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Sleep is that critical for living a healthy and happy lifestyle. Your body heals when you sleep. Minor aches and pains can improve, mood can be elevated, and you just feel better all the way around when you get the proper amount of sleep. In fact, as many of you may know, too much sleep can make you feel groggy and lethargic!

So how much sleep is enough sleep?

As stated earlier, it is different for each person. In fact, sleep requirements differ by age and body health as well. For a typical, healthy adult, sleeping at least six hours per day but not more than nine hours per day is recommended for optimal performance and health. The National Sleep Foundation indicated that people who only sleep four to five hours per day or who sleep in short spurts show a negative impact on their health and behavior. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be long term negative consequences to sleeping too much.

How can I tell if I’m getting enough sleep for my body?

It really is quite simple to determine if you’re getting enough sleep. Do you wake up feeling refreshed and energized, or tired and groggy? Do you often wake up naturally or are you forcing yourself out of bed to the ringing of the alarm clock after hitting the snooze button several times? Do you become sleepy and lethargic during the day, particularly in the mid-afternoon? Do you suffer from aches and pains that have no physical explanation? Do you find that you are grumpy and short tempered during the day with no real explanation for that mood?

All of these things may be a sign of not getting enough sleep. If you suffer from depression or other mood disorders, you’ll likely find that these conditions are worse when you are lacking in quality sleep. When you are ill or have an injury, you’ll also find your body requires more sleep than it would when you are not.

The main way to tell if you’re getting enough sleep is to be sure to get 6-8 hours of sleep each night, and then judge how you feel, how your body feels, and how tired you are, and adjust your sleep schedule until you are waking fully rested each morning.

Sleep Deficit? What’s a sleep deficit?
When you regularly do not get enough sleep, your body stores up a sleep deficit, so that you may find yourself on a weekend doing what I like to call a ‘crash and burn’ where you will fall asleep and not wake for 10-12 hours!

This is your body’s way of trying to ‘catch up’ on the sleep it’s been lacking and storing up a deficit. At some point, you’re body has to make up for this lost sleep, and you will find that when you’ve stored up a sleep deficit, it can take several days of restful, quality sleep to make up for the deficit.

I’m sleeping more than six to eight hours per night, but I still don’t feel rested.

Just going to bed and sleeping is not necessarily enough to get the quality of sleep you need. Your body and muscles repair and heal themselves when you’re sleeping, but for this to happen, you generally have to be asleep solid for four or more continuous hours, and you need to be in the quality deep sleep that allows for healing.

It’s possible that you may sleep through the night, but for some reason, you are not ever reaching that deeper restorative sleep required to feel rested.

So what should I do to sleep better?

First, you want to try to lower any disturbances that might affect your sleep. I know, I’ve heard and even said it myself, that I sleep better with some noise, or the television or radio on. The truth is, you won’t sleep better with that type of noise. Your brain will still be hearing and processing sounds even if you are asleep, so the television and radio will not help you sleep better.

If you must have sound, try white noise, such as the static on a between stations played lowly in the background, or have a fan on in the room to drown out other noises. If you must, buy an environmental sounds generator. If you simply cannot fall asleep without the television or radio, get a timer for it so that once you actually fall asleep, the noise stops and allows your brain to rest too.

Cut off eating at least two to three hours before you go to bed. Not only will this help with sleeping better because your body will be mostly finished digesting and ready to sleep, but it will also help with your metabolism and if you are needing to watch your weight, this is important. Try to use the restroom before going to bed and don’t drink anything an hour or so prior to going to sleep.

Keep the room dark and at a cool and comfortable temperature. If you must have light in the room, use a small blue glow light and put it out of the line of your vision so it’s not shining on your eyes while you sleep.

Avoid caffeine and spicy foods close to bedtime, and it’s best to stop any caffeine after lunchtime for the best sleep. Alcohol prior to bedtime can also disrupt sleep, even though you may feel it helps make you sleepy.

I have done all these things, but I still don’t feel rested. What should I do?

If you are having trouble falling asleep or find you wake frequently during the night, you may have insomnia or some other sleep disturbance and you should visit your health care professional to discuss options. Sleep apnea and snoring can interrupt quality sleep. Stress, injury and tension can disrupts sleep and certain mood and mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety, can also affect sleep.

If you’ve done everything you know to get a good, restful night’s sleep, but you find you just can’t get enough rest or wake tired or are lethargic during the day, it’s time to visit your doctor or health care professional to discover if there is a physical condition that is preventing quality sleep.

More tips about how to get better sleep here.

How many times has it happened to you?

You did everything right today: you ate all nutritious meals, only had an apple for a mid-day snack, exercised, ate a balanced dinner, only to find that at night, you’re snacking on potato chips, or something else not healthy, while watching TV?

You’re not alone.

Here are 10 tips to help you stop-or limit–eating unhealthy snacks at night:

1. Eat the right kind of late night snacks

According to the American Dietetic Association, snacking at night is great, if you’re snacking on the right foods. ” Crackers and low fat cheese, yogurt and fruit, cereal and milk or peanut butter and apple slices are good options. Eating snacks with both carbohydrate and protein helps the body stay fueled.”

2. Take all unhealthy snack foods out of your home

I’ve said this before, but it’s really the best option. If the food is not in the house, you can’t eat it. Take away the temptation before the temptation takes over you.

3. Drink your late-night snack

Having a relaxing cup of tea or sugar-free hot chocolate can help curb your appetite, and leave you relaxed and ready to get a good night’s sleep. The benefits of drinking green, or other caffeine free teas are well known.

4. Don’t snack, exercise-or visualize your work-out for the next day

Now, I’m not saying go for a full-fledged workout, but doing a few lunges, squats, push-ups, arm stretches, sit-ups, etc, can keep you busy, so you don’t snack. Or keep a journal outlining all of the things you will do for Iowa Avenue’s Tight Ass campaign………..)

5. Stretch your body

According to a recent article at MSNBC, “A regular stretching program may actually enhance performance, making people stronger and increasing their endurance.” So, tonight, while you’re watching your TV program, sit on the floor and stretch your legs. Your body will thank you in the morning.

6. Take up a hobby

Choosing a hobby that uses your hands and mind helps keeps you busy so you’re less likely to grab a bag of caramel popcorn. Plus, when your project is finished, you’ll have a finished product to share. Just think, while you’re losing weight, you can make you next cute sweater. You’ll be able to show off you new body in the new sweater you made. Or have late night sex, hmmm, now there’s a topic for a different day!

7. Grab a book

It isn’t easy to read and snack at the same time. With both hands holding a book, it’s harder to snack. But it is essential that you do try and read it also.

8. Write a blog entry

If you’re hands are busy typing, it much harder to eat. Plus, do you want potato chip grease on your keyboard?

9. Make a rule - set-up personal boundaries.

Although I’m not a huge fan of rules–because I think rules were made to be broken–if it helps you stick to your eating and weight-loss plan-why not?

No unhealthy food after 8:00pm.

Or better yet, don’t eat anything after 8:00pm, period.

10. Clean your living room.

If you need to keep your hands busy while watching TV, you’re welcome to clean your living room while watching your evening program. Most TV shows don’t need your undivided attention, so why not get the job done at night? It’ll keep you busy and moving during American Idol………………:)

If you have other tips other than these 10 to help curb your late night snacking, just comment, and I’ll publish them for our IA community.

Feeling good about ourselves and what we do, makes us happy, because,

After all, it’s about a healthy lifestyle!

Stress affects people in different ways, but it is usually only the severity of the symptoms that differs while the actual symptoms remain basically the same. Some people are much easier to stress than others while some lose their cool for the slightest reasons, others can seemingly take a lot before the give in to stress and begin to show the common signals related to stress.

Stress can also be divided into two categories, short-term stress and long-term stress. Stress is generally regarded as short term if a situation comes up that you aren’t used to in everyday life such as an interview, an exam or going to the dentist. While the signals of short term stress and long term stress are the same, if you are only stressed in the short term these feelings are only with you on the day of the event or just before and quickly disappear once the event has passed. Once this has passed your body settles down and you think no more about the feelings of stress and anxiety and it passes with no trouble.

However, long term stress differs because it has the same signals as short term stress only they are with you almost everyday, constantly affecting your body and mind and developing into deep seated anxiety and panic attacks occasionally, if left to its own devices.

The common signals listed below could be warning signs that you are suffering from stress, either in the short term or long term and can vary from person to person in the severity

1. The feelings of butterflies or knots in your stomach

2. Feeling cold sweats and feeling very flushed or hot

3. Your mouth feels as dry as a desert or that it is full of cotton wool

4. Your heart seems to pound or beat much more quickly than it should

5. Your hands may feel cold and they may tremble

6. You lose the ability to concentrate and even think properly

7. You feel a terrible feeling that you cant describe

8. Your head feels as though a tight band of steel is encircling it and is pulling tighter and tighter

9. Your skin feels itchy or as some people put it as though something is crawling beneath your skin

10. You find it hard to settle down and often your sleeping patterns change with you laying awake for hours while feeling exhausted

11. You sleep but wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed

12. Your energy levels drop and you begin to feel lethargic and have no interest in the things you once did

All the above are the most common signals that you are stressed and that you should take steps towards eliminating some of the stress from your life or finding adequate ways to be able to release the stress from your body and mind. If your level of stress is particularly high or if you have long-term stress then you should take advice from your doctor as you may need medication to get you back on track while you develop ways to beat stress.

Burnout is a term that is closely related to stress. Burnout occurs when your body and mind are continually stressed to the point when you begin to develop emotional and physical fatigue. If you have been continually subjected to high levels of stress over an extended period of time it can bring feelings that eventually have an effect on every aspect of your life, you are then said to have “burnout”.

While burnout is related to severe stress, it is different from just being excessively stressed. Many people live for years with long-term stress without “burning out”. While signs and symptoms of burnout can be very similar to those felt when stressed, when you “burnout”, you have the symptoms of stress but along with this also feelings of emotional exhaustion and negativity.

The signs that you may be heading for “burnout” include the following symptoms, lower down the scale indicates symptoms you may feel the closer to “burnout” you become.

• You begin to have problems with your digestive system
• Your blood pressure starts to rise
• You begin to suffer severe headaches
• You start grinding your teeth consistently
• You begin to feel extremely fatigued
• You may suffer from heart problems or even heart attack
• You may suffer from stroke
• You begin to feel increasingly hopeless and powerless
• You begin to feel dissociation
• Satisfaction from work and life in general deteriorates
• Feelings of deep resentment build up
• You feel in a rut and there is no way out
• You become withdrawn and totally isolated
• You feel incompetent and a total failure

The end result of these symptoms show one as suffering from “burnout” due to continual and unrelenting long periods of stress, they are nothing more than the result of an extremely tired body and mind. At the time of actual “burnout” you will be experiencing problems not only at work but also with relationships and almost every aspect of what you used to know as “normal” life.

In order to prevent burnout it is important that you recognize the symptoms and try to eliminate as much stress as possible from your life. Stress management is essential to prevent burnout and using stress management techniques can prevent many of the symptoms. To reduce burnout or prevent it you can take the following precautions by making changes to your physical, mental and social well-being.

• Have a complete physical with your doctor
• Make sure you eat a health diet
• Make sure you are getting enough daily exercise
• Make sure you get enough sleep
• Learn relaxation techniques to deal with stress and stressful situations

While the majority of people do actively try to take care of their physical health by exercising and eating a sensible diet most don’t stop to think about the other side that completes a happy, healthy individual, their mental health. Here are some tips for excellent self-care:

• Treat your body – while we exercise to take care of our body we should also remember to give it a treat, pamper it a little. This could be by way of a massage after a hard days work when it is tired and stressed or something as simple as standing up and giving it a stretch to ease knotted muscles.

• Take time out – refresh your body and mind by giving yourself some space, some time just for you, this could be as little as five minutes where you find peace and solitude by closing your eyes and deep breathing. The longer you can take time out from your busy day just for yourself the better.

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