Post 3: Are You Sleep Deprived?

Every night before I go to bed, I set my alarm for 7:30am. I also set other alarms for 7:35am, 7:40am, 7:45am…you get the picture. If I don’t set more than two alarms, I will not get out of bed or even sometimes not wake up at all.

I have always assumed that the reason why I have such a hard time waking up in the morning is because I never get enough sleep. But after reading a Women’s Health magazine, I learned that there is more to a day of exhaustion than just a lack of sleep.

Sleep helps the mind and body perform even the most basic tasks such as staying focused in school or learning a new dance routine. You also need sleep to help keep your immune system strong and to combat stress in your everyday life.

  

While you are sleeping, your body repairs cells, combines memories, builds bones and muscles, and stores up energy for the next days, weeks, and years to come. Also, during the time of shut-eye, your body produces a hormone called melatonin. Melatonin maintains the body’s circadian rhythm which controls our internal clock; aka when we fall asleep and when we wake up. But many factors that we aren’t aware of can affect our circadian rhythm while we sleep causing sleep deprivation.

Possible Factors That Can Affect Sleep

Sleep disorders are one of the number one causes of sleep loss. With over 90 different sleep disorders, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, and sleep apnea are the most common. Recent research has found why sleep problems are skyrocketing and stress is to blame.

 “Thanks to this economy, there has been a big increase in stress,” says Alan Lankford, PH. D., president and CEO of the Sleep Disorders Center of Georgia. “And stress can have a huge impact on falling and staying asleep.” If you are mentally tense at night, your body releases a stress hormone known as cortisol which acts like an adrenaline shot that keeps you from sleeping.

Another factor that contributes to lack of sleep is the exposure of artificial lighting from a television, computer, or cell phone. A study conducted by the University of Haifa in Israel found that excessive exposure to artificial lighting during night time interrupts cell growth which is directly linked to blocking the production of melatonin. If not enough melatonin is produced while sleeping, then this cycles back to not being able to sleep.

So even if you are able to fall asleep at night, there are things still affecting how you sleep; which is why many of us feel exhausted even after an eight hour night’s sleep. 

As I kept reading my Women’s Health magazine, I realized that not only do I have trouble waking up in the morning, but I also have trouble falling asleep at night. My question was, is there a way to put my sleep issues to rest? Silly me, of course there is! There are multiple ways of falling asleep quicker and easier.

Number One: Stick to a Schedule

“Routine is important,” says James Maas, Ph.D., coauthor of Sleep for Success! Everything You Must Know About Sleep but Are Too Tired to Ask. “You have one biological clock- not one for the workweek and one for the weekend. You need to synchronize it and go to sleep around the same time every day.” By not having a consistent snooze schedule, it confuses your brains sleep center and increases your chances of having restless nights.

Number Two: Stay Cool

When you finally fall asleep, your core body temperature drops about a degree and a half. Try keeping your bedroom temperature at 68°F. If that doesn’t work, try taking a hot bath, says Lankford. As your body cools, it transitions more easily into sleep mode once you lie down.

Number Three: Pillow Talk

If a routine before bed and staying cool while you sleep still isn’t the solution to your madness, try cognitive behavioral therapy. Shelby Freedman Harris, Psy.D., in New York City said that acupuncture, massage, or meditation can help soothe you before you go to sleep. These tricks can possibly change negative sleep-related thoughts and reduce sleepless anxiety.

Hopefully now you understand what causes a lack of sleep, why, and how to fix the problem (not including sleep disorders). But I’m sure many of you are still wondering what the basics are when it comes to sleeping such as what the best bedtime is.

On average, most people need seven to nine hours of sleep per night but in reality, one size doesn’t fit all. To know if you are getting the right amount of sleep, take the time that you wake up and count backwards seven and a half hours to determine what time you need to hit the hay. If you wake up just before your alarm goes off, that means you are well rested. But if you were still fast asleep, try going to sleep 20 minutes earlier each night until you find the bedtime that works for you.

Another basic question you may be wondering is whether napping during the day is beneficial or not. Many experts say that if you are sleep deprived; try taking a nap before 3p.m. and only allow it to last about 30 minutes. If you sleep longer than 30 minutes, your body may enter a deep-sleep phase and it’ll be harder to wake up. After your nap, you should feel more alert, engaged, and re-energized. If napping doesn’t work for you, experts also suggest taking a quick walk to refresh yourself.  

How do you know if you are sleep deprived? There are actually five different signs that you may be sleep deprived which include the following:

1. Simple decisions turn into exaggerated importance
2. Eat all day and are still hungry
3. Weak immune system
4. Extremely emotional
5. Clumsiness

Now that I am finished with this post, I can finally get some rest. With my four alarms set for tomorrow morning, I am hoping-even after I have studied all of this-that some of it will be beneficial for me in order to wake up more easily. We’ll just have to see. Goodnight.

Post 2: Anabolic Steroids: Good or Bad?

When you hear the word steroids, what comes to mind? A good drug to help heal moderate to severe medical conditions or a bad drug used to enhance one’s physical appearance and competitive endurance? 

The thought that comes to most of our minds is bad drug. Many of us know that steroids have been stigmatized into the conception of being a harmful drug because of the people who have chosen to abuse it. Today, numerous accounts involving the usage of steroids are very common amongst professional athletes such as baseball players, body builders, and track stars who have been accused of—and in some cases admitted to – using steroids. Knowing that steroids are prohibited among most governing bodies of sports, this is another factor that contributes to why we view steroids as something harmful in today’s society.

Not only have iconic people abused the usage of steroids but possibly your friends, family, and peers have abused the drug as well. In a recent study, 78.4 percent of steroid users were noncompetitive body builders and non-athletes.

Because of the people that have both subsidized and demoted the usage of steroids, there are many misconceptions about what steroids are, how they work, and why they are dangerous. Even though you, yourself, may never have experimented with steroids, this objective information will hopefully inform you of what steroids are and how the drug can affect people both negatively and positively. 

Definition and Process of Steroids

There are many different types of steroids but the most commonly known steroids are anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids are an artificial copy of the male hormone testosterone. Testosterone is naturally produced by the human body. Once injected, the drug’s anabolic or “muscle-building” effects help the body retain protein, a necessary building block for the growth of muscles, bones, and skin. Anabolic steroids cause an increase of muscle mass, strength, and stamina.  

Negative Effects from Steroid Usage

Over a course of time, anabolic steroids eventually cause naturally produced testosterone to deteriorate causing hormones to malfunction. Hormones that control mood, reproduction, and appetite are just a few that are strongly affected by steroid use.

One of the most common hormonal defects caused by steroid use is the term “roid rage”. Roid rage can be defined as uncontrolled outbursts of anger, frustration, or combativeness. When too much testosterone enters the body, it can cause your mood hormones to exceed in activity causing a short and extremely sensitive temper.

Another psychological effect caused by steroids is depression. Once your body is addicted to steroids, it can take a long time for all of your hormonal levels to function normally again. For example, if a person has been using steroids for more than 2 months, their body becomes addicted to the synthetic testosterone supplying their muscles. If that person stops the supply, their hormonal levels become dysfunctional because the natural testosterone that was weakened by the synthetic testosterone is too weak to function on its own.With almost no natural testosterone left, this would cause someone’s estrogen levels to increase causing depression.

In order to reproduce natural testosterone, almost all “ex-steroid” users need to be prescribed post cycle drugs that will help suppress estrogen levels and start building natural testosterone. If someone does not seek medical help after using steroids, there is a very likely chance that they will be depressed until their body fully restores its natural testosterone levels on its own.

Other psychological effects caused by steroid use include various forms of mental illness such as mania and schizophrenia. It is statistically proven that people who use anabolic steroids have a higher suicide rate than the general population.

Positive Effects from Steroid Usage

Since the discovery of anabolic steroids in the 1930’s, they have been used for many medical purposes.

· Stimulates the growth of blood cells for people who have leukemia or kidney failure

· Helps treat children that have growth failure in their muscles by causing them to grow normally

· Medical patients with AIDS or cancer can create an appetite and are able to preserve and increase muscle mass

· Prevents bone loss in elderly men

· Produces secondary male traits such as a deeper voice and facial hair for males who have Gender Identity Disorder

· Produces secondary female traits such as breasts and reproduction genes for females who have Gender Identity Disorder

· Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

· Increases height and weight in boys who have delayed puberty

Although steroids can be used for medical reasons, many people choose to abuse the drug. Anabolic steroids can be very harmful to the body and because of the people who manipulate the drug; it is one of the most controversial topics within the fitness industry. Many anti-steroid users believe that hard training, a healthy diet, and good rest will have the same affects on your body just like steroids, just with out all of the harmful side affects.

 It is safe to assume that many illegal anabolic steroid users are not fully aware of how this drug affects the body. When synthetic hormones are introduced to the body, health threatening chemical reactions begin to occur, and if someone does not understand what is happening inside the body when steroids are injected into muscles, then an overdose is at hand leading to permanent body deficiencies and possibly death. 

 Other Risks Caused by Anabolic Steroids

· Increase of cholesterol levels and blood pressure causing poor cardiovascular health

· Liver failure

· Headaches

· Cramps

· Stunted growth

· Insulin insensitivity (Type I & II diabetes)

· Nausea

· Diarrhea

· Increased chance of tumors

· Vomiting

· Androgenic side affects such as aggressiveness and thinning hair

 In conclusion, there are many different types of steroids. Different types of steroids cause different side effects. But when using anabolic steroids, your body slowly starts to worsen internally and externally from its natural production of testosterone leading to many other body failures. Now what comes to mind when you hear the word steroids?

Original Article: http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/supplementationbasics/a/steroiddangers_3.htm

Resources:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabolic_steroid#Medical_uses

2. http://dwb.unl.edu/teacher/nsf/c10/c10links/www.tcada.state.tx.us/research/facts/steroids.html

Post 1: Preventing Obesity. Is it Possible?

While coming of age, most of us do not worry about what kind of food we consume as well as how much food we consume through out the day. But what if every human did consider these factors on a daily basis? Would obesity exist?

Food is not the only factor that contributes to obesity. Obesity can be caused by other contributing factors such as pregnancy, lack of sleep, and family history. For example, if the parents of a child are obese, the child is three times more likely to be obese as someone with parents that are not obese. 

When categorizing obesity, combining food and lack of physical activity are two of the most common factors that contribute to this medical condition. Yes, obesity is considered a medical condition and many of you may be asking why.

People who are prone to obesity tend to accumulate excess body fat by eating foods that are concentrated with high energy and fats causing an affect (s) on their health. Also, if a person's calorie intake exceeds the amount of calories used within a day, then the excess calories eaten stores as body fat which causes weight gain. Having a body weight that is much greater than one's average weight to height ratio can cause many health risks such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and many other life threatening medical conditions.

Let’s begin to analyze the factors that may contribute to obesity based on food. Today, overeating is very common in our society. With fast-food and other restaurants serving portions that are twice as much as our stomachs can hold, one meal tends to provide an entire day’s worth of calories. Take a double quarter pounder with cheese from McDonald’s for example. There is 740 calories, 42 grams of fat, and 19 grams of saturated fat in one burger. Usually when ordering at McDonald’s, a side of French fries and a soda go perfectly with the main course. Adding all three portions together, that is roughly 1,340 calories (give or take) eaten in one sitting. Many people do not realize the amount of food that they consume causing obesity levels to raise significantly. If people were more aware of how much food they consume, for example restaurants advertising nutritional fact sheets, would the amount of people who are obese decrease? Most people would say yes.

Psychological disorders also play a role in obesity. Many people overeat because of stress, loneliness, depression and a desire for immediate gratification to feel better. Low self-esteem and anxiety also contribute to overeating as well. These are all reasons why people consume more calories than they need which are why most psychological disorders are directly linked to obesity. Clinical studies have proven that to combat depression or anxiety, exercising on a daily basis releases “feel good” brain chemicals that help people cope with daily stress while boosting self-confidence.

Another cause of obesity is the lack of physical activity. Many of the conveniences that we use through out the day such as elevators, cars, as well as the remote for the television, cause us to reduce the opportunities we have to be active on a daily basis. Because of the technology used today, such as video games and computers, this gives us plenty of excuses to not have the motivation to exercise. According to a study, 33.8 percent of the United States population is obese, out of those 17 percent (12.5 billion) are children aging from 2-19 years old, caused mainly by insufficient exercising. Now, we could sit here and argue about what causes obesity, but most of us are well aware that the technology that surrounds us is what causes more people to not want to exercise, aka laziness. By including physical activity in an individuals every day life, the risk of being obese are slim to none. Besides willful laziness, there must be another explanation as to why people, as they slide into obesity, fail to exercise.

Right now, all we know is that the portions of food keep growing and more technological distractions are being invented. Is it ever going to stop? If the severity of obesity keeps increasing, what are we doing to prevent it? Obesity is a worldwide known medical condition and statistically keeps getting worse. The question is when and where do we begin to stop it? Can we prevent obesity? The truth is, we don’t know.

To conclude, in order to decrease the amount of people that are overweight or prone to obesity, daily exercise and maintaining a healthy diet are the first two steps to get rid of this continuous phenomenon.

Resources:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/what-is-obesity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity
http://www.tree.com/health/obesity.aspx
http://shroudedindoubt.typepad.com/bodyparts/2009/01/the-causes-of-obesity-3-the-issue-of-lethargy-and-lack-of-exercise.html
http://www.livestrong.com/article/420140-obesity-caused-by-lack-of-exercise/
http://www.mbonfa.com/weight-loss/obesity-causes.htm