by admin | Jun 1, 2022 | Health Awareness
While you may be familiar with your circadian rhythm — your body’s natural way of following a 24-hour clock — circadian health can optimize your sleep-wake cycle to benefit your overall health.
How Does Your Circadian Rhythm Affect Your Health?
Maintaining a consistent sleep-wake cycle that allows for seven to nine hours of sleep each night is critical to your overall health. People who struggle consistently with getting enough sleep experience both short- and long-term health effects.
In the short term, circadian rhythm disruptions cause:
- Poor energy
- Memory issues
- Digestive concerns
- Slow healing
- Inconsistent body temperatures
- Hormonal issues
When you maintain poor circadian health, you can experience long-term effects throughout your body, including:
Additionally, poor circadian health is linked to diabetes, obesity, and mental health conditions.
Improving Your Circadian Health
Improving your circadian health begins with understanding your current habits and routines. One of the easiest ways to track your circadian health is to keep a log for one week that tracks your bedtimes, wake-up times, exercise habits, time spent outdoors, and diet — especially foods consumed just before bedtime.
Then, look for areas where you can make improvements. Some people only need to tweak a couple of their routines, while others may need to reset to restore their circadian health completely.
Some methods to improve your circadian health include:
- Maintain a consistent routine and sleep schedule
- Take a walk outdoors in early daylight to promote wakefulness
- Get enough daily exercise
- Sleep in a restful environment with proper temperatures and lighting
- Avoid screens for one to two hours before bedtime
- Avoid alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine in the evenings
While implementing all changes at once can be difficult, starting with small changes can allow you to progressively see benefits and provide motivation for more changes to restore your circadian health.
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by admin | May 19, 2021 | Health Awareness
Cranberry juice isn’t the most common beverage choice, but many people enjoy it due to its health benefits. The U.S. is the world’s leading cranberry producer, with Wisconsin having produced more than four and a half million barrels of the tart fruit in 2019. The berry grows on vines and thrives in damp conditions.
One of the widest-held beliefs about cranberry juice is that it can help prevent or treat UTIs. This is due to the drink’s rich concentration of active ingredient A-type proanthocyanidins, which helps to prevent bacteria such as E. coli from sticking to the bladder wall. While it’s unclear whether the concentration of the active ingredient is high enough to treat or prevent UTIs, drinking the juice certainly won’t hurt.
As an added bonus, cranberry juice has many different vitamins and minerals, including:
- Copper
- Potassium
- Manganese
- Magnesium
- Calcium
- Folate
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin B3
- Vitamin B2
- Vitamin B1
Cranberry juice is also loaded with vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that can help minimize cell and DNA damage caused by free radicals. As a result, it could aid in the prevention of cancer, heart disease, and other conditions. Vitamin C also aids in the production of collagen, promotes healing, helps the body absorb iron, and supports the immune system.
Another standout antioxidant found in the juice is vitamin E, which is important to heart, skin, and blood vessel health. Additionally, anthocyanins in cranberry juice can help prevent the hardening of the arteries and prevent heart disease by promoting healthy blood pressure and cholesterol.
While the benefits of cranberry juice are clear, it should be enjoyed in moderation, and juice with added sugar is best avoided. Additionally, it could cause problems with blood thinners, so anyone on these medications should speak with their doctor.
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by admin | Apr 21, 2021 | Health Awareness
When life gives you lemons, consider keeping them. These citrus fruits are loaded with beneficial properties that can help your body function its best. From delivering key vitamins to promoting fresh breath, here are a few ways lemons can boost your health.
Provides Ample Vitamin C
Lemons provide more than 18 milligrams of vitamin C or nearly a third of your daily recommended amount. The key nutrient has been shown to help reduce the risk of serious illness, including cardiovascular disease and stroke. Vitamin C has also been shown to lower blood pressure.
Supports Weight Loss
Lemons can help you stay hydrated, thereby reducing bloating. They may also boost your metabolism and increase feelings of fullness, both of which can help you lose weight.
Keeps Skin Looking Its Best
There’s a reason vitamin C is a common ingredient in many leading skincare products. The nutrient has been shown to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. While topical creams may be most effective, enjoying some lemon water certainly won’t hurt.
Promotes Digestion
Ayurvedic medicine promotes lemon water as a healthy way to stimulate digestion. Many people drink lemon water right when they wake up for its ability to rev the digestive system.
Prevents Kidney Stones
Lemons contain citric acid, which surprisingly can make the urine less acidic. As such, you may be less likely to experience kidney stones if you drink lemon water regularly. As an added bonus, you’ll also be staying hydrated, which further helps to prevent kidney stones.
With so many benefits to consider, freshly squeezed lemons begin to sound more delicious than ever. At the very least, adding some to your water may make you more likely to stay hydrated without sugary beverages, which is a health benefit in itself.
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by admin | Jan 27, 2021 | Health Awareness
Experts have long suspected that sleep plays an important role in overall health, but new research published in the journal Circulation indicates an especially strong link between getting ample slumber and maintaining heart health. Specifically, individuals with the healthiest sleep habits slash their risk of heart failure by 42%. The condition happens when the heart can’t pump blood as well as it should, resulting in insufficient blood and oxygen to the cells. Patients experience fatigue, breathing challenges, and other health complications as a result.
The study characterizes healthy sleep as an early wake time, a duration of seven to eight hours each night, and no bouts of snoring, insomnia, or excessive tiredness. Markers of heart health included low LDL (“bad” cholesterol), reduced inflammation, and higher HDL (“good” cholesterol). These measures are commonly used to evaluate heart failure risk.
More than 408,000 participants were tracked over a decade, with 5,221 people developing heart failure. The data revealed the following trends:
- People who woke up early had an 8% lower risk of heart failure.
- People who didn’t experience frequent insomnia had a 17% lower risk.
- People who regularly got seven to eight hours of sleep had a 12% lower risk.
- People who didn’t feel sleepy throughout the day had a 34% lower risk.
Although the research couldn’t confirm whether poor sleep led to heart issues or vice versa, the researchers noted that they aimed to exclude people with existing heart failure from the study. Thus, the results in this particular study seem to suggest that poor sleep contributes to the condition, though a bidirectional relationship is possible.
The Potential Link Between Sleep & Heart Health
Other studies have examined a connection between poor sleep and cardiovascular issues, including arrhythmia, coronary heart disease, and coronary artery disease, all of which can contribute to heart failure. It’s also worth noting that two markers looked at in the study—daytime tiredness and snoring—are also potential indications of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). While the possible role of OSA in heart failure would need to be studied further, research has already linked it to other cardiovascular issues, including stroke, heart attack, and high blood pressure.
Finding the Sweet Spot
Getting enough sleep is important to overall wellness, but it’s also important to consider that too much sleep could present health issues. Sleeping over eight hours was associated with poor cardiovascular health in the study, and other research has also linked it to cardiovascular disease. Researchers believe excessive sleep could also point to health issues such as chronic illness or depression, which could explain the correlation. For this reason, it’s best to aim for seven to eight hours a night.
Tips for Healthy Sleep
In addition to getting seven to eight hours a night, try to wake early and address any sleep challenges, such as snoring, insomnia, or sleep apnea, with a healthcare professional. You can also use the following tips to improve your overall sleep habits:
- Turn off all electronics. At least a half-hour before bed, spend time away from screens. The blue light can disrupt the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.
- Establish a winding down routine. Consider taking a soothing bath, listening to relaxing music, reading a book, or meditating.
- Turn the lights down. This can kickstart melatonin production and communicate to your body that it’s time for sleep.
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by admin | Dec 30, 2020 | Health Awareness
Your immune system is your body’s most powerful line of defense against infection and illness. It comprises cells in many different areas of your body which must all work together in harmony. The immune system is affected by many different factors, including your diet and overall lifestyle. Here are some natural approaches to help you maintain strong immunity.
Eat a Nutritious Diet
Plant-based foods deliver nutrients your body needs to support strong immune function. For instance, key nutrients such as zinc, folate, selenium, iron, and B12, many of which can be found in fresh fruits and vegetables, help the immune system do its job. Certain herbs and spices, such as cumin, oregano, thyme, and cinnamon, also have antiviral and antimicrobial properties to help keep infections at bay. Of course, vitamin C is also a well-known agent for strengthening immunity, which can be found in citrus fruit, red bell pepper, and many cruciferous vegetables. You’ll also want to get plenty of protein to supply your body with amino acids that help the body resist infection.
Control Stress
When the body is consistently stressed, it releases the stress hormone cortisol. On a short-term basis, this phenomenon helps the body react to the issue causing the stress by putting the immune system on hold. Over a long-term basis, however, it prevents the immune system from doing its job effectively. To combat chronic stress, try calming exercises such as journaling, meditating, or finding an enjoyable hobby, such as reading.
Prioritize Sleep
Insufficient sleep prevents your body from producing and distributing the cells that regulate immunity. It also raises cortisol levels, further compromising the immune system. In one study, people who didn’t sleep enough were more susceptible to the flu virus, even if they’d been vaccinated. Aim to get seven hours of quality slumber each night, and use tactics such as sleeping in a cool room and turning off electronics an hour before bed to get rest.
Get Exercise
Regular physical activity reduces the risk of both chronic illnesses and acute infections caused by viruses and bacteria. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week. Activities such as walking and cycling are ideal, but you can also mix in strength training to keep the muscles and bones strong.
Avoid Smoking & Alcohol
High alcohol consumption has been linked to diminished immunity and longer recovery times, while smoking also interferes with immune system function. If you do drink, do so in moderation, and avoid smoking or make a plan to quit.
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