12 Natural Tips To Stay Awake

When energy flags, many of us rely on tried and tested tips to stay awake - reaching for an energy drink or cup of strong coffee when fatigue starts to invade our waking hours. The trouble is, using caffeine to hold off sleepiness begins a vicious cycle... that jolt can take as long as 8 hours to dissipate which can reduce the time you spend sleeping, change the natural sleep stages and even impact the quality of the sleep you manage to get. Waking tired and dragging fuels the need for caffeine.

Can you combat fatigue without caffeine? You bet! Here are a dozen great, all natural tips that are sure to keep you up and functioning at your best.

1. Get moving - a well-publicized study examined if subjects felt more energized by having a sugary snack or taking a fast walk for ten minutes. The candy gave a quick boost, but participants ended up being more tired an hour later. The walkers got an energy boost for two hours, because exercising like this causes oxygen to pump throughout your whole body.

2. Take a short nap - so long as you only take one, and you don't nap too close (more than 6-7 hours) to your normal bedtime, a 5 to 25 minute nap can do wonders for your flagging energy. Even sitting quietly, keeping your eyes shut for ten minutes can be enough.

3. Rest your eyes - looking at a screen for hours on end can lead to eyestrain and make you feel sleepier. Your best bet is to avert your gaze from the screen every so often to rest your eyes and fight eyestrain.

4. Have a healthy snack - while sweet snacks provide a fast energy boost, which is followed by a crash, a healthy snack will bring you longer lasting energy. Try peanut butter and whole wheat crackers or celery, yogurt with a few nuts or a piece of fruit, baby carrots and a low fat dip are all good choices.

5. Start an engaging conversation - as this will engage your mind. Talk to someone about business, or another engaging topic, as this is a strong behavioral stimulator, particularly if the topic is one you're passionate about.

6. Keep the lights bright - places with dim lighting make feelings of fatigue more pronounced, while studies have found that bright light can cut sleepiness and improve alertness.

7. Do breathing exercises - that is practice deep breathing, as this raises the oxygen levels in your blood, slows you heart rate, reduces blood pressure and increases your circulation. Ultimately this helps your energy level and mental performance. You need to breath into the abdomen (avoiding the chest), breathing deeply though your nose and so that the breath pushes your belly out, not your chest. Breathe out though pursed lips (as though you were whistling) and repeat the exercise ten times.

8. If driving, pull over - if you operate a motor vehicle when sleepy, you are just as dangerous as driving while drunk. Opening the windows or turning up the radio doesn't work for long, so your best bet is to let your passenger drive, or pull over and nap until you don't feel so tired. Also on long drives, stop every two hours and take a walk, stretch and enjoy the fresh air.

9. Avoid monotonous tasks - researchers who studied those working long 12 hour night shifts concluded that carrying out monotonous tasks is just as harmful to alertness as not getting enough sleep. Try to reserve your most stimulating tasks for times when you're tired, or switch to something more engaging if you feel yourself flagging.

10. Drink plenty of water - dehydration can lead to fatigue, so you should ensure you're drinking lots of fluids or eating foods (fruits and veggies) that are naturally full of water.

11. Get out in daylight - the circadian rhythms, the natural regulators of the sleep-wake cycle are impacted by daylight, so you should aim to spend a minimum of 30 minutes during the daytime outside. Even just a few minutes outside in the fresh air will restore your energy, revive your senses.

12. Exercise regularly - a recent study saw that doing exercise was better at improving energy and eliminating daytime fatigue than drugs used to treat sleep issues. Regular exercise can also improve the quality of nighttime sleep. Try for 30 minutes per day, but make sure you complete your workout 2-3 hours before bed, so you're not still energized as you try to fall off to sleep.

If you're finding that you're struggling to keep your eyes open when you should be alert and the tips to stay awake aren't working, talk to a doctor or a sleep specialist. Your symptoms could be a sign of a sleep disorder that will not improve unless you take steps to help yourself.

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Problems With Sleep Linked to Alzheimer's Disease

Try to sleep after reading this... you're more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease if your sleep is poor... the idea really helps you drift off, doesn't it? New research, while preliminary, has found that problems with sleep like waking up more than five times in an hour, may be a signal of preclinical Alzheimer's disease. Preclinical Alzheimer's is the term medical personnel use for those who display normal mental skills while also showing the brain changes that are linked to this dreadful disease.

The research on sleep and Alzheimer's involved 100 subjects, both men and women who were aged between 45 to 80 years. All were dementia free at the start of the study, though half had a family history of Alzheimer's disease.

For two weeks the subjects wore a sleep measuring device, while also keeping sleep diaries and filling out questionnaires. The subjects slept for about 6.5 hours, though they stayed in bed for another hour and a half, for a total of eight hours.

The research team analyzed subjects' spinal fluid, reviewed at brain scans for evidence of amyloid plaques - the deposits that are in the brains of those with Alzheimer's. Today experts think such deposits can be forming from 10 - 15 years prior to symptoms appearing. About a quarter of the subjects had evidence of preclinical Alzheimer's, and those who woke most often (over 5 times each hour) had a greater chance than non-waking subjects to show abnormal biomarkers.

However, it's important to keep in mind that studies like this one which are presented at conferences are considered preliminary. The findings have yet to undergo a peer review, where outside experts look at the data before it appears in a medial text.

The researchers also cannot put a number on the increase in risk for those who woke more often. Subjects who spent under 85% of the time spent in bed sleeping had a greater chance of showing signs of preclinical Alzheimer's. Waking five times each hour sounds like no sleep at all, and the researchers admit that the measuring device might slightly over estimate the number of times subjects woke. Still most of us do wake up, briefly, quite a bit during a normal night of sleep.

Are changes in the brain driving sleep disturbances, or is it the other way around? Trouble sleeping could well be a reflection of changes happening in the brain. We do recognize that having a good night's sleep is vital for the brain. More examination of the relationship between sleep and Alzheimer's is needed. Ju is enrolling and evaluating another 100 subjects for further study, and expects to have these results by the time of the meeting presentation.

Interestingly there are animal studies that find sleep changes do encourage the growth of amyloid. It wouldn't be surprising for this to be the case in humans as well.

The take home message? If you've got problems with sleep then getting a good night's sleep is key, and we should all try to make getting the right amount of restful, restorative sleep a priority. Just as we do with eating right and exercising, sleep is equally important.

FREE Bonus Secret Health Reports - For a limited time you can grab 5 FREE essential health reports from the Daily Health Bulletin. Click through now to find out more about how problems with sleep can effect your mental health.

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Trying to Get Rid of the Problem of Snoring?

The concept of snoring:

When an obstruction in breathing is caused while sleeping, and thereby a vibrating sound is created, it is termed as snoring. It is troublesome and not liked. Many people want to get rid of this but can not, since they do not know how to do it. This problem is not that uncommon and further, there is nothing to feel bad about it. Small changes would easily help you to overcome this problem. You must want to know how to stop snoring. As we proceed, you will get answer for sure.

Causes for snoring:

Many factors cause snoring. The common reason among all is old age. Now-a-days, smoking is increasing among masses. Majority of people tend to smoke for several reasons. Some smoke as a fashion, some find it stress reliever. But they don't realize that they are slowly poisoning themselves. Further, it causes blockage of lungs and nose, thereby causing snoring. If a person is sleeping on his back, rather than on side, he is likely to snore more than a person, who sleeps on his side. Obesity not only causes cancer, menstrual disorder etc but it also causes the problem of snoring. Snoring is resulted, when fatty issues block the air through the throat. Alcohol causes muscles to relax and the person tends to snore. Sedatives, when used, tend to relax muscles and result in snoring. It is difficult for air to get through the nose due to cold or sinus infection.

What to do when cause is detected?

Once the cause of snoring is known, no further time should be wasted in figuring out the next move. All that needs to be done is to take steps in the direction to remove the same.

Some solutions for snoring:

Losing extra weight can be solution, if obesity is the root cause. In order to take off extra kilos, you can engage in sporting activities, walk approximately 25-30 minutes daily, use stairs instead of elevator etc. There is no simple exercise than walking. Exercise can be provided to entire body by practicing surya namaskaras. If you are sleeping on the back flat, avoid that. Instead, try sleeping on your side. Reduction in alcohol consumption would definitely prove to be beneficial. Cutting down smoking would be favorable for you, if you are troubled by snoring. Since aging is natural, there is nothing anyone can do about it. But everyone can follow daily exercise, healthy diet to stay young. Psychologically speaking, youth is a mental state. It's in your hands to make your life more exciting by discovering new avenues.

Stop snoring devices and products:

There are many stop snoring products and devices that are available in the market. Some of them are, stop snoring mouthpiece, stop snoring chin strap, snoring mask, pillow to stop snoring etc. They are popular among masses and have proved their effectiveness. It takes time for people to get used to them. And they may seem to be expensive. But once you are used to it, you will have no problems at all. With the proper search, you will be able to find products that are not expensive, can be afforded and can be comfortable to use. You should use such a device that does not wake you up during sleep, but helps you to sleep better. There should not be a problem in moving, even though you have it on.

Conclusion:

The way to do something is just doing it. All you need to do is to make up your mind and the rest will fall in line. You will realise how simple it is. This is how you will get relief from snoring, that you have been seeking for a long time.

Address your snoring problems with the help of howtostopsnoringinstantly.com. If you are interested to learn a little more about the other possible ways which can help you resolve this issue, then go and visit preventing snoring for additional information.

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