If you struggle to fall asleep at night or lay awake for hours, that’s often a sign of high cortisol at night. Under healthy circumstances, cortisol levels are higher in the morning and lower towards the end of the day. But chronic stress, poor sleep habits, and a not-so-restful evening routine can leave cortisol levels higher at bedtime.
Read MoreSleeplessness and insomnia. Are these perceived maladies a blessing or a burden? Well, if you’re Adam Young, (creator of the well-known song, “Fireflies”), insomnia could be the key to your success. (1) However, even though insomnia may be an advantage when creating amazing music, writing your latest novel, or finishing that last-minute project due the next day, it’s typically a good rule of thumb to sleep at least a solid 7 hours per night. (2) Solid sleep is critical for our immune system (2, 3) and one component of good sleep is melatonin.
Read MoreWhat’s your best defense against viruses, especially considering that “Viruses, including SARS, and influenza, can change quickly, thereby negating the efficacy of developed vaccines and targeted antiviral drugs (1)”? The answer might be sleep.
Read MoreHere are a few more sleep straegies
Read MoreLearn some key tips in part 2 of this How To Get Better Sleep series.
Read MoreWith sleep being such an important factor in immune function, what can we do to get better sleep? What does better sleep mean? Ideally, 7-9 hours of deep sleep. Since sleep cycles are around 90 minutes in length, 8 hours in bed with 7.5 hours of deep sleep + 30 minutes to fall asleep or wind down is a commonly recommended amount and equals 5 sleep cycles.
Read MoreDid you know that 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night is necessary for most teens and adults to support healthy immune function? In one particular study, it was found that sleeping 6 hours or less created a 4-fold higher risk of developing a cold following exposure than subjects who slept more than 7 hours per night (1).
Read MoreWhether you’re addicted to sugar, bread, ice cream, diet coke, or want to sleep at least 7.5 hours each night instead of 6, most everyone has a habit they want to change for the better. What’s yours? Is your daily life in line with who you want to be 5 or 20 years from now?
Read MoreSleep plays a huge part in the development of babies, adolescents and teens. Missing 30 – 60 minutes of sleep could impact how the child feels the next day or two. Parents know that sleep is important, but how much sleep should children be getting? We are going to break down how much sleep children should be getting based on age, side effects of not enough sleep, and some great bed time routines.
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