16-03-2023 | Tips for better sleep
This article is a direct continuation of the previously presented tips and tricks for better sleep and easier falling asleep from Matthew Walker’s book “Why We Sleep”. In the first section, we saw the first six tips. Now we are moving on to part two. These tricks will help you if you have troubles falling asleep or keep uninterrupted sleep, however, even for those heavy sleepers out there, these tips and tricks can come in handy if you are ever faced with a sleepless night. The second half of the twelve tips, also found in his book are as follows:
- Try not to take naps after 3pm. Although naps can make up for lost sleep, and naps are amazing, napping after 3pm can seriously disrupt our sleeping schedule and make it more difficult to fall asleep.
- Relax before bed. This seems antithetical since sleep is there to help you relax. We do tend to overschedule our days though, and an activity such as reading or listening to music can help you unwind and fall asleep faster.
- Take a hot bath before bed. Especially if you have trouble falling asleep. The temperature of the bath will help your body temperature drop, which will help you fall asleep faster.
- The trifecta of gool quality sleep is – dark bedroom, cool bedroom, gadget-free bedroom. A distraction free bedroom is a healthy bedroom, and TVs, phones, even clocks on the nightstand can cause minor and major distraction from sleeping. Although not easy in today’s day and age – boundaries between our daily activities and the bedroom as important to be established.
- Have the right sun exposure. Everything in excess can potentially be damaging. Around 30 minutes of sun exposure a day, especially around the morning is ideal to fall asleep faster and sleep better. Not to mention – the vitamin D is very beneficial.
- And finally – do not lie in bed awake. If you find yourself being unable to sleep over twenty minutes or so – get up and do some relaxing activity before trying to fall asleep again. The anxiety of being unable to fall asleep is a vicious cycle of making you even less able to sleep.
Goran Stevanovski MD, MA
16-03-2023 | Tips for better sleep
On average, humans spend a third of our lives sleeping. While a favorite activity to some, sleeping is one of the essential parts of human lives that sustain it, restore our bodies, and even prolong our lives. Sleeping disturbances have devastating effects on the human body, and even a single night without sleep can cause symptoms and “borrow happiness” from tomorrow. One would think that the organ most affected by a lack of sleep is the human brain. While there is some truth in this statement, and sleep allows for the brains functions “to reset” and restore during the night – there is virtually no organ system in the human body that remain intact by missing on sleep. From clearing the hippocampus and restoring our ability to concentrate and create short term memories, sleep supports the immune system, the metabolism, and even skin health. Have you seen what the area under your eyes looks like after missing on sleep? Research shows that individuals deprived from sleep after a period of time show signs of non-specific immune suppression thus lessening the ability for our bodies to fight infection. Affecting certain parts of the immune system even leads to increasing the risk of certain cancers, and sleep deprivation has been classified as a type 2B carcinogen according to the WHO.
The amount of sleep humans need varies according to age. Studies show that our circadian rhythm changes throughout our lifetime, with newborn babies needing around 22 hours of sleep during the day. Our newborns have that in common with certain species of the animal kingdom. Teenagers typically require from 8 to 10 hours a day, and adults require anywhere from 7 to 9 hours of consecutive sleep at night for optimal functioning, while older adults have needs between 7-8 hours a night. The difference in the natural time to go to sleep and waking up changes as well. For older adults, going to bed moves toward the earlier hours of the night, with earlier wake up time. Teenagers, however, have a circadian rhythm that is shifted for two hours of that of the adults. Adults typically feel the need to go to sleep around 10pm, while teenagers feel that same urge around midnight. No wonder teenagers like to stay late. In consequence, teens natural wake up time is shifted by two hours, so instead of waking up at 6am, teenagers tend to want to “sleep in” until at least 8am. Individual differences in this cycle have been noted. The sleep cycle, including going to bed and wake up times, are important in allowing NREM and REM phases. These two phases are explained in another article of this website.
Goran Stevanovski MD, MA
16-03-2023 | Tips for better sleep
This is a seemingly inane question. Everyone sleeps. All living beings on this planet have some form of sleep schedule and what we call a circadian (sir-KAY-dee-un) rhythm. Therefore, how we sleep, is not a mystery. We go to bed and fall asleep, and we hopefully feel refreshed in the morning. A circadian rhythm is our body’s internal clock that allows the processes to happen promptly. Every organ system follows its circadian rhythm, and this is how our body knows how to run properly. Imagine this as a master clock in our brains that is always running in the background. Also known as a diurnal rhythm, the word circadian comes from the Latin phrase “circa diem” meaning “around a day”, signifying the 24-hour cycle. The most obvious form of the circadian rhythm is the sleep-wake cycle through which our bodies’ sleep is regulated through a series of brain processes connected to melatonin. Have you ever heard of melatonin? It’s a very popular sleeping aid that people use to fall asleep at night. It is naturally produced in our pineal glands, and it’s very tightly regulated. Taking melatonin on your own, without an explicit medical prescription can lead to throwing off our cycle and deepen insomnia. Therefore, only take melatonin as prescribed.
The circadian rhythm explains why we sleep though – but not exactly how we sleep. The circadian rhythm is dependent on sunlight, hours without sleep, and the time of day, and sleep descends on us when the adenosine and melatonin levels in our brains are high. They tie to specific parts of the brain known as receptors that make us sleepy. How sleepy we depend on the above-mentioned factors, and when we decide to close our eyes sleep descends on us – and we (or rather our brains) start moving throughout specific stages. At first, we enter the shallow sleep stage or the first NREM (non-REM) phase of sleep. REM stands for rapid eye movement, which happens in later stages. This first NREM phase allows our bodies to relax and start resting. After a certain time, depending on multiple factors – we enter our first REM stage (Rapid Eye Movement). The REM stages are incredibly important for the brain and allow our short-term memory to turn into long-term or erase from our hippocampi (the part of the brain responsible for memory and concentration) and help us focus when we are awake. The fascinating aspect of the REM phase is the fact we have the clearest dreams during this time of night, and to prevent our bodies to reenact these dreams, our brain keeps our bodies paralyzed. In this stage, only our closed eyes move rapidly from side to side – ergo the reason why this phase of sleep got its name. The more we sleep, the more time goes into different NREM and REM phases, and it is the second and third change of phases that are the deepest sleep that brings the most benefits. Without REM phases, our immune systems, hormones, skin, memory, focus, and overall well-being would completely fall apart. In rare instances, especially seen in teenagers and children – the mechanism with which the brain keeps our bodies paralyzed during REM fails – and in those cases, we have a condition known as sleep walking. This condition usually resolves after adolescence. If you happen to wake up in the middle of a REM phase – you usually wake up tired and irritated. Without being able to predict the phase, it is important to sleep at least 7-9 hours for the age group of adults, and 8-9 hours in the case of teenagers – to allow our brain to move between at least three REM phases during sleep. And that is how we sleep and why the process of sleeping is life-changing and life-sustaining for all human beings on our planet.
Goran Stevanovski MD, MA
15-03-2023 | Interests
Iron is an essential component of hemoglobin, myoglobin, and a cofactor of a few enzymes, it treats iron-deficiency anemia, and stimulates the bone marrow synthesis.
Iron also eases menstrual symptoms and increases the strength of the immune system.
An increase of iron intake is recommended in women during their reproductive period, pregnant people, people that breastfeed, people older than 55 years of age, alcohol users, athletes, people that do physical labor, people that lose blood from varying reasons (ex. Menstrual cycle, internal bleeding), vegetarians, and so on.
Symptoms of iron deficiency include tiredness, irritability, pale spots on skin, reduced learning ability along with reduced mental capacities.
Symptoms of iron poisoning by taking too much, include bloody diarrhea, dizziness, stomach pain, vomiting with traces of blood, weakness, collapsing, weak and increased heartbeat.
Very high iron intake may lead to an increased risk of cancer and cardiac disease.
Natural sources of iron are egg yolk, fish, meat, lentils, whole grains, shells, and beans. Coco is also rich in iron, as is the green leafy vegetables. As good iron sources, millet and sesame are worth mentioning.
Only 25 grams of iron are enough for satiating the daily need. Sesame seeds are the healing gift of nature both because of its iron content and the richness with calcium.
Only 100 grams of sesame seeds contain up to seven times calcium as compared to 100ml of milk. The beneficial effect of sesame seeds is also seen in its ability to detoxify and regulate metabolism. Because of its high levels of iron, millet is considered to be a natural ingredient that helps regulate the blood parameters. Only 100 grams of millet contains 9mg of iron. Apart from positively affecting the iron levels, millet is also used in patients with cardiovascular problems, gastrointestinal issues, and kidney issues, more specifically in patients that have water retention, specifically in pregnant people.
Written by:
Aleksandra Prendzova
Nutritionist and food technologist
PZU Srce
15-03-2023 | Interests
Are you one of those who get sick often? Are you worried that colds and other infectious diseases of the upper respiratory tract last forever and bother you more than they should? It is true that our immunity weakens over the years, which is why older people do not respond to vaccines as well as young people, thus, viral infections can be fatal for them. But regardless of age, boosting your immunity is in your power. Even a small deficiency of key micronutrients, such as zinc, selenium and iron, can weaken the body’s ability to defend itself against disease and infection. It is enough to fill your plate with colorful plant foods, season your meals with more garlic and reduce the intake of fats and sweet foods that work against you.
What to eat?
Protein-rich foods that make up many key cells of the immune system, such as antibodies and white blood cells that find and destroy microbes and carcinogenic cells. Protein foods contain a lot of zinc, iron and B-complex vitamins, which are important for boosting immunity. The typical Western diet is not devoid of protein, but older people and vegetarians must make an effort to get enough of it. If you eat meat, avoid fatty burgers and fried meat and eat lean beef and skinless chicken. Saturated fats and fried foods everywhere in the body cause low-intensity inflammation, which over time can deplete the immune system’s resources.
Also, sardines not only contain lean protein but also contain anti-inflammatory essential omega 3 fatty acids, as well as solid amounts of zinc and selenium.
Pumpkin seeds – about 125 g of pumpkin seeds contain 6 mg of zinc, one of the most important nutrients for the immune system. Research has shown that people deficient in zinc recover more slowly from infectious diseases.
(the recommended daily amount of zinc is 14 mg for men and about 8 mg for women, but if you get sick often, you should take 25 mg daily). Dark turkey meat and beef are also good sources of zinc, and six oysters have as much as 40 mg of zinc.
Brazil nut – this nut is the best natural source of the antioxidant mineral selenium, which boosts immunity. When we don’t have enough selenium, our white blood cells are slower to kill germs and cancer cells. Each Brazil nut contains 75-100 μg of selenium, so it is enough to eat 1-2 a day, because the daily recommended amount of selenium is relatively small. Selenium is also found in salmon, crabs and shrimps.
Garlic is a friend of the immune system, especially when eaten fresh. It is an edible antibiotic with a strong antibacterial and antiviral effect. Its sulfur compounds contain surprisingly many antioxidants. Chop or crush the garlic and let it sit for 10-15 minutes to fully release its healing compounds.
Colorful fruits and vegetables – fruits and vegetables with bright colors are a rich source of antioxidant substances that our body needs in large quantities when we are sick or under stress. Stress and illness encourage the creation of molecules known as free radicals that damage cells. These molecules can damage the thymus, in which many immune system cells are created.
What is true for the thymus is also true for the entire immune system. When the thymus is damaged, we become more susceptible to infectious diseases, which leads to the creation of more free radicals. Antioxidants help us break this cycle. Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is an easy way to provide our body with a sufficient amount of antioxidants in a natural way. But don’t limit yourself to apples and oranges because the flavonoids in grapes and the carotenoids in carrots and sweet potatoes are some of the most powerful antioxidants, and berries are the fruits with the most antioxidants of all fruits. A minimum of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables is recommended during the day.
BioCosmos
