Sleep for Joy

Better sleep = better metabolism. I have been saying it for years - since my own experience of being stressed out, overworked and under-slept and not able to lose weight but just recently this fact is getting a good amount of press.

According to Michael Tri H. Do, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute predoctoral fellow from Harvard University, "In recent years, a lot of excitement has accompanied the forging of links between sleep and feeding. For instance, there are neurons that make a substance called orexin. These cells are located in a region of the brain that was long understood to be involved in feeding. Consistent with this, giving rats orexin causes them to eat more, while blocking it causes them to eat very little."

Yikes! This could be enough to put you to sleep right here! He IS right though so let's bring it down to what we can do about it because the basic gist is: if you sleep better, you breathe better, you move better, you look better, you feel better and isn't that what it is all about? YES!

Sleep for Joy ? the Nutrition Side

Many of us who have trouble sleeping (whether it be falling asleep or staying asleep) turn to prescription drugs such as Ambien, Sonata, Valium, Xanax, and Restoril, or one of the many over-the-counter options such as Benadryl. Taking this route can be habit forming and this actually then inhibits the body from being able to establish its own sleep rhythm, according to Michael Sateia, M.D. and president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Unless you are suffering from a severe sleep disorder (anyone taking any form of major medication should be consulting with a medical physician) taking a more natural way can be a smarter and safer long-term option for your best health:

1) Tryptophan ? a naturally occurring amino acid that makes you sleepy. A tryptophan rich snack an hour before bed can promote sleep.

Try these:

? 2 slices of lean turkey
? a small slice of cheese
? pure (no sugar) yogurt
? a handful of sunflower seeds (high in Vitamin B that enhances the body's conversion of tryptophan).

2) Magnesium ? a natural sedative. This powerful mineral can be found in:

? wheat bran
? brewer's yeast
? seaweed products
? almonds
? cashews

3) Chamomile ? best taken through sipping a nice cup of chamomile tea an hour before bed. This will calm your digestive track and reduce muscle tightness. For a real knocker-outer add a few drops of a lavender tincture and a 1/2 a teaspoon of honey.

Sleep for Joy ? the Lifestyle Side

The way you use your bedroom can have a profound effect on your ability to get a good night's sleep.

1. Recover your bed - If you use your bed (or even your bedroom for some people) for anything other than sleep you may be setting up a psychological barrier to a good night's sleep. Get into bed only when you are really tired. Use another room or chair for reading and especially for watching television. If you live in a studio apartment or dorm room, try to separate your bed from other areas with a desk, curtain or screen.

2. Be dark - the brain associates daylight with being alert and active. Believe it or not, even the glow from a neon clock can translate into daylight for the mind (plus, is it really helpful to wake-up, see the time, calculate how much longer you have to sleep and then worry about it?). Cover your clock, close your curtains and wear a sleep mask if you need to.

3. Fresh air - no matter the season, fresh air is a necessity for a good nights sleep. A stuffy room can remind you of your day or keep your head from clearing. Open the window a crack for the night or wide for a minute before you go to sleep to clear the air.

To your health and success,

Heather Dominick is a Holistic Nutrition Counselor accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and creator of The Energy Rich Lifestyle Program?. In addition to her nutrition services, she is a motivating and dynamic speaker.

To receive bi-monthly Nutrition and Lifestyle Tips you can: subscribe to her free e-Newsletter at http://www.individual-health.net or register for a free teleclass at http://www.individual-health.net

eco-friendly cleaning service Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.