mood and general health.  But for children who suffer from the worrisome symptoms of sleep apnea, no matter how many hours a night they get, it often isn't enough to allow them to be their daytime best.

Trouble sleeping decreases overall quality of life in patients with chronic pain and diseases and can even aggravate disease symptoms. Poor sleep also limits patients' ability to cope with their disease. This can be a vicious cycle in people with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Arthritis-related inflammation causes pain and stiffness, which interferes with sleep, which further aggravates inflammation.

Read on for the reasons why a short snooze may be one of the best things you can do for your health. Have you ever watched a cat go through its daily routine? Chances are you've witnessed a lot of grooming, playing and chasing-and napping. In fact, cats sleep more than half of their lives away. But they don't slumber continuously for 16 hours. They sleep in long and short stretches through the day and night.

Snoring ranks among the top three things people want to change in their mate. If you lie awake at night as your partner saws the log, you're far from alone. Although snoring can affect anyone, it's most common in males and those who are overweight. According to the National Sleep Foundation, this nighttime disturbance affects 37 million Americans on a regular basis.

Summer got you sleepless? Learn how to get a better night’s sleep during the hottest nights of the year. When the mercury soars you take longer to fall asleep and your sleep is more intermittent. Although the ideal room temperature for sleeping is 65 degrees Fahrenheit, indoor temperatures during summer can rise to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in some parts of the country.

Millions of Americans are affected by migraines. Here, a look at this common neurological disease, from symptoms to treatment. At some point in their lives, 12 to 28 percent of people will be experience migraines, according to the European Journal of Neurology. What's more, in any given year, this common neurological disease will affect 6 to 15 percent of adult men, 14 to 35 percent of adult women, and approximately 4 to 5 percent of children under 12.

When nocturnal asthma symptoms such as wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath disturb your sleep, you can find yourself feeling tired and unable to focus the next day. Possible Causes According to the experts, the odds of your asthma kicking in at night can be extremely high. And while there are different possible explanations to explain why asthma seems to be worse at night, some doctors blame nocturnal asthma symptoms on the fact that airways can narrow while you are asleep and allow more mucus to build up inside.

Is a prescription sleeping pill or over-the-counter sleep aid right for your insomnia? Here’s a look at these treatment options for sleepless nights. Insomnia affects about 30 percent of adults in America. There are two types of insomnia - primary and secondary insomnia. Normally insomnia is treated by prescription sleeping pills, over-the-counter sleeping aids, or therapy. The American Academy of Sleep Science (AASM) defines primary insomnia as sleeplessness that cannot be attributed to an existing medical, psychiatric or environmental cause (such as drug abuse or medications).

How much slumber does your heart need? Read on to find out. One in five Americans gets less than six hours of sleep a night, according to the National Sleep Foundation's 2009 Sleep in America poll. While that might be good news for the purveyors of caffeine, it could spell bad news for those who want to lower heart disease rates in the U.

Pay attention to your dreams—they may be giving you a few hints about your health and well-being. The jury is out on the significance of dreams.  For some, their nocturnal visions are fascinating and mysterious and offer unconscious insight into their personal lives and the world at large; for others, dreams pointless and simply help to pass the time while they get their 40 winks.

Find out if it's time to kick the habit. Maybe you had a bout of insomnia recently-a big deadline at work, your kid's grades, a fight with a friend-and reached for an over-the-counter sleep aid. You slept so well that you took it again the next night, and the next. Now it's been a few days and you've become so attached to the sleep aid that you're afraid to try going to bed without it.

With all of the choices out there, it can be hard to know what kind of mattress is right for you. Here's what you need to know. You can install blackout shades, turn up your white-noise machine, and take a calming bath before bed, but you probably won't get a good night's sleep if your mattress is wrong for you. And with all of the choices out there, it can be hard to know what kind of mattress you need.

Getting enough z’s at night can have therapeutic effects. We all have the occasional sleepless night. However, when sleeplessness persists, it can have a detrimental affect on your physical well being, especially if you have Crohn’s disease. Sleep modulates the immune system, and a regular good night sleep is a key component of good health.

Learn more about the unique relationship between the two. Sleep apnea and insomnia are two distinct sleep disorders. One is characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep, and the other is characterized by the difficulty to fall or stay asleep. Both can cause a considerable amount of physical and emotional symptoms.

Dr. Jeff Aroesty answers a reader's question about snoring and discusses the innovative Pillar® Procedure. Q: My husband has always been a snorer, but over the past few years it seems to have gotten worse. It's to the point where I'm often forced to get up in the middle of the night to sleep in the guest room. We're both in our fifties and extremely health conscious.

Getting quality shut-eye may benefit you more than you ever thought. To sleep provides more than a chance to dream. Scientists are waking up to the fact that the right amount of shut-eye restores bones, gives the brain a much-needed break from the daily grind, and prevents a whole host of maladies, including heart disease.

There may be more of a connection than you think. Most people probably wouldn't rate getting enough sleep as the most important aspect of their life, but maybe they should. In addition to feeling rested and invigorated, studies have shown that a lack of sleep can increase your odds of becoming overweight, incurring an emotional disorder, and performing poorly in the workplace.

Learn why getting the proper z’s is so important for your health. Maybe you're so overloaded that you work late into the night and rise before dawn. Or you manage to get to bed early but toss and turn for hours. Whatever the reason, you're not getting enough sleep. And you're not alone. According to the World Sleep Foundation, almost half of all Americans are sleep deprived, many chronically.

You steal blankets like you should be on “America’s Most Wanted” and the sounds that come from him are akin to a freight train. Because the phrase "sleeping together" is usually used as a euphemism for having sex, we rarely talk about actually sleeping next to a loved one. However, sharing a bed with someone special can be one of the most reassuring and comforting aspects of your day.

Take a deep breath. The truth about yawning may surprise you. At approximately three o'clock Monday through Friday you have a bout with it--the stretching, open mouthed, groan of a yawn. Although yawning is a casual part of our daily lives, few know how or why we do it. In fact, the average adult experiences about 20 yawns per day.

Late-shift workers put themselves at risk for certain illnesses. Is there anything they can do to protect their health? Trying to get enough sleep while working the late shift can feel like trying to swim upstream. Simply put, the human body is meant to be active during the daytime hours. In fact, humans' circadian rhythms (the body's biological sleep clock) are naturally programmed to promote sleep at night.

You probably already know that food can give you energy, but can it help you fall asleep, too? Here, six that can help you catch your z's. Your eating habits can have a direct effect on your day—emotionally, mentally, and physically. A healthy, balanced breakfast kick-starts your metabolism, giving you energy for the rest of the day. Skipping meals can result in tiredness and irritability.

Not getting enough z's? You could be doing serious damage to your health. With a long list of to-dos and not enough hours in the day, you might be tempted to skimp on the amount of z's you get. Besides, you can sleep when you're dead, right? But, if you sleep less than six or seven hours a night, death might come sooner than you think.

100,000 of the car accidents that occur each year are a result of driver fatigue. Follow these tips to help stay safe on the road. Driving to a destination is often the most ideal way to go. You don't have to contend with long lines, flight delays, or metal detectors. Best of all, you're the master of your own itinerary: leaving when you're ready and not when you have to, stopping when the need arises, and exploring the back roads along your route if you so desire.

Will you live to a ripe old age? Read on to calculate your odds. We've split the atom, spliced the gene, even sent a spacecraft to Mars. But finding a reliable way to predict a person's life span? That's proven a bit more difficult. In recent years, however, scientists have begun to crack the code-identifying 22 genetic, demographic, and lifestyle factors that can estimate life span with a surprising amount of accuracy.

Can't get a good night's sleep? One of these misconceptions may be undermining your efforts. Drinking alcohol makes you drowsy. Counting sheep makes you doze off. You can catch up on lost sleep over the weekend. When it comes to getting your Z's, it can be difficult separating fact from fiction. But according to experts, knowing the facts can help improve your sleep, reduce your disease risk, and boost your health.

Our internal clocks, also known as circadian rhythms, determine when we feel alert and sleepy. Learn how to get in sync with your biological schedule. Are you a morning person, or do you thrive in the evening? Do you take cover in your house all winter only to emerge refreshed when warm weather arrives in the spring? We may know that animals have biological clocks that determine which times of day they're active.

Follow these tips to enhance your recall and make your mind more nimble. Have you ever lost your reading glasses and then found them on top of your head? Have you ever gotten your kids off to school, only to find their lunches still in the refrigerator? If so, you're not alone. According to experts, many of us have minor problems with recall as we age.

These tips can help put an end to this seemingly uphill battle. It's an age-old struggle: Adults try to put their little ones to bed, but their kids seem determined to thwart the routine at every turn. Children try to avoid bedtime for a variety of reasons; they may have separation anxiety, be fearful of the dark, experience nightmares, or simply don't want to take time out for something as mundane as sleep.

For centuries, we have attempted to decode our dreams. Here, find out what experts say they could symbolize. Whether we're losing our teeth, falling from a tall building, or being chased by a vicious attacker, at some point, we all have dreams that may seem absurd. But according to many psychologists, the mental pictures we conjure while we're asleep can speak volumes about our waking hopes and fears.

Most Americans aren't getting enough Z's. Learn how to get the sleep you need. Today, the average American gets about seven hours of sleep on weeknights and seven and a half hours of sleep on the weekends, according to the National Sleep Foundation. However, most experts recommend that adults get a minimum of eight hours' sleep a night.

If you've been diagnosed with sleep apnea, a good night's sleep may seem like a dream. Try these tips to get your Z's. While you were sleeping, you may have woken up hundreds of times without knowing it—if you have sleep apnea, that is. Experts put the number of Americans with sleep apnea between 12 and 18 million, including many who are untreated and undiagnosed.

Insomnia affects more than 70 million Americans. Find out more about what's keeping you awake at night. "To sleep, perchance to dream." Shakespeare's famed words sound so tranquil, but if you've ever read Hamlet, you know the story's about to take a bad turn. For many Americans, sleep is also a maddening prospectrepresenting hours of tossing and turning with little to show for it other than the eventual fatigue, irritability, and exhaustion.

Can't get a good night's sleep? Follow these easy guidelines. If you can't seem to get a good night's sleep, you're not alone—more than 70 million Americans suffer from sleep problems, according to the National Institutes of Health. The good news is, many of these issues can be solved by simply changing your daily routine and creating a better sleep environment.

Many people successfully kick the habit, and you can too. Here, the top 10 benefits of smoke-free living. Although the health risks associated with smoking are irrefutable, many people have difficulty butting out. After all, nicotine is a powerful drug, and when smokers quit, they can experience withdrawal symptoms ranging from anger and irritability to headaches and insomnia.