background preloader

Sleep

Sleep
Sleeping is associated with a state of muscle relaxation and limited perception of environmental stimuli. The purposes and mechanisms of sleep are only partially clear and the subject of substantial ongoing research.[2] Sleep is sometimes thought to help conserve energy, though this theory is not fully adequate as it only decreases metabolism by about 5–10%.[3][4] Additionally it is observed that mammals require sleep even during the hypometabolic state of hibernation, in which circumstance it is actually a net loss of energy as the animal returns from hypothermia to euthermia in order to sleep.[5] Humans may suffer from a number of sleep disorders. These include dyssomnias (such as; insomnia, hypersomnia, and sleep apnea) and parasomnias (such as sleepwalking and REM behavior disorder; and the circadian rhythm sleep disorders). Physiology[edit] Hypnogram showing sleep cycles from midnight to 6.30 am, with deep sleep early on. Stages[edit] 30 seconds of deep (stage N3) sleep. REM sleep[edit] Related:  health

Stress (psychological) In psychology, stress is a feeling of strain and pressure. Small amounts of stress may be desired, beneficial, and even healthy. Positive stress helps improve athletic performance. Stress can be external and related to the environment,[1] but may also be created by internal perceptions that cause an individual to have anxiety or other negative emotions surrounding a situation, such as pressure, discomfort, etc., which they then deem stressful. Humans experience stress, or perceive things as threatening, when they do not believe that their resources for coping with obstacles (stimuli, people, situations, etc.) are enough for what the circumstances demand. A very much overlooked side of stress is its positive adaptations.[2] Positive psychological stress can lead to motivation and challenge instead of anxiety. Selye proposed that there are four variations of stress.[4] On one axis, there is good stress (eustress) and bad stress (distress).

File:Exercise zones.png Aerobic exercise Cardio. Aerobic exercise (also known as cardio) is physical exercise of relatively low intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process.[1] Aerobic literally means "living in air",[2] and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism.[3] Generally, light-to-moderate intensity activities that are sufficiently supported by aerobic metabolism can be performed for extended periods of time.[1] The intensity should be between 60 and 85% of maximum heart rate. When practiced in this way, examples of cardiovascular/aerobic exercise are medium to long distance running/jogging, swimming, cycling, and walking, according to the first extensive research on aerobic exercise, conducted in the 1960s on over 5,000 U.S. Air Force personnel by Dr. Aerobic versus anaerobic exercise[edit] Fox and Haskell formula showing the split between aerobic (light orange) and anaerobic (dark orange) exercise and heart rate. Criticisms[edit]

Wired 15.01: My 4-Week Quest: Be Smarter Everyone wants a better body, a sharper mind, or both. But how? To find the answer, Wired sent writers on three different challenges: For one month, do everything possible (and legal) to run faster, get smarter, or shoot straighter. And keep a diary. By Joshua GreenPage 1 of 1 THERE COMES A TIME IN EVERYONE'S life – usually past age 30 and just after you've done something boneheaded like pour coffee on your cereal – when the thought hits you: "I wish I were smarter." Story Tools Story Images Click thumbnails for full-size image: WEEK ONE: I begin my experiment by playing Brain Age, a Nintendo DS game based on the research of Japanese neuroscientist Ryuta Kawashima. I start a regimen of Brain Age training and consult several neuroscientists about how to jump-start my tired noggin. On the advice of Charles Czeisler, a professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School, I start getting more shut-eye. WEEK TWO: More lifestyle changes. I also learn (more) about the wonders of coffee.

Fitness-Tipps : Die zehn goldenen Regeln für Jogging-Einsteiger - Nachrichten Gesundheit Artikel per E-Mail empfehlen Die zehn goldenen Regeln für Jogging-Einsteiger Achim Achilles und die "Welt" beantworten hier die zehn wichtigsten Fragen zum Laufen. Mehr müssen Sie zu Beginn nicht wissen. Achim Achilles und die "Welt" beantworten hier die zehn wichtigsten Fragen zum Laufen. Worauf muss ich achten, wenn ich anfange zu laufen? Die erste Devise lautet: Nicht übertreiben. Mit wie vielen Minuten soll ich anfangen? Jede Minute zählt. Wie schnell soll ich laufen? Eine Faustregel lautet: Solange Sie in der Lage sind, mehrere Sätze hintereinander zu sprechen, laufen Sie in ihrem Wohlfühl-Tempo. Muss ich mich aufwärmen und dehnen? Für Jogger mit geringem Tempo ist das Aufwärmen kein Muss, es erleichtert aber den Einstieg. Welche Ausrüstung brauche ich? Wer will, kann viele hundert Euro ausgeben. Soll ich morgens oder abends laufen? Genauso wie es Langschläfer und Frühaufsteher gibt, gibt es auch Morgen- und Abendläufer. Was soll ich essen und trinken? Soll ich meinen Puls messen?

Reminder ideas for your goals Here are some ways to remind yourself to go for a walk, eat more fruit, drink more water, or follow through with any other goal you set for yourself. It’s easy to forget to do these things once you get busy with your regular daily routine, especially if it’s a new behavior. Reminders can help interrupt the ‘autopilot mode’ of your day and help you achieve your goal. Use related objects If your goal is to drink more water, keep water bottles at your desk and around your house.If your goal is to eat more fruit, keep fruit visible on your desk, on the top shelf of your fridge, and on your kitchen counter. (healthy kitchen tips)If your goal is to go for a walk in the morning, keep your walking shoes in front of your bedroom door so you have to walk over them as you leave the room. Write on post it notes: Write your goal on post-it notes and put them in places you’ll see throughout the day. 35+ places to keep reminders Upload pictures Set alarms Schedule appointments Send messages Ask people

If You Are Fit, You Can Take It Easy Pamplemousse/Getty Images New Year’s resolutions tend to war with wintertime malaise. Resolution urges you to work out. Malaise suggests that you linger in bed. But there’s good news for those of us torn between these impulses. The most sobering of the recent studies, published last month in The British Journal of Sports Medicine, looked at a large group of retired elite male athletes, most now in their 50s. Similarly, although in a more compressed time frame, a study published earlier this year found that when a group of world-class kayakers completely quit training (at the end of a competitive season), they rapidly lost strength and endurance. In other words, being almost completely inactive, whether for a short or prolonged period of time, inexorably de-tones muscles and compromises health. But there is a loophole. The researchers then randomly assigned the volunteers to different groups for the next eight months. There are caveats to these encouraging findings, of course.

Really? Treating Sleep Apnea Reduces Inflammation Really? Anahad O’Connor tackles health myths. Doctors have plenty of good reasons to persuade people with sleep apnea to get it treated. The widespread disorder causes disruptions in breathing at night, which can ruin sleep and raise the likelihood of problems like obesity and fatigue. The standard treatment for the condition, a mask worn at night that delivers continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, significantly improves apnea, even though many people don’t like to wear it. Many studies have looked at the link between sleep apnea and high levels of inflammatory markers. The data suggested that treating apnea with CPAP significantly reduces levels of two proteins associated with inflammation: tumor necrosis factor and C-reactive protein, or CRP. Treating sleep apnea with positive airway pressure helps to lower systemic inflammation, which might prevent some of the other problems associated with the disorder.

To Treat Sleep Apnea, Some Shed a Mask About 28 million Americans have sleep apnea, which causes repeated awakenings and pauses in breathing during the night, sometimes resulting in loud snoring and gasps for air. For decades, the standard treatment has been “continuous positive airway pressure.” A mask worn at night pushes air into the nasal passages, enabling easier breathing. Joseph A. But the mask is like something from a bad science fiction movie: big, bulky and obtrusive. “For a lot of people out there, the C.P.A.P. machine turns into a doorstop,” said Dr. Now an alternative form of C.P.A.P. is gaining popularity: a patch that fits over the nostrils. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2008, Provent has spread mostly by word of mouth. Bob Bleck, who owns a computer networking firm in Ohio, struggled with poor sleep and chronic fatigue for decades. The diagnosis was severe sleep apnea. His doctor prescribed a C.P.A.P. machine, and Mr. “I had this constricted feeling,” he said. Mr. Dr. For now, Dr. Dr.

Fitness : Zügiges Gehen schützt Gesundheit so gut wie Joggen - Nachrichten Gesundheit Artikel per E-Mail empfehlen Zügiges Gehen schützt Gesundheit so gut wie Joggen "Viele Menschen suchen nach Ausreden, warum sie keinen Ausgleichssport betreiben", sagt Forscher Paul T. Williams. Sein wissenschaftliches Gegenmittel: Es muss nicht das schweißtreibende Joggen sein. "Viele Menschen suchen nach Ausreden, warum sie keinen Ausgleichssport betreiben", sagt Forscher Paul T. Wer gegen Übergewicht, Herz-Kreislauf-Leiden und Diabetes angehen will, muss nicht unbedingt joggen: Zügiges Gehen tut es auch. Das Ergebnis: Rasches Gehen senkt das Risiko ähnlich wie Joggen. "Viele Menschen suchen nach Ausreden, warum sie keinen Ausgleichssport betreiben", sagt Paul T. In nackten Zahlen ausgedrückt taten die Spaziergänger ihrem Körper sogar mehr Gutes als die Jogger: Ihr Risiko, dass erstmals ein Bluthochdruck auftrat, sank um 7,2 Prozent – bei den Läufern "nur" um 4,2 Prozent. Ob Laufen oder Gehen: Wichtig ist, sich überhaupt zu bewegen.

guardianeatright.co.uk Latest Diet & nutrition news You probably know that you need to eat more fruit and vegetables. Newspapers, magazines, leaflets in supermarkets and even labels on the food you eat constantly encourages the green stuff. But why is there so much fuss about fruit and vegetables? Fruit and vegetables are power-houses of nutrition. What is 5 a day? The Department of Health have set us all a minimum target of 5 a day, eating this many portions should significantly lower your chances of developing chronic health conditions. What is a portion of 5 a day? If you’ve been getting through 2 cartons of juice and 3 tins of beans every day to increase your fruit and vegetable intake, well done for trying. 5 a day campaign This campaign initially launched to encourage people to eat more fruit and vegetables as the evidence shows that eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day could help prevent up to 20% of deaths from conditions such as heart disease and cancer. What counts Fruit

How Exercise May Help Memory Britt Erlanson/Getty Images Phys Ed Gretchen Reynolds on the science of fitness. Fitness Tracker Marathon, half-marathon, 10K and 5K training plans to get you race ready. Two new experiments, one involving people and the other animals, suggest that regular exercise can substantially improve memory, although different types of exercise seem to affect the brain quite differently. It was back in the 1990s that scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., first discovered that exercise bulks up the brain. Since then, scientists have been working to understand precisely how, at a molecular level, exercise improves memory, as well as whether all types of exercise, including weight training, are beneficial. The new studies provide some additional and inspiring clarity on those issues, as well as, incidentally, on how you can get lab rats to weight train. Mild cognitive impairment is also a recognized risk factor for increasing dementia.

Ask Well: Do Ball Chairs Offer Benefits? Unfortunately, the answer seems to be no. “To be quite frank, I cannot see any advantage or reason for a person to be using an exercise ball as an office chair,” says Jack P. Callaghan, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Spine Biomechanics and Injury Prevention at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. Although you might expect that sitting on the ball would demand extra exertion to keep you upright and stable, when Dr. Ball chairs do not improve posture, either. Not all news about ball chairs is bad, of course. If your concern is with sitting too much, a better solution is probably to stand up periodically throughout the workday, which has been found to improve health. But don’t overdo the standing, Dr.

Ängste wegmeditieren - Neurowissenschaftler beleuchten Wirksamkeit der | Forschung Aktuell Neurowissenschaftler beleuchten Wirksamkeit der Achtsamkeitsmeditation Von Franziska Badenschier Mit Yoga-Übungen, Meditationen und richtiger Atmung bekämpft die MBSR-Therapie Ängste und Stress. (AP) Bei Angststörungen können Meditationskurse durch Erhöhung der Aufmerksamkeit helfen. " "Wenn du dich niedergelassen hast auf deinem Kissen oder deinem Bänkchen, dann spüre einfach mal, wo du das Gewicht an das Kissen abgibst, wie die Beine auf den Boden liegen Günther Hudasch sitzt im Schneidersitz auf einem Kissen. "Was wir hier gemacht haben, ist ein kleiner Einstieg in eine Atemmeditation. Acht Wochen dauert solch ein Kurs. "Achtsam meint ganz spezifisch, dass ich das beobachte, was in mir auftaucht an Körperspannung, an Gedanken und Gefühlen. Gefühle wahrnehmen, ohne sie zu bewerten: Darum geht es. Das alles haben verschiedene Studien belegt. "Aber was passiert dabei im Gehirn? Die Patienten berichteten nach dem Achtsamkeitstraining auch, dass sie weniger grübelten. Mehr zum Thema

Related: