Obesity, specially in the United States, is epidemic. There’s lots of causes, quite a few still being identified, but research studies indicate one of them almost definitely is lack of sleep.
We get less sleep than in the past
Over the past century, the normal night’s rest has moved from nine hours nightly to six and three-quarters hours, research shows. This decrease in sleep time is paralleled by the increase in body weight in the U.S. population. One potential cause: adequate rest accounts for several weight and appetite controlling hormones, including human growth hormone, leptin, phrelin and ghrelin.
Just over the past four decades, routine sleep length of time has decreased by one and a half to two hours. The percentage of young adults sleeping less than seven hours per night has much more than doubled, from 15.6 percent in 1960 to 37.1 per cent in 2002.
A study introduced at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in 2006 showed that middle-aged females who sleep five or fewer hours every night weigh around Read the rest of this entry »

Sleep Apnea
Loud snores could seem comical, but obstructive sleep apnea is no joke. It is able to raise your chance of high blood pressure levels and diabetes — and even make you more threatening on the road.
Sleep Apnea Related Health Issues:
High blood pressure. Obstructive sleep apnea can cause hypertension in those who have it. The repeated nighttime wakings that plague sufferers induce hormonal systems to go into overdrive, which results in high blood pressure levels at nighttime. Reduced blood-oxygen levels, caused by the cutoff of air, might also play a role in hypertension in those with sleep apnea. The good news: Many people with high blood pressure that are treated for sleep apnea can cut back on their blood pressure drugs.
Heart problems. Those with obstructive sleep apnea are apt to undergo heart attacks and die in the middle of the night. The causes could be low oxygen or the stress of waking up repeatedly while sleeping. Stroke and atrial fibrillation – a issue with the rhythm of the heartbeat — may also be linked to obstructive sleep apnea. The disturbed oxygen flow brought on by sleep apnea can make it tough for your brain to regulate the blood flow in arteries and also the brain itself.
Type 2 diabetes. Sleep apnea is rather typical among people with type 2 diabetes Read the rest of this entry »

Problems Sleeping?
Depression is a mood dysfunction that is described as sadness or feeling blue. Almost everyone feels sad or down from time to time. Sometimes, however, the sad feelings end up intense, continue for extended periods of time, and prevent a person from leading a normal life
How Are Sleep Problems and Depression Linked?
An inability to sleep, or insomnia, is among the signs of depression. (A percentage of depressed people, approximately 15%, oversleep or sleep excessively.) Lack of sleep alone cannot result in depression, however it does play a part. Insufficient sleep caused by another medical illness or by personal problems can make depression worse. A failure to get to sleep that lasts over a long period of time is also an important hint that somebody could be depressed.
What Remedies Are Available for Depression-Related Insomnia?
Usually, once the depression is successfully treated, symptoms of insomnia will improve.
Therapy choices for depression will depend on how severe the illness is. The most efficient remedy for depression is actually a mixture of psychotherapy (counseling or talk therapy) and prescription medication. Read the rest of this entry »

Sleeping Problems
If you are among the many who wake up each morning more tired than you went to bed something is probably causing you sleeping problems that you might not even be aware of.
Sleeping Problems Have Many Causes
Some sleeping problems are caused by obvious factors that are easily controllable. Things like coffee in the evenings, babies with a difficult schedule, or outside noises quite clearly can cause sleeping problems very easily. But other reason for sleeping problems are not always so clear. Here are three causes of sleeping problems you might not be aware of and may be robbing you of sleep nightly.
Undiagnosed GERD
If you don’t know what “GERD” (GastroEsophageal Reflux Disorder) is, don’t feel bad. Read the rest of this entry »

Antidepressant Pills
Another report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics shows that over a 10-year period of time, the utilization of antidepressant medications has skyrocketed across the U . S . by a staggering 400 percent – as the levels of those identified as having Major Depressive Disorder (the scientific name for depression) and anxiety disorders has substantially accelerated.
With the production of Prozac and other alike drugs, more than one out of every 10 Americans over the age of 12 now uses an antidepressant, as per the conclusions. Researchers reviewed data collected from 12,637 individuals who participated in the center’s National Health and Nutrition Assessment Surveys, which asks for details from around 5,000 Americans of every age group every year. Various antidepressant medications were the third most frequent prescribed drug utilized by Americans of all ages in 2005-2008 and the most often used by persons aged 18-44 years. The nearly quadruple rate of antidepressant use was from 1988-1994 through 2005-2008.