Apr 11 2009

Sleep & Your Immune System…They Work Together!

People, who catch cold, can recover quicker, and in some cases even prevent catching cold in the first place, as long as they help their bodies to improve its immunity. There are some well-known ways to improve your self-defense system and there are some surprising ways that are less obvious to us. For example, when you inhale a cold virus, it inflames your nasal passages. The inflammation process causes the body to release chemicals, which include histamine. When you have a weak immune system, you are at a higher risk of catching a cold or a virus. Your immune system is responsible for helping you fight off infections; therefore, when your immune system is weak it cannot function properly.

Sleep apnea can have severe effects on your health and has been linked to such problems as heart failure, stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes. Obstructive sleep apnea involves repeated pauses in breathing that occur when the muscles relax during sleep, causing soft tissue in the back of the throat to collapse and block the upper airway.  A number of clinical trials have shown regular exercise to be strongly linked to heightened immunity, with the emphasis on regular.

If you stay inactive, this body temperature pattern will lead to poor sleep, which will prevent you from sleeping deeply. Approaching stress management from a wellness lifestyle approach can give you “money in the bank” when it comes to preventing stress, it can give you the energy you need to handle stress when it happens. The following components are part of a wellness lifestyle approach. The authors suggested that restoring sleep is an important preventative measure and critical component of medical therapy. These findings are underlined by a number of studies, the latest reported in the previous volume of the Sleep Bulletin, demonstrating that adequate sleep is associated with a decreased mortality risk in the general population.

They’re not gaining anything, but are losing a huge amount of their health, you can see it in their social interactions, their ability to learn and think clearly. Sleep is one of the keys to a successful diet and a healthy lifestyle. Other public health hazards, such as poor nutrition, smoking, excess alcohol and lack of exercise is the subject of endless research. On the contrary, little research has been done on the subject of sleep.

- Stage 1 is light sleep. You’ve probably experienced this during boring classes in school. Your body is barely asleep, your eyes move slightly, and you’re easily awakened, usually with a startled “jump.” During this stage, you’ll often have dream-like visuals.
- Stage 2 is when the eye movements stop and your brain waves begin to slow down.
- Stage 3 begins deep sleep, as very slow brain waves, called delta waves, take over the more rapid brain waves, called sleep spindles.
- Stage 4 is a deep state where all muscle movements stop. It’s hard to be awakened during this state, and when you are, you’re often in a groggy, disoriented condition.
- Stage 5 is called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. In this stage, your breathing becomes shallow, your heart rate and blood pressure increase, your eyes jerk rapidly in all directions, and you have your wildest dreams.
- We sleep in cycles wherein all five stages are completed in around one-and-a-half to two hours. As the cycles increase, we spend less time in deep sleep and more in stages 1, 2, and REM.

Stage three and four, deep sleep, being the health sleep where the brain and heart slow to a resting phase and this stage takes up 50% of sleeping time. Dreaming takes place during stage five with waking off and on. Millions of people suffer with some form of insomnia, resulting in fatigue, lack of mental alertness, and weakened physical and mental health. It also contributes to both minor and major injury accidents.

Physically active people catch fewer colds and other upper respiratory infections, but more exercise isn’t always better. Therefore that makes us vulnerable to diseases from colds to cancer, flu to heart disease. Some studies found that taking vitamin C (about 600 milligrams/day) for three weeks before an ultra marathon reduced post race cold symptoms, yet others have found that vitamin C supplementation made no difference. Getting frequent colds can be a sign of over training or overtaxing your body. Cold and flu viruses are spread by airborne particles, so when you cough, sneeze into your sleeve or a tissue instead of your hands, if possible. When this happens, you can expect to feel weak and run down. To be susceptible to colds and the flu and more likely to be affected by disease, when your immune system is not functioning well, germs can easily penetrate the body and wreak havoc on your organs.

Many natural ways are available in order to boost your immune system. Some of the important tips to boost your immune system are given here. Immune-boosting foods include organically grown fruits and vegetables, wholegrain, beans and other legumes, natural oils such as expelled-pressed olive oil, hemp oil, walnut oil, flax oil and coconut butter. Brazil nuts, a rich source of selenium, are particularly good for the immune system. First, the immune system manufactures antibodies, which identify and fend off invaders. Also, your immune system has a built-in memory, it remembers how it defended your body against those past invaders, and it stands ready to do it again. Adequate restful sleep helps to restore our bodies and refresh our minds. During deep sleep, our bodies release potent immune-enhancing substances that strengthen immune function.

Everyone needs to work at resetting your body clock naturally.

On average, college students today are going to bed 1-2 hours later and sleeping 1-1.6 hours less than they did a generation ago. As a result, sleep complaints and depression have increased dramatically among college students and doctors have discovered that sleeping for nine or more hours a night is not necessarily beneficial, either.

About the Author
Another fine article by Chuck Arnone in regards to our day to day health and your immune system.

http://www.immune-system-healthy.com

&

http://www.provitaminliquid.com

Source: http://www.submityourarticle.com
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Aug 08 2008

How To Tell If I Am Suffering From Depression

Category: Anxiety & DepressionDepression Rescue @ 12:30 PM

by Sandra Reynolds

Do you suffer from mood swings and crying bouts? Do you want to sleep all day and not leave the house? Have you ever found yourself asking he question, “am I suffering from depression?” If you have reached this point, then you are well on your way to conquering this common mental illness. Depression has different causes and contributing factors; some people may be more susceptible to it due to a family history or due to significant life events. There is no cure for depression, but there are many reliable treatments available that have proven to be successful in keeping symptoms at bay. There are also several self-help resources available on the internet that discuss various causes, the most common symptoms, diagnosis criteria, and various treatment options for different types of depression.

“Am I suffering from depression?” The most common symptoms of depression are not enjoying favorite hobbies or activities anymore, viewing the future as hopeless, feeling helpless, having difficulty concentrating or reading, feeling agitated, restless, sad or unhappy, having difficulty making decisions, feeling guilty, expending great effort to do simple things, feeling fatigued, unable to eat or overeating, lost or gained weight, not sleeping enough or too much, having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, and losing interest in what used to be important. All of these are significant signs and symptoms of depression, and they appear in varying degrees. Depression is a chronic illness that will never completely go away, but with an optimistic approach and comprehensive treatment, the symptoms can be decreased significantly if not permanently erased.

Learning how to deal with depression and change life’s outlook often involves more than a simple diagnosis and medication. There are all natural products that have been shown to be effective in cases of mild depression, like St. John’s wart, but in cases of more severe symptoms, a complete evaluation by a psychiatrist and/or psychotherapist is recommended. If you have asked yourself even once, “am I suffering from depression?” then you should seek professional advice. There are quite a few sites online that are great sources for free screening tests that evaluate your symptoms and what they could indicate, but this doesn’t replace a professional evaluation. You may not have depression at all, or you could have a combination disorder like depression and anxiety or bipolar disorder. A qualified experienced mental health professional is the best source for proper diagnosis and treatment, and remember that not all treatments work the same for everyone. We are all unique individuals after all, and depression creates a different challenge for every person it afflicts. And it’s not a death sentence either; it’s just a temporary roadblock.

Sandra Reynolds runs a pet rescue center in Las Vegas.
Check out this great Coping With Depression guide which has some really great advice.

http://www.healthfitnesshelp.com

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/How-To-Tell-If-I-Am-Suffering-From-Depression/310559

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Aug 02 2008

Ya need a challenge? Try being bipolar for a day

Category: Clinical Depression, Mental IllnessDepression Rescue @ 10:01 AM

by Ken Jensen

Bipolar disorder tests your mettle as a human being. It takes you to the utmost limits of your psychic endurance. Oftentimes, your physical parameters are maxed out too. If you are healthy but supporting a sick person you’d do well to understand the depth of agony it brings into that sufferer’s life. This is no small thing and you must respect that. You may find yourself adopting a whole new outlook in caring for your loved one. It’s a “know thine enemy” kind of a thing.

Here are some aspects of that enemy:

- Stress that cannot be measured. This is how my really active bipolar years started out. I felt stressed. Nothing a toke of weed or a cigarette couldn’t fix in the beginning. But this stress began to grow. It took less and less to annoy me. It took less and less to irritate me. My patience practically bled out before my eyes as I watched.

Every life issue in my world was a now major one to me. Chances were this was not the case prior to my illness kicking in full force. The sources were innumerable: I couldn’t keep a job; I hated any job I currently held; too many bills not enough money; not enough freedom in my life; everyone on the street and in their cars was a dirty word to me; cops bothered me – just their presence.

None of my plans ever worked out; my marriage sucked; I developed health problems that compounded my negative mental state; my meds never helped so all the doctors sucked; my neighbors sucked; the world’s problems felt like they were my own; my erratic behavior upset those close to me causing me even more stress.

The stuff I’d pull when manic would leave a pile of problems in its wake that I could not repair causing double stress – the problem was a nightmare and it was all my fault so now add self hatred to the list; nobody understood me; I was arrested more than once and the legal issues and fines crushed the heart out of me and kept me terminally pissed off; my depression and dissociative symptoms stressed me as well… on and on and on.

This is just some of what your bipolar friend next to you may be feeling. It’s not always visible. We’re good at bottling it all up and cramming it into that little black knot in our guts. And many times the sick person is incapable of translating his or her feelings and emotions into words the non-afflicted would comprehend.

The symptoms get so weird at times that they are new even to the person feeling them. There is no way they’d ever get those around them to understand.This then adds mountains of more stress to the heap they’re already carrying. They are truly alone in this fight and they know it. The isolation is stressful beyond belief. Their own mind is their prison.

- Sleeping disorders. These just come with the package. Panic hits in your sleep and you awaken as if in a mortar attack during war time and with just the same amount of fear. It happens night after night, sometimes more than once each night. Your sleep is never deep. You fear even going to sleep because you know the panic is waiting for you.

The massive depression that hits a bipolar person also messes up your sleep. You sleep but your mind is not reaching that REM zone it needs to repair itself. You sleep 10, 12, 14 hours a night or maybe multiple days at a time only to wake up exhausted. There is no longer any true relief to be had from a night’s sleep.

Mania alone can keep you up for days. You don’t feel any need for sleep or not all that much compared to normal. Your mind runs like a car in first gear with the gas pedal to the floor. You mentally eat yourself alive. Eventually you motor down and if you’re lucky sleep will be had. Then again, maybe you slide the other way into depression and start working the other side of the fence as I wrote above. At the very least, the panic is still lurking nearby. There’s no way to tell. It just comes as it comes.

This then leads to sleep meds. Most of these are addictive and bring their own set of new malfunctions in the making to the mix. Many times they don’t work. I went through every OTC and prescribable drug my doc was willing to give me in an attempt to get a good night’s sleep. Know what happens if you eat too many (because none of them were working as in my case)? Psychosis. You and reality part ways. You’re up and about doing something but nobody’s manning the bridge. And you’re probably not doing a something that would make you proud in your more lucid state.

I experienced this more than once as I sleepwalked through portions of my days. I was pretty damn ashamed of what my family told me I’d done later, too. I remembered nothing.

After a few months of experimentation I never ate sleeping pills again.

But I did find a way out of all this mess. It may seem impossible to you if your life right now matches what mine did then. But believe me. It’s true. I know because I did it. You can too.

Ken Jensen is the author of “It Takes Guts To Be Me: How An Ex-Marine Beat Bipolarism”. Sign up for his free newsletter: www.ittakesgutstobeme.com

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Ya-need-a-challenge?-Try-being-bipolar-for-a-day/312157

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