The Health Blog
Stay Healthy, the Natural Way

Sleep cycles are a very interesting and fickle thing. Things like stress levels, body temperature, and room temperature play a huge role in this process. Researchers from Germany have asserted that new technology present in a piece of wrist wear could potentially record real-life sleep habits and patterns that could impart necessary knowledge that would be able to improve the resting hours of many individuals.

Sleep issues creep up on people at different points of their lives. When I was in college, I couldnt stay asleep in bed for more nights then Id like to admit. The problem was so persistent that it drastically impacted my studies. Research shows that long-term sleep deprivation causes serious health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimers disease. After seeking medical help, it was evident that poor sleeping habits was one of the contributing factors to my challenges getting quality sleep.

Reviewed by Ray Spotts In recent years, sleep disturbances are much more common than they've ever been. The importance of sleep cannot be overstated. Getting sound and consistent sleep can be the difference in a sound mind and body for a myriad of reasons. One of the most common issues that some experience with sleep is a condition called sleep apnea. It is said that nearly 18 million individuals are suffering with apnea, which compromises the ability to breathe correctly due to an obstruction while they are sleeping.

Reviewed by Ray Spotts One of the things sleep loss increases is the risk of obesity through a combination of effects on energy metabolism. Research presented recently at the European Congress of Endocrinology highlights how disrupted sleep patterns - a common feature of modern living - can predispose to weight gain by affecting your appetite and responses to food and exercise. While several studies have correlated sleep deprivation with weight gain, the underlying cause of increased obesity risk from sleep disruption is unclear, but may relate to changes in appetite, metabolism, motivation, physical activity or a combination of factors. Dr. Christian Benedict from Uppsala University, Sweden and his group have conducted a number of human studies to investigate how sleep loss may affect energy metabolism.

Sleep disturbances are common in dementia but little is known about the various stages of sleep and whether they play a role in dementia risk, explains study author Matthew P. Ease PhD. We set out to discover which stages of sleep may be linked to dementia and while we did not find a link with deep sleep, we did with REM sleep.