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A good night's sleep is important for everyone to stay fit and healthy. There have been many research studies and clinical interventions related to sleep this year. Here are 12 interesting facts about sleep that came into limelight this year.
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Kindle and eReaders might affect your sleep: Reading books on Kindle before sleeping inhibits the release of melatonin, sleep-inducing hormone and shifts the circadian clock (body clock that synchronises the daily rhythm of sleep), making it harder to fall asleep at bedtime.
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Lack of sleep related to obesity in kids: It is important for every child in the age group of 5 - 6 years to sleep for at least 10 hours a day. This is because, children with the shortest sleep time (at approximately 5 and 6 years of age) had around 60 to 100 percent increased risk of being obese at 15 years.
4/13
Smartphone app to track sleep disorders: Suffering from sleep apnea? Now, getting diagnosed for sleep disorders is much easier than visiting a doctor with a new smartphone app. This smartphone-based technology uses earbuds equipped with an in-line microphone and an Apple iPhone and analysis participants’ breathing habits.
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Sleep well to prevent various types of cancer: A recent study has revealed that human period 2, a sleep protein, regulates the body’s sleep cycle. This protein if unaltered interacts with tumour suppressor proteins present in cells to control cell division. Sleep cycle disruption is one of the key factors that impair the functioning of this new protein.
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Sleeping late? You might experience negative thoughts: If you sleep for shorter period of time (less than 7 hours) or go to bed often late, you might experience more negative thoughts than others. This is where the old proverb ‘Early to bed, early to rise, keeps a man healthy, wealthy and wise’ comes into play.
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Drinking alcohol interferes with your sleep patterns: It promotes sleep by affecting your sleep homeostasis, the brain’s built-in mechanism, which regulates your sleepiness and wakefulness. This over time might cause insomnia and hence, you should cut down on your alcohol intake.
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Does your kid sleep during the day? Smart phones might be the reason: Use of smartphones and social media incessantly make your children sleep and exhausted during daytime. As they spend time watching TV or stay awake to chat with friends or surf on phones, they go to bed late and in turn get tired quickly during the day.
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Improve your motor skills with a good night’s sleep: Are you planning to learn any form of music like guitar or piano? Sleep well during night. This is because, the regions of the brain interact more effectively after a night’s sleep, thereby aiding in better performance of the task.
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Energy drinks might wreck your sleep: You might know that energy drinks improve an athlete’s performance but what is more worsening is the fact that it may cause insomnia. The amount of caffeine present in these drinks is quite high (as compared to soft drinks) and hence, stimulates the brain to produce hormones interfering with your sleep.
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Switching off lights while sleeping aids in weight loss: Do you sleep by keeping the lights on in your bedroom? If yes, beware you might be at an increased risk of obesity. It is because, with too much light, your metabolism is affected by cyclical rhythms within the body that relate to sleeping, waking and light exposure.
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24 hours of sleep deprivation cause schizophrenia-like symptoms: Going without sleep for 24 hours leads to impairment in the ability to concentrate. This in turn causes symptoms of schizophrenia which involves thought disorders and misperceptions. Hence to keep your brain healthy, stay away from sleepless nights.
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Drink sour cherry juice to sleep better: Suffering from insomnia? Drink a glass of tart cherry juice in the morning and evening to sleep better and stay healthy. Being a natural source of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle, cherry juice is quite beneficial for older adults with lack of sleep.
