This is a list of 26 different substances in perfumes that may cause allergy. These substances are not banned and are widely used in the cosmetic industry. Here is a list of these substances:
- Alpha Isomethyl ionone
- Amyl Cinnamal
- Amylcinnamyl Alcohol
- Anise Alcohol
- Benzyl Alcohol
- Benzyl benzoate
- Benzyl Cinnamate
- Benzyl Salicylate
- Butylphenyl Methylpropional
- Cinnamal
- Cinnamyl Alcohol
- Citral
- Citronellol
- Coumarin
- eugenol
- Evernia prunastri (Oakmoss) Extract
- Evernia Furfuracea (Tree Moss) Extract
- Farnesol
- Geraniol
- Hexyl Cinnamal
- Hydroxycitronellal
- Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde
- Isoeugenol
- Limonene
- Linalool
- Methyl 2-Octynoate
Some of these may found on the label, so be aware!
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has announced that last year, the death toll in England and Wales fell by 3.5% to 492,000. The figures show that over the last five years, deaths from heart disease and cerebrovascular diseases had fallen by a third. The “age standardised mortality rates” have not been this low since 1952 say the ONS. And the population was much smaller then and considered generally healthy. Additionally, the infant mortality rate of 2009 was at its lowest point. Experts are suggesting that statins are the main reason for this waning in number.
Statins like Crestor are taken to lower cholesterol levels in order to lower the risk of having heart attack or stroke. An estimated figure of 5,000,000 British people are taking statins and it is stated that they save 7,000 lives per year. It is said that due to the determination of the NHS to become world leaders in heart treatment, we are seeing such results in Britain including a better public understanding of heart disease risk, important government policies aimed at improving lifestyles and more effective treatments.
491,348 people died in England and Wales in 2009 compared to 509,090 the previous year.
This article is written by The Online Clinic.
If you want to write for ‘HealthTips’, please check out our posting guidelines.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is the name for a group of problems that includes swelling, pain, tingling, and loss of strength in your wrist and hand. It occurs when the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the hand, becomes compressed or squeezed at the wrist. The carpal tunnel is a space in the wrist surrounded by wrist bones and by a rigid ligament that links the bones together. The median nerve runs through the carpal tunnel, a canal in the wrist that is formed by a series of small bones called the Metacarpals on three sides, and a fibrous sheath called the flexor retinaculum which acts as a pulley for the forearm flexors on the other. There are nine tendons of the hand that also pass through this canal. The median nerve can be compressed in one of a few ways, (1) be by swelling of the contents of the canal, (2) soft tissue swelling in and around the tunnel, (3) by direct pressure from part of a broken or dislocated bone. Nearly half of CTS sufferers have symptoms in both hands.
Anatomy of CTS
The top of the Carpal tunnel is formed by 8 carpal bones that form 2 rows and (scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, pisiform) and the distal row of carpal bones (trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate) create the top of the tunnel. These bones are small and glide against each other so that we can move our wrist in different directions. The other side of the carpal tunnel is formed by the flexor retinaculum which forms a retinacular bridge over the carpal tunnel. Its main function is to protect the contained tendon without a significant mechanical action in supporting the transverse carpal arch that acts as a pulley for the wrist flexor ligaments when tension is applied to them by contraction of the forearm flexor muscles.
Causes of Carpal Tunnel
Every time you type you are flexing and extending the wrist and fingers requiring the tendons that run inside the carpal tunnel to slide through their protective sheath. The sheath acts as a protective tube to separate the tendon from the surrounding tissues and prevent any adhesions from forming to the tendon itself. It is much like the hand break on a bicycle.
Researchers (2007) have concluded that when the carpal tunnel reaches a certain sustained pressure on wrist, injury is likely to occur. In order to keep pressure the risk zone, it is recommended that sustained wrist extension (bending the hand back) should not exceed 32.7 degrees, wrist flexion (bending the wrist toward the palm) should not exceed 48.6 degrees, ulnar deviation (sideways toward the small finger) should not exceed 14.5 degrees, and radial deviation (sideways toward the thumb) should not exceed 21.8 degrees.
Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome?
Typically, carpal tunnel syndrome begins slowly with feelings of burning, tingling, and numbness in the wrist and hand. The areas most affected are the thumb, index and middle fingers. At first, symptoms may happen more often at night. Many carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers do not make the connection between a daytime activity that might be causing the carpal tunnel syndrome and the delayed symptoms. Also, many people sleep with their wrist bent, which may cause more pain and symptoms at night. As carpal tunnel syndrome gets worse, the tingling may be felt during the daytime too, along with pain moving from the wrist to your arm or down to your fingers. Pain is usually felt more on the palm side of the hand.
Typically, carpal tunnel syndrome begins slowly with feelings of burning, tingling, and numbness in the wrist and hand. The areas most affected are the thumb, index and middle fingers. At first, symptoms may happen more often at night. Many carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers do not make the connection between a daytime activity that might be causing the carpal tunnel syndrome and the delayed symptoms. Also, many people sleep with their wrist bent, which may cause more pain and symptoms at night. As carpal tunnel syndrome gets worse, the tingling may be felt during the daytime too, along with pain moving from the wrist to your arm or down to your fingers. Pain is usually felt more on the palm side of the hand.
Addicted to caffeine?
Coffee provides a jump start that low-dopamine individuals needs, especially when they are tired. It can also greatly reduce the risk of diabetes, by helping the aging of the pancreas. But like everything else, it’s only good for you in moderation. Make sure to check with your doctor about your caffeine consumption, especially if you know that you have specific health problems. It’s also important to know the ratio of how much water you’re drinking as compared to your caffeine intake; caffeine is such a powerful stimulant that it burns up your body’s water supply. If you’re not also drinking lots of water, you might find that you are becoming dehydrated. Also remember that fresh-brewed tea and loose tea leaves have far more nutrients than tea bags or bottled teas.
Sleep your excess weight away
Because sleep deprivation contributes to fatigue, you must get yourself and your dopamine back on track. Getting seven hours a night is critical for weight loss. One study showed that people who get four hours of sleep per night were 73 percent more likely to be obese than those who slept seven to nine hours.
The truth about whole grains
Fiber is an important tool for weight loss. Fiber is like a scrub brush for your digestion, scouring your system until it is sparkling clean. It cleans out your colon, controls your blood sugar, pulls fat from your arteries, raises your HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), and detoxifies your body. What’s more, it’s bulky; fiber fills you up so you eat less. High-fiber foods such as oatmeal, brown rice, and broccoli can also absorb excess estrogen compounds, which are produced during menstruation. It can be used as a powerful appetite suppressant when you are experiencing PMS cravings. The recommended dosage of daily fiber is 40 to 45 grams every day.
In addition to psychosocial stressors, lifestyle factors also play a role. For instance, changes in lifestyle factors such as transitioning from being employed full-time to becoming a part-time worker or a student transitioning to full-time employment requiring early-morning schedule changes can affect our sleep. Furthermore, we have to consider the full-time worker who works daily from 9:00 to 5:00 and retires and has to adjust her schedule to new and differing activities (such as playing golf once a week or fixing things around the house). This transition in lifestyle or daily activities can be stressful because it can be unfamiliar. Sleep disturbance may occur when schedules change, especially in the case of individuals retiring, because these individuals often do not have activities to occupy their day and instead may fill their day with resting or taking naps, and these behaviors affect nighttime sleep.
One of the most basic sensations of sleep loss is a profound sense of sleepiness. We know that sleep is necessary for our bodily systems to work efficiently. Too little sleep makes us feel cloudy, inattentive, uninterested, and irritable, and we may experience difficulty with concentration. It also leads to impaired memory and physical performance. You do not have to experience complete sleep deprivation to feel the significant effects of sleep loss on psychological and physical well-being. Partial sleep loss may take the effect of occasionally losing a good night’s sleep. Having frequent awakenings during the night may also result in experiencing the effects of partial sleep loss that detrimentally affects our quality of life.
Partial sleep loss
If we abbreviate our nighttime sleep, resulting in insufficient sleep, we experience partial sleep loss with the consequence of prolonging a chronic state of sleep loss. This chronic state of sleep loss can have serious penalties on cognitive and physical functioning. In addition to the quality of life decrements, there are also a number public health and safety accidents that occur due to loss of alertness and sustained attention. Sustained attention is absolutely necessary when operating heavy industrial machinery or participating in complicated procedures involving dangerous machinery, such as construction machine operation. All are quite dangerous for the partially sleep-deprived individual because it places that person and others at risk. Self-report measures completed in a census fashion demonstrate that a larger percentage of individuals with compromised sleep also report health problems. A greater percentage of these individuals are involved in accidents at work or also report experiencing employment difficulties. Although there is no clear cause and effect, we know that these individuals report a greater incidence of sleep problems compared to a control group.
The activities we engage in instead of sleeping may be related to our poor sleep. We also know that more people are relying on medications for sleep and wakefulness. To know more about your sleep, you should ask yourself the following questions:
- Under what conditions is it difficult to sleep?
- At what time during the night is it difficult to sleep?
- How many times during the night do you wake up?
- What wakes you up?
- How often do you have problems sleeping?
Also be aware of any sleepiness you feel in the daytime, your bedtime and wake time, and periods when you expect to be awake. Note how any or all of these answers affect your ability to function and enjoy life. Here are some additional questions to help you understand how your sleep affects you:
- Having difficulty concentrating or making decisions?
- Experiencing drowsiness when you drive or are engaged in other activities?
- Feeling moody or irritable with others?
Physiology behind sleep
These questions are just examples used to illustrate the importance of sleep and how lack of sleep can affect our mental abilities, personality, mood, and safety. It is also important to discuss how our body regulates sleep. Sleepiness is physiologically regulated by the following two primary processes:
1. The body’s circadian rhythm causes an increase in sleepiness twice during a 24-hour period.
2. The physiological need for sleep, which is increased by sleep loss and sleep disruption.
Explanations of sleep physiology
The need for sleep and the circadian rhythm interact to determine the level of sleepiness and alertness. The body needs these two processes to initiate sleep and to remain asleep. There are multiple factors, however, that can physically and psychologically prevent us from falling asleep.
Our muscles need to relax so that muscle tone in our head and neck and other regions of the body is at its most natural relaxed state, and our breathing patterns change (become slower) during different stages of wakefulness and sleep. Physiologically, we also need to have comfortable temperature and noise levels as well as being free from thirst, hunger, pain, or physical discomfort. In summary, if environmental and physiological conditions are not conducive to sleep, in terms of temperature, heart rate, noise, light, and physical comfort, then sleep is less likely to happen.
These questions are just examples used to illustrate the importance of sleep and how lack of sleep can affect our mental abilities, personality, mood, and safety. It is also important to discuss how our body regulates sleep. Sleepiness is physiologically regulated by the following two primary processes:
1. The body’s circadian rhythm causes an increase in sleepiness twice during a 24-hour period.
2. The physiological need for sleep, which is increased by sleep loss and sleep disruption.
Explanations of sleep physiology
The need for sleep and the circadian rhythm interact to determine the level of sleepiness and alertness. The body needs these two processes to initiate sleep and to remain asleep. There are multiple factors, however, that can physically and psychologically prevent us from falling asleep.
Our muscles need to relax so that muscle tone in our head and neck and other regions of the body is at its most natural relaxed state, and our breathing patterns change (become slower) during different stages of wakefulness and sleep. Physiologically, we also need to have comfortable temperature and noise levels as well as being free from thirst, hunger, pain, or physical discomfort. In summary, if environmental and physiological conditions are not conducive to sleep, in terms of temperature, heart rate, noise, light, and physical comfort, then sleep is less likely to happen.
The occurrence rates for sleep disturbance are high because sleep is very sensitive to stress and emotional upset. Major life events and minor life events that accumulate negatively impact our sleep. We spend increased amounts of time problem solving, analyzing, and worrying, and these behaviors often intrude on our nighttime sleep. We spend time in bed engaging in these behaviors, which are mentally stimulating behaviors and fragment or disrupt our sleep.
Part 2
Part 2
Hormones and Obesity
As we get older, dieting will almost always get harder. This is because we’re losing our brainpower that controls hormone production, and hormones play a critical role in weight control. One prominent hormone is insulin, which helps the body turn food into fuel. Insulin is created in the pancreas along with glucagon and somatostatin, two other hormones that aid in digestion and support our metabolism. Incretin is a bioidentical form of glucagon stimulation for the pancreas and blood sugar reversal. Growth hormone or insulin-like growth factor 1 will accomplish the goals of somatostatin. In the end both hormones have amazing effects on weight loss (as much as 10 to 15 pounds a year), with improvement in metabolism, appetite reduction, increase in muscle mass, and better blood sugar regulation.
Hormones Help Control Addiction
The loss of brainpower and subsequent food addiction is your obesity code; your brain is sending signals to choose junk foods to feed your energy needs. Meanwhile, your body’s metabolism slows, meaning you process all this extra food at a slower rate, leading to more weight gain and fatigue. Over time, you might start looking for other ways to boost your energy, substituting other addictions for food including cigarettes, recreational drugs (such as cocaine or crystal meth), or prescription medications.
Leptin
The hormone leptin is also important for beating obesity. Leptin is secreted by the fat tissue in our bodies and regulates our appetite. The more leptin present, the less hungry we are. It may be possible that our appetite was established in our brains just after birth and may then be set for the rest of our lives. The amount of leptin in our systems in those first few weeks of life is controlled by genetics, not by what we are fed.
Natural Treatments
While increasing your levels of dopamine is essential, several nutrient supplements can reduce total body fat and create a lean body when combined with the proper diet and exercise program.
- Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) facilitates weight loss and reduces the amount of additional fat cells from being deposited in existing body fat.
- Preliminary studies suggest that garcinia cambogia (HCA) may reduce the conversion of carbohydrates into stored fat by inhibiting certain enzyme processes, as well as suppressing appetite and inducing weight loss.
- The precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) has been shown to reduce appetite and to promote weight loss.
- Phenylalanine, a precursor to adrenaline, alleviates obesity by stimulating the body’s brown adipose tissue to “burn up” regular adipose tissue. It also helps to release cholecystokinin (CCK), a hormone that increases your sensation of fullness.
- 7-KETO is a bioidentical hormone related to dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and may also work to promote weight loss.
- Essential fatty acids (EFA), such as gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), facilitate weight loss.
- Fish oils facilitate loss of fat, raise serotonin, and decrease appetite.
- Vitamin D and magnesium control metabolic syndromes and help you lose weight.
- Increasing calcium metabolism results in better fat metabolism and helps speed up weight loss.
Go To Next: Dopamine Part 4
Aging Leads to ObesityJust as lower brain energy affects the rest of the body, the rest of the aging body affects brain energy. Before you start any diet regimen, get a full checkup to see if there are other possible contributing factors to your weight gain. Medications, including some that are prescribed for depression and epilepsy, can increase appetite, so be sure to ask your physician if your weight gain is a side effect from any medication you may be taking.
Cardiopause/vasculopause:
Changes in blood flow affect the brain, which results in a reduced metabolic rate.
The immune system:
The loss of immunity causes increased infection, which challenges the brain and results in brain trauma. Once the brain is injured, it craves carbohydrates. While you are experiencing these cravings, it is difficult to manage food selections properly. The loss of thyroid hormone can also alter your metabolic rate.
Male aging sexuality:
The loss of testosterone results first in abdominal obesity and then in total body obesity as muscle turns to fat.
Female aging sexuality:
The loss of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone results in roughly 10 pounds of weight gain per decade beginning at about age 30.
Muscular skeletal aging:
The loss of growth hormone results in a decreased ability of the body to convert fat to muscle, the loss of muscle and bone, and the loss of physical strength. The loss of control of the parathyroid hormone bursting results in an increase of parathyroid hormone throughout the body and a loss in calcitonin, which can affect bone density, which can alter food selection. Remember, frail bones, frail brain, frail body, and frail life. When we are in a malnourished state, we crave unhealthy, calorie-dense foods such as french fries, potato chips, sweets, and pasta. Changes in bone density also impact overall health and emotional stress; when we become frail and feeble, we lose motivation for a healthy lifestyle and begin to make bad food choices.
Metabolic Syndrome
A common illness related to obesity is metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms including impaired insulin sensitivity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and a large waist size. It’s amazing how the medical community talks about metabolic syndrome without connecting it to the aging body. Once you unlock the power of the AgePrint, you will understand that metabolic syndrome is a brain chemical disorder of dopamine.
A recent study found that when overweight patients with metabolic syndrome were put on diets similar to the one we recommend, the results were remarkable. These diets were designed to give participants 500 fewer calories than their daily caloric need while increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains and reducing consumption of red meat, sweets, and refined grains. During the study, the participants had higher HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), lower triglycerides, lower blood pressure, greater weight loss, and more improved fasting glucose than those not on the diet.
Go To Next Dopamine Part 3
Go To Next Dopamine Part 3
Brain power is the fire that keeps your mind alive, awake, alert, and aware. However, when your brain is not producing enough dopamine, brainpower diminishes and you spiral down into a low-energy state. Without the brainpower that dopamine provides, you’ll notice that your body begins to slow down in every imaginable way. At first, you might feel fatigue, look pale, or even experience light- headedness. Then more complicated symptoms arrive, including a decreased libido, sexual dysfunction, weight gain, and difficulty performing the most routine tasks. You may also experience a decreased level of energy for physical activity or even self-destructive thoughts. Feeling tired all day is often too much to bear. Fatigue is a serious medical problem and a huge age accelerator. We seem to know this inherently because when we feel tired, we tend to respond; to compensate for a loss of energy, we unknowingly find ourselves self-medicating with food. Your brain and body begin to crave the energy they lack, and you become attracted to foods that will offer a similar energy rush, namely sugary foods, simple carbohydrates, and caffeine. Before you know it, you’ve gained weight and are literally addicted to these junk foods; without them, you will feel the symptoms of withdrawal. And each time you turn to them, you’ll need larger quantities to keep your energy and dopamine levels high.
Fatigue
The fact is a simple one: as you age, you will feel tired. Your dopamine production slows, your metabolism decreases, and you lose energy. Feeding your energy need with food only slows you down more. When fatigue is combined with illness and general aging, you have a recipe for disaster. The good news is that your energy can be restored so you won’t feel as tired.
Low Dopamine Levels
Low dopamine levels affect every pause in your body. This is one of the most powerful age accelerators, sending a code to the rest of the systems in your body that it’s time to stop functioning. Lack of dopamine can cause a cascade of poor health in every part of your body. The following pauses may be triggered by conditions that result from a dopamine deficiency:
Cardiopause:
The aging heart affects the rhythm of your heart by disrupting its electrical signals. The weight gain and fatigue that result because of a lack of dopamine raises your blood pressure, causing strain on the heart as it has to work harder than it used to. What’s more, poor food choices because of this lack of dopamine can lead to fatigue, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, further affecting the vascular system by clogging blood vessels all over your body, leading to plaque and blockages, and stroke.
Immunopause:
The immune system is like the sanitation engineers of the body, going around and cleaning up the garbage that makes you sick. When it’s compromised by excess weight caused by a lack of dopamine, it loses the ability to do this job properly. This is where all the diseases start: sinusitis, arthritis, dermatitis, to name a few. The excess fat interferes with the immune system’s ability to fight viruses and bacteria and to recognize and regulate our own cell overgrowth. Our bodies are constantly making precancerous cells that we have to control as we try to grow and repair. Obesity also accelerates every form of cancer in every organ, be it your brain, bladder, prostate, ovaries, colon, lungs, or thyroid.
Menopause:
A lack of dopamine might actually accelerate the onset of menopause so that heavier women may begin menopause earlier. Remember, hormonal loss is a major age accelerator, so early menopause would begin a second cascade of spiraling health as well as the more recognizable symptoms and conditions. For example, you may experience either hair loss or increased hair growth, often in unsightly spots, particularly the face. Excessive weight gain, fatigue, disturbed sleep cycles, depression, anxiety, and addiction can each cause a loss of sexual interest and feelings of low self-worth. All this is a result of a dopamine deficiency. Early menopause may also occur in women who are too thin.
Andropause:
For men, obesity resulting from a lack of dopamine can make detecting prostate cancer more difficult and results in a faster loss of genital size, sexual dysfunctions of all types, and loss of libido.
Osteopause:
Fat seeps into your bones during the development of osteoporosis, replacing normal bone. As a result of obesity, your bone structure thickens, making it all the more difficult to lose weight. Your skeletal structure was not meant to hold excess weight, and without a proper level of dopamine, you’ll feel the pain this burden causes on your back, knees, and hips, accelerating arthritis.
Dermatopause:
An increased size literally stretches your skin, damaging its texture. As anyone who has gained and lost weight knows, stretch marks are a constant reminder of your once larger size. Couple obesity with smoking, and dry skin and even psoriasis often show the world that your dopamine voltage is off.
Go to Next Dopamine Part 2
Go to Next Dopamine Part 2
What does sleep loss do to our bodies? Our immune system becomes less efficient and productive with reduced sleep. Our ability to fight off infection under increased stress levels can become compromised.
For instance, increased reports of cold- and flu-like symptoms are reported at college health clinics in response to surveys about high stress-response levels (commonly presented as sleep loss). It is during deep (Stage 4) sleep when our immune system regenerates. Stage 4 sleep is also the time when growth hormone (the hormone responsible for growth and metabolism) is released, thus implicating the importance of a good night’s sleep for children.
Problems caused by sleepiness
The biological systems of our body follow a natural rhythm of activity and rest. Many of these cycles are activated during the stages of sleep, usually deep sleep (Stages 3 and 4) or dream (REM) sleep. Overall, all cycles follow an approximate 24-hour schedule. When an individual’s 24-hour schedule becomes skewed or altered due to work, travel, or personal habits, the timing of the sleep in terms of bedtime and wake time is offset. For instance, when traveling across time zones, we will experience a change in our sleep schedule. This change may present as either a delay (sleep occurs at a later time) or advancement (sleep occurs at an earlier time) in our sleep time. Last, our natural drive for sleep is strongest during the day and nighttime between the hours of 1:00 and 4:00. This feeling of sleepiness that occurs during the hours between 1:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. is often misinterpreted as sleepiness resulting from having lunch. Taken together, problem sleepiness occurs if we alter our schedule of activity and sleep at a time when the drive for sleepiness is the strongest. Treatment efforts address this change or desynchronization of our normal wake-sleep rhythms by scheduling naps, implementing light physical activity to the schedule and utilizinglight therapy at varying times during the day to promote either sleepiness or wakefulness.
What does sleepness mean?
We are generally aware of our level and ratings of sleepiness. We are all familiar with stories of businesspeople traveling and staying up late to prepare for a big presentation. Or there is the scenario of young adults and teens altering their sleep schedules with in-house socializing (e.g., instant messaging) by staying up into the late hours of the night. Additional examples include patients who are recovering from medical procedures who may easily awaken from experiencing pain or restlessly shifting positions while dipping in and out of sleep during the night. In each of these scenarios, poor sleep is experienced, and if these sleep patterns remain unabated, the individual is at risk for mood alterations and performance and health consequences. A mounting sleep debt, regardless of the process that triggered it, has the same result: decreased performance efficiency, mood instability, and poor health and disease and disorder formation. Our defensive response to the challenges we face with poor sleep is weakened and remains that way. Poor sleep, especially when continuously experienced, lowers the immune system response. Couple poor sleep with exposure to environmental toxins, disease and infection exposure, and/or mental or physical stress, and we may see how the immune system can significantly be lowered. It could be argued that the most common signs of sleepiness are not just ignored; rather, we do not know how to detect these signs. These signs are commonly reported as feeling the need to close the eyes, experiencing sensations of relaxed muscles, reduction in breathing (it starts to slow down), restless legs, and feeling chilled. Ultimately, daytime sleepiness is the consequence of poor, short sleep.
For instance, increased reports of cold- and flu-like symptoms are reported at college health clinics in response to surveys about high stress-response levels (commonly presented as sleep loss). It is during deep (Stage 4) sleep when our immune system regenerates. Stage 4 sleep is also the time when growth hormone (the hormone responsible for growth and metabolism) is released, thus implicating the importance of a good night’s sleep for children.
Problems caused by sleepiness
The biological systems of our body follow a natural rhythm of activity and rest. Many of these cycles are activated during the stages of sleep, usually deep sleep (Stages 3 and 4) or dream (REM) sleep. Overall, all cycles follow an approximate 24-hour schedule. When an individual’s 24-hour schedule becomes skewed or altered due to work, travel, or personal habits, the timing of the sleep in terms of bedtime and wake time is offset. For instance, when traveling across time zones, we will experience a change in our sleep schedule. This change may present as either a delay (sleep occurs at a later time) or advancement (sleep occurs at an earlier time) in our sleep time. Last, our natural drive for sleep is strongest during the day and nighttime between the hours of 1:00 and 4:00. This feeling of sleepiness that occurs during the hours between 1:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. is often misinterpreted as sleepiness resulting from having lunch. Taken together, problem sleepiness occurs if we alter our schedule of activity and sleep at a time when the drive for sleepiness is the strongest. Treatment efforts address this change or desynchronization of our normal wake-sleep rhythms by scheduling naps, implementing light physical activity to the schedule and utilizinglight therapy at varying times during the day to promote either sleepiness or wakefulness.
What does sleepness mean?
We are generally aware of our level and ratings of sleepiness. We are all familiar with stories of businesspeople traveling and staying up late to prepare for a big presentation. Or there is the scenario of young adults and teens altering their sleep schedules with in-house socializing (e.g., instant messaging) by staying up into the late hours of the night. Additional examples include patients who are recovering from medical procedures who may easily awaken from experiencing pain or restlessly shifting positions while dipping in and out of sleep during the night. In each of these scenarios, poor sleep is experienced, and if these sleep patterns remain unabated, the individual is at risk for mood alterations and performance and health consequences. A mounting sleep debt, regardless of the process that triggered it, has the same result: decreased performance efficiency, mood instability, and poor health and disease and disorder formation. Our defensive response to the challenges we face with poor sleep is weakened and remains that way. Poor sleep, especially when continuously experienced, lowers the immune system response. Couple poor sleep with exposure to environmental toxins, disease and infection exposure, and/or mental or physical stress, and we may see how the immune system can significantly be lowered. It could be argued that the most common signs of sleepiness are not just ignored; rather, we do not know how to detect these signs. These signs are commonly reported as feeling the need to close the eyes, experiencing sensations of relaxed muscles, reduction in breathing (it starts to slow down), restless legs, and feeling chilled. Ultimately, daytime sleepiness is the consequence of poor, short sleep.
This is the second part of Sleep and Sleep Disorders
Understanding Sleep
Sleep is considered now to be an active state of being; the mind is a 24-hour mind, and it does stop working, a surprising fact of which we often are not aware. We spend roughly one-third of our lives sleeping in this active state. Although the specific function of sleep still eludes researchers, many substantiated theories point to the necessity of good-quality sleep to our existence and overall well-being. Different brain cell chemicals and neurotransmitters regulate our sleep-wake states by acting on a variety of cells in the brain. Sleep-wake functioning is analogous to a light switch with on and off features. A type of switch setting systematically turns on sleep, including turning on different types of sleep, and systematically turns off each sleep stage correspondingly. This switch setting easily explains how our sleep progresses from light sleep to deep sleep and then transcends to dream, or REM, sleep. The neurochemical signaling begins when we fall asleep. An exact sleep chemical is still considered to be controversial, yet a number of studies suggest adenosine, which is a nucleoside, binds to cells and causes a cascade of events that promote drowsiness.
Adenosine levels in the blood increase during waking hours and have a cumulative effect throughout the day, causing drowsiness. During sleep, adenosine levels decline, promoting wakefulness toward the end of the nocturnal period. The cycle begins again once we are awake. It is not surprising that stimulants such as caffeine cause wakefulness because caffeine competes for the same receptors to which adenosine binds. If more receptors have caffeine bound to them, sleepiness is less likely to happen.
Sleep Stages
Sleep architecture refers to the various stages in the sleep-wake cycle, typically defined by a brainwave (EEG) recording. In healthy individuals without sleep problems, these stages occur in a regular pattern throughout a 24-hour period. Sleep is of two types, dream or rapid eye movement (REM) sleep that occurs every 1.5 hours throughout the sleep interval, or 18 percent to 25 percent of the sleep period. 7,8 REM periods vary from a number of minutes to an hour or more. REM sleep has a characteristic physiological pattern distinguished by the lateral saccadic (left to right) rhythm of the eyes, absence of muscle movement (atonia), and heightened cardiovascular arousal.
Non-REM (NREM) sleep occupies a greater portion of the sleep period. NREM is further subdivided into stages 1, 2, 3, and 4, with corresponding physiological activity to each.
Stage 1 is considered light sleep and is estimated to be approximately 5 percent of the sleep period.
Stage 2 sleep is about 60 percent of the sleep interval and is considered formally to be sleep.
Stages 3 and 4 sleep are often collapsed together and are classified as deep sleep, a physiological event characterized by slow brain wave patterns and increased immune system activity. Non-REM makes up approximately 10 percent to 15 percent of the sleep period. A night of sleep is characterized as a predicted pattern beginning with the initiation of sleep onset (Stage 1) and progression to Stages 2, 3, and 4. Within 90 minutes after sleep onset, the first REM episode (generally four to five REM episodes per night) occurs. Following this sleep period, the cycle repeats itself, with at least four cycles of sleep per night. An excess or deficit in the amount of a type of sleep (e.g.,no REM), a misordering of the timing of sleep (e.g., sleep begins with REM), or an intrusion into sleep represent conditions for further study to determine if a sleep disorder exists.
What is sleep?
Sleep is defined as a series of complex, natural physiological rhythms. We spend one-third of our lives sleeping.
We achieve the sleep that we do based on our need for sleep and the time of night when we get sleepy. Behaviors can influence sleep patterns. Depending on what these behaviors are, they can actually interfere with or promote sleep.
We have allowed a flurry of responsibilities and obligations to impede upon our sleep time. From a physiological perspective, it does not take much to induce sleep, yet our sleep is being thwarted by our voluntary activities and behaviors (e.g., vent size coffees that are consumed at varying times during the day and evening,
Internet surfing, socializing); these behaviors accentuate the extended wakefulness.
Teens and children have also extended the wake day to include homework, athletics, and Internet use. Taken together, record numbers of children, teens, young adults, adults, and the elderly are living each day in a sleep-deprived state.
The most likely outcome is excessive daytime sleepiness resulting in personality changes (e.g., irritability), memory and concentration difficulties, safety concerns (employment and automobile accidents), and an overall decrement in quality of life.
Unfortunately, we have become used to reducing our sleep time and/or experiencing fragmented sleep, which is not optimal. It is simply not healthy. The sleepiness felt day in and day out ac- cumulates over time, resulting in poor functioning and reduced quality-of-life ratings. For example, a person is more likely to be- come irritable and moody when sleep deprived compared to some-one who experiences restorative sleep on a daily basis.
In addition to sleepiness, the quality and quantity of sleep must also be addressed. Ratings of poor, good, or excellent or light, fair, or deep are some ways to describe how quality and quantity of sleep may be classified. If your sleep is disturbed, you are more likely to rate the quality of your sleep as poor, and if you are sleeping less than your ideal number of hours of sleep, you are most likely going to rate your quantity of sleep as poor. If you do not know the number of hours your body requires for restorative sleep, there is an easy way to figure it out. Think back to the last time you took a vacation. Ignore the first few nights of sleep (it is generally catch-up sleep), what was the length of your sleep? Generally, this question is a good heuristic to follow to determine your personal sleep need. In summary, if you experience less than good or fair sleep on a consistent basis, you most likely will experience excessive daytime sleepiness.
Go To: Sleep and Sleep Disorders Part 2
Go To: Sleep and Sleep Disorders Part 2
Recent Comments
Contact