Sleeping After Lunch

We all know that after having lunch we feel so sleepy that we cannot concentrate on anything else.Its a common practice among all persons, especially in students and working people. To avoid sleep some skips their lunch and some drinks caffeine to be awake. Feeling sleepy after lunch is just a psychological aspect. We have heard people telling that “a day without tea makes their head blast like a volcano”. So this sleeping problem can be handled in many ways. Lazy people always use some tricks but for the ones working very hard can adopt some techniques so that they can be fit and fine after a meal.
First of all, minimum a good sleep of 7 hours is important. If sleep is not proper, then you will feel sleepy. Lunch should be a very normal one. Do not include much of non-veg items in your lunch. Always eat healthy and non-oily food.

The more you eat the more stomach takes time to digest it and hence you feel sleepy. Have a control on your diet. Look out what you are going to eat and how healthy is that for you. In break time you can have some drinks like tea, coffee or a chilled fresh juice. At least 10 minutes of break should be given after every hour. Exercise should also be done like a walk in your office or a talk with your friends cracking jokes and having fun all around. This will also keep you happy as well as energetic to work in the next session. Students also feel sleepy after lunch and even they can follow the same methods. That is why in schools and colleges a 10 minute break is provided after every hour. Eating lunch by setting a time table is also preferable to avoid sleeping after lunch. These tips can be taken into consideration.

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Teen Healthcare Can Be Based on Sleep Needs

A Brigham and Women’s Hospital study that was recently conducted showed a definitive link between the number of hours a teenager may sleep and the food choices those teenagers make. Sleep medicine specialist Dr. Susan Redline conducted the study whose team studied 240 teenagers. These teenage subjects ages ranged from 16 to 19 and all lived at home.

These teen subjects wore a wrist device that traced the number of hours of sleep they received on three nights. One-third slept the nine hours of recommended sleep each night, while the overall group average was seven and a half hours per night. The interesting fact is that the study determined that the teen subjects who slept less than eight hours per night consumed more fat calories than their peers who slept more than eight hours per night. Girls had a higher percentage than did the boys.

Parents will usually agree that sleep is a good thing for their teenagers; but on the other hand getting them to get that sleep is rather difficult. There are a number of ways to help teens sleep better including some changes in lifestyle.

Teens tend to feel things more intensely including relationships and events. This causes an increase in adrenalin. This adrenalin rush can be counterproductive in the sleep cycle. Parents should try reducing television and other sensory input and replace them with more relaxing activities. Reading and relaxing drinks such as herbal teas can help. Some studies say that eating a potato before bed can help raise the serotonin level in the brain. This rise in serotonin will aid sleep.

Talking to your teen about the importance of sleep can help. According to an article published in Prevention Magazine, humans can survive much longer without food, than without sleep. Sleep is very important in overall health.

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In The News: Study Shows High Death Rates in Insomniacs

A new 14-year healthcare study has shown that men who are insomniacs have death rate that is four times higher than men who sleep normally. These normal sleepers get a minimum of six hours per night of sleep. The risk of death is even higher for male insomniacs who also have other disease such as elevated blood pressure or diabetes.

Dr. Alexandros N. Vgontzas and his team from Penn State conducted the study. Dr. Vgontzas says of the findings that he considers this a serious disease. He also states that physical problems go hand in had with other physical health problems.

This increased risk of death was only in those who describe themselves as suffering from insomnia. These subjects while in a lab setting obtain less than six hours of sleep per night. On the other hand, people who also experienced less than six hours per night but did not consider themselves insomniacs did not see a rise in death risk.

Woman have yet to see results, since the study only revealed findings for men. Apparently there are still questions. The research team did put women into the study five years after the study on men began. Because of this fact and the fact usually have a longer lifespan than their male counterparts, the final results are not yet available.

However, Dr. Vgontzas and his team do acknowledge that in earlier findings, men and women suffering insomnia do experience more elevated blood pressure, diabetes and other deficits in higher numbers than people are normal sleepers.

The team used 1,741 men and women who were randomly selected, all of whom had to spend time in the sleep lab. An interesting finding was that not all of the subjects who described themselves as insomniacs actually slept less than normal subjects. However, the study found that insomniacs who slept poorly in the lab were at an increased risk of illness and death.

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The Dangers of Self Diagnosis

Since the dawn of the Internet, people have had the ability to go online and research various conditions and some use self diagnosis to determine the cause of their aches and pains. While this can be helpful in some cases, it can be damaging to use on a regular basis.
One reason is that self diagnosing can be incorrect and this can cause the real issue to get worse while treating something that is not wrong. By not seeing a professional, there may be a real issue that needs addressing that doesn’t get looked at before it gets worse. Also, many conditions have the same effects that others do, leading to the wrong diagnosis. Not only can someone be treating something that isn’t wrong with them, in the meantime the real cause of their symptoms is going untreated and possibly worsening.
This is especially important with certain ailments that can be caused by serious issues such as cancer, tumors, kidney malfunctions, bacterial infections and liver problems. These are examples of sicknesses that need addressing by a trained and professional physician, not on a computer screen. In addition, a doctor will be the one who has to prescribe medicine to you unless you get it online as well and that can be dangerous if you don’t know the correct diagnosis or the correct dosage of a product. Even if you have the issue before, it can be best to see your physician so that they can determine why you are getting the same ailment more than once.
While online research can help address many problems, it is always best to be backed up by a doctor’s visit to be certain your diagnosis was correct. You can also let your doctor know what you found in order to help them but only a valid test can help you set your mind at ease that you are getting the proper treatment.
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Rumors and myths about gout

Gout was once known as “the King’s disease” or the “rich man’s disease” because only the wealthy and the nobility were afflicted with it. Most people don’t realize that gout is actually a form of arthritis, and that there are multiple kinds of gout. In fact, this disease is often misunderstood and rumors about what cause it and how can be treated run rampant. But for those suffering from this condition, it is important to separate truth from fiction.

Rumor: Gout starts in the toes.
Gout can start in the toes, and the first attack is often accompanied by the toes turning red, feeling hot to the touch, and swelling. The affected joint is also extremely tender. But some people have also reported pain in their heels or other joints. The ankle, knee, or even the fingers can start aching with the first attack of gout as well.

Rumor: Once a person has a gout attack, they will happen regularly.
People can go months and in some occasions even years between gout attacks. In one study, 7% of patients did not have any recurrence of gout for 10 years after the first attack. Normally, though, a second attack happens somewhere between six months and two years after the first. A large majority of patients can expect a second attack within a year. But as this suggests, it is impossible to tell just when a gout attack will occur or how much time will pass between attacks. Each attack, however, does tend to increase in severity.

Rumor: Rich food and too much meat cause gout.
Gout is caused by a buildup of uric acid in the joints. Uric acid builds up when the kidneys cannot clean it out of the blood as fast as it is produced or when the body begins to produce too much. Sometimes the combination causes acid build up. Foods rich in purines, which include all meat, do contribute to a buildup of uric acid when broken down by the body, but dietary restrictions are now considered secondary treatments to gout medications.

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Understanding Asthma

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For millions of Americans, wheezing and coughing are a part of everyday life. In the United States, nearly 34.1 million people have been diagnosed with asthma. But sometimes a diagnosis like asthma can lead to more questions than answers.

Asthma is caused by a combination of airway constriction and inflammation. When someone has an asthma attack, the muscles in their chest tighten, making it harder to take air into the lungs. This is known as bronchoconstriction. The other half of the equation is inflammation. If you have asthma, your lungs are always inflamed – whether you notice it or not. This inflammation means that your lungs are irritated and swollen. In turn, these symptoms make the airways in your lungs smaller, and thus less able to take in air. As a result, air cannot move around as freely within the lungs as it should.

When someone has an asthma attack, it means that their lungs are more inflamed than normal and that the muscles in their chest have tightened causing wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath and what generally feels like an inability to get air.

The results of these asthma attacks can feel devastating. On average, the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology says that children miss 13 million days of school each year due to asthma problems and adults miss 10.1 million days of work.

Because of the huge effects asthma can have on companies, schools and individuals, the most practical question – and not only for those suffering from asthma but from their families and work places as well -is how to control asthma symptoms and how to avoid having severe asthma attacks.

The first thing is to know yourself and your triggers. Little things like breathing cold air or inhaling the wrong allergens can have a huge effect on someone’s asthma. Know yourself. If cold air causes your chest to tighten, take a minute to warm up before climbing a set of stairs.

Knowing your triggers and using the right medication will never cure asthma, but it will make living with it much easier.

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Living with Parkinson’s

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Getting diagnosed with Parkinson’s can feel like a running into a brick wall in the middle of your life. The disease, characterized by tremors in the limbs, a stiff trunk or a loss of balance, is chronic with no cure. But, early detection and treatment can help keep the disease manageable for many years at a time.

The way a patient feels about living with Parkinson’s depends a lot on the doctor who delivers the initial diagnoses. If the doctor is patient and explains the medicine and the research, a patient may take the news with a relative level of acceptance. If, however, the emphasis is instead placed on the numerous side effects and the chronic nature of the disease the outlook appears a bit grimmer and the patient may experience feelings of slight depression or even denial. Studies have shown that depression is more common in females, and in certain cases psychological counseling should play a role.

Parkinson’s disease occurs when dopamine producing cells in the brain start firing in a random fashion. This reduces the patient’s ability to control smooth muscle movements, resulting in the tremors that gave Parkinson’s its original name “shaking palsy”.

Because Parkinson’s is a degenerative disease, however, it is important both for the patient and those who care about him or her that treatment begins quickly. Quick treatment means that the degenerative path of the disease can be slowed or even postponed for many years.

Stress, whether from daily life, from coping with the disease, or even from the original diagnoses, hampers the body’s ability to function correctly. In Parkinson’s patients stress can increase symptoms and make muscle movements harder to control. When living with Parkinson’s, it becomes extremely important to take time to relieve stress and give the body and chance to relax.

One of the best ways to relieve stress is by exercising. Exercise is extremely important for Parkinson’s patients, as it can help to improve balance and prevent joints from stiffening as the disease progresses. Even taking walks can help keep a person with Parkinson’s healthier and happier for longer.

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