Tips for Deep Sleep | Getting Better Sleep

To get a good quality night's sleep, try these 6 tips from my new book Second Spring.

1. Relaxing Rituals to Rest Easy 

In Chinese Medicine, nighttime is yin time—or, simply, when the body takes care of itself instead of your desires.  Proper sleep is required for your body to repair itself and regenerate. To reach deep, restful sleep, your spirit and heart must be calm. Excessive worry, anxiety, and depression can all disturb the spirit and activate the mind—making it near impossible to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Rituals to sooth your spirit and induce a sleep response before bed include soaking your feet in Epson salts for 15 minutes, writing all of your thoughts in a journal to get them out of your head, and practicing relaxation before bed, like the Stress Release meditation below.

2. When Food Disturbs Sleep

When you eat late, you wake up tired. Your body will be busy digesting your dinner while you are trying to sleep, so you won't feel rested in the morning. Do not eat anything for at least three hours before bedtime.

Also, cut back on eating bacon, cheese, chocolate, ham, potatoes, tomatoes, and sausage, especially before bed. These foods contain tyramine, which inhibits neurochemicals like norepinephrine and can cause insomnia. And, of course if you have sleep problems, caffeine should be cut out.

Eat for sleep! Try eating more grains at dinner; carbohydrates tend to make people sleepy. Another snooze snack is a warm cup of milk; because milk is rich in the amino acid tryptophan, it can sometimes aid in deep sleep. Mix in natural vanilla flavoring for a soothing snack. Or if you prefer, eat 1 cup of natural yogurt an hour before bedtime.

3. A Peaceful Place for Sleep

Your sleeping environment makes a huge difference to the quality of your sleep. Do everything you can to create a quiet and cozy atmosphere. Ideally, your bedroom should be located in the quietest area of your home. Keep the décor minimal. Lighting should be dim and any music that is played should be soothing.

Research has found that lavender, vanilla, and green apple are among the best scents to help lower anxiety and induce sleep, making these smells a good choice for a scented candle or heated essential oil.

Try to limit your pets to outside of the bedroom because their movements will keep with your body from fully relaxing into deep R. E. M. sleep. As much as possible, your bedroom should be only for sleep.

4. Exercise Enables Sleep

People with regular exercise routines often sleep better and have fewer incidents of insomnia than those don't get regular physical activity. Exercise promotes sleep and improves sleep quality by altering brain chemistry.

Exercising moderately for 20 to 30 minutes three times a day, combined with meditation or tai chi in the evening, will not only help you fall and stay asleep, but will also increase the amount of time you spend in R.E.M. sleep. In fact, for some people, exercise alone is enough to overcome sleep problems.

Exercise in the morning or afternoon, but do not exercise for at least two hours before bed.

5. Herbs to Sleep Tight
A calming tea before bedtime can ensure a good night's sleep. Drink valerian or passionflower (or passiflora) tea before bedtime every night for one month. Simply steep 1 to 2 tablespoons of the dried herbs in one cup of hot water and drink just before bed.

Or look for one with the traditional Chinese herbs zizyphus or jujube seed, bamboo shavings, and oyster shell, which soothe the mind and spirit.

You might also try Calm-Fort/Sleep formula with useful herbs like lily bulbs, polygala and turmeric that help manage stress and calm the spirit while relieving restlessness and insomnia.

6. A Sleep-Friendly Meditation

I had one patient with insomnia who also felt anxious and even a little depressed. In addition to acupuncture and herbal therapies, I decided to teach her a stress release meditation that she could do before bedtime to help with her anxiety. I am happy to report that she is now sleeping like a baby.

Try this Stress Release meditation, which works for the majority of my patients who have sleeping problems:

Sit comfortably or lie down on your back.  Slow your respiration to deep, abdominal breathing.  Utter the word "calm" in your mind with every exhalation. Focus on relaxing each area of your body in sequence, from the top of your head to your toes.

Starting with the top of your head, inhale and then exhale while visualizing your scalp muscles relaxing.  Say "calm" in your mind.  Repeat this with each body part as you move down through all body parts, front, back, and sides, in succession: your face, throat, chest, arms, stomach, abdomen, thighs, knees, legs, ankles, until finally you reach your feet.  

When you've relaxed your feet, visualize all the tension in your body leaving through your toes as dark smoke. Practice this for at least 15 minutes before bedtime

Author: Dr. Steven Y. Park

Menopause Symptoms and Memory Loss

While you may experience the misery of hot flashes and mood swings as you enter menopause, one thing you can't blame on the "change" is memory loss.

In the latest study that exonerates menopause as a cause of impairing the ability to recall, Taiwanese researchers compared the memory of hundreds of women before they had any menopausal symptoms to their memory as they entered menopause.

They found the women who were going through the menopausal process scored as well or nearly as well on five different cognitive function tests. Results of the study are to be presented Oct. 4 at the American Neurological Association annual meeting in Toronto.

"When women go into perimenopause, they don't need to worry about cognitive decline," said Dr. Jong-Ling Fuh, an attending physician at Taipei Veterans General Hospital and an associate professor of Yang-Ming University School of Medicine.

The researchers said the myth of memory loss during menopause is a perception some women have because as they went through menopause, they felt their memory wasn't as sharp as it had been before. Studies suggesting that hormone replacement therapy might protect against dementia strengthened that belief. However, a large study later found that in older women, hormone replacement therapy not only didn't help protect women from dementia, but could actually increase the risk.

To try to answer the question of whether menopause did have any effect on memory, Fuh and her colleagues studied nearly 700 premenopausal women living on a group of rural islands between Taiwan and China. The Taiwanese government restricted access to these islands until the 1990s, so the authors report that the study's population was nearly homogeneous, which would help rule out other potentially causative factors of memory loss.

The women were between the ages of 40 and 54. None of them had had a hysterectomy, and none took hormone replacement therapy during the study.

All took five cognitive tests designed to assess their memory and cognitive skills at the start of the study, and then again 18 months later.

During the study period, 23 percent of the women began to have symptoms of menopause.

The researchers then compared the memory of the women who had entered menopause to those who had not, and found very little difference. In four of the five tests, there were no statistically significant differences in the two groups of women.

Only on one test was the difference statistically significant, and that difference, said Fuh, was very slight. This test was designed to assess verbal memory and involved showing the women 70 nonsensical figures. Some of the figures were repeated during the test, while most were not. The women were asked whether they had seen the figure earlier.

"For women, menopause does not mean you'll develop memory loss," said Dr. Raina Ernstoff, an attending neurologist at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. As you're going through perimenopause and experiencing symptoms like hot flashes, she said, you may feel lousy and have trouble sleeping, which might temporarily affect your cognitive skills.

"I don't think declining estrogen levels are what causes memory loss," said Dr. Steven Goldstein, an obstetrician/gynecologist at New York University Medical Center in New York City. "It's not like your memory is bopping along, doing fine and then takes this big dive during menopause, like bone density can."

Both Ernstoff and Goldstein said they weren't aware of many women who believed that menopause might cause significant memory loss. They also both felt that results from this group of women who were so homogeneous might not apply to different groups of women, such as those living in more industrialized society. And they both said that other factors that weren't studied could play a role in memory loss, such as hypertension, which can contribute to vascular dementia.

Ernstoff also pointed out that the education backgrounds can play a large role in memory loss. Fuh acknowledged the researchers did attempt to control the data for educational differences.

SOURCES: Jong-Ling Fuh, M.D., attending physician, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, and associate professor, Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Steven Goldstein, M.D., obstetrician/gynecologist, New York University Medical Center, and professor, obstetrics/gynecology, New York University School of Medicine, New York City; Raina Ernstoff, M.D., attending neurologist, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich., and member, Alzheimer's Board of Detroit; Oct. 4, 2004, presentation, American Neurological Association, Toronto.

For more information visit: www.menozac.com

What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a sterol (a combination steroid and alcohol). Cholesterol is a lipid found in the cell membranes of all tissues, and it is transported in the blood plasma of all animals. 

Because cholesterol is synthesized by all eukaryotes, trace amounts of cholesterol are also found in membranes of plants and fungi.The name originates from the Greek chole- (bile) and stereos (solid), and the chemical suffix -ol for an alcohol, as researchers first identified cholesterol in solid form in gallstones by François Poulletier de la Salle in 1769. However, it is only in 1815 that chemist Eugène Chevreul named the compound "cholesterine".

[2]Most of the cholesterol is synthesized by the body and some has dietary origin. Cholesterol is more abundant in tissues which either synthesize more or have more abundant densely-packed membranes, for example, the liver, spinal cord and brain. It plays a central role in many biochemical processes, such as the composition of cell membranes and the synthesis of steroid hormones. 

Cholesterol is insoluble in blood, but is transported in the circulatory system bound to one of the varieties of lipoprotein, spherical particles which have an exterior composed mainly of water-soluble proteins. 

The main types, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) carry cholesterol from and to the liver.According to the lipid hypothesis, abnormally high cholesterol levels (hypercholesterolemia) and abnormal proportions of LDL and HDL are associated with cardiovascular disease by promoting atheroma development in arteries (atherosclerosis). 

This disease process leads to myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke and peripheral vascular disease. As high LDL contributes to this process, it is termed "bad cholesterol", while high levels of HDL ("good cholesterol") offer a degree of protection. The balance can be redressed with exercise, a healthy diet, and sometimes medication.

For more information visit: www.hypercet.com

Improve Your Body Looks Without Junk Food

As a fitness professional, I'm always amazed (and puzzled) with the conflict people seem to have with losing weight, yet they refuse to stop eating junk food. An interesting thing I have noticed over my many years helping people to lose weight is that almost every single person that has told me that they are "attempting" to lose weight, almost always has their house filled with all sorts of junk food instead of whole unprocessed natural food.

It is not uncommon for people to tell me that they are trying really hard to lose weight, but I will still notice boxes of apple jacks and fruity pebbles on their counters, cakes, candies, and chips in their cupboard, and sodas or syrupy juices in their refrigerator.

So the question that always stumps me is that if all of these people honestly wanted to lose weight so bad, why in the world do most people still have their houses filled with junk foods instead of healthy food?

Interestingly, the answer usually is that they do not want to give up their favorite foods because they think that eating this junk food allows them to "live a little"... if you ask me, it sounds more like dying a little with each bite!

My take on it is that eating junk foods has nothing at all to do with enjoying your life... In reality, when you give up junk foods you actually enjoy life more because you feel better and are more energetic every day. In addition, getting into better shape by not eating junk food can obviously help improve the way your body looks (and therefore increases your confidence), thereby making you enjoy life even more.

One thing that many people fail to realize is that eating healthy does not have to mean eating bland and boring food. Instead, when you learn to enjoy natural unprocessed food and start exploring all of the varieties of natural food that this planet has to offer us, you learn that you can enjoy the natural flavors of real foods more than overly processed aggressive tastes that are so common with excessively sweet and salty junk food.

An example of this is that the other day I wanted an unsweetened iced tea while out on the road, but all that the store had available was these bottles of heavily sweetened iced tea. Well, I have not bought a fully sweetened iced tea in probably at least a few years now... I have actually gotten used to drinking unsweetened iced tea and have learned to appreciate the natural taste of tea without needing sugar or other sweeteners.

When I drank this bottled sweet tea, I almost gagged because it was so syrupy sweet, it was absolutely nasty.

A similar example... I used to need a lot of sugar in coffee, but after a slowly reducing the amount of sugar I would use in coffe, I can now actually drink black coffee and enjoy the natural flavor of it without needing sweeteners (although I rarely drink coffee).

These are just a couple examples of how once you start appreciating the natural flavors of real food, you find that you no longer need the super-aggressive salty, sugary, or artificial flavors that have been ingrained in us by the food companies and all of the junk food they push on us.

My belief is that everyone should actually enjoy what they eat, and can do it without eating overly processed junk food... Actually, people are often surprised to hear that a lot of the foods that they think are junk food, I have healthy alternatives that they never thought of.

A few examples:

Junk food: a chocolate candy bar, a chocolate donut, or a piece of chocolate cake

Healthier alternative: a couple pieces of extra-dark chocolate (greater than 70-75% cocoa content only)... this is higher in fiber and much less sugar than milk chocolate or even dark chocolates that are less than 70% cocoa content

Junk food: Deep fried and breaded chicken fingers and fries on the side (loads of nasty trans fats)

Healthier alternative: grilled chicken breast strips with peanut dipping sauce and vegetables on the side

Junk food: a cheap fast-food burger on a processed refined white bun

Healthier alternative: A grass-fed burger (higher in CLA and omega-3 fats) with raw grass-fed cheese on a sprouted grain roll

How about that for eating healthier yet still very tasty foods!

Hope that what you get out of this article is that there is more to life than eating junk food, and eating junk does not necessarily mean that you're "living a little" as so many people say. Instead, I feel the opposite is true.

Eat healthier and discover the natural flavors of real foods (not processed) and you'll soon discover that you no longer need junk food. Enjoy!

Author: Mike Geary - The Truth About Six Packs

Sleep Disorder

During normal breathing, air passes through the throat on its way to the  lungs. The air travels past the soft palate, uvula, tonsils, and tongue. When a  person is awake, the muscles in the back of the throat tighten to hold these  structures in place preventing them from collapsing and/or vibrating in the  airway. During sleep, the uvula and soft palate frequently vibrate causing the  distinctive sounds of snoring.

The LAUP procedure is a laser surgical procedure designed to sequentially  trim and shorten these structures, thus preventing or reducing snoring.

Risks and ComplicationsYou have the right to be informed that the surgery may involve risks of  unsuccessful results, complications, or injury from both known and unforeseen  causes. Because individuals vary in their tissue circulation and healing  processes, as well as anesthetic reactions, ultimately there can be no guarantee  made as to the results or potential complications.

The following complications  have been reported in the medical literature. This list is not meant to be  inclusive of every possible complication. 

They are listed here for your  information only, not to frighten you, but to make you aware and more  knowledgeable concerning this surgical procedure.

1. Failure to resolve the snoring. Most  surgeons feel that about 85% of patients who undergo a LAUP will have a  significant or complete resolution in their snoring; and an additional  percentage of patients will notice reduced levels of snoring such that their  sleep partners will report that it's level is no longer offensive.

2. Failure to cure sleep apnea or other  pathological sleep disorders. Pathological sleep disorders, like sleep apnea,  are medical problems which may have associated serious complications. At this  time, the LAUP procedure has not been proven to cure these disorders.

3. Bleeding. In very rare situations, a need  for blood products or a blood transfusion. You have the right, should you  choose, to have autologous or designated donor directed blood pre-arranged. You  are encouraged to consult with your doctor if you are interested.

4. Nasal regurgitation, a change in voice, or  velopharyngeal insufficiency when liquids may flow into the nasal cavity during  swallowing (rare).

5. Failure to resolve coexisting sinus, tonsil,  or nasal problems.

6. Need for revision, or further and more  aggressive surgery.

7. Prolonged pain, impaired healing, and the  need for hospitalization

For more information visit: www.melatrol.com

Super Healthy Foods For Fat Loss

I won't bore you with all of the typical "healthy foods" that you hear about all of the time such as fruits and veggies... everybody knows those.  Instead, I'm going to show you some shockers that most people don't realize are super healthy foods for fat loss.

1. Egg Yolks - yes, that's right... full fatty egg yolks with all of their fat and cholesterol.  By the way, you've been mislead about the cholesterol in egg yolks -- it actually raises your GOOD cholesterol and helps balance proper ratios, so don't be afraid of the fat and cholesterol in these little nutrition power packed gems.  And if you choose cage-free eggs from free roaming hens, the omega-3 content is higher with a more balanced fat profile.

Egg yolks are also one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet in terms of vitamins, minerals, and trace nutrients.  Trying to list all of the vital nutrients in egg yolks would take up an entire page so I won't even try that here.  Just realize that egg yolks should NOT be avoided in favor of egg whites.  Even the protein is more bioavailable when you include the yolks!

So don't be afraid to eat those delicious and healthy eggs and start burning belly fat faster.

2.  Avocados - This is yet another "fatty food" that is also one of the best fat burning foods! Not only that, but avocados make just about everything creamier and more delicious.  They are also power-packed with healthy fats, fiber, and antioxidants, as well as vitamins and minerals.  The healthy fat in avocados also helps control appetite and fat burning hormones in your body.

Try adding avocado slices or guacamole to everything from morning eggs, salads, sandwiches, and burgers, and starting burning body fat faster! I would definitely consider avocados one of the best healthy super foods.

3.  Grass-fed beef - While most beef you see at the grocery store is grain fed beef from cattle that are in poor health and has lower nutrition values and omega-6 to omega-3 fat ratios that are far out of whack, there is a better option... and that is Grass-Fed Beef!

Grass-fed beef is known to have much higher levels of healthy omega-3 fatty acids and lower omega-6 fats (which most people get too much of anyway).  Grass-fed beef also contains higher levels of many vitamins and minerals, as well as containing high levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is a healthy fat that is known to help muscle building and fat burning.

So don't be afraid to live it up a little and eat more beef, as long as you choose healthy grass-fed beef instead of grain fed beef. Enjoy and start burning more body fat with these so called "fatty" foods!

Mike Geary
Author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs

Important Things To Avoid At Restaurant

Dining out is a big part of most people's lives. Maybe you have to eat out frequently because you entertain clients at restaurants. Perhaps you don't even like eating out. Regardless, if you want to keep a nice fit body, restaurant meals will give you a huge obstacle to overcome. 

In fact, eating out at restaurants is one of the biggest reasons why so many people fatten up while traveling.

Below, I'll give you a few very simple tricks you can use to eat healthier and stay lean even while dining out at restaurants.

The 3 most important things to avoid that are everywhere at restaurants are:

• deep fried foods (anything battered that got a scorching bath of trans fats)
• refined starchy foods
• any sodas, juices, or other sugary foods (except whole fruits, which are great)

If you can skip these major culprits, this eliminates the major food sources that do the worst damage in our food supply - trans fats, refined vegetable oils, refined starchy carbohydrates, and processed sugars.

This means you should try to skip the table bread, skip the french fries that come with every single sandwich on every menu known to man, and reduce all of the heaping portions of pasta and rice that are often loaded on the plates as well.

Instead, try to order just meat with side vegetables, and a salad, asking for the vegetables or salad as a substitute for the typical french fries, pasta, or rice, that most restaurant meals usually come with.

Almost every restaurant I have ever been to will always allow me to substitute vegetables or a side salad for the french fries or chips that almost always come with burgers or sandwiches.

On a side note, it always amazes me how many people scrutinize me because I substitute veggies for fries by telling me that I am "not living" because I refuse to eat french fries... are you kidding me! If that's your idea of "living it up", you need to get some better hobbies!

Ironically, these are also the first people to complain that they are overweight and have "tried everything", yet can not lose weight, no matter what. I am not sure why so many people think that eating french fries equals "living it up"... hey, I am all for moderation with many things, but if there are 2 things that should be totally removed from everyone's diet because these foods are simply that dangerous... it is sodas and fries!

Take a look at the typical difference this simple substitution makes between choosing smart and doing what most people do...

Most people will eat a meal out such as this:

• Burger or sandwich or burger
• chips or fries
• soda or other sweetened drink (and no, diet sodas are NOT healthy!)

A MUCH smarter alternative if you care about your body and health is this simple change:

• Burger or Sandwich
• Salad or veggies
• unsweetened iced tea or water (no diet drinks -- unless you like to drink poison!)

These 2 simple substitutions save at least 400 - 900 calories every time you dine out (depending on drink refills and fries portion sizes)... AND you are cutting out the most harmful foods to your body as well by avoiding the evil trans fats and high fructose corn syrup from the fries and soft drinks.

Another side note: a little-known way to eat full portions of pasta, rice, and breads and actually get away with it without packing on the body fat is to make sure to schedule a high intensity full body resistance training workout (can be free weights or body weight training) before your scheduled meal time.

Sometimes it may be hard to fit the workout into your schedule right before the meal, but if you can, the meal can be your "post-workout meal". After a high intensity resistance training workout, your body can handle a higher amount of carbs than normal to help replenish the muscle glycogen depletion you had during the intense workout.

A typical moderate intensity cardio workout will NOT cut it for this... it must be high intensity resistance training workout to deplete enough muscle glycogen to handle restaurant portions of carbs.

I hope these dining tips help you choose smarter and healthier for a leaner body next time you eat out.

Author : Mike Geary - The Truth About Abs

Fruit Juices Makes You Fat?

The 2 fattening foods that I'm going to talk about in this article may actually shock you... most people falsely believe these 2 foods are "healthy".  In all of my years working as a Certified Nutrition Specialist, this usually surprises people when I mention they should consider eliminating these foods from their diet.

Everybody these days knows how bad trans fats and high fructose corn syrup are for you, so I figured I'd spare you yet another lecture on those... Instead, read on to see a couple foods that may shock you that they may be packing on the blubber.

The first type of food that is often falsely believed to be healthy is wheat products... this includes most breads, cereals, bagels, muffins, pasta, crackers, and so on.  And yes, I am including "whole wheat" in the category of this fattening food.

First of all, a large percentage of the population has some degree of intolerance to the gluten in wheat and some other grains. Full blown celiacs are the most sensitive to it, but what most people don't realize is that the majority of the population was never meant to eat large quantities of wheat.  The human digestive system has never adapted to large amounts of wheat in the diet.

The introduction of wheat into the human diet has only been in the last couple thousand years, and it has NEVER been in such large quantities in the human diet until the last 80-100 years.  This is a small time frame compared to the traditional diet that the human digestive system developed over several hundred thousand years eating a hunter-gatherer diet of meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

From my experience with many of my clients, when they heed my advice and eliminate wheat from their diet for 2-3 weeks to see if they start to lose weight and feel better, this almost always makes a HUGE difference.  Many times, they not only start losing body fat much faster, but they also finally get rid of headaches and indigestion that has plagued them for years.  Sometimes even skin problems go away when eliminating wheat from the diet.

The 2nd example of the worst fattening foods that shocks many people because it is thought to be "healthy" is -- fruit juice.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not an anti-carb advocate per se... I actually think most fruits are VERY healthy for us. However, we were NOT meant to separate the juice from the rest of the fruit and only drink the high calorie sugary mixture and leave behind the fiber and other beneficial components of the fruit.

When you only drink the juice of fruits (apple juice and orange juice being 2 of the worst culprits in the western diet), you are not getting the appetite satisfying effect of the fiber in the fruit, and you're left craving more carbs.  Also, the fiber in whole fruit helps to slow the blood sugar response when eating whole fruit compared to fruit juice.

Bottom line... overconsuming fruit juices makes you fat.  On the other hand, eating whole fruits including all of the fiber helps you maintain a healthy balanced diet and high nutrient density (as long as the rest of your diet is whole unprocessed foods as well).

If you want the REAL truth on eating strategically for permanent fat loss, read these 5 tips for Losing Body Fat the smart and effective way.

Mike Geary -
Certified Nutrition Specialist,
Certified Personal Trainer,

Author of the world-wide best-seller: The Truth about Six Pack Abs

Sleeping Position

You spend about 1/3 of your life sleeping- are you sleeping the right way that facilitates the best sleep possible? 

Are you waking up stiff with neck and shoulder pain every morning? 

What is the best position for sleep that will place the least stress on your neck and lower back area? 

Well a lot has to do with the position that you sleep in.You can sleep on your back, on your side or on your stomach. 

What is the best and what is the worst sleeping position?

Sleeping on Your Back

Sleeping on your back is great position for sleeping because you can sleep in a position that support your head and neck and lower back area. 

To combat any type of lower back stiffness or discomfort, sleep with a few pillows or a wedge, such as a knee elevator, under your knees for optimal comfort. 

If you use a cervical support neck pillow, such as the cervical traction neck pillow, you can allow your head and neck to be in the correct position where there is least stress placed on your cervical spine. 

This position of sleeping on your back with a cervical support pillow for the neck and positioning wedge for your lower back is the least stressful for your body. Keep in mind that you may start in this position, but for most people they move around during the night time. 

Sleeping on Your Side
This is a popular position for sleeping for many people. There is a natural tendency to sleep on ones side after starting out on your back. 

When sleeping on your side make sure your pillow has enough support in it to keep your shoulders relaxed at. If your pillow is too low, your head will be tilting down, and if it is too high your head will be stretched uncomfortably –both of which can be very uncomfortable. That is why having a cervical support pillow that is properly sized is a good idea. The Linear Gravity Neck Pillow comes in 3 sizes- small, med and large to accomodate different sizes and frams. 

To make this side sleeping position even more comfortable and least stress on your body, place a pillow in between the knees that keeps your legs hip width apart. This will properly support your lower back area.  

Sleeping on Your Stomach

By far, the worst sleeping position is on your stomach. Not only does it place extra stress on your cervical spine and upper back area, but it also places stress on your stomach muscles. 

Sleeping on stomach means your head and neck are going to be turned to one side (so that you can breathe) for a prolonged period of time, which can create stiffness by the morning. It puts strain on the cervical paraspinals and levator scapulae muscles. 

Most people start sleeping in one way at the beginning of the night and shift to another position in the middle of the night. The best position for sleeping is the position that you are most comfortable in. 

So if you are one that snores and sleeping on your back increases that, your significant other will most likely suggest that you sleep on your side. Also, if you do sleep on your stomach and are trying to prevent that, sleep with a pillow to your side that will stop you from rolling onto your stomach. 

Remember, sleep is when your body heals and regenerates- find a position that is most comfortable for you to get the best sleep possible at night.

Author: Nav Gill BSc. D.C.

Finding The Best Sleeping Position

When individuals are having trouble with sleeping or waking up with pain, they typically look to their mattress or pillow as the culprit. 

However, sleeping in the wrong position can have many negative health effects and can cause unnecessary strain on your spine, muscles, nerves and joints. Your sleeping position should complement the natural curve in your spine. While every person has a different sleeping arrangement that works well for them, trying a different approach might yield a better morning. 

For example, sleeping on ones stomach is perhaps the worst position. Doing so causing the neck to twist from one side to the other and also causes heavy strain at the base of your spine. 

While sleeping directly on your back may relieve such strain, it can (depending on your mattress) force the spine into an unnaturally straight position. The spine is meant to bend and curve slightly. For those who are insistent on sleeping on their backs, placing a pillow underneath the knees is a good solution to relieve pressure on your lower back.

For the best sleeping position, try lying on your side with your knees bent in the fetal position. Tuck a pillow between your legs and this will prevent stress and strain on your back and joints. A memory foam mattress or pillow will also help reduce the strain on your back and help align your spine properly during your sleep. 

While there is no perfect sleeping position for everyone, trying a new position may help alleviate some of your pain or restlessness in the morning. Talk to your doctor or licensed chiropractor for suggested sleep positions. 

Since we spend so much of our time asleep, it is important to attempt to make it the best, restful experience possible. While breaking the bad habit of negative sleeping positions may be difficult, it is worth it to at least explore the difference a new pattern will make whether it be your position or changing the time you fall asleep and wake up.

Author: Andy Johnston

How Behavior May Affect Your Sleep

Human behavior can affect not only the sleep quality but also the ability to fall asleep.

Eating increases your metabolic rate as well as your body temperature, which are critical factors in natural sleep. Body temperature dropping is conducive to good sleep. This explains why you should not eat at least three hours before going to bed. A high body temperature prevents you from falling asleep, not to mention the bloated feeling that may bother you if you eat too much before bedtime.  

You may also have experienced sluggishness after a heavy lunch meal, but that doesn't mean you can actually go to sleep or sleep well. The explanation is that a heavy meal causes your brain to divert energy from your muscles to work with your digestive system. This may disrupt your brain activities, and thus preventing you from sleeping well.

It is better to eat smaller meals than to eat one heavy meal with one or two light meals in between. Eating too much at one meal stresses not just your digestive system but also your brain.

Your eating behavior also includes the types of food you consume during the day. Cheese, for example, is said to give nightmares because it contains tyramine, an ingredient in cheese that can elevate blood pressure. MSG (monosodium glutamate), a taste enhancer in most restaurant cuisines, may cause digestive upsets, heartburn, and headaches, which often interrupt sleep. Yellow tartrazine (E-102), often added to fizzy drinks, candies, and cookies, may increase hyper-activity that may prevent you from falling asleep fast. In short, if you eat unhealthily, you tend to have sleep problems. 

Many seniors have erroneously believe that if they drink too much, they need to frequent the bathroom more often, and thus may affect their sleep patterns. However, dehydration may adversely affect the brain, and hence the ability to sleep well at night. To remedy the situation, drink at least two liters of water a day, and drink it early in the morning so as to avoid bathroom trips at night. 

To sleep well, avoid smoking or drinking an alcoholic "nightcap."  

Nicotine may relax your body and mind, and make you fall asleep. However, once the nicotine is metabolized, it will wake you up in the middle of the night. Research studies at the University of Pennsylvania indicated that smokers took twice as long to fall asleep as non-smokers. To sleep well, quite smoking. 

Drinking alcohol may be habit forming. If you have emotional problems, then you must deal with them, instead of using alcohol to obliterate them. If you really need a drink before bedtime, substitute your alcoholic drink with a hot milky drink or herbal drink.

Physical activities, which expand the natural range of movements, may help you sleep well. If your body remains too long in any one position, tension builds up in you muscles, and physical stress causes restlessness that prevents you to sleep well. Do pre-sleep stretch exercise to relax muscles to make you sleep well. 

Meditation is an effective way to calm the body and mind to prepare you for natural sleep. Meditation releases any blocked energy that you may have inadvertently attached to any thought; by uncluttering the mind, meditation helps you let go of any restless thoughts that prevent you to sleep well.

If you have sleep problems, maybe your behavior is the culprit. A change in lifestyle goes a long way to help you sleep well.

Author : Stephen Lau 

The Importance of Thyroid Health

Thyroid health is overall health and wellness. Unfortunately, more than 20 million Americans have a thyroid disorder -- or one in ten is affected by some sort of a thyroid problem. If, unfortunately, you have a thyroid disease, you are not alone.

The worst part of thyroid disorders is that there is a lack of public awareness of the importance of thyroid health. This may be due to many cases of undiagnosed thyroid disease, or the similarity of thyroid disorder symptoms with other disease symptoms. Thyroid health is overall health.  

What is a thyroid disorder, or what is the thyroid gland? 

Your thyroid gland is at the front part of your throat, just below your voice box. It is the size of a hen's egg. A thyroid disorder or disease occurs when your thyroid gland malfunctions

The thyroid gland has many functions with respect of your overall health. It is responsible for your growth and development through its production of hormones and protein for muscle growth. Your thyroid hormones regulate your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is responsible for your body weight. 

If you are on a strict diet, and yet you continue to gain instead of losing weight, it may be due to a malfunctioning thyroid. Your thyroid hormones maintain your mental alertness as well as balancing your moods. Therefore, optimum thyroid health is the foundation of good mental health. Thyroid health also affects your heart health in that your thyroid gland controls your heart rate.

In short, your thyroid health is responsible for the health of nearly every cell and organ in your body. Through its absorption of iodine from the bloodstream, your thyroid gland produces hormones that help your body cells and organs convert oxygen and calories into energy. 

The major function of your thyroid gland is to maintain a hormone balance by a feedback loop system. That is, when there is too much hormone production, your brain signals your thyroid gland to decrease the release of thyroid hormones. The importance of thyroid gland cannot be overstated.  

The most common thyroid disorder occurs when the thyroid gland is underactive (also known as hypothyroidism). In other words, the body is doing all its best to stay healthy, but there are simply insufficient thyroid hormones to maintain its proper functioning. As a result, the entire body is adversely affected, resulting in absence of general wellness.

If you have an underactive thyroid gland, you eat less but still gain more. Loss of appetite or weight gain is one of the most noticeable signs of impaired thyroid health. Another common symptom is fatigue. Unfortunately, this is also the easiest symptom to dismiss, because you may attribute it to depression, which is a concomitant of underactive thyroid disorder. 

Given that insufficient thyroid hormones in the blood may adversely affect your brain health, you may also experience diminished intellectual function, memory loss, lack of concentration, and even decrease in sex drive. Thyroid health plays a pivotal part in brain health because it supplies oxygen and nutrients to the brain, without which the functioning of the brain is considerably compromised. 

Thyroid disease affects both men and women. However, women have more problems with their thyroid health than men, and women are five to eight times more likely to be diagnosed with thyroid disease than men. Irrespective of your gender, thyroid health is important to your overall health and wellness. 

If you experience a decline in wellness, report your concerns to your doctor, and have your thyroid gland checked to see if there is any problem with your thyroid health. 

Author : Stephen Lau

http://www.stephencmlau.com 

Veggies Can Burn Stomach Fat Effectively

Specific vegetables that actually help to stimulate the burning of stomach fat? Sounds crazy right?

One fact that you may have not realized is that there are certain chemicals in our food supply and in our environment, such as pesticides, herbicides, and petrochemicals that have an estrogenic efect inside our bodies. This problem can increase belly fat on both men and women, so pay attention.

These are called xenoestrogens, and exposure to them from these chemicals in our food supply, water supply, and the environment is one factor that can actually stimulate your body to hold onto belly fat. The problem is that in today's world, even if you eat organic and live in a relatively low-pollution area, it is almost impossible to not get at least some degree of daily exposure to xenoestrogens. They are even in household cleaners and cosmetics.

So how can you fight against these xenoestrogens so that they are not forcing your body to hold onto stomach fat?

There are many classes of vegetables, teas, spices, etc that have compounds which can help to fight against the effects of xenoestrogens. However, one of the most powerful classes are cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts, caulifolwer, cabbage, etc.

These types of cruciferous vegetables contain very unique compounds (phytonutrients) such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C) that can help to combat the effects of xenoestrogens in your body, and therefore, can help you to burn abdominal fat more effectively.

As if you needed another excuse to eat more broccoli and cauliflower... Now, you can add losing stomach fat to the list!

Now here's the cool thing ...

I'm going to show you the program that explains specific teas, spices, and other sources of these unique compounds that help to fight against xenoestrogens and help you to Burn Belly Fat faster and more effectively.

Mike Geary

Certified Nutrition Specialist, Author - The Truth About Six Pack Abs

A Type of Trans Fat Helps To Burn Off Abdominal Fat

"There is a type of healthy natural trans fat that actually helps you to burn off abdominal fat"

Sound far fetched, but it's true.

I'm sure you've heard a million times by now, artificial trans fats in our food supply from hydrogenated oils are one of the most unhealthy foods (if you can actually call it suitable to eat) you can put in your body.

Artificial trans fats cause everything from obesity to various cancers to heart disease, and more.

They are pure evil, and everyone knows by now that this is a fact.
Stay away from artificial trans fats from hydrogenated oils at all costs!

However, what most people don't know is that there is a specific type of natural trans fat that can actually stimulate fat loss and lean muscle building.

This specific type of natural trans fat actually occurs in the meat and milk from ruminant animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, venison, bison, kangaroo, etc. It is called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and is not only known to help prevent cancer, but is also a potent fat burner.

CLA is highest when these animals are grass-fed instead of grain-fed.

WARNING!

Do not buy CLA supplements! The only form healthy CLA is from grass-fed ruminant animals such as grass-fed beef, bison, lamb, etc.

The CLA that's found in CLA pills is an artificially created form that is a different isomer than the natural CLA isomer found in grass-fed meat or dairy. The CLA isomer in the pills is not a healthy form, and will not benefit you.

Only the CLA that you get naturally from grass-fed ruminant meats actually has health benefits and can help increase fat burning (particularly from stomach fat) and building lean muscle, which helps increase your metabolism.

While most trans fats (the artificial ones) will just make you unhealthy and fat, now you know that there actually is such a thing as a healthy natural trans fat makes you burn fat instead.

If you like this unique tip to burn belly fat with grass fed meats, I have ton more Fat Burning Tips here to give you a leaner, healthier body.

Enjoy... and good luck on your lean healthy body.

Mike Geary
Auhtor of the best-seller: The Truth About Six Pack Abs