Health Tips

If you are the caregiver of someone with Alzheimer’s, you may have noticed a change in their sleeping habits. Is this normal?

People often assume that as we get older, we need less sleep. This is true for many people, but not for everyone. Even in old age everyone has their own sleeping pattern which suits them best.

The sleep needs of an Alzheimer’s disease sufferer may or may not change, but what often happens is that their sleep cycle becomes reversed. In other words, they may sleep all day and be wide awake at night.

This isn’t a problem in itself–though it can be very distressing, and tiring for their caregivers. Especially if they become disruptive and noisy by moving around in the main living areas acting as though it is daytime.
(more…)

What is Tamiflu

Tamiflu is the brand name of Oseltamivir phosphate. Tamiflu is the medicine to block the harmful effects of influenza virus of types A and B. It is used to treat those patients who are suffering from the illness due to influenza virus.

Tamiflu is manufactured and marketed by Roche pharmaceuticals. This drug is classified under the group of medicines known as neuraminidase inhibitors.

Tamiflu dosage
(more…)

If incessant snoring constantly quashes your dreams of silent nights, there are a few facts that you need to know.

Snoring affects people of all ages, all over the world. There are an estimated 40 million snorers in the United States alone. In the United Kingdom the figure is around 15 million, with the total climbing to over 15 million in Germany. Across the world, snoring caused by nasal airway blockages afflicts more than a billion people.

Research has provided clear insight into the many problems of snoring. An estimated twenty percent of men in their early thirties snore, compared to nearly five percent of women in the same age bracket. By the time they reach their sixties, these numbers climb significantly, to sixty percent of men and forty percent of women.
(more…)

At some time most of us have problems sleeping. If it goes on night after night it can interfere with work, leisure time and overall happiness. Here are a few tips if you are having serious problems sleeping

Improve your sleep patterns
# Keep a sleep diary This can give both you and your doctor, therapist, whatever, a clearer picture of your sleep patterns. Many people report sleep difficulties like, ‘I have not slept a wink all night’,or, ‘I’ve been awake since 3am’. Such feelings may not actually be confirmed when you start a sleep diary as your perception of time passing can be impaired at night.
(more…)

The Catabolic and Anabolic Indices are composites of all the individual component scores in the blood test that indicate catabolic and anabolic activity.

Catabolic processes breakdown body tissue. Anabolic processes build body tissue. It is a balance between these processes that insures health. Excesses or deficiencies in either result in symptoms, and eventually chronic disease. An Anabolic Index above 20 or a Catabolic Index below -20 means you have an excess in the anabolic or catabolic processes.

Many component scores contribute to the Catabolic and Anabolic Indices. The lipids in the blood, i.e.cholesterol and triglycerides, are of particular value. Lipids are the primary players in determining the catabolic processes. Both cholesterol and triglycerides are anabolic lipids. Therefore if either or both of these lipids are high (above +20 on the score plot) there is excess anabolism. And, if either or both of these lipids are low (below -20 on the Score Plot) there is a lack of anabolism and therefore, relatively speaking, an excess of catabolism.
(more…)

A natural and gradual change.

Menopause is the final menstrual period that usually occurs between the ages of 48 to 52. It is not unusual for this to occur earlier or as late as the mid- fifties. Menopause is part of a longer life transition of hormonal change that may start in the early, mid, or late forties and occasionally earlier.

Many use the word menopause to describe the time women experience hormonal fluctuation associated with menstrual changes and hot flashes. This time of adjustment is actually called the Climateric or more commonly perimenopause or mid- life transition. Post menopause occurs 12 months after the last menstrual period.
(more…)

Sleep disorders hit about 36% of the American population. Grogginess isn’t the only side effect of not getting a good night’s rest ~ lack of sleep puts some people at risk for developing diabetes. This can start a vicious circle whereby people with diabetes have a harder time getting a good night’s sleep. Many doctors recommend natural ways, such as changing one’s sleeping environment and changing bad habits, to get over sleep disorders. When diabetics use these techniques, they often find that they can sleep better and even reduce their diabetes.

Diabetes and sleep disturbances go hand in hand, according to studies by National Institute of Mental Health and American Diabetes Association. Basically, since diabetes changes how your body processes insulin, people with diabetes have metabolisms that aren’t well balanced. (To back up, insulin is a hormone that converts starch and sugar into energy.) Awakening un-refreshed from a night’s sleep tends to trigger the body to miscalculate how much insulin should be produced. Also, when the body’s glucose (sugar) levels are off, the body tends to not respond well to sleep and quality is compromised.
(more…)

Most of us find that almost eight hours of sleep provides us with sufficient rest. At times, though, it is difficult to fall asleep. This inability to sleep readily can be due to anxiety, depression, excitement, a sleep disorder, or environmental disturbances such as a dog barking, traffic noise, and the like.

If you would like to get to sleep sooner and stay asleep longer, these tips might be able to help:

1. Have your last heavy or major meal of the day no later than six pm. A heavy meal that is greasy or has high sugar content can make your stomach do extra work and keep you awake. If you must eat in the late evening, have a light snack of some veggies, fruit, or a little cereal and milk. This will keep your digestive from overworking when you should be sleeping.
(more…)