Chronobiology

Children and Sleep: The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Behavior and Health

As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make them drink. Putting children to bed is a similar experience for many exhausted parents. You can go through a bedtime routine and tuck the little ones in at an early hour, but there is no “off” button. Some children lie awake for hours or get out of bed repeatedly asking for glasses of water and other diversions. This can lead to sleep deprivation for the whole family. Unfortunately, studies on children and sleep show that sleep deprivation can create behavioral issues and even affect children’s future physical health.

Children and Sleep: Is Lack of Sleep a National Epidemic?

There are hundreds of books on the market instructing parents on how to get their children to sleep. Many of these are focused on infants, who notoriously keep their parents awake at night. However, sleep deprivation is an issue for older children as well. Six out of ten middle-schoolers and almost 90 percent of teens do not get the sleep they need, according to pediatricians. School-aged children also are missing out on the valuable shut-eye that they need in large and ever-increasing numbers.

This sleep deprivation can have devastating effects on physical health and even behavior. American pediatricians have called for a variety of measures to remedy this, including later school times and earlier bed times. However, the problem appears to be worsening. Children are getting less sleep than ever in the U.S. and throughout the Western world. This is worsening to the point where some pediatricians have called sleep deprivation a public health crisis.

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Growing Minds and Bodies

Unfortunately, sleep deprivation does not come without a cost. Going to bed late, even in the preschool years, is tied to obesity. Because having a healthy circadian rhythm is necessary to a variety of metabolic processes, children who grow up consistently getting lower than recommended amounts of sleep later are more prone to unhealthy weight gain. This is especially true for children who come from low-income households, who are minorities, or who have less educated mothers—in other words, children who are already statistically at a higher risk of health problems than their peers.

The effects of sleep deprivation do not merely affect weight, but behavior as well. Adults who get less than adequate sleep are more emotionally labile and this appears to be true for children as well. In children, this may manifest as poor behavior. In addition, children who do not get enough sleep are at higher risk of depression and anxiety later on in life. For many families, this creates a downward spiral in which sleep deprivation creates bedtime behavior problems, which in turn create more sleep deprivation for both parents and tots.

Natural Solutions to Bedtime Drama

While melatonin helps many adults to nod off at bedtime, the jury is out as to whether it can be effective in breaking the link between poorly-behaved children and sleep deprivation. Melatonin appears to help children fall asleep faster, but it also has more side effects in those who are young, including headaches and appetite loss. It has been shown to help children with ADHD fall asleep, but these results are preliminary and will have to be further studied. Because its long-term effects on children have not been adequately studied, parents should talk to their pediatrician about whether this is the right choice for their family.

There are other ways that parents can help children to get enough sleep. Experts recommend turning off screens and dimming lights well before bedtime. Having a relaxing and unchanging bedtime routine also can help children to fall asleep. Light therapy during the day may be helpful for children who suffer from a delayed sleep phase, in which children have a circadian clock that runs a bit late. Last, avoid exposure to caffeine and nicotine, which is present in secondhand smoke. These stimulants are always bad for children, but they can have the additional effect of keeping them awake well after they’re tucked into bed.

Getting children to bed in time for a restful night of sleep may not always be easy, but the alternatives can be devastating to physical and emotional health. There are a variety of healthy, natural ways to help children get the sleep they need to be healthy and happy throughout their days and well into adulthood.

Melatonin for Jet Lag: Reset Your Body Clock Naturally When Travelling Across Time Zones

Oct 20 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Modern life requires travel. Americans and Western Europeans have become more mobile than ever, which means that seeing family and building a career often means some type of travel is involved. As a result, jet lag is not just a problem for executives anymore. Millions of people find their circadian rhythm is disrupted by the busy schedule of modern life. Luckily, there are safe, natural ways to get your internal clocks back on track.

What Is Jet Lag?

Jet lag, or desynchronosis, is a state in which your inner clocks are not aligned with the external time. People can get jet lag from traveling across time zones. There is also a phenomenon called social jet lag, in which people have to be awake for work or other obligations during hours that don’t sync with their circadian rhythm.

Regardless of the reason for jet lag, it can have devastating effects on health. People with jet lag feel fatigued, yet often have trouble sleeping. They can feel mentally fuzzy and suffer from lower cognition and memory. Jet lag also puts people at higher risk of suffering from adverse health events such as infections. Despite the huge number of physical and psychological effects of jet lag, modern medicine offers very few solutions to this common problem.

Factors That Can Make Jet Lag Better… Or Worse

You may have noticed that you do not get jet lag every time you step on or off a plane. This is because there are a variety of factors that can make jet lag better or worse. For instance, researchers have found that traveling east causes worse jet lag symptoms than traveling west. It ends up that our natural internal rhythms are actually set for slightly longer than 24 hours, so it is easier to add time to our day by moving to an earlier time zone than to subtract hours in the day. Staying hydrated and eating healthy also can keep jet lag from being as severe. The healthier your body is, the more likely it will be to adjust to challenges such as travel quickly and seamlessly.

Even if you are traveling east, there are several ways that you can mitigate the effects of jet lag. Drinking lots of water helps, as travel is dehydrating and this can make jet lag symptoms worse. Avoiding caffeine, alcohol and other substances also help your body to get back on track more quickly. Ensure that you eat a wide variety of healthy foods to get the vitamins your body needs and that you get plenty of exercise. Last, do things that help your body to adjust to your new time zone. Make sure you get plenty of light exposure during the day and eat at set times.

Melatonin for Jet Lag: A Safe, Natural Treatment

Research on melatonin for jet lag has found that this supplement can make a huge difference in helping people to get both the quality and the quantity of sleep they need. Melatonin is naturally produced by your body in preparation for sleep. If you are planning to travel, scientists recommend trying to slowly adjust to the new time zone before you leave by either going to bed progressively later or taking melatonin so you can go to bed earlier. Our bodies take approximately one day per time zone to adjust, but this process can be done before travel to make the transition easier.

There are also other safe, natural remedies besides melatonin for jet lag. Stanford researchers have developed a mask that can be controlled by your smartphone intended to help treat jet lag. It uses light to help your body adjust to changes in time zone. There is also a Stop Jet Lag app that can guide you in preparing for and undergoing a large trip without being devastated by fatigue and other symptoms. The Anti-Jet Lag Calculator is a similar app that helps you to align your circadian rhythm with a new time zone by carefully planning when you eat meals and perform other daily tasks.

Unfortunately, jet lag is a fact of modern life. However, you do not have to live with the fatigue, clouded thinking, insomnia and other effects of this disorder. There are many different ways of helping your body to adjust to a new time zone with as few physical effects as possible. Taking charge of your circadian rhythm is taking charge of your health.

Vitamin D and Asthma: Supplementation Found to Lower Risk of Severe Attacks

Oct 10 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Most of us take breathing for granted. While everyone must breathe to stay alive, it happens unconsciously and we only notice it when we have a cold or another illness that makes breathing difficult. Asthma is a health problem affecting millions of people in the United States alone. While there are medications available, many people with asthma still suffer from debilitating symptoms and even have to seek emergency medical care just to stay alive. New research on vitamin D and asthma suggests that taking this supplement along with your current medications can reduce your daily symptoms, your number of asthma attacks and the amount of rescue medication that you need to breathe.

The Physiology of Asthma

Although many people have asthma, it is often misunderstood. Asthma is not a minor disease, but rather one that can lower your quality of life and even cause death when left untreated. Asthma is a disease affecting the passages that carry air to your lungs. Asthmatic people have airways that are prone to inflammation, which can reduce the amount of air that both enters and exits the lungs. Many asthmatics have low level chronic inflammation, but also sometimes experience an asthma attack. In an asthma attack, the inflammation increases quickly and compromises the ability to breathe. In many cases, this can be life-threatening.

The symptoms of asthma are primarily caused by inflammation of the airway passages. Symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath and coughing. Some people can identify triggers that cause an asthma attack to happen, such as seasonal allergies, dust, or aerobic exercise. Although the risk of having an asthma attack is 100 times greater during the night, for many asthma sufferers, the attacks appear to happen randomly. While treatment regimens vary for each unique individual, they usually include daily medication to reduce chronic inflammation as well as rescue inhalers that can be used when an attack is beginning. When these medications fail, steroids are used to immediately open airways. While many people can manage their disease effectively with modern medicines, others struggle with symptoms regularly and live in fear of a deadly attack.

Vitamin D and Asthma Attacks

Because asthma can be difficult to manage effectively and the medications have intense side effects, many people are searching for natural remedies to help them breathe easily. New research on vitamin D and asthma suggests that this vitamin may help to prevent severe attacks. People who add vitamin D to their current asthma treatment regimen may see their number of attacks reduced by half. Six percent of people in this study using just their standard medications had to get medical care for an attack while three percent of the group that took additional vitamin D required this help. In addition, people taking vitamin D needed steroids less often.

How can vitamin D make such a difference in the number of asthma attacks? The exact mechanism remains unclear, but previous studies have found that vitamin D deficiencies are linked to worse asthma symptoms. It is possible that many asthma sufferers are suffering from a vitamin deficiency that worsens their symptoms, which is easily treated. Researchers noted that it is not clear whether vitamin D supplements will reduce attacks in people who already have high levels of this vitamin in their bodies.

Natural Approaches to Treating Asthma

Because asthma is difficult to treat even with the best modern medication regimen, many people are turning to natural remedies to improve their breathing. Antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E may help by reducing overall inflammation levels in your body. Caffeine can help some asthma sufferers, as it dilates air passages. While some of these supplements may be effective, every asthma sufferer is different and has a treatment plan tailored to their needs. It is important to talk to your physician before adding a new treatment to your current plan.

A variety of modern studies are finding that chronic diseases, even potentially deadly ones like asthma, can be effectively treated with safe and natural remedies. Vitamins and minerals are essential to our health, so supplements can often make a huge difference. Getting a wide variety of essential vitamins may be a breath of relief for many asthma sufferers.

Ten Effective Natural Supplements for Andropause

Oct 07 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Most people have heard of menopause, the time at the end of a woman’s reproductive life during which hormone levels dip considerably. However, many don’t realize that men undergo a similar process. As men age, levels of androgens (male hormones) decrease, often contributing to a variety of health problems. This time period is called andropause, but is also known as men’s change of life or “manopause.” In addition, during this time many men deal with physical changes such as hyperplasia in their prostate and other new health concerns.

The effects of gradually-decreasing levels of testosterone and other male hormones can affect almost every part of your health and your life. Men often report a lower libido, fatigue, depression and weight gain. In addition, they may experience more subtle effects such as a higher risk of diabetes. Unlike menopause, andropause happens slowly and subtly over decades, which means many men never realize that they are going through it and don’t seek out the treatment that they need. The good news is there are many natural ingredients and supplements for andropause that can support your body in optimal health as you go through this natural transition.

Changing Needs Over a Lifetime

From birth through old age, our bodies are constantly changing and undergoing different processes. As a result, we have unique health needs in each stage of life. For example, infants need a diet rich in fats and cholesterol to support rapid growth in their brains. Children have higher calcium needs because their bones are growing quickly. Gender also plays a role; women of childbearing age need extra folic acid because this is so important to fetal development.

Like all people, men in andropause and beyond have a special set of health needs. They benefit from B vitamins to provide energy, vitamins E and C which function as healthy building blocks and other natural ingredients that can support healthy androgen levels without harming their prostate or their heart. While this may seem like a tall order, there are a variety of natural supplements for andropause that promote good health in aging men.

Supplements for Andropause

Our bodies are designed to experience declining levels of sex hormones as we age and our fertile years wane. However, there are several supplements for andropause that can offer support during this adjustment. These include:

L-arginine

L-arginine is a natural amino acid that encourages healthy blood flow and supports cardiovascular health. It accomplishes this by supporting healthy levels of nitric oxide, a natural blood vessel and muscle relaxant.

L-taurine

This amino acid functions in the human body as a “membrane stabilizer.” L-taurine has been found to help maintain muscle strength and proper nerve transmission.

Saw Palmetto

Saw palmetto has been found to help protect against prostate problems that often occur as men age. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common health problems in older men and can cause a variety of unpleasant symptoms such as urinary retention and frequent urination.

Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo promotes normal cognitive function, supporting healthy memory and attention span. These are both major concerns for many aging men.

Lignans

Lignans are a class of plant phenols that act as powerful antioxidants in the human body. Supplying the body with sufficient levels of antioxidants can help protect against some of the deleterious effects of aging and specifically support cardiovascular and cellular health.

Tribulus Terrestris

Tribulus is a derivative of the terrestris or puncture vine plant that works to naturally support healthy testosterone levels in men.

Piperine

Piperine is a black pepper derivative that has been found to have a wide range of health benefits, including helping to soothe minor pain.

B Vitamins

B vitamins act as vital co-factors to help boost energy and support a healthy metabolism.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant vitamin that helps your body to resist the biochemical stressors it encounters on a daily basis over the years.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an essential vitamin for the creation and repair of connective tissue. The breakdown of connective tissue and the collagen that supports it is the main culprit behind wrinkles and other visible signs of aging.

There are many natural, affordable and side-effect free supplements that can help you to age more gracefully and enjoy better health along the way. If or someone you love is a man approaching the golden years, research supplements for andropause and the difference that these can make in your quality of life.

Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder: When You Get Tired Too Early and Wake Up Too Soon

Oct 01 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Do you always tend to feel sleepy before everyone else? Does your internal alarm clock go off before dawn? You may suffer from Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder (ASPD), also known as Advanced Sleep Phase Syndrome.

You have probably read about the genetic differences between early birds and night owls. For some people, however, “early to bed and early to rise” is actually a disorder. Their ideal sleep hours occur earlier than modern life allows, often leaving them without the quality sleep that they need to get through the day. The good news is that if you find yourself nodding off over afternoon tea, there are ways of pushing back your circadian clock.

Not Just an Early Bird

We are told from a young age that the early bird catches the worm. Indeed, many careers and life paths still favor those who naturally go to bed early and rise with the sun. While night owls are crawling out of bed with bleary eyes, early birds are already awake and raring to go. However, just as with all sleep schedules, extremes can be unhealthy and interfere with your health.

Even the earliest early bird can make it through dinner without falling asleep and even enjoy the occasionally night out. When people have an internal clock that sends them to bed far earlier than even your standard early bird, this is considered Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder.

What Is Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder?

Although we think of our desired bedtime as a lifestyle choice, it is actually deeply embedded in our brains. When our eyes stop sensing light, they send messages to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, deep in the brain. This area of the brain tells the pineal gland to release melatonin, which primes your body for sleep as well as performing a variety of other important activities. Over months and years, our brains become used to a particular pattern.

For people with Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder, the brain begins releasing melatonin far too early. They are sleepy and ready for bed around 8-9 p.m. and wake around 4 or 5 a.m. This disorder appears to be inherited, with around half of a sufferer’s children also inheriting the disease. Staying awake late into the night, or even past dinner time, is a struggle for people with ASPD. Even if they want to stay awake, their brains are working hard to make their eyes heavy and their bodies ache for a bed. They begin releasing melatonin far earlier than other people and begin making cortisol, the hormone associated with wakefulness, far before dawn.

Treatment Options for ASPD

While it is difficult to change one’s innate sleep-wake cycle, the good news is that Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder can be treated. Most doctors recommend a combination of behavioral changes and other therapies. People should go to bed at the same time every night and awake at the same time in the morning, even on weekends or days off. This keeps the body from slipping into a less adaptive rhythm. Because it is almost impossible to change your sleep schedule in one sweeping shift, most experts recommend aiming to stay up a mere fifteen minutes later every night.

In addition, people with Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder can benefit from light therapy during the day and melatonin supplements at night. Light therapy, consisting of exposing yourself to bright lights for a short period of time, sends a message to the brain that now is the time for wakefulness. Melatonin supplements taken in the morning show your body that it is not yet time to wake for the day. Because your body uses these cues to regulate its circadian rhythm, purposely seeking them out can have a huge and beneficial effect on your sleep-wake cycles. Antidepressants may also help many people with ASPD, as they balance out serotonin levels to allow for optimal neurological function.

Happy Sleep, Happy Life

Why go to all this trouble? Why not simply go to bed early? Unfortunately, for people suffering from ASPD, this can interfere with daily life and lead to getting less sleep overall. Getting the right quantity and quality of sleep is crucial to feeling your best, having enough energy and even to your long-term physical health. The therapies for Advanced Sleep Phase Disorder are inexpensive and have few side effects, so many people find that the effort is worth it in the long run.

If you or a loved one cannot stay awake even until reasonable times, ASPD may be the cause. Luckily, there are ways to correct this disorder so you can get the sleep you need while living a healthy and fulfilling life.

Cancer and the Circadian Clock: Recent Insights Offer New Hope

Sep 29 by Ewcopywriting Leave a Comment

Cancer was once a dreaded death sentence. New research, specifically studies on cancer and the circadian clock, are offering new understanding and new hope.

Around half of all people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, making it one of the most common diseases in the modern world. While cancer once had a very high mortality rate, many people are now able to survive this disease and thrive with the help of modern therapies and treatments. The emerging science of chronobiology may hold the key to understanding and treating many common types of cancer.

Cancer and the Circadian Clock

Cancer cannot grow and metastasize without sabotaging the “checkpoints” on cell division and metabolism that exist in healthy cells. The circadian rhythm is intricately entwined with these checkpoints. Every cell in our body lives, functions and dies by a rhythm set by our internal clocks, which are in turn set by light levels, the times we eat, and a variety of other factors. In cancer cells, these rhythms are often disrupted so the cell can divide without normal controls.

In a recent study of liver tumors, the cancer cells were found to not only divide inappropriately, leading to tumor growth, but also to interfere with the normal function of the liver as a whole. The liver is responsible for a wide range of metabolic activities, which include glucose regulation and toxin removal from the blood. When liver cells turn cancerous, they act erratically. A small liver tumor can disrupt the entire body’s metabolism by disrupting how glucose is regulated.

Marching to the Beat of Its Own Drum

In many ways, cancer cells act like “hijackers,” taking over normal bodily functions and performing them in an erratic way. However, not all tumors function independent of the circadian rhythm. Some cancers, such as certain types of leukemia, depend on circadian rhythm genes to survive. A recent study found that normal stem cells in the blood can survive even without BMAL1, a crucial gene that regulates the circadian rhythm of each cell. On the other hand, stem cells with leukemia die when this gene is “knocked out.” This insight may present a new method of treating leukemia by genetically modifying cells with this cancer so they don’t express a gene that is important to their survival.

The Circadian Rhythm

Liver cancer and leukemia are not the only two cancers to show a link to the circadian rhythm in research. Breast cancer also appears to be associated with a circadian rhythm gene. Because breast cancer in itself is not life-threatening, metastasis is generally its biggest threat. Cancerous cells can eventually leave the breast and travel to the brain, the lungs, or the bones, where they can interfere with more necessary tissue. Having even small mutations in a circadian rhythm gene called Arntl2 is an important predictor of breast cancer death. The reason for this increased morbidity is that tumors with a functioning Arntl2 gene are unlikely to metastasize.

Sleep Disorders: A Cancer Risk Factor?

The link between cancer and the circadian clock is especially clear when you examine the relationship between sleep and cancer outcomes. Regardless of the type of cancer, having sleep apnea (and possibly other disorders that interfere with sleep) is a risk factor for poor cancer outcomes. People with sleep apnea suffer from decreased oxygenation during their sleep, which increases levels of VEGF, or vascular endothelial growth factor. VEGF is crucial for the survival of cancer cells because it creates new blood vessels, allowing them to get the nutrients they need to grow out of control. While we associate sleep apnea with poor sleep and snoring, it may have even greater effects on our health in the long run.

New Treatments and New Hope

Because cancer is so dependent on the circadian rhythm, some people may benefit from taking medications that attack cancer cells at certain times of day. Treating a disease at a particular time of day, a practice known as chronotherapy, ensures that cancer cells are hit with the right drugs at the right time—the time when they are most likely to deliver optimal effects. This practice can also lead to fewer side effects, as treatments can be targeted to times when they have the least impact on healthy cells. While normal cells undergo growth and metabolism only at certain times of the day, cancerous cells that have lost their checkpoints tend to divide without any set time frame or even a pause. They are in constant growth phase. Taking medications at times of the day when healthy cells are not active (but cancer cells are!) allows drugs to hit cancer cells alone while sparing healthy ones.

While treatment for cancer was once limited to surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, new research has brought forth new medications and treatments that kill malignant cells by disrupting their growth and other key metabolic processes. Understanding more about the relationship between cancer and the circadian clock will allow doctors to attack cancer more aggressively while yielding better outcomes for the people who suffer from this disease. Because all of us will suffer from cancer or love someone who does in our lifetimes, this is truly life-changing research.