A study published in the April edition of the American Journal of Physiology – Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology suggests that frequent disruptions in the sleep cycle (also known as circadian rhythm) can increase the risk of kidney and heart disease. (The study is not yet available online.)
Conducted by researchers from the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at Toronto General Hospital, the study altered the internal biological clocks of rodent (hamster) models using external regulators (such as reversing light and dark periods) and found that the changes resulted in cardiomyopathy (damage and enlargement of the heart) and scarring of the kidney tubules.
Based on findings from this and several other previous studies, the researchers concluded that renewal of organ tissues likely occurs during sleep, suggesting that sleep disruption prevents this process from happening and results in damage to the organs.
Posted By: Worker Bee
A study released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that Americans are carving out too little time for sleep.
Published in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the study surveyed 19,589 adults living in Delaware, Hawaii, New York and Rhode Island about how many days in the prior month they had gotten insufficient rest or sleep. Researchers did not provide definitions to survey respondents about what was considered “sufficient” sleep and did not ask respondents to report how many hours they slept per night.
Among the respondents, 10% reported that they did not get enough rest or sleep every day in the past month, while 38% reported that they had not slept well seven or more days in the prior month.
Posted By: Worker Bee
Last week, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Surveillance (CDC) released a report suggesting that cases of flu had peaked in recent weeks.
But rather than go crazy and hole up in your house until the flu season passes, we suggest you follow these tried and true tips for avoiding – and recovering from – the flu.
Posted By: Worker Bee
One more point to show that “nature” doesn’t run the show when it comes to the health of our seedlings (or any of us, for that matter)… Last week Mark offered commentary on an analysis of twins and childhood obesity published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which had been picked up by MSNBC. Research out of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health late last week highlights yet another environmental influence related to childhood obesity.
Their analysis of epidemiological studies found that with each additional hour of sleep, the risk of a child being overweight or obese dropped by 9 percent. Our analysis of the data shows a clear association between sleep duration and the risk for overweight or obesity in children. …The results of the analysis showed that children with the shortest sleep duration had a 92 percent higher risk of being overweight or obese compared to children with longer sleep duration. For children under age 5, shortest sleep duration meant less than 9 hours of sleep per day. For children ages 5 to 10 it meant less than 8 hours of sleep per day and less than 7 hours of sleep per day for children over 10. The association between increased sleep and reduced obesity risk was strongly associated with boys, but not in girls.
via Science Daily
Posted By: Worker Bee
Energy levels running low? Read on to learn 10 natural ways to gain energy even the Energizer bunny would be envious of.
Protein Provider
Although fat, pound for pound, contains more energy than protein, protein has a distinct advantage in that it releases energy at a much slower rate, preventing the fluctuations in blood sugar level that can sap energy. Good sources of protein include poultry, fish, red meat, eggs and yogurt.
Posted By: Worker Bee
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