Since insomnia is one of the most frequent sleep disorders encountered in our modern society, magazines, Internet sites and even TV shows provide various remedies or insomnia tips. And here we are not referring to sleeping pills or antidepressant drugs, but to real cures that can treat the causes rather than the unpleasantness of insomnia. There are several things one can do in order to prevent recurrent difficulties to go to sleep: one of the most common insomnia tips is closely related to stress management. Studies show that most often, people cannot relax enough after a tough day at work, and they keep on being ridden by daily worries even after going to bed.
One of the first insomnia tips that I want to draw your attention to refers to the use of alcoholic beverages in order to reduce stress. This is definitely a false myth, and many people fall into its trap aggravating their sleeping problems: instead of inducing sleep, alcohol could increase nervous agitation. The best relaxers are herbal infusions drunk warm before going to bed; you may talk to a herbalist to find out which of Mother Nature’s secrets would work best for your sleeping problems. Some people suggest lavender, some other say that any herbal infusion, with the exception of green and black tea, work great for the matter: after all it’s your choice!
It is known that for a good night rest, one needs a well-ventilated room; don’t sleep in a too warm or too cold room, this may affect the quality of your sleep. Furthermore, there are insomnia tips that recommend freshening the room atmosphere right before going to bed, as proper oxygenation is essential for the healthy functioning of the body over night. Then, even if at the weekend, you’d feel like staying more in bed, keep in mind the fact that it is best to get up at the same time every day. Continuing the same pattern even over the weekend works great for coping with insomnia.
Some insomnia tips refer to the disturbing factors that affect the sleep quality: here we include night clocks with lights or any devices that create a rhythmical sound. Some people are extremely affected by the presence of a light in the room, and in such cases not even the warm light of a candle is tolerated. Furthermore, listen to the insomnia tips that advise you not to sleep during the day if you want to enjoy a great night’s rest; the more you linger in bed, the more difficult it will be to fall asleep quickly in the evening.
How can one actually realize that he or she has a sleep problem? Of course there are insomnia symptoms that would hardly pass unnoticed, but more frequently a sleep problem covers a more general set of features. For instance, poor sleep quality is a good example: though you go to bed quite early in the evening, you wake up just as tired as the night before. Or, frequent bad dreams, sweating and nocturnal agitation can also be labeled as a sleep problem. The most important thing is to identify what the cause or the trigger behind your improper night rest is and to try and solve the issue. There have been cases when people using sleeping drugs have claimed poor sleep quality.
One efficient method to identify and better solve a sleep problem is to keep some sort of personal journal in which to write not only the elements specific to sleep quality but also what you have done during the day. For instance, you need to put down what you have eaten in the evening and then observe what kind of night rest you have. If you seem to sleep well and wake up fresh after eating salads and fruit in the evening, but everything changes if you try a heavier meat dish, it means your sleep problem is related to digestion.
Furthermore, compare the days when you do some physical activity and those when you are more static; this should also reveal important aspects of the sleeping pattern. As a general rule, people who do a lot of sports, are less inclined to developing a sleep problem than those who have a sedentary life style. One may also notice changes in the sleeping pattern that are not the normal ones associated with age. Youngsters will always sleep more than adults, whereas, the elderly sleep considerably less than any other age group.
If your night pattern changes abruptly, and you don’t have an explanation for the sleep problem in the immediate personal environment, it is good to ask for professional advice in order to identify the issue immediately. Most people make the mistake of considering insomnia the only sleeping problem and thus they postpone dealing with the issue; consequently, monitor your condition for a more extended period of time and see how your nocturnal behavior fluctuates! For those living in a couple, the life partner may provide important information on any disturbance he or she may have noticed; the important thing is not to ignore and let things go their way.
What is the best solution for someone who suffers from sleep disorders? Besides the regular treatment prescribed by a health care provider, many people also turn to alternative therapies that provide other sleep remedies that go to the real source of the problem. The nature of the chosen remedy depends on the causes that create sleep disorders: anxiety, depression, overeating, Parkinson’s disease and many others are well known to cause alterations of the sleep-wake pattern. Hence, adjusting sleep remedies to the causes of the issue is absolutely essential for an improvement of the condition, particularly since otherwise the person is exposed to recurrent episodes.
Though you may start with the very common sleeping pills, you’ll soon have to drop such sleep remedies since they are ineffectual and highly dangerous when administered for a longer period of time. For those who suffer from a chronic type of sleep disorder, alleviation of the health problem may be achieved by all sorts of alternative therapies: hydrotherapy, aromatherapy, massage, acupuncture, acupressure, color and music therapy and so on. Such practices combine physical and spiritual knowledge in order to achieve a balance between body and mind where the sleep problem is generally rooted, and thus, they make viable sleep remedies people enjoy all over the world.
Hydrotherapy and massage are used to stimulate muscular tissues and free the negative energies blocked inside the body; stress of whatever nature triggers the secretion of body chemicals that little by little come to poison the entire system. Consequently, by massage and water jets applied to the tissues the natural body purging is stimulated; this is why after a massage or hydrotherapy session one feels so relieved as if a huge burden may have been lifted from one’s shoulders. A general state of well-being is afterwards reflected in the night rest quality, and the efficiency of such sleep remedies is confirmed once more.
A combination of sleep remedies is also possible and even highly advisable. Unlike drug treatments that may often affect one another’s efficiency, alternative therapies don’t raise such problems since they usually have a complementary action. If one is not sure about which sleep remedies to turn to, there are plenty of informative Internet sites on alternative therapies, and a lot of tips for helping one deal with sleep disorders. Keep in mind the fact that the inability to rest well at night affects the way the entire system operates, and therefore, you should never let the problem untreated.
The food we eat has a very important impact on all the body structures, influencing nervous and physical activities alike; therefore, don’t be surprised to discover that insomnia and nutrition are interrelated. Food digestion requires a certain amount of effort from the muscles around the stomach, and this very area is rich in nervous ramifications; hence, heavy meals in the evening are not recommended since they can easily trigger sleep disorders. The last meal of the day should be taken at least two hours before going to bed, to allow enough time to the stomach to process food. Insomnia and nutrition affect people of all ages alike, not to mention that there is also a psychological dimension of the problem as well.
Food difficult to process lies behind insomnia and nutrition problems; this is why nutritionists recommend only light meals after six o’clock in the evening. Fruit and salads, dairy products, cereals, soup or broth are easier to digest in the evening, whereas meat, sweets and fat dishes are the require the most intense of efforts on the part of the digestive system. Therapists advise people who suffer from both insomnia and nutrition problems to try to drink a glass of warm milk sweetened with honey before going to bed; it is said to have a soothing effect and to induce natural sleep without the slightest of efforts on your part.
Insomnia and nutrition problems are common among overweight people who experience the syndrome of “emotional hunger”. Due to depression, or emotional instability, one could get up in the middle of the night with food cravings, and she or he may not be able to sleep until the craving is satisfied. Such disorders involve both sleep and eating habits, being deeply rooted in psychological issues that demand a quick solution. The measure to be taken seems simple: therapy and professional help should be undergone by anyone with insomnia and nutrition problems.
Some food items are more likely to cause insomnia and nutrition problems than others. A good example here is chocolate; due to the large amount of cocoa it contains – particularly in dark varieties – chocolate can cause agitation and sleeplessness in children and sensitive adults alike. The explanation behind such insomnia and nutrition imbalances triggered by chocolate consists in the amount of lecithin that it contains. Lecithin is a brain stimulator, activating the nervous impulses at the level of the central nervous system; this is why it is advisable not to allow children to eat chocolate in excess.
There are many useful herbs that help in the treatment of menopause. Regular usage of such herbs will provide more protection against menopause problems.
The dried roots of black cohosh help to reduce uterus problems. They are very effective against hot flashes and can control cholesterol.
Dried fruit of chasta tree is also a wonderful medicine, one for balancing hormone levels which in turn can reduce the stress and depression during menopause period.
Again dandelion is an excellent herb that can be used to regulate the function of liver.
There are many herbs that help to regulate estrogen deficiency. Dong quai and false unicorn root are the most important among them. You can take them daily. They are also available in tablet form.
Licorice is another wonderful herb that controls estrogenic problems. But over dosage is restricted. You can take with tea and it will add some extra flavor to your tea. But it may increase the blood pressure. If you have high BP avoid this herb.
Raspberry fruits and leaves provide excellent source of estrogen. They help to relieve the pressure of uterus. It helps to tighten the muscles in the uterus and so you will feel more comfortable.
True unicorn root and wild yam are estrogenic herbs. True unicorn is bitter in taste and it helps to get a sound sleep and thus reduces the stress and depression during menopause. Wild yam helps to control heavy bleeding.
All these herbs are proved effective in fighting against menopause problems. Yet the most important herb is Dong quai which is an Asian herb. This herb is referred to as female tonic. It not helps to prevent menopause problems but also ensures in easy and smooth delivery. In Asia it is mainly used to provide relief from hot flashes that occur in menopause time.
Wild lettuce, lime flower and passion flower can help to relax you and to get a sound sleep. Disturbed sleep is the main problem faced by many women all over the world. These herbs are sedative in nature and provide sound sleep.
Most women face the problem of irritation while passing urine. Agrimony and shepherd’s purse are good herbs that will help to reduce the irritation. You can take them as tea in the evenings. Oats is another natural product that can help to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure. You can take them as porridge instead of your breakfast. Oats will prevent uterine disorders.
Alfalfa can be taken as tea and it is good source of vitamins, minerals and chlorophyll. Fenugreek helps to control heavy bleeding during menopause. You can take the seeds or leaves. It also helps to prevent iron deficiency.
Do you know the reason for believing the things you do? It is because you are the one who tells your brain to do so. Your brain trusts you immensely and hence takes everything that you say to be true. This is how the subconscious mind works. It cannot differentiate between reality and fantasy. The conscious mind is responsible for differentiating them both.
If you believe something is true, it is because you have repeated it to yourself a number of times. This way you convince yourself of things that are false to be true. You do not do this intentionally though. All the information gets stored in your subconscious mind even if false. Once it happens, everything that happens in your life will strengthen your belief. You get the proof of what you believe in. hence your are the one who has created this reality for yourself. So what does it mean? Let is see below.
Let me give you an example. You may believe that you do are not capable of succeeding and realizing your dreams. If this is what you truly are convinced about, you will never be inspired to change your belief. You will turn a blind eye to the opportunities that fetch you success. Even if you once take an opportunity, and hit a roadblock and fail to move ahead, your belief gets strengthened. You will think that you never had it in you, hence could not succeed. Hence this belief gets even more strongly embedded into your mind.
Every time you have a thought you emit energy into the universe. You have a positive thought and this emits positive energy, but then your old doubts crop up and neutralize the positive energy. The universe then doesn’t act on the positive thought you have just transmitted. So you have no chances of succeeding. So the negative belief again wins and then you never proceed in your life. You also reinforce the belief that you can never succeed in your life.
If you want to succeed in your life, you should examine the beliefs that you currently hold. These beliefs could be about anything love, profession, religion etc. you have to examine it practically to prove or disprove them. You have to boldly examine all the negative beliefs and arrive on the root cause of why you believe in them. Once you know the reasons, you can work to change those beliefs. Positive affirmations will help you a lot in this regard. Soon you will start to reap the results of using these affirmations to change your belief system. You will replace each and every negative belief that you have held and that has prevented you from progressing in life.
The creation of a neophallus has been a difficult reconstructive challenge and the search for the perfect donor site and surgical procedure continues. Recently, Sava Perovic and colleagues from Belgrade Serbia, describe their experience with total phalloplasty using a musculocutaneous latissimus dorsi flap (MLD). The manuscript is published in the October 2007 issue of BJU International.
Over a 7 year period, 16 patients (mean age 24) had total phalloplasty for indications such as congenital anomalies of the penis in 12, iatrogenic penile loss in two, and accidental penile trauma in two. The MLD flap is mobilized on a subscapular artery and vein and a thoracodorsal nerve. The neophallus is created on the flank and transferred after dividing the neurovascular bundle. The neophallus is anastomosed with the femoral artery, saphenous vein, and ilio-inguinal nerve. In the following stages, two- or three-stage buccal mucosa urethroplasty were used in 11 patients; a penile prosthesis was implanted in seven.
Mean follow-up was 31 months; the neophallus was 14-18 cm long and 11-15 cm in circumference. There was no flap loss or partial skin necrosis. The donor site appearance was satisfactory in 13 patients. In two patients, there was partial wound dehiscence with moderate scarring after direct donor-site closure. The hospital stay after the first stage was 7-10 days.
There was no urethral stenosis and uroflowmetry showed good urethral patentcy in all patients. Two small urethrocutaneous fistula developed, one required an additional surgery for closure. The function of the penile prosthesis was satisfactory in all patients and three reported successful sexual intercourse. All patients were evaluated by a clinical psychologist and reported being very satisfied with the penile size and appearance.
This report, and experience in a good number of patients over a 7-year period, gives optimism to yet another attempt at finding the perfect flap site for neophallus creation. The potential advantages over the radial forearm flap are the hidden donor site scars and the size of the neophallus that can be created.
Perovic SV, Djinovic R, Bumbasirevic M, Djordjevic M, Vukovic P
BJU Int. 100(4):899-905, October 2007
doi:10.1111/j.1464-410X.2007.07084.x
Reported by UroToday.com Contributing Editor Michael J. Metro, M.D
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Even though the art and science of hypnosis has been in existence for hundreds of years, there has been a controversy lurking regarding hypnosis education. The various hypnosis organizations have always set their own educational requirements for membership. There have been as many different educational requirements for hypnosis and hypnotherapy training as there have been professional hypnosis and hypnotherapy organizations. Finally, however, hypnosis and hypnotherapy is entering a new era, an era of quality education in the use of this ancient tool to help bring about desirable behavioral changes.A search began two years ago by Dr. Conrad Adams, Founder and Academic Dean of Alpha University to determine what standard of hypnosis and hypnotherapy education existed within traditional educational institutions. He retained the services of Dr. John S. Jester, a retired medical doctor and seasoned professional education evaluator, to help in the search. After extensive research Dr. Jester concluded that no set standard existed and that a minimum recommended standard could play an important role in the advancement of the profession.
Dr. Robert Otto, CEO of both the International Association of Counselors and Therapists and the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association, was consulted for his input and a committee was formed to do further research regarding the issue. The committee was expanded and soon became the Collaborative for Hypnosis Education, a group of 20 experienced professionals whose memberships encompass most of the professional hypnosis and hypnotherapy organizations in the U. S. and abroad. The goal of the group was to unite to establish a minimum recommended standard of education for the practice of hypnosis and hypnotherapy.
Hypnosis has entered a new era. At last there is a united effort globally to establish a minimum recommended standard of education for the practice of hypnosis and hypnotherapy. The Collaborative for Hypnosis Educational Standards is believed to be the first group of its kind to unite for the common good of the hypnosis profession and work to reach agreement on a minimum standard of education for the profession. Hopefully its creation and endeavors will become a beacon for more individuals and groups to join in the effort to promote a higher standard of education for the practice of hypnosis and hypnotherapy.
The results are now published. Hypnosis has, indeed, entered a new era. The Collaborative for Hypnosis Educational Standards recommendations for the suggested minimum standard of education for the practice of hypnosis and hypnotherapy may be reviewed by visiting http://www.iact.org or http://www.imdha.com and selecting standards of practice page. And more on this subject is certain to come.
Poland will listen to Russia’s arguments but will make its own decision on whether to install a U.S. anti-missile base on its territory, Polish media reported on Sunday.“Poland has no nuclear potential, but Russia does. We will hear out their arguments, but our final decision will be a sovereign one,” Polish media quoted the country’s new defense minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, as saying.
He was replying to a Russian warning that the firing of a weapon from a U.S. anti-missile system in Poland could be misread by Moscow’s automated defenses, triggering the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in return.
“The firing of an anti-missile rocket from Poland could be seen by Russia’s automated system as the launch of a ballistic missile, which could provoke a responsive strike,” army Chief of Staff Yuri Baluyevsky told a news conference in Moscow on Saturday.
Sikorski, who is due to meet Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak shortly, said: “We have not yet reached a conclusion as to whether the anti-missile shield is necessary.”
Russia is opposed to the U.S. plan to site up to 10 ground-based interceptor missiles in northern Poland and a radar facility in the Czech Republic to protect against attacks from what it calls “rogue states” such as Iran and North Korea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the plan could unleash a new arms race and might force Moscow to take retaliatory measures.
Poland has asked the United States for Patriot missiles or similar air protection to defend its cities if it is to host the anti-missile shield on its territory.
Investigators at the University of Rochester Medical Center have uncovered a promising drug therapy that offers a ray of hope for children with Batten disease - a rare neurodegenerative disease that strikes seemingly healthy kids, progressively robs them of their abilities to see, reason and move, and ultimately kills them in their young twenties.
The study, highlighted in the January edition of Experimental Neurology, explains how investigators improved the motor skills of feeble mice that model the disease, helping them to better their scores on successive coordination tests.
“No treatment currently exists for these kids - nothing to halt the disease, or even to slow it down,” said one of the study’s authors, David Pearce, Ph.D., a nationally renowned Batten disease expert and biochemist at the University of Rochester. His team has published more than 50 studies on the disease’s basic mechanisms.
“Since deterioration of motor skills is the rule - in fact, it’s one of the primary symptoms in children with the disease - the idea that these functions might be able to be partially restored or improved is groundbreaking,” Pearce said.
Last year, University of Rochester researchers discovered that, in mice with the disease, a set of the brain’s receptor cells - known as the AMPA receptors - were unusually sensitive to glutamate, a neurotransmitter vital for learning and memory. These ’super-ticklish’ receptors were located in the cerebellum, a brain region that plays a hefty role in sensory perception and motor control.
“For us, their abnormal activity made them key suspects in the brain dysfunction and neurological decline associated with the disease,” Pearce said.
To test that, researchers administered a drug that partially blocks these receptors and dims their activity.
Impressively, when diseased mice that received the drug, they - for the first time - became able to better their scores on successive coordination tests.
And, though they never reached the same level of nimbleness as healthy mice did, they were fierce candidates for the title of “most improved players.” Over the course of the testing, they achieved nearly the same degree of improvement in their before and after coordination scores as healthy mice did. In fact, almost second for second.
“It seems we may have corrected some sort of motor learning deficit in the diseased mice,” Pearce said.
While optimistic about these findings, Pearce stressed the importance of reminding affected families that this work is preliminary.
“Much research is yet needed,” Pearce said. “The prospect of offering this sort of investigational medicine to affected children is still years out.”
Still, he is further encouraged that a drug called Talampanel - very similar to the blocking compound used by his team in Rochester - is currently in phase II clinical trials for treating epileptic seizures.
Unlike most anticonvulsants, which typically target cells known as NMDA receptors, Talampanel works by partially blocking AMPA receptors.
“This orally active new drug would be an obvious choice for clinical trials with juvenile Batten disease patients,” Pearce said. “Especially since they routinely suffer seizures, as well.”
Though only 150 children in the United States suffer Batten disease, Pearce is hopeful that this research will also likely also inform research efforts for a dozen or so of its cousins - other uncommon genetic diseases, each characterized by a glitch with the cell’s toxin-ridding mechanisms, the lysosomes.
Some of these lysosomal-storage diseases, as they’re called, include Krabbe disease (to which Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly lost his son, Hunter, in 2005), Tay-Sachs and metchromatic leukodystrophy.
“Our research might indeed open doors for learning how other neurological disorders might benefit from drugs that regulate AMPA receptors,” Pearce said.
—————————- Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Co-author Attila Kovács, Ph. D., assistant research professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Rochester, contributed to this investigation, which was funded by National Institutes of Health and the Luke and Rachel Batten Foundation.
