Tag Archives: Sleep

Natural Remedies for Insomnia Caused By Addiction

March 18, 2015

Use of Chamomile, HOPS, Passion Flower, Valerian Roots, Californian Poppy for Insomnia Caused By Addiction

According to National Sleep Foundation, insomnia is difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, even when a person has the chance to do so. People with insomnia can feel dissatisfied with their sleep and usually experience the symptoms of poor sleep that may deter them from enjoying healthy lifestyles. This disease can affect people of all ages but adults are the major victims.

This foundation further stresses that, sleep is essential for a person’s health and wellbeing. But still there are millions of people who do not get enough sleep and many suffer from lack of sleep. NSF conducted survey between 1999-2004 that revealed that at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders and 60 percent of adults report having sleep problems a few nights a week or more. Most of those with these problems go undiagnosed and untreated. In addition, more than 40 percent of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month – with 20 percent reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more. Furthermore, 69 percent of children experience one or more sleep problems a few nights or more during a week.

insomnia

However insomnia can also be caused by addiction. And so far it is one of the serious symptoms of addiction. Drugs of abuse for example alcohol has been shown to interfere with normal sleep patterns since they disrupt particular neurotransmitters in the brain which control or regulate sleep. When these neurotransmitters are disrupted, disturbances can result. Small amounts of alcohol can cause early sedation or sleepiness, and is often used as a sedative. However, the use of alcohol as an effective sedative can be extremely misleading because the side effects that can result are usually even more harmful and detrimental to the natural sleep cycle. For instance, due to the natural elimination of alcohol from the body, arousal and sleep fragmentation can occur and the second half of the sleep period can be drastically interrupted. This is due to the fact that, although alcohol will cause sedation, it will also decrease rapid eye movement sleep in the first half of the night resulting in the rebound of rapid eye movement sleep later in the night.  Here are some of the natural ways through which addiction induced insomnia can be treated.

Passion flower

Passion flower is a good remedy for sleep disorders that had been previously got approved in the U.S as an over the counter sedative and sleep aid. However by this time its safety and effectiveness had not been approved and it was consequentially taken off market. This product can be used alone or in combination with other herbs to help cure insomnia that is induced by drug addiction. Some researchers opined that when passion flower tea is taken an hour before going to bed it may help to improve the quality of sleep. However there is still need for evidence to show it does all these effectively.

California poppy- also known as Eschscholzia californica, California poppy is a good remedy for sleep disorders. It works as a sedative and is known to promote sleep. Currently it can be found in different herbal remedies sold in the U.S for cure of insomnia, as relaxants and therapies for anxiety. Owing to its mild sedative and analgesic properties, it can be given safely to children. Clinical and laboratory work on California poppy has clearly demonstrated the plant’s sedative and anti-anxiety properties.  It has also been shown to improve both sleep latency and quality. You can use it solely or in combination with other herbs to help cure insomnia.

Hops – scientifically its known as Humulus lupulus

insomniaThe use of Hops dates back to early 1900s when Eclectic physicians used it as a sedative specifically for insomnia due to worry or nerve. This herb that is used as a major flavoring component of beer has been used for a long time to cure insomnia, nervousness, and restlessness. Hops pillows are sometimes used for mild insomnia. Having been used successfully in the past, trying it won’t hurt you.

Chamomile:  is scientifically known as Anthemis nobilis. This herb has been used as sedative for a long time and can be safely used with children as well as adults. In South America, Europe and Mexico chamomile tea is a common beverage that is honored for its effectiveness in curing such conditions as irritability, restlessness and insomnia both in children and adults. What’s more? Its oil can also be used in bathing waters to help soothe nerves. Its oil can also be used for massage. Chamomile is still one of the sought after sedatives with proven effectiveness.

 

Valerian: is scientifically known as Valeriana officinalis.  This is a common herb in the U.S where it is used widely for cure of insomnia restlessness and nervousness. This herb can reduce the time people take before falling asleep and is known to shorten sleep latency. When used it reduces chances of a person waking up in the night. As a herbal sedative, valerian has many benefits yet no known side effects that synthetic sedatives are loathed for. It can be used in combination with Hops, California poppy and chamomile among others.

These herbs are an excellent way to help you fight insomnia naturally. We at AWAREmed health and wellness center are dedicated to finding the best natural solutions to health problems. You can visit us at Myrtle Beach South Carolina where you will be attended to by Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) who has vast experience in integrative medicine for lifestyle diseases.

Use of Chamomile, HOPS, Passion Flower, Valerian Roots, Californian Poppy for Insomnia Caused By Addiction

 

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Holiday Skin Stress the enemy of beauty

December 24, 2014

Holiday Skin Stress the enemy of beauty – How to get the Glomar Back

Holiday skin stress

Holiday Skin Stress the enemy of beauty and surely it is. Stress can really frustrate your holiday and cause more harm to your skin. take time and relax its holiday time.

We are at it again the ups of holiday season. Look around you when a big event like the Christmas things literally changes like the city human population swells suddenly and all the shopping malls are parked to capacity, food joints are full, a lot of home cleaning takes place and everyone is in the celebration mood. Why? It is Christmas time or it is holiday and marry making moments. In many occasions like these there will plenty of food and drinks and as plenty as they are so is the plenty or big appetite. A lot of time is therefore taken in eating and drinking to the disadvantage of sleep. Because a lot of time is spent drinking and eating, little time is left for sleeping. The consequence of this is that, when you want to look sparkly and terrific, your skin gets the holiday blues. Did I get your attention? The holiday skin stress is the enemy of beauty.

Now that I have your attention, let me share with you some insight about the holiday skin stress being the enemy of beauty or do I say your beauty? Take a look at yourself from the dark circles under the eyes to an unquestionably green in the gills complexion to bloated, puffy, swollen eyes and zits when you least expect it, for many women seasonal skin problems can be plentiful. Have you noticed that? I’ am not trying to make you worry but I want to offer you working solutions offered by the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s care. This should be the good news to you as is explained by doctor Akoury the C.E.O of this facility. She says “not only are there things you can do right now to ensure your angelic glamorous during this season, but there are also some cosmetic tricks and tips to keep your holiday glowing into the New Year”.

Holiday Skin Stress the enemy of beauty – How to start protecting your skin

The best place to begin she says, is with some preventive care, starting as soon as may be conceivable. For instance, If you’re contemplate that you’re going to be partying a lot, it would be important that you start early ahead of time to make your skin look healthier. Remember that the laser treatments can be very essential in this process alongside the topical creams, particularly serums containing vitamin C or creams containing retinol. Remember that a good beginning or shape of your skin complexion as the holiday starts, will translate into that desired look throughout the season.

Besides that increasing the moisture level in your skin should also starting as early as possible in the holiday season. Our focus is still on the holiday skin stress being the enemy of beauty. Therefore a lot of the skin stress that appears during the holidays, including some dark circles, can be as a result of lack of moisture, particularly if you live in a cooler climate and again if you’re exposed to indoor heating, you’re likely to add to the dryness, and even that extra glass or two of wine could push you over into another skin type. Therefore the best solution to the problem is to trade up to a wealthier, more palliative moisturizer, beginning right at the start of the holiday season.

If you’ve been using a gel product for example, I will suggest that switching to a cream or lotion would be advisable. However if you’ve been using a cream or lotion, switch to a richer version and try using a night cream during the day. Or try a rich skin balm rather than a cream. Balms are products designed to offer optimum moisture, and they are excellent for buffering the skin against extreme dryness.

We appreciate that for many women, the biggest holiday skin problem is not just dryness but breakouts, even if they don’t normally suffer from acne. The reason for this is simply that stress causes women to produce more of that traditionally male hormone testosterone, and it’s those surges that give us the holiday zits. Therefore for those who are prone to acne it could happen more frequently, but even if you have great skin, holiday stress or any stress other stress for that matter can cause your skin to break out. The solution may be there in the over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid treatments, placed directly on the pimple but I want to recommend that you schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for more professional treatment.

Holiday Skin Stress the enemy of beauty – Curing Skin Hangover

Ordinarily you may be able to stop those holiday breakouts before they start if you exfoliate your skin regularly and use an alcohol-free toner to totally remove all traces of make-up and keep pores open. However a combination treatment of Kiehls blue astringent plus azaleic acid prescription cream, or go over-the-counter with benzoyl peroxide used preventatively will also be helpful upon consultation with your skincare professional. Nonetheless in the event that all your effort fails and a breakout still occurs hitting the pimple with a few drops of Visine to constrict blood vessels then pat lightly with a concealer matched to your skin tone.

Press the concealer into the blemish and feather around it. Add a bit of powder on cotton ball and press it on as well, because it’s that layering process that works best to hide a blemish. Using a heavy blob of concealer will make your blemish look more obvious, as will choosing a shade too light.

Holiday Skin Stress the enemy of beauty – After Curing a Skin Hangover

Though preventive measures can help, the inevitable “skin hangover” is still bound to occur. More alcohol, combined with richer, usually saltier foods, plus a lot less sleep, can come together to give you a bloated, puffy look, particularly the day after a night of holiday cheer. But experts say you can still face that 9 a.m. staff meeting looking bright eyed and bushy tailed if you simply play it cool. When it comes to holiday skin stress puffiness, particularly puffy eyes cold is the answer to it all, and cold packs may be the best of treatment available. Another way around the bloat is to spend the night after the party sleeping with your head elevated, the higher the elevation the better as this will make you wake up less puffy. Alcohol enlarges your blood vessels, and that is what allows the fluid to leave the vessels and enter the tissues, which in turn is what causes the puffiness. Therefore sleeping with your head elevated can help the fluids to drain from your puffy cheeks and eyes.

Finally the discussion about holiday Skin Stress being the enemy of beauty can only be concluded sufficiently in the doctor’s office. The welfare of your skin should be prioritize as number one by calling doctor Akoury today for further treatment for a more rejuvenated and glamorous appearance.

Holiday Skin Stress the enemy of beauty – How to get the Glomar Back

 

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Poor Sleep Insomnia Treatment

December 24, 2014

Poor Sleep Insomnia Treatment

Just like meals, sleep play a pivotal role in good health and wellbeing of a person. It is the only avenue through which the body rests. Everyone’s individual sleep needs vary. In general, most healthy adults are built for 16 hours of wakefulness and need an average of eight hours of sleep a night. However, some individuals are able to function without sleepiness or drowsiness after as little as six hours of sleep. Others can’t perform at their peak unless they’ve slept ten hours. And, contrary to common myth, the need for sleep doesn’t decline with age but the ability to sleep for six to eight hours at one time may be reduced. In spite of these differences the need for sleep can never be underestimated, everyone needs a good sleep to be able to perform normally.

According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), sleep is essential for a person’s health and wellbeing. But still there are millions of people who do not get enough sleep and many suffer from lack of sleep. NSF conducted survey between 1999-2004 that revealed that at least 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorders and 60 percent of adults report having sleep problems a few nights a week or more. Most of those with these problems go undiagnosed and untreated. In addition, more than 40 percent of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month – with 20 percent reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more. Furthermore, 69 percent of children experience one or more sleep problems a few nights or more during a week.

Complications_of_insomnia

What is insomnia?

According to National Sleep Foundation, insomnia is difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, even when a person has the chance to do so. People with insomnia can feel dissatisfied with their sleep and usually experience the symptoms of poor sleep that may deter them from enjoying healthy lifestyles. This disease can affect people of all ages but adults are the major victims.

Symptoms of Insomnia

  • Irritability, depression or anxiety
  • Difficulty paying attention, focusing on tasks or remembering
  • Increased errors or accidents
  • Tension headaches
  • Distress in the stomach and intestines (gastrointestinal tract)
  • Ongoing worries about sleep
  • Difficulty falling asleep at night
  • Awakening during the night
  • Awakening too early
  • Not feeling well rested after a night’s sleep
  • Daytime tiredness or sleepiness

Types of Insomnia 

Acute insomnia

InsomniaThis refers to a brief period of lack of sleep. This type of insomnia is mostly caused by life events and circumstances for example when you go to bed after receiving a stressful news or an unexcpected news that is too overwhelming. Acute insomnia will affect you for the least time and resolves without any medical intervention.

Chronic insomnia

Chronic insomnia is a situation when a person suffers difficulty in sleep for a longer period of time.

Insomnia is usually considered chronic if a person has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at least three nights per week for three months or longer. Unlike acute insomnia chronic insomnia needs medical intervention to be resolved.

Comorbid insomnia

Comorbid Insomnia occurs with another condition such as anxiety and depression. Some conditions are known to induce insomnia for example depression. There are also other diseases and medications that may affect sleeping pattern and cause insomnia. This kind of insomnia that is induced by other conditions is what is called comorbid insomnia.

Onset insomnia

This refers to difficulty falling asleep when a person begin sleeping especially at the beginning of the night.

Maintenance insomnia

Maintenance Insomnia refers the inability to stay asleep. People with maintenance insomnia wake up during the night and have difficulty returning to sleep.

 Causes of Insomnia

There are very many causes of insomnia. Here are some of the causes of insomnia.

Stress– when a person is stressed maybe about work or family issues his mind will be pondering on the subject of concern. An active mind makes it difficult for one to sleep. Some common stressors that may lead to insomnia include illness, job issues or even death of a loved one.

Anxiety– Anxiety is a common everyday problem. However there are more serious anxiety disorders like PTSD which will never give your brain a rest. Anxiety beckons insomnia and so should be avoided to help you sleep soundly and reap huge health benefits from it.

Depression- You might either sleep too much or have trouble sleeping if you’re depressed. Insomnia often occurs with other mental health disorders as well.

Medical conditions-there are conditions that will never let you sleep. These conditions may include; chronic pain, chest problems and even frequent urination. These conditions may cause difficulty in sleep. Diseases like cancer, arthritis, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and even Parkinson’s disease have been linked to insomnia.

Insomnia Treatment 

There are adjustments that one can make personally to reduce instances of insomnia. These may include avoiding stress, eating early and avoiding thoughts that may invoke emotions just before going to bed. However there are also medical approaches to treating insomnia. These may include; cognitive behavioral therapy.  We at AWAREmed health and wellness center are dedicated to finding the best natural solutions to health problems. You can visit us at Myrtle Beach South Carolina where you will be attended to by Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) who has vast experience in integrative medicine for lifestyle diseases.

Poor Sleep Insomnia Treatment

 

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Sleep Deprivation can Lead to health complications in all Seasons

December 18, 2014

Sleep Deprivation can lead to health complications in all Seasons – Are you planning to have enough sleep this holidays?

Sleep deprivation

Sleep Deprivation can lead to health complications in all seasons. The effect of not having enough sleep is not to be taken lightly.

Are you having enough sleep? The merits or demerits of whichever side you belong is what we want to handle in this article. We are privileged to have able and experienced experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center a facility established by Doctor Akoury primarily to help you overcome your weight challenges. This is a great medical professional who has been in this practice for over two decades and has impacted positively in many people’s lives globally. As we begin the discussion, you may need to schedule for an appointment with her for a more elaborate weight loss solutions programs. None the less sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep by an individual; it can be either chronic or acute. Take a moment and visualize about it if you’re feeling sleepy at work for instance, you may be tempted to reach for a cup of coffee or may be more and a doughnut for a quick shot of energy. Don’t you think that is a possibility? Later you may skip the gym and pick up take away on your way home to your family no time to cook, are you already a victim? When you finally retire on your bed, you are too wound up to sleep.

A good night’s sleep is one of the keys to good health and may also be a key to maintaining a healthy weight. There is mounting evidence that people who get too little sleep have a higher risk of weight gain and obesity than people who get seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Given our societies increasing tendency to burn the midnight oil in our busy schedules and tight work deadlines many people are not having enough sleep. The working hours have become so inadequate to many and this result in people opting to sacrifice some of their sleep time to complete the various assignments they have. The other groups of people who do not have enough sleep are those alcohol drinkers. Majority of this group and particularly the addicts take long hour in their drinking joint sometimes even up early morning hours, only to report back to their work stations the following day. The result of this is that very little time is left for sleeping no wonder studies have established that up to 26% of adult are not having adequate sleep. This may have great impact on overweight and obesity epidemic in our societies today.

Sleep Deprivation can lead to health complications in all Seasons – The best path to a healthy weight may be a good night’s sleep

In appreciating the role of adequate sleep, let us try to understand certain finding from the previous studies conducted by the experts. For decades experts have known that adults who sleep for say fewer than five or six hours a night are subjecting themselves to higher risk of being overweight. While children who sleep for less than 10 hours a night is associated with weight gain. However today, a fascinating new study suggests that the link may be even more treacherous than previously thought. For instance losing just a few hours of sleep a few nights in a row can lead to almost immediate weight gain. Let us consider the findings from sleep researchers at the University of Colorado where study of 16 healthy men and women for a two-week experiment tracking sleep, metabolism and eating habits was conducted. The subjects stayed in a special room that allowed researchers to track their metabolism by measuring the amount of oxygen they used and carbon dioxide they produced. Every bite of food was recorded, and strict sleep schedules were imposed.

During the first week of the study, half the people were allowed to sleep nine hours a night while the other half stayed up until about midnight and then could sleep up to five hours. Everyone was given unlimited access to food. In the second week, the nine-hour sleepers were then restricted to five hours of sleep a night, while the sleep-deprived participants were allowed an extra four hours.

Sleep Deprivation can lead to health complications in all Seasons – Finding from the Study

Remarkably, the researchers found that staying up late and getting just five hours of sleep increased a person’s metabolism. Sleep-deprived participants actually burned an extra 111 calories a day. But even though we burn more calories when we stay awake, losing sleep is not a good way to lose weight. The light sleepers ended up eating far more than those who got nine hours of sleep, and by the end of the first week the sleep-deprived subjects had gained an average of about two pounds.

During the second week, members of the group that had originally slept nine hours also gained weight when they were restricted to just five hours. And the other group began to lose some (but not all) of the weight gained in that first sleep-deprived week.

Sleep Deprivation can lead to health complications in all Seasons – Behavioral change

Behavioral change may be very significant in all this like for instance, staying up late and skipping on sleep led to not only more eating, but a shift in the type of foods a person consumed. It has been established that when people are deprived of their sleep they tend to overeat more on carbohydrates. They ate more food, and their feeding pattern also changes. In other words they eat a smaller breakfast and a lot more after dinner. It may surprise you to note that sleep deprivation or sleep-deprived eaters may end up a cumulating more calories after-dinner snacking than in any other meal during the day. However in over all people consumed 6 percent more calories when they are deprived of sleep.

Nonetheless when individuals begin to have adequate sleep, their feeding also changes. In fact they will begin eating more healthy food by consuming reasonable units of carbohydrates and fats. Doctor Akoury explains that the effect of sleep deprivation on weight may be comparable in the real world even though this may not be noticeable if individuals are under study in an enclose setup. However there is clear evidence that by depriving yourself of sleep, you are literally changing your internal timings which may intern influence the changes in eating habits.

Finally it is very interesting that when we are struggling with so many things to lose weight, the little thing we often ignore could be very helpful for our weight loss programs. I would want to encourage you that lack of knowledge could be the problem to your weight condition. Schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today and be informed adequately about your weight concerns.

Sleep Deprivation can lead to health complications in all Seasons – Are you planning to have enough sleep this holidays?

 

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Sleep and Weight Gain

July 26, 2014

Sleep and Weight Gain – What you should do

Sleep

Sleep and Weight Gain. Studies have indicated that sleep deprivation is related to weight gain. Sleep well and keep fit.

Could lack of sleep be causing you to gain weight? Do you have any idea how this is happening? Confusing indeed but in a moment I will be telling you how sleep is associated with weight gain and from the information you are just a bout to get you will be able to tell whether your weight problem is related you your sleeping patterns on not and depending on your findings you will make very informed decision going forward. Now let me ask you as we start the discussion how often do you sleep or dose at your workplace? Ponder about that for a while and if your answer is yes then what are you doing about it?

In order to fight that sleep a way probably you may have reached out for a cup of coffee or more and some doughnuts for an immediate shot of energy and before you know it you have just forgot your day’s schedule of exercising and on your way home you pick some junk food home for dinner because time for home cooking is not there. When all these are finally done you are back in bed too wound up to sleep. This then becomes consistent and ultimately the consistency of inadequacy of sleep sabotages your waistline and your health. Wait a minute you’re facing the challenges of weight gain. My dear reader it normally starts in unnoticeable ways like that. With the problem of sleep deprivation and low energy, you will repeatedly go for a portion of potato chips or other comfort foods.

The ultimate result

Unwanted pounds due to poor food choices together with lack of exercise set the stage for obesity and further sleep loss. To illustrate this further the debt of sleep is the replica of credit card debt where all accruing credit card debt you will settle with high interest rates and if you don’t, your account will be shut down until you pay it all off. Therefore accruing too much sleep debt only leads your body crash. You must ensure that you do not brag about your strength of staying up all night because it is not in fact it is a weakness because you do pay a price for staying up late and getting up early.

Understanding the Sleep-Diet Connection

Hardly will you find sleep-diet connection being addressed by most diet authors and probably you have even heard about the sleep diet, which suggests you can lose weight while you catch your ZZZs. Have you? It’s worth noting that not so much that if you sleep, you will lose weight however when you are sleep-deprived (i.e. meaning that you are not getting enough time of sleep or good quality sleep), your metabolism will not function properly. On average people need about 7.5 hours of quality sleep per night and if you are getting this already, a slight increase of say half hour will not help you lose 10 pounds, but on the other hand if you are used to sleeping for say five-hour and you increase this to seven hours a night, you will start shading off some weight.

How specifically will lack of sleep affects one’s ability to lose weight will have a lot to do with our nightly hormones. We have two hormones which are very instrumental in this process and they are ghrelin and leptin.

Ghrelin is the ‘go’ hormone that tells you when to eat, and when you are sleep-deprived, you have more ghrelin.

Leptin is the hormone that tells you to stop eating, and when you are sleep deprived, you have less leptin.

More ghrelin plus less leptin equals weight gain i.e. you are eating more, plus your metabolism is slower when you are sleep-deprived.

The Sleep-Weight Loss Solution

The big question here is, what can you do about sleep deprivation?

First, look at how much you sleep vs. how well you sleep – Some people such as new mothers may only get to sleep for a four-hour stretch. And there are some people who get 7.5 hours of sleep that is poor quality because of pain or an underlying sleep disorder, and this has the same effect as if they got less sleep.

Trouble-shoot both with improved sleep hygiene and for beginners avoid any caffeine in the afternoon because it will keep you in the lighter stages of sleep which are associated with poor sleep at night.

Exercise also helps improve sleep quality. How soon before bed should you exercise? It depends with the individuals because everyone is different. It’s more important that you exercise than it is when you exercise and to be safe avoid exercise right before going to bed even though some people exercise better before bed and it doesn’t affect their sleep.

Take interest on what you’re feeding on before bed time like for instance foods and drinks like pizza and beer before bedtime is not a good idea. It is also not recommended that you eat a big meal moments to bedtime instead eating a few healthy snacks and then having a light meal like a bowl of cereal if you’re running close to bedtime. Heavy, rich meals before bed can also increase risk of heartburn, which will certainly keep you up all night.

Finally I ask what if you are getting enough hours of sleep but wake up and feel sleepy the next day? Talk to your doctor about seeing a sleep specialist. After conducting a thorough evaluation and sleep study, in which you are monitored while sleeping, the sleep specialist can help identify any underlying problem. Together you can develop a treatment plan so that you get more high-quality sleep and maybe even slim down. But generally in all these doctor Dalal Akoury of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center will be there for you for any obesity and weight related problems you may have. Together with her team of experts they will focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE.

Sleep and Weight Gain – What you should do

 

 

 

 

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