Sleep deprivation and Addiction

July 31, 2014

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Why it is important to sleep well

Sleep deprivation is not healthy at all. It becomes complicated if you are addicted to certain substances. Ensure you get enough sleep for good health.

After a long day of work you retire home and after taking a cold or warm bath and c nice healthy meal all you would want is to fall asleep. It is actually a routine that we retire to bed every night. What many may not know is that sleep is not just for relaxation of your body after work, it also has great benefits other than relaxing like good memory, health, looks, ability to lose weight and even positives on your sex life. It is therefore necessary that we have not just good but adequate sleep. The following are some of the consequences of not having enough sleep:

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Accidents

Majority of fatal accidents on our transport sector especially road transport is as a result of sleep deprivation. Drowsiness can slow reaction time as much as driving drunk will. The problem is not just on the road poor-quality sleep also leads to accidents and injuries at the workstations. In one study, workers who complained about excessive daytime sleepiness had significantly more work accidents, particularly repeated work accidents. They also had more sick days per accident.

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Sleep Loss Dumbs You Down

Sleep plays a major role in thinking and learning. Lack of sleep injures these cognitive processes in many ways. It impairs attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving. This makes it more difficult to learn efficiently. Besides these during the night, various sleep cycles play a role in combining memories in the mind and if you are deprived of sleep, you may not be able to remember what you learned and experienced during the day.

Sleep Deprivation Can Lead to Serious Health Problems

Sleep disorders and chronic sleep loss can put you at risk for:

Heart disease
Heart attack
Heart failure
Irregular heartbeat
High blood pressure
Stroke
Diabetes

Lack of Sleep Kills Sex Drive

The experts are reporting that sleep-deprived people may report lower libidos and less interest in sex. Depleted energy, sleepiness, and increased tension may be largely to blame.

For men with sleep apnea, a respiratory problem that interrupts sleep, there may be another factor in the sexual slump. A study published in 2002 suggests that many men with sleep apnea also have low testosterone levels. In the study, nearly half of the men who suffered from severe sleep apnea also secreted abnormally low levels of testosterone during the night.

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Depression

Over time, lack of sleep and sleep disorders can contribute to the symptoms of depression. The most common sleep disorder, insomnia, has the strongest link to depression. In a 2007 study of 10,000 people, those with insomnia were five times as likely to develop depression as those without. In fact, insomnia is often one of the first symptoms of depression.

Insomnia and depression feed on each other. Sleep loss often aggravates the symptoms of depression, and depression can make it more difficult to fall asleep. On the positive side, treating sleep problems can help depression and its symptoms, and vice versa.

Lack of Sleep Ages Your Skin

Most people have experienced sallow skin and puffy eyes after a few nights of missed sleep. But it turns out that chronic sleep loss can lead to lackluster skin, fine lines, and dark circles under the eyes.

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body releases more of the stress hormone cortisol. In excess amounts, cortisol can break down skin collagen, the protein that keeps skin smooth and elastic.

Sleep loss also causes the body to release too little human growth hormone. When we’re young, human growth hormone promotes growth. As we age, it helps increase muscle mass, thicken skin, and strengthen bones.

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Forgetfulness

If you want to keep your memory sharp then get good and adequate sleep. Researchers have established that the brain events called sharp wave ripples are responsible for consolidating memory. The ripples also transfer learned information from the hippocampus to the neocortex of the brain, where long-term memories are stored. Sharp wave ripples occur mostly during the deepest levels of sleep.

Losing Sleep Can Make You Gain Weight

When it comes to body weight, it may be that if you snooze, you lose. Lack of sleep seems to be related to an increase in hunger and appetite, and possibly to obesity. People who sleep for under six hours a day are almost 30 percent more likely to become obese than those who slept seven to nine hours.

Recent research has focused on the link between sleep and the peptides that regulate appetite. Ghrelin stimulates hunger and leptin signals satiety to the brain and suppresses appetite and sleep deprivation is associated with decreases in leptin and elevations in ghrelin. Not only does sleep loss appear to stimulate appetite. It also stimulates cravings for high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods. Ongoing studies are considering whether adequate sleep should be a standard part of weight loss programs.

Sleep Loss Impairs Judgment

Lack of sleep can affect our interpretation of events. This hurts our ability to make sound judgments because we may not assess situations accurately and act on them wisely.

Sleep-deprived people seem to be especially prone to poor judgment when it comes to evaluating the effects of lack of sleep in their lives. In our increasingly fast-paced world, functioning on less sleep has become a kind of badge of honor. But sleep experts say if you think you’re doing fine on less sleep, then you’re very wrong for example if you work in a profession where it’s important to be able to judge your level of functioning then this can be a big problem.

Studies show that over time, people who are getting six hours of sleep, instead of seven or eight, begin to feel that they’ve adapted to that sleep deprivation they’ve gotten used to it. However if you look at how they actually do on tests of mental alertness and performance, they continue to go downhill. So there’s a point in sleep deprivation when we lose touch with how impaired we are. In conclusion take time and sleep well because failing will not just be disastrous to you but even to others. In case of any problem of addiction or weight gain due to your action of sleeping less then you may want to visit AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s care for professional help. Doctor Dalal Akoury will focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE and you will have your life back completely.

Sleep deprivation and Addiction – Why it is important to sleep well

Understanding Depression

July 16, 2014

What is depression?

Depression is one of the common symptoms of addiction from drugs. It refers to a condition or illness that causes a constant feeling of sadness and lack of interest. The depressed person will in most cases stay isolated and doesn’t like talking to other people around. Although it is common that any human being will at one time feel moody and not willing to talk with people around, this happens for some time then it disappears. In the case of depressed persons this state doesn’t seem to go away.

What causes this depression?

Depression mostly is caused by chemical compounds which lower neurotransmission levels, which in turn depresses or reduces arousal or simulation in various areas of the brain. These drugs which contain this compound known to cause depression are widely being used all over the world either as prescription medicines or illicit substances. These drugs are used for their effects which are initially friendly e.g. pain relief, sedation etc. but in the long run or abuse, they result into depression.

Which are the indicators of depression?

Depression symptoms can be identified through behavior of the depressed person, or through the feeling of the depressed. Some of the common symptoms of depression may include;

Concentration difficulties, difficulties in remembering details of something and even decision making difficulties. The depressed person can be observed to possess at least one all even all of these challenges.
Loss of interest in activities. The person may loss interest in activities that he/she liked previously. For instance, a person who liked playing chess, may no longer show any interest in playing it and his/her friends may be able to observe this abrupt change in taste.
The depressed person may show signs of chronic headaches, cramps, pains etc.
Sometimes the depressed person will possess intense sadness, anxiety and “feeling” towards the people around.
The person may look restless. In many cases, a depressed person will not seem to settle and often he/she looks disturbed by something unknown.
Some victims of depression are faced with fatigue and decrease in energy that they initially possessed.
A depressed person may feel worthless and helpless. This can be observed when the person possessed indicators of low esteem.
A depressed person will either miss sleep or oversleep. In terms of sleeping they do it to the extremes.
Another symptom worthy mentioning is that a depressed person possesses thoughts of suicide or sometimes attempt to commit suicide.

Note: The depressed person may possess several of these symptoms at the same time and thus, do not over rely on one indicator to judgment. Also note that sometimes, what you see as a symptom may actually not be. For instance, not all the times being moody will be considered a symptom of depression!

Diagnosis of depression

The detection of depression and determination of its type and intensity requires a professional person. Are you wondering where you will get these professionals? Then you don’t have to worry anymore! At AWAREmed, we have professionals who will diagnose you and if diagnosed with depression, you will be given the appropriate treatment for you to recover completely.

How we diagnose

It is a fact that we had for long been accustomed to doctors using specialized blood tests or some other expensive lab tests which helped them in making a conclusive diagnosis. This is no longer helpful when it comes to depression. One of the most powerful tool which has been proven effective is talking to the patient, as you try to analyze the situation and identify symptoms. This is the tool that we mainly use to ensure that we give you the most appropriate and effective treatment which will lead you to a very fast recovery from depression. The importance of it is to give you a sustained recovery. It has been common that depression as a mental problem in many cases may have some other underlying factors, which not unless they are addressed, the result may not be sustained for long and thus lapse may occur.

depression

How do we treat depression?

Just like any other disease, treatment of depression begins with diagnosis. Once you have been diagnosed with depression, you can now proceed to the step of treatment. Here, the doctor will discuss various depression options with you. The appropriate treatment for depression will depend on the type of depression you have. For example, based on the type of depression that you have, the doctor will decide which of either antidepressants, psychotherapy or both will work best for you. The appropriate treatment will then be administered.

Sometimes, a person may be subjected to a given treatment and then he/she doesn’t respond to the standard depression treatment. In this case, the doctor may opt you train your brain via simulation techniques. Whatever treatment the doctor prescribes to you, it is importat to note that there is no instant solution. You must be patient to heal slowly and finally be fully depression free. You must remember that you should not give up in the race of addiction recovery.

What is depression?

Poor sleep insomnia and Depression will cause obesity

February 19, 2014

Poor sleep insomnia and Depression will cause obesity-But why

Many people don’t know that Poor sleep insomnia and Depression will cause obesity

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the world over and especially more developed countries. The problem is so common among adolescents. A substantial impact on public health could be achieved if other factors causing obesity besides the conventional ones of diet and physical activity could be identified and acted upon.

The present study investigates whether there is a link between low sleep quality and obesity in a cross-sectional sample of male and female adolescents ages 11–16 years old (Heartfelt Study). Sleep quality was expressed as two variables that is total sleep time and sleep disturbance time within 24-hour wrist actigraphy. A percent of body fat and body mass index (BMI) were used together to define obesity.

The potential influence of demographic and behavioral confounders was considered in models that described the relation of sleep to obesity occurrence. Obese adolescents experienced less sleep than no obese adolescents (P < 0.01). For each hour of lost sleep, the odds of obesity increased by 80%. Sleep disturbance was not directly related to obesity in the sample, but influenced physical activity level (P < 0.01). Daytime physical activity diminished by 3% for every hour increase in sleep disturbance. The above observations were independent of potential confounding variables. Inadequate and poor sleep quality in adolescents may be important factors to consider in the prevention of childhood obesity.

Poor sleep insomnia and Depression will cause obesity -What is Insomnia?

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that millions of people all over the world have to live with. Individuals with insomnia find it difficult to either fall asleep or stay a sleep. Its commonly leads to daytime sleepiness and general feeling of being unwell both physically and mentally.

Although insomnia can affect people at any age, it is more common in adult females than adult males. The sleeping disorder can undermine school and work performance, as well as being a cause of obesity, anxiety, depression, irritability, concentration problems, memory problems, poor immune system function, and reduced reaction time. Insomnia has also been associated with a higher risk of developing chronic diseases.

Poor sleep insomnia and Depression will cause obesity-What Causes Insomnia?

Insomnia can be caused by physical factors as well as psychological factors. There is often an underlying medical condition that causes chronic insomnia, while transient insomnia may be due to a recent event or occurrence.

 Disruptions in circadian rhythm: jet lag, job shift changes, high altitudes, noisiness, hotness or coldness

 Psychological issues: people with mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder or depression, as well as anxiety disorders or psychotic disorders are more likely to have insomnia.

 Medical conditions: brain lesions and tumors, stroke, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, congestive heart failure, angina, acid-reflux disease (GERD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, sleep apnea, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, hyperthyroidism, arthritis

 Hormones: estrogen, hormone shifts during menstruation

 Other factors: sleeping next to a snoring partner, parasites, genetic conditions, overactive mind, pregnancy

 Media technology in the bedroom – researchers from the University of Helsinki, Finland, reported in the journal BMC Public Health that media technology in the bedroom disrupts sleep patterns in children. They found that children with TVs, computers, video games, DVD players and mobile phones in their bedrooms slept considerably less than kids without these devices in their bedrooms.

Poor sleep insomnia and Depression will cause obesity -How is insomnia treated?

Some types of insomnia resolve themselves when the underlying cause is removed or wears off. In general, treating insomnia focuses on determining the cause of the sleeping problems. Once identified, this underlying cause can be properly treated or corrected. In addition to treating the underlying cause of insomnia, both medical and non-pharmacological (behavioral) treatments may be employed as adjuvant therapies.

Natural approaches to treating insomnia include:

Improving “sleep hygiene” – don’t over- or under-sleep, exercise daily, don’t force sleep, try to maintain a regular sleep schedule, avoid caffeine at night, do not smoke, do not go to bed hungry, make sure the environment is comfortable
Using relaxation techniques – such as meditation and muscle relaxation
Cognitive therapy – one-on-one counseling or group therapy
Stimulus control therapy – only go to bed when sleepy, refrain from TV, reading, eating, or worrying in bed, set an alarm for the same time every morning (even weekends), avoid long daytime naps
Sleep restriction – decrease the time spent in bed and partially deprive your body of sleep so you are more tired the next night.

Poor sleep insomnia and Depression will cause obesity–What is Depression?

Many people are depressed but don’t know it. Others may seem depressed to friends but really aren’t. It seems that we all have stereotypes of what depression is, but they aren’t always accurate in reality. One way to understand depression is to see it as consisting of two factors, or primary components. They are the psychological or “cognitive” component which affects mood, and the physical or “somatic” component which influences areas such as sleep and appetite. Viewing depression in this way sometimes helps to determine the primary cause of the problem.

Poor sleep insomnia and Depression will cause obesity -Natural solutions of Depression

Exercise – There is no doubt that regular physical exercise and activity is the cheapest and most efficient way to control your mood. Not only do exercise release brain chemicals which fight depression, it also gives a person a greater sense of control over his or her life.

Get rid of anger – Remember, an old definition of depression is “anger turned inward.” Unresolved resentment can damage both your relationships and health. Chronic anger and hostility can be your worst enemies. If anger is a problem, try taking an anger or stress management class to learn techniques to ward off long-standing angry feelings.

Keep a positive attitude – There is an entire field called “positive psychology,” which has grown from research that indicates the people with positive attitudes fight disease better and live healthier lives. I know it’s easier said than done, but remember the famous saying of Abraham Lincoln… “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Don’t take yourself too seriously – This is a tip that I’ve learned both from my own life and many of my patients. Humor is an important part of life. Some people have the ability to laugh at themselves, while others don’t. And each day, everything changes anyway. Laughing is good for all of us. Seeing the silly parts of life may give you a fresh point of view and change your mood.

Stay motivated – Try to set a goal for yourself, and then develop a plan of simple, small steps to get to the goal. Perhaps exercise is a good place to start. The keys to motivation are to not get overwhelmed with a goal that is too big or unrealistic, and to write things down to keep track of progress.

Talk to someone – If you were seeing a mental health professional before treating your obesity, keep in touch with them after as well. Remember, treating your obesity has a major emotional impact, and your life will change. Although these changes are mostly for the better, it is a good idea to have someone other than family or friends to talk to as you adjust to your new life.

If poor sleep insomnia and Depression is causing obesity in your life, help is on the way with doctor Akoury of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center. In this facility Doctor Akoury focuses on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE.

Poor sleep insomnia and Depression will cause obesity-But why

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