2.94

Times more likely you are to develop a cold if you sleep fewer than seven hours a night, according to a study from Carnegie Mellon University.

Prevent Cancer with a Good Night Rest

If you've been exercising to lower your risk of cancer, you should know that logging those extra hours on the treadmill may not do as much good if you aren't logging in enough hours of sleep, too. A recent study shows that getting at least seven hours of sleep nightly can maximize the cancer prevention benefits in physically active women. This information was presented at the November 2008 cancer prevention meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.Researchers who were a part of the study reviewed the information on 5,968 Maryland women. In 1998, these women answered detailed questions regarding their activity level and typical sleep habits. Cancer statistics in the group were tracked over the following nine years. During this time, 604 new cancer cases were reported in the group.In women between the ages of 18 and 65, those who slept at least seven hours per night in addition to averaging about an hour per day of moderate exercise were 47 percent less likely to have cancer compared to women who averaged less sleep at the same activity level.Dr. James McClain from the Cancer Prevention Institute says, "What that suggests to us is among younger and middle-aged women, both physical activity and sleep habits might play an important role in reducing cancer risk." McClain points out the full cancer prevention benefit comes from being active and getting enough rest, not just sleeping more without exercise. But he adds, "Getting adequate sleep has been long associated with health."In fact, lack of sleep has been linked to serious conditions such as diabetes, stroke, heart disease and depression. The fact that sleep may help to prevent cancer in active women is just another reason to make an effort to catch those extra hours when you can.Dr. McClain makes a suggestion: "You might want to think about your lifestyle as a whole. Think about multiple lifestyle behaviors in more of a holistic perspective." And that makes perfect sense. It's rare that one singular action can prevent all disease, but when you combine many healthy lifestyle habits you have a much better chance of maintaining good health.Physical activity, a balanced diet of natural foods, and proper stress management are some of the other factors that have a strong influence on your health. Incorporate these principles with a good night's sleep and you've given your body a fighting chance against modern disease.

Sources:http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20081117/activity-sleep-may-cut-cancer-riskhttp://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE4AG7B520081117http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=94307

Body Clock Regulates Metabolism

UC Irvine researchers have discovered that circadian rhythms – our own body clock – regulate energy levels in cells. The findings have far-reaching implications, from providing greater insights into the bond between the body's day-night patterns and metabolism to creating new ways to treat cancer, diabetes, obesity and a host of related diseases.

24-hour circadian rhythms govern fundamental physiological functions in almost all organisms. These circadian clocks are the essential time-tracking systems in your body. Disruption of these rhythms can profoundly influence human health.
In a new study, researchers showed that an enzyme protein which is an essential molecular gear of the circadian machinery interacts with a protein that senses cell energy levels and modulates aging and metabolism.
This suggests that proper sleep and diet may help maintain or rebuild the balance between your circadian clock and your metabolism, and could also help explain why lack of rest or disruption of normal sleep patterns can increase hunger, leading to obesity-related illnesses and accelerated aging.

Source: ScienceDaily (Mar. 19, 2009)

Hit The Sack

Help your heart tonight by sleeping more. Regularly getting fewer than seven and a half hours of shut-eye can up the risk of heart disease, the top cause of death for U.S. women.

Chiropractic Care May Improve Infants’ Sleep

(February 20, 2009, Canton, GA). A pilot study conducted by Joyce Miller and Matts Klemsdal evaluated whether routine chiropractic care in infants had also improved the patients’ sleep pattern.

Sleep problems plague about 25 percent of all infants; they are measured by the time it takes the child to settle down, the amount of consecutive sleep hours the child accumulates and the quality of sleep. All this can add a great amount of stress to new parents. And according to Canton-based Mike Headlee, D.C, in many cases, a disturbed sleep pattern is usually also accompanied by an infant’s excessive crying.

Dr. Headlee points to a pilot study published this year in the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics.

In the study, 116 infants, who were in chiropractic care for various health challenges, were rated on their sleep behavior during the course of their care. Of the infants, only 10 percent had initially come to the chiropractor because of dysomnia or sleep disturbances, while the majority of the children received chiropractic care for excessive crying.


The parents were asked to complete a questionnaire on their child’s sleep pattern after the 1st, 4th and 7th visit to the chiropractor on the amount of hours the child slept, the quality of sleep and the time it took for the child to fall asleep. The data was analyzed and showed a significant improvement in the children’s sleep pattern after the adjustments.

After the 1st visit, almost 40 percent of infants slept deeper. That percentage jumped to more than 60 percent after the 7th visit. The percentage of children who had difficulty falling asleep fell from more than 65 percent after the 1st visit to just over 22 percent after the 7th visit. Most children had received adjustments to the upper cervical spine.

“This is an important finding that warrants more scientific and clinical research,” adds Dr. Headlee. “Chiropractic care seems not only to help children get a better night’s sleep, it also reduces the stress on parents. And stress, as we all know, has its own health challenges.”

Anyone wishing more information may contact Dr. Headlee, whose office is located at 206 Sawtooth Ct, Canton, GA, (telephone 770-720-6813).



Reference:
“Can Chiropractic Care Improve Infants’ Sleep?” by Joyce Miller and Matts Klemsdal, Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics, Volume 9, No. 1, 2008.

Sleeping Patterns Are Governed by Light

Your biological clock is not the only thing that reminds you to shut your eyes every 24 hours; a new study has found that it's actually light that governs your sleeping patterns.

Your eyes use light to reset your biological clock through a mechanism that is separate from your ability to see, researchers at Johns Hopkins University found.

Researchers genetically modified laboratory mice so that a particular set of retinal ganglion cells - the ones that received input from the rods and cones of the eyes and send information to your brain - no longer functioned. The mice were still able to use light to see normally, but had great dificulty synchronizing their circadian rhythms to light or dark cycles.

The findings suggest that people who have trouble sleeping or seasonal depression may be having a malfunction that is contributing to their inability to detect light, which in turn may adversely affect their biological clocks.

Nature

Snooze or Lose

A good night's sleep keeps blood pressure in check, sharpens memory, and tames inflammation. Now scientists are suggesting that getting enough z's may help protect against diabetes. A study published in the journal Sleep showed that adults who slept five or fewer hours a night were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who snoozed for seven hours.

Experimental research has shown that skimping on sleep might impair the body's ability to manage blood sugar. Sleep deprivation's potential to raise body weight probably impacts diabetes incidence as well, notes lead study author James Gangwisch, Ph.D.

Late-night munchies may also factor into diabetes risk, adds Larry Deeb, M.D., past president of the American Diabetes Association. "There's good evidence that our bodies become less efficient at processing blood sugar as the day wears on, so staying up and snacking could certainly be part of the problem," he warns.

BODYANDSOULMAG.COM

The Science of Sleep

Human beings sleep through one-third of their lives, yet why we sleep is one of the biggest unanswered questions of science. In the fascinating article from 60 Minutes, Leslie Stahl explores all of the latest scientific findings about the reasons for -- and functions of sleep.

Here is a sampling of what she found after talking with sleep researchers from across the U.S.

• You can die from sleep deprivation, just like you can die from being deprived of food.
• Sleep can actually enhance your memories.
• A single night of sleeping just four, five, or even six hours can impact your ability to think clearly.
• Sleep deprivation can cause changes in your brain activity similar to those experienced by people with psychiatric disorders.
• Sleep deprivation puts your body into a pre-diabetic state, and makes you feel hungry, even if you've already eaten.

CBS News March 16, 2008