Insomia and Sleeping Aids

Insomnia does not only apply to people who cannot sleep at all; many people suffer from sleeping disorders such as difficulty falling asleep, sleeping through the night and even more commonly a lack of quality sleep. Sleep is not only necessary in quantity, but even more importantly quality. Some people sleep through the night but wake up exhausted.

Some sleeping aid products such as Melatrol Sleeping Aid can eliminate stress, regenerate your energy levels, repair any damages in your body and recover or fight off diseases. Stress and a lack of sleep can cause a variety of health related problems, many of which can be serious.

Also, here are some techniques you've probably already tried but are still worth trying again.

Play some soft, soothing music that will lull you to sleep. There are even cassettes and records designed for that very purpose. Some are specially composed music, others simply have sounds of waves rhythmically breaking, or the steady pattern of a heartbeat.

Have your spouse (or whoever) give you a massage just before going to sleep. If you can convince them to give you a full body massage, great. If not, even a short backrub and/or a face and scalp massage can be a big help. Have them make the massage strokes slow, gentle, yet firm, to work the tension out of your muscles and soothe you to sleep.

A glass of warm milk 15 minutes before going to bed will soothe your nervous system. Milk contains calcium, which works directly on jagged nerves to make them (and you) relax.

It should be obvious, but some people forget that coffee is not the only drink containing caffeine. Tea (black, not herbal), chocolate and cola drinks are also high in caffeine.
Alcohol may feel like it's soothing you, but all it's doing is stupefying you. Research has shown that alcohol upsets sleep, preventing a deep rest. Same with tobacco. Avoid them all.

A firm bed will give your entire body the support it needs to really relax. It's better for your spine, too. Also, sleep ON YOUR BACK!

I hope some of this information helps you sleep better at night. Remember, it is never too late to try another technique to sleep better.

Stay in health, live 100 years!

HGH Human Growth Hormone Research

For those of you that are looking for information on anti-aging and youth, we have found a website that talks about the Human Growth Hormone HGH which it seems could help slow down aging.

From the beginning of time man has sought a way to extend life, reverse the aging process, and live forever. Up to this point, nothing has proven to be significantly viable for this purpose. However, the greatest advance in man’s ability to “turn back the clock” may now be available to us. The human growth hormone (HGH or Somatotropin) has produced increases in the levels of insulin-like growth hormone 1 (IGF-1). There is a direct connection between the level of this hormone in a human’s body, and their age. As observed by many scientists, if this hormone could be kept at the levels of youth, then would the aging process be slowed down, or even stopped altogether? It is a question that has spawned much controversy within the ranks of physicians, with many leading doctors on both sides of the issue.

Tell me what you think.

Stay in health and live 100 years!

Firefighting Increases Risk Of Death From Heart Disease New Study Says

A new study suggests that of the various duties performed by US firefighters, the act of firefighting increases their risk of death from coronary heart disease by up to 100 times compared to non emergency duties.

The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).The research team, comprising US and Greek scientists, already knew from previous studies that heart disease accounts for 45 per cent of deaths among US firefighters while they are on duty.

What they did in this study was to establish which duties carry the most and the least risk in the daily work of the firefighter.To establish the incidence of heart disease related deaths, they looked at 11 years of records provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency of all deaths on duty of firefighters between 1994 and 2004, leaving out those linked to the 2001 September 11 terrorist attacks.They then estimated the amount of time firefighters spent on different duties by analyzing records from three sources: a municipal fire department, 17 large metropolitan fire departments, and a national database.

Using non emergency duties as the reference category, they then calculated the risks (using odds ratio and 95 per cent confidence intervals) of death from coronary heart disease for a range of specific duties.The results showed that compared with non emergency duties, some emergency duties and physical training were linked with firefighters having an increased risk of death from coronary heart disease.

The team had conducted an earlier smaller study on retirement due to cardiac events with similar results.Fire suppression takes up between 1 and 5 per cent of the time that a firefighter spends on the job. But it accounted for 32 per cent of deaths from coronary heart disease and compared with non emergency duties carried 10 to 100 times the risk of death from the disease.The researchers suggest that the reason is the increased demands that fire suppression places on the firefighter's cardiovascular system.

The smoke, the chemicals, carbon monoxide, the physical effort and the psychological stress come together to create an effect that lasts for 24 hours, the duration of the elevated risk period.However, in discussing the results, they also suggest that the risk of coronary heart disease events during the act of putting out a fire could be higher because many firefighters are not physically fit, have an existing elevated cardiovascular risk, and subclinical or clinical coronary heart disease.

They refer to studies that show new recruits are often overweight and have lower aerobic fitness and this is made worse during the working life of the firefighter because more than 70 per cent of fire departments do not have fitness and health programmes.Also, most fire departments do not require firefighters to exercise, have medical exams, or be evaluated when they go back to work after major illness.They say many studies have highlighted the increased cardiovascular disease risk factors for firefighters, linked with lower than expected levels of physical fitness.

They mention two studies of firefighters who became ill or died on duty because of coronary heart disease where around 20 per cent of them had previously been diagnosed with a cardiovascular related condition, while the rest were more likely to be smokers, have high blood pressure or be diabetic compared to the other active firefighters.

Like other studies, this study found that the risk of death from coronary heart disease went up with age for all types of duty, with those over 60 having the highest risk and those older than 20 and younger than 40 having the lowest.However, unlike other studies, the researchers found that professional and volunteer firefighters had different risk factors for death from coronary heart disease and this varied according to type of duty, but both groups had fire suppression as the highest risk factor.The researchers also found that physical training significantly increased the risk of death from coronary heart disease.

This is consistent with other studies that suggest intense physical activity is a strong trigger, especially among those who are physically inactive.The idea of a triggering event may also explain why these findings, consistent with other studies, put risk of death from coronary heart disease associated with alarm response and alarm return at roughly five to seven times higher than that associated with non emergency duties.The researchers also found work that reflects a lower level of exposure to physically demanding emergencies, such as emergency medical service and other non fire emergency responses, was not linked with significant increased risk of death from coronary heart disease, which is consistent with the lower fatality rate from heart disease among emergency medical workers who are not firefighters.

New Health Search Engine Launched

To those that are always looking for better websites providing relevant and up-to-date information the following site might be of great interest.

MedWhat.com , a new Online Health Search Engine is being constructed to provide users a health specific search engine.

Take a look and tell me what you think.

Stay in health.

Live 100 years!

AMERICANS STILL NOT EATING ENOUGH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Despite mom's good advice, most of us aren't eating our fruits and vegetables, at least not enough of them, according to a large recently released government study.

Only about 27 percent of adults in the USA ate vegetables three or more times a day in 2005, and 33percent ate fruit two or more times a day that year. A higher percentage of women than men ate this much, according to interviews with more than 305,000 people conducted for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Research shows that diets high in these foods decrease the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and help with weight control. For years, the government's dietary guidelines have recommended that people eat at least two servings of fruits and at least three servings of vegetables daily. Now the guidelines are more specific, suggesting consumption of at least 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables a day for someone eating about 2,000 calories.

Other findings from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System:

• College graduates have the highest level of vegetable intake.
• Hispanics have the highest intake of fruit consumption and lowest intake of vegetables.
• Whites have the highest intake of vegetables.

The CDC's Larry Cohen says people may not be eating these nutrient-rich foods because of cost, lack of time for preparation or lack of easy access to them.

To get people to eat more of these nutrient-rich foods, the CDC, the Produce for Better Health Foundation and other leading health groups are launching a new initiative Monday called "Fruits & Veggies — More Matters." This will replace the "5 A Day" campaign. This will be a "rallying cry" to get people to eat more fruits and vegetables, says Elizabeth Pivonka, president of the Produce for Better Health Foundation. She says the group's research with moms shows that they know their families should be consuming more fruits and veggies, but they don't know how to work more into their diets. "They told us that they didn't want to be lectured to or made to feel guilty or scared into eating more fruits and vegetables. They wanted help and ideas on how to do what they already know that they should do."