Bad Sleeping Habits Increase the Odds for Diabetes

Inadequate sleep or irregular sleeping habit may lead to increased odds of diabetes and obesity, according to researches.

The study conducted by the researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston stemmed from  observing 21  healthy persons in a completely controlled environment for six weeks, controlling their diet, activities and hours of sleep and sleep disturbance.

The study started and ended with participants sleeping an optimal 10 hours a nigh, but in three weeks interval, participants were requested to sleep at all different times of day and night, ensuring that they got just five and a half hours of sleep a day.

Thereby, the researchers concluded that prolonged sleep restriction along with sleep disturbance lessened the participant’s resting metabolic rate and increased glucose concentrations in the blood after meals due to lower insulin secretion by the pancreas.

Said effects could translate into weigh gain and a risk of diabetes. Therefore, in a study published in the journal Science Translation Medicine, it was explained how graveyard shift workers may suffer from disruptions to their “internal biological clock” or the so called circadian rhythm.

Also a neurologists and lead study author Orfeu M. Buxton, affirmed the such results support the finding from several researches showing that in people a pre-diabetic condition, graveyard shift workers are more likely to have a full-progress on diabetes than day shift workers.

Oftentimes, graveyard workers find it hard to sleep during the day, therefore, they can encounter both circadian disruption working at night time and inadequate sleep during day time, added Buxton.

Furthermore, Buxton noted that evidence is clear that having the right amount of sleep is important for health and that for best effect, sleep should be done at night.

If staying up awake all night and sleeping during day time cannot be avoided due to a daily job routine, it is advisable to take natural sleep aid to help you from falling asleep at day time.


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Be Sure You’re Getting the Right Amount of Sleep

The amount of sleep that a person need in a daily basis depends on several factors which particularly include age.

• An infant requires about 16 hours of sleep a day
• Teenagers requires about 9 hours of sleep a day
• Adults need an average of 7 to 8 hours of sleep a day
• Women during the first trimester of pregnancy, needs some more hours of sleep than the usual

According to experts, if you feel sleepy during the day, even during strenuous activities, it simply means that you are not getting enough sleep.

It should be noted that the amount of required sleep of a person increases as he or she had been deprived of sleep in the past few days. Having inadequate sleep from the previous days will demand the body to repay the sleep shortage. Apparently, people don’t adapt to getting less sleep than the body requires. Although a person may get used to a sleep-depriving schedule, the individual’s judgement, reaction time, perception and other functions are still impaired.

Below are several consequences that a sleep deprivation may bring into a person:

• Memory gap
• Depression
• Weakening
• Higher risk of disease
• Increase in perception of pain

Many studies in fact pointed out that sleep deprivation is dangerous. In a study, sleep derived people were tested using a driving simulator or by performing a hand and eye coordination task. The study found out that sleep-deprived people are as worse as intoxicated ones.

Also, sleep deprivation increases alcohol’s effect on the person’s body. Therefore, a stressed person who drinks alcohol will be more likely to become impaired than someone who is well rested.

According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), sleepy drivers are responsible for about 56,000 vehicle accident and 1,500 deaths every year.

Drowsiness is the last step of the brain before eventually falling asleep. As a result of which, driving while drowsy can often lead to a disastrous occurrences. Even caffeine and other stimulants cannot overcome the effects of severe sleep deprivation.

The National Sleep Foundation said that a person has the following signs and symptoms, then, he or she is too sleepy to drive safely.

• Having trouble keeping eyes focused
• Can’t prevent yawning
• Can’t remember driving the last few miles

In such instances, it is strongly recommended for sleepy drivers to refrain from drowsy driving since many studies have already suggested that sleepy drivers are as risky as drunk drivers.  Therefore, to avoid getting inadequate sleep, always seek enough time to have a complete sleep. For people who find it hard to fall asleep, there are lots of natural sleep remedies available to end your sleepless nights.

Understand Different Types of Sleep Disorders, Treatment and Signs and Symptoms

In U.S., over a quarter of Americans experience occasional sleep deprivation according to a 2010 statistics released by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some factors seen as the most common cause of sleep deprivation is the busy nature of modern lifestyles. For some, serious sleep disorders affect both rest and health.

Most often, sleep disorders are often undiagnosed. Although a lot of people know that eight hours of sleep is very significant, only few people are aware about sleep disorders. Therefore, most people tend to disregard sleep problems. Popular culture often underestimates the need for sleep disorder treatment.

People nowadays simply accept the fact that lack of sleep is an unavoidable part of modern life. But, in truth and in fact, sleep plays a vital role in one’s life particularly in wellness and health.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, there are a total of 81 different sleeping disorders that exist. Some of those disorders are as follows:

• Insomnia
• Narcolepsy
• Night terrors
• REM sleep behaviour disorder
• Sleep apnea
• Sleep walking
• Restless leg syndrome
• Snoring
• Teeth grinding or bruxism

Sometimes, people’s popular beliefs about sleep disorders are sometimes misleading. Many people don’t know that snoring is a sleep disorder. Snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea, which causes breathing interruptions during sleep and worst, it can result in serious health complications or even death.

Identifying sleep disorders can be tough since few people know about the conditions.

Possible sign of sleeping disorder include excessive daytime sleepiness, insomnia, irritability and difficulty thinking and snoring.

The following signs and symptoms may be an indication that a person has sleep disorders:

• Has difficulty in falling asleep
• Waking up often
• Waking up too early
• Falling asleep too quick

Treatment to sleeping disorders depends on the kind of sleeping disorder that a person has. Treatment includes the following:

• Medication
• Changes to sleeping habits
• Surgical procedures

Treatment for sleep disorders restores normal sleep patterns and helps prevent the many health complications that come along with the sleeping disorders. Increasing public awareness helps people understand the need for sleep disorders treatment. However, when it comes to sleeping disorder treatment, natural sleep remedies are always the best cure.

Avoid Sudden Death Caused by Sleeping Pills through Natural Sleep Aids

In a new study published by BMJ Open, a journal that is part of the British Medical Journal family publications, it revealed that pharmaceutical sleeping pills used to alleviate insomnia are more likely to put a person in higher risk of cancer and sudden death.

The study suggest that the pharmaceutical sleeping pills content, benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepines, barbiturates and sedative antihistamines are 4.6 times more possibly to cause death. In fact, people taking the pills are more possibly to die within an average of two and a half year than those who do not take the pills.

The researchers evaluated and analysed data on more than 33,000 for the study and almost one third of which, were taking sleeping pills to treat their insomnia. After adjusting for other risk of factors, the researchers found out that within roughly two years after starting to take the pills, 1 out of 10 sleeping pill patients died while merely 1 out of 10 patients not taking the drug died.

Depending on how often an insomniac person took sleeping pills, the overall death risk was as much as 530% higher than the death rate of patients who do not take the pills. The findings clearly illustrate an absolute and casual link between sleeping pills and higher mortality. Aside from the increased risk of sudden death, sleeping pill users were also found to have an approximately 35% elevated risk of developing cancer compared to non-users.

The researchers said that the meager benefits of hypnotics, as critically reviewed by non-profitable groups, would not justify significant risk. The 2010 supplemental files in an estimate, revealed that the pills may have associated with 507,000 excess deaths in USA alone.

In every research regarding sleeping pills, conclusions are not far similar. Every research ends in one and only conclusion suggesting that the pills can reduce a person’s life span. Therefore, researchers highly recommend the people to take the natural sleep aids than the pharmaceutical ones to avoid the risk of cancers and sudden deaths.

Sleeping Aids Spending by NHS Reaches £50 M

Recent figures revealed a significant increase in the use of sleeping pills saw National Health Service (NHS) spending on the drugs reached about £50 last year.

Compared to 14.5 million prescriptions of sleeping pills in 2007 to 2008, some 15.3 million prescriptions were handed out in 2010 to 2011, based on figures revealed by the NHS.

In 2010 to 2011, a Freedom of information request showed health trusts spent £49.2 million on the drugs, up from £42 million three years ago. It was actually an increase of more than 17%.

According to statistics, the highest number of prescriptions for sleeping pills was distributed in the North West area, wherein more than £8.5 million on almost £2.5 million rely on best sleeping aid.

One of the best sleeping aids was in fact prescribed to more than 5.2 million patients across the country, making the drug more popular.

In U.K., more or less a third of people are thought to have dilemmas on insomnia, which can eventually lead to a distressing problem for many.

Health chiefs have voiced out their concerns regarding the frequent use of sleeping pills which can lead to “psychological dependency”.

NHS business director at the Co-operative Pharmacy, Mandeep Mudhar said that the agency’s research reveals that millions of people suffering from a sleep deprivation vastly depend on sleeping pills.

While usage has constantly boosted, its cost to the NHS have risen unevenly, with costs going up at a higher rate.

However, some sleeping pills are commonly recommended for short period of time use only since it can lead to psychological dependency and lose their effectiveness as time passed by.

The NHS encourages people who are suffering from insomnia to use natural sleep remedies or consult a doctor first before taking any sleeping pills.

In a recent study which involved 10,500 people taking the drugs found that sleeping pills that are commonly prescribed by physicians in U.K. increase the risk of death more than a cigarette.


Several drugs used in the U.K. include benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepines, barbiturates and sedative anti-histamines.

In another study from experts at the Jackson Hole Center for Preventive Medicine in Wyoming and Scripps Clinic Viterbi Family Sleep Center in California, found that people taking sleeping pills were 4.6 times more likely to die during a 2.5 year period compared to those who are not sleeping aid dependent.

Therefore, before taking any sleeping pills, always seek prescription from your doctor for natural sleeping remedies to avoid early death risks.

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