Your children are ready for school. You have bought clothes and supplies, but you should ensure that they get proper sleep the night before.

During sleep, the body repairs itself. Each day’s activities place wear and tear on the body. At night, the body shuts down all non-vital systems so it can get to work. Repair to damaged cells and organs are attended to during the sleep cycle. Different brain chemicals are secreted to ensure that you get to sleep and stay that way.

The average person needs about eight hours of sleep each night. For children, teens and older people this number can vary depending on age, but most aren’t getting even the minimum requirement.

Without enough sleep, the body begins to show visible signs of wear. Your brain can’t focus and concentration at school and at work becomes an issue. The immune system can become compromised. Lack of proper time to repair can lead to increased illness and stress-related problems.

Following are guidelines for how much sleep children need:

Preschoolers

Preschool age children are attending an educational setting at least half a day. With the increased activity, they may need longer periods of rest. In this age group, 10 to 12 hours a night is recommended. Since this is almost half the day, they may not need to nap in the middle of the day.

Young School-Age Children

Attending school for a full day can be a shock to their system. Your child may come home tired and sleepy after their first few full days of class. At this age, children require about the same amount of sleep as when they were preschoolers. A nap time is built into many school schedules. You can compensate by lowering their nightly sleep regimen by an hour or so. The nap can leave them ready for activity when they come home. This period of time is important as it lets them wind down from school before bedtime.

Teenagers

Teens still need at least eight to nine hours of sleep a night. Often, activities keep them from achieving this on a regular basis, but it is a must. Trying to catch up on sleep on the weekend never works and can leave a permanent deficit that affects their waking activities.

For all school-age children, set a regular bedtime and try to stick to it. This will ensure that enough sleep is received to promote health, concentration and a positive mood.

It never feels good when you just can’t keep your eyes open anymore and it’s only two o’clock in the afternoon. Power napping is the newest consideration in the area of office productivity. The concept has been around for a long time, but now it is more widely accepted as a practice. Power napping is one of the most effective ways to help you get a second wind on a busy day. It doesn’t take as much time as you think and you can do it on your lunch hour.

Causes of Sleeplessness

The human body needs about eight hours of sleep a night. Most people don’t get that much, usually between six and eight hours. When you don’t get enough sleep, the body doesn’t have time to repair itself properly. This can lead to irritability, increased stress and decreased productivity. It can also lower your life expectancy.

However, when you get too much sleep, nine or more hours, it can leave you feeling tired even though you have just slept all night.

Benefits of a Nap

Afternoon naps are widely accepted for children, but not for adults. The fact is that after eight hours of moving around, the body needs a rest, and adult bodies need one, too. That is where the power nap comes in.

Here are just a few benefits of taking a midday break:

* Increased productivity – When your body starts to wind down, your brain begins to shut down. It is hard to keep working at your previous pace. Once energized after a nap, you can perform just as well as you did when you first arrived at the office.

* Increased focus – We’ve talked about the brain shutting down. It starts wandering around when we get tired. The words you need to finish that report are floating around just beyond your reach, especially after lunch. That can change with a power nap.

* Less stress – When we are tired, our fuses get shorter. We are more likely to lash out at others or overreact to a simple situation. To regain your composure and your level of well-being, a brief respite could be what you need.

The Ideal Power Nap

The ideal power nap is between 15 and 30 minutes. Find a quiet place like your car, or your office if you have a door. Turn the light down low to induce a sleep cycle. Close your eyes and relax.

The best time to power nap is when you begin to feel sleepy. You are already relaxing. If you need to, set an alarm so that you don’t oversleep.

Power napping is one way to re-energize your body midway through your day. Maybe you can’t take a long nap like you did when you were a child, but you can still catch a few beneficial winks.

What Is Restless Leg Syndrome?

Restless leg syndrome or RLS is the term used to describe the movement of your legs when your body is at rest. Those who have this condition often say that they have an uncontrollable urge to move their legs even though they want to go to sleep.

The only thing that seems to make the legs feel better is to move them, but if it is midnight, you would rather be asleep than walking around.

Millions of people are affected by this condition. While some have inherited it, the incidence of RLS can increase as you get older. In any case, as the day winds down, your legs are just ramping up. If you have been experiencing this, it’s time to get help.

There are many different words used to describe the sensation, but here are just a few:

* Crawling
* Tingling
* Pain
* Electric feeling
* Tension
* Itching
* Burning
* Creeping feeling.

This occurs throughout the entire leg. It is often felt in the calves and thighs. Some people even feel these sensations in their feet and hands.

No one exactly knows why restless leg syndrome occurs. It is believed by researchers to be linked to the level of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, specifically dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that controls muscle movement in the body. Low levels of it are believed to lead to problems like this.

You can reduce the incidence of discomfort in your legs with a few tips:

* Get exercise. Muscles change and grow as they respond to stress placed upon them. This is what happens when you get your body pumping with exercise like aerobics and weight training. The muscles need time to rest and repair after a good workout, and this can lead to a calmer night for you.

* Avoid caffeine and other stimulants. If you need to feel refreshed in the morning then have a cup of coffee, but try to avoid drinking it too late in the afternoon. Caffeine can over stimulate you and even increase your leg movement at night.

* Engage your mind. If your body has to sit, then let the mind stay busy. In the evenings, try reading a stimulating book, engage in a little “neur-obics” with crossword puzzles, or try a hobby such as sewing, model building or painting.

* Take a relaxing bath. Muscles become more pliable and relaxed in the presence of warmth. Try a nightly soak in the bathtub with infusions of lavender or chamomile. Both are herbs that are used to relax the body. Give those legs a good rub as well to settle them down.

Restless leg syndrome can disrupt your sleep cycle and your entire life. Use the tips above to help alleviate as many symptoms as you can to get your life back under control.

Grinding of the teeth is an involuntary condition. It involves clenching of the teeth at night and also creating friction as you move your teeth back and forth over one another. Most people don’t even know that they are doing it until they wake. Then, they often experience headaches, jaw pain and even problems with their teeth.

Grinding can occur at any age. It often occurs in children; however, usually outgrow it once their permanent teeth start to come in.

If it occurs on a regular basis, it can lead to cracked, chipped or worn down teeth. Not only will it affect your appearance, but also your speech and the ultimate health of your teeth. It is best to try and stop the grinding of the teeth before any serious condition arises.

Solutions for Bruxism

Bruxism is the medical term for grinding of the teeth. If you notice that you wake up with a headache or jaw problems, see your dentist. They can do a comprehensive exam of your entire mouth to see if they can discern the cause. If they find that you are grinding your teeth, they can offer ways to help you.

* Cut down on intake of stimulants. Caffeine is a stimulant that can increase your stress levels, especially around bedtime. Avoid caffeinated drinks and even chocolate before bedtime.

* Cut down on alcohol consumption. It is believed that drinking alcohol increases the incidents of tooth grinding.

* Avoid chewing on objects as a way of dealing with stress. Some people chew on pencils or pen tops when they think. They may also have an oral fixation and need to chew on anything when they are anxious. It creates stress in the jaws, and also makes it easier for you to continue to grind your teeth. Chewing gum is also not a good habit to have if you suffer from bruxism.

* Wear a mouth guard at night. A dentist can fit you for a mouth guard to help you to stop grinding your teeth. You can use this as a last resort if your tooth grinding is getting worse. It may take some getting used to.

* Retrain your jaw. While you work, place your tongue between your teeth to relax your jaw.

* Practice relaxation techniques for stress management. If stress has led to your tooth grinding, then finding ways to manage your stress will help you to relax not only your jaw, but also the rest of your body.

Tooth grinding can lead to more serious dental problems if not treated. Use the tips above to help yourself avoid them.

The body needs sleep, it but we all know that falling asleep is hard to achieve sometimes. The answer for you may be found in meditation.

Meditation is a state of mind where the body and mind are working together to bring peace and well-being to the body. It is not just taking a minute for a breather, but learning to allow your mind to slow down, and in turn to cause your body to do the same.

Meditation has been prescribed for years for a variety of conditions. It has been called upon to help with stress relief, depression, physical fitness and behavioral modification for anxiety and other mental conditions. There is also a meditative process to the exercise of yoga.

You certainly know that when you go to bed, you don’t fall asleep right away. The mind tries to download and catalog the events of your day, much like a computer hard drive. You go over the mistakes, the happy moments and the fact that you have just as much to do the next day. Even though you have an event calendar, your mind has to “de-stress” for a while.

Meditation can help you to focus your thoughts so that you can fall asleep faster, and also help you to stay asleep. While the mind downloads at night, that process can take a little longer if you are under stress. It can also lead to insomnia.

There are medications that can be prescribed by your doctor for sleeplessness. One issue that you will want to discuss with your doctor is the potential side effects of such medications. Many people worry about the addictive properties of some sleep aids. Over-the-counter medications can be taken too frequently and lead to problems.

Meditation

Meditation doesn’t require anything but you and a quiet place to perform your techniques. Anyone can perform simple meditation to help get a good night’s sleep.

Begin with a quiet place. It can be your bedroom, living room or someplace that you have set aside for mediation. Sit on the floor or in a chair, but make sure that you are comfortable.

Meditation can start with a mantra, like the traditional “om” that most people recite. This is your focal point. Now, the mind is easily distracted by noises or even your own thoughts. When you notice a rogue thought coming into your head, refocus again on the object of your focus.

You can also use guided meditation. By using a CD or a script, you can learn to focus your mind and body. Concentrate on your breathing and also feeling your body losing all of its tension. A body that is free of tension is better able to fall sleep.

Meditation is one way to help when you are having trouble sleeping. It promotes relaxation and the connection between the body and the mind.

As a parent it is your job to help your children develop healthy habits that will last for a lifetime.

Children need more sleep than adults. Their small bodies are growing at a rapid rate each and every day.
However, children want to play and eat and do everything but sleep. You already know this if you’ve ever tried to put them to bed before they were ready.

There are many theories and remedies around, but here we want to give you some tips that will help you to help them to decide that it is time for bed:

* Set a bedtime and stick to it. This will require the help of both parents. If one is out or working late, then the other parent must take charge.  For example, at eight o’clock each night, march the children to bed. They may try to get you to allow them to stay up longer, but remember that consistency is the key.

* Create a bedtime ritual. Children like to ply their parents with requests for stories, glasses of water and the tucking of the covers. Well, you can give them all of that. Just begin about half an hour earlier. If they want a bedtime story or a video, then they have to sit in their bed at seven-thirty. In addition, including a nightly bath as part of the ritual before the story will relax them.

* Offer a snack. A child won’t go to bed if their stomach is rumbling. Dinner may have been at five o’clock but it is okay for them to have a snack at seven if they will be in bed in an hour.

* Keep them busy. A playing child is also a sleepy child as the night wears on. Daily exercise can lead to better compliance and a more restful sleep at night.

* Warm the bedroom. A child will usually feel more comfortable if the room is warmer.

If your child is having trouble with going to bed at night, the above tips above may be able to help you.

Snoring is a habit that annoys those who sleep next to you – whether at home or on a trip. Sometimes the noise can sound like a freight train roaring by. If you snore, there are several actions you can take to help you stop.

1. Visit the doctor. He can diagnose if you have sleep apnea, which might be causing the snoring. Sleep apnea causes the soft tissue to cover the airway and prevent breathing. In some cases, the problem is in the brain and it forgets to tell the body to move certain muscles so that you can breathe. After your sleep apnea has been confirmed the doctor will recommend conventional treatments to resolve your condition.

2. Use nasal strips. Everyone has seen those Breathe Right nasal strips. They work on the outside of your nose to open nasal passages so that you can breathe freely. The device is a small rigid plastic strip that fits over the bridge of your nose and behind the nostrils. It tents up the nostrils to stop snoring caused by sleeping on your back or gaining weight.

3. Take a nasal decongestant. A stuffy nose can lead to snoring. Without a clear way for air to pass through the nose and mouth to the airway, you snore. Taking medicine to shrink swollen nasal passages will mean clear sinuses and unhindered breathing at night. Nasal decongestants also contain other ingredients to deal with cold and or allergy symptoms. Try to avoid ones that cause too much sleepiness, however, since if you are suffering from sleep apnea, it will only make that condition worse.

Snoring is a habit that annoys those who sleep next to you – whether at home or on a trip. Sometimes the noise can sound like a freight train roaring by. If you snore, there are several actions you can take to help you stop.

1. Visit the doctor. He can diagnose if you have sleep apnea, which might be causing the snoring. Sleep apnea causes the soft tissue to cover the airway and prevent breathing. In some cases, the problem is in the brain and it forgets to tell the body to move certain muscles so that you can breathe. After your sleep apnea has been confirmed the doctor will recommend conventional treatments to resolve your condition.

2. Use nasal strips. Everyone has seen those Breathe Right nasal strips. They work on the outside of your nose to open nasal passages so that you can breathe freely. The device is a small rigid plastic strip that fits over the bridge of your nose and behind the nostrils. It tents up the nostrils to stop snoring caused by sleeping on your back or gaining weight.

3. Take a nasal decongestant. A stuffy nose can lead to snoring. Without a clear way for air to pass through the nose and mouth to the airway, you snore. Taking medicine to shrink swollen nasal passages will mean clear sinuses and unhindered breathing at night. Nasal decongestants also contain other ingredients to deal with cold and or allergy symptoms. Try to avoid ones that cause too much sleepiness, however, since if you are suffering from sleep apnea, it will only make that condition worse.

Symptoms of sleep apnea include things that you can control, for a better night’s sleep. Smoking, weight, drinking, exercise, and medicine use are all within your power to change.

For example, just losing ten percent of your body weight can lessen the severity of your sleep apnea, as well as lower blood pressure and put less strain on your joints. Add exercise to that equation, and you have a body that is in better shape to combat the condition and oxygenate your blood.

Some use sleeping aids to get a good night’s sleep. When you have sleep apnea, these drugs can be dangerous. It is the jerking that wakes you up as the body tries to restore your breathing. If you are in too deep a sleep you will be even more oxygen-deprived.

What about surgery? Invasive techniques are often needed such that the cause will disappear, namely the tissue that is obstructing the airway. One such surgery is a tonsillectomy. It is the surgical removal of tonsils to treat obstructive sleep apnea.

Swollen tonsils can block the airway and make breathing difficult. Removing the enlarged lymph tissue opens up the airway. Adenoid tissue can also hang at the back of the throat. It is removed in a procedure called an adenoidectomy which is preformed with or without a tonsillectomy.

Those who snore a lot can reduce the symptom of snoring and obstructive breathing with a UPPP (uvulopalatopharyngoplasty). This procedure can be done using a laser to remove part of the soft palate and a portion of the uvula to widen the airway.

Pillar implants bolster up the soft palate so it doesn’t vibrate a lot and collapse over the airway during sleep. The procedure is less invasive than a UPPP and can be done in the doctor’s office.

Do you suffer from sleep apnea? The good news is that there are now many different options for your treatment. Talk to your doctors, review the results of your sleep studies together, and decide which slee

Sleep apnea is a condition in which people stop breathing numerous times throughout the night, due to either an obstruction in the airway, or through a lack of signals from the brain to trigger breathing while the person is asleep.

Sleep apnea and its resultant stoppage of breath, and thus oxygen, leads to broken rest and further physiological problems when you are awake. If you suspect you have sleep apnea, see a doctor and find out about your treatment options.

The doctor will take a history of your symptoms and use diagnostic tools, mainly a sleep study, to confirm your sleep apnea and the type. There are two types of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.

Both share similar symptoms but have a different cause. With obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), obstruction is caused by tissue in the back or top of the throat. With central sleep apnea (CSA), the brain forgets to signal the muscles responsible for breathing to work and you wake up repeatedly to restore breathing.

Treatments for sleep apnea are varied. The easiest and less invasive treatment is a CPAP machine. CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure. It is a device much like a mask that is worn on the face at night.

Blowing air is forced into the nose and/or the mouth to keep the soft tissue in the back of the throat from blocking the airway. Because the air is continuous, sleep apnea is stopped whenever the CPAP is used and normal sleep resumes.