I Love Monday

This weekend’s time change reminds me how much I love sleep. And if you read the cover story in the new Medical Examiner, you know that sleep is EXTREMELY important to health. If a person is doing everything else right except getting sufficient sleep, then that person isn’t healthy. Of course, it’s not always the person’s fault. There are medications …

This issue: a regular snoozefest

Portrait of an unhealthy, miserable person: He has the perfect healthful diet; his blood pressure is ideal; he gets regular exercise; his weight is perfect; his cardiovascular health is off the chart; and he is severely sleep-deprived. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, nothing else matters. And insufficient sleep affects millions. The average American sleeps a full two hours less …

The latest issue awaits your clickage

Did you know today is the 5th Annual National Day of Unplugging? You read it here first. Details in this issue, along with steps you’ll want to take now to ward off sleep issues caused by this weekend’s time change. (Remember: clocks change at 2:00 a.m. Sunday. Not midnight. Not 1:58. 2:00! Stay up!) Also in this issue, your pain …

10 things only night shift nurses understand

10 things only night shift nurses understand! (via http://scrubsmag.com/) Eating a burger at 7 AM. Constantly being woken up by lawn mowers, the phone and ice cream trucks on your days off. Patients who are NOT sleeping. Night shift nurses, we feel your pain! We asked our night shift Facebook fans for the little things about…

Pet Therapy

Can you relate? Ever feel like you could lay down in the middle of the street and be asleep within ten seconds? Give in to that urge (although not in the middle of the road): a new study says not only that sleep is essential for life, i.e., death results from extreme sleep deprivation, but also that sleep lets the …

Changing the clocks

According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), changing our clocks shouldn’t mean losing an hour of sleep. “The Sunday that marks the return of Daylight Saving Time is a shorter day. Make it a shorter day with fewer activities, not a shorter morning with less sleep,” says David Cloud, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation. The effect of that lost …

Today’s 12 for ’12

Looking for ways to feel better that have nothing to do with a doctor, a shot or a pill? Read this week’s Medical Examiner for a slew of ideas, and check back here for regular additions like this one:   • GO TO BED EARLY — We promise you, it’s not a crime to turn in early. Get the sleep …