Snoozester Sleep Blog

According to this article in Scientific American, by not getting enough sleep, a child’s risk of being overweight doubles and chances of later depression and anxiety increase. In two separate studies, young children who slept too little, were twice as likely to be overweight by age 3 and reported more anxiety, depressions and aggressive behavior as adults.

According to this article in Bangkok Post, just a few minutes of sleep can improve your memory and mental performance. Dr. Olaf Lahl at the University of Dusseldorf (Germany) conducted an experiment in which volunteers were asked to remember a list of 30 words. Then, the volunteers played solitaire for one hour. During the one hour period, some of the volunteers were allowed to take a 6 minute nap, while others were asked to stay awake. The experiment found that subjects who took a brief nap displayed “superior recall” when compared to subjects that stayed awake.

According to an article by Joy Bauer Nutrition, the following bedtime snacks can create feelings of calm and sleepiness. See full article.

The article suggests the snacks to be “no more than 200 calories and should be eaten at least 30 minutes prior to bed”

For Adults
- 6-8 oz container of non-fat, flavored yogurt topped with 2 tablespoons low-fat granola cereal
- Sliced apple with 1-2 teaspoons natural peanut butter
- 3 cups low-fat popcorn – sprinkled with optional 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

For Teens
- One cup healthy cereal with skim milk
- Low-fat granola bar
- Scoop of vanilla or strawberry low-fat ice cream

For Children
–1/2 cup low-fat vanilla pudding
–1/2 banana with 1-2 teaspoons peanut butter
–One cup skim milk with a bunch of grapes (or other fruit)

Find out - About the Snoozester Sleep Blog

Massage therapist, Jen, sent us her video offering some helpful suggestions re: how to position a pillow for maximum support depending on your preferred sleeping position. Please note - this video and the associated comments are somewhat suggestive and may offend some viewers

Video - How to position your pillow

We found this post in Ask Yahoo about the ideal amount of sleep. Ask Yahoo says, “It all depends!”

National Sleep Foundation says that adults should get seven to nine hours of sleep a day while adolescents needs about 85.-9.5. Infants sleep the most (14-15 hours a day). The post also talks about benefits of taking naps.

Doctors at the SRI Sleep Research Institute have initiated a new study to ease the transition of smokers looking to quit their addition. Research shows that half the people who try to quit smoking do not succeed and it may have much of that has to do with a lack of sleep. Among the side effects of quitting is lack of enough sleep which can lead to various difficulties. Dr. Ian Colrain, Ph.D. believes that “Being tired and grumpy the next day. Your performance goes down. Your moods go bad. And you know how to fix tired and grumpy? You go back to smoking.” See full article

For those of you interested in self-improvement, check out Steve Pavlina’s blog, “Personal Development for Smart People.”

Steve’s blog has some interesting and useful tips to make you more effective. We’ve linked to Steve before, a few of his posts relate to sleeping patterns and waking up on time:

• How to Become an Early Riser
• How to Become an Early Riser Part II
• How to Get Up Right Away When Your Alarm Goes Off
• Polyphasic Sleep

The American Board of Sleep Medicine (ABSM) has an online directory of “sleep doctors.” You can browse the U.S. directory by name or by state. They also have an international directory.

“The ABSM is an independent organization developed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining standards of individual proficiency in clinical polysomnography”

This site, Sleep from A to Zzz, has been around since 1999, but for those of you who haven’t visited it before, it is a great resource for learning more about all aspects of sleep. The site has a forum, where you can discuss your personal habits and routines to help you fall asleep and wake up. The site also has: a timeline of the history of sleep research, an overview of what to expect if you visit a sleep lab and an interview with a sleep doctor.