Get A Good Night’s Sleep – Insomnia Can Affect Your Heart!

Posted by Cathy on

According to the European Heart Journal, a study conducted on 54,000 Norwegians over 11 years revealed that having symptoms of insomnia was linked to an increased risk of heart failure.

Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep and waking up UN-refreshed were the symptoms of insomnia recorded in the questionnaires that were used to gather data.

Many health, behavioral and demographic factors were controlled in the study and it was found that having just one of the symptoms of insomnia increased chances of heart disease by 17 percent! Having two symptoms increased the chances by 92 percent, and having all three nearly tripled the risk.

The interesting factor about this study is that insomnia was a risk independent of other cardiovascular risks, i.e. none of the participants started out with heart disease, but at the 11 year follow up, 1,412 cases of heart disease were documented.

The study suggests that chronic insomnia leads to high blood pressure which leads to a higher heart rate. Both are known to increase risk for heart failure.

Lars E. Laugsand, lead author of the study and postdoctoral fellow at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, stated “We cannot claim that insomnia is causing heart failure,” but acknowledges that insomnia plays a measurable role in the  propensity of heart problems among individuals.

If you are having difficulty with sleep, consider using Chinese herbs. Pacific Herbs iSleep is a safe and effective formula without side effects that will help you get the rest you need. And according to this study, better sleep may protect your heart!

Read more:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/chronic-insomnia-affects-heart/

The 5 Biggest “Health Insurance” Tips You Will Ever Need

Posted by Cathy on with 1 Comment

Love your body, be healthy and prevent disease.I having been surrounded (quite literally) for the past three days by so called “healthy products”,  everything from fortified lolly pops, safer nail polish to every type of infused water possible. I had three days of endless conversations with wellness experts from around the world, Naturopaths, Dieticians, Chiropractors, Acupuncturists, Herbalists, Homeopaths and Bio-Chemists to name a few. Every health professional I spoke to had the same resounding theme, the key to better health is not in any one of these hot new health products that you’ll find at the Natural Products Expo and later on a store shelf.  It’s not about curing a disease, it’s about PREVENTING it in the first place. The key is and always has been about PREVENTION.

So how do you PREVENT disease?  It’s actually not that difficult. Everyone can do it.
What you eat of course plays a big part and being a fast food society does cause “eating challenges”. (the subject of a later blog)
However, every health practitioner that I spoke with agreed that since all dis-ease (disease) is associated with inflammation and hormonal imbalances, getting those two area of the body in balance is the beginning to true prevention.
Think of prevention as the most cost effective “health insurance” available. Here are 5 tips to help your body be less acidic and more alkaline to keep inflammation to a minimum and a couple easy steps to balancing your hormones. (especially essential for women)
1. Reduce the sugar, it leads to inflammation. This includes fruit juices and products sweetened with fruit juice.  Most fruit is highly acidic.
2. Stay away from artificial hormones such as birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy and artificial “muscle building” powders. You can easily balance your own hormones through exercise and diet and you won’t need hormone replacements.
3. Get good quality sleep. Sleep helps the body heal and restores natural energy. When you sleep well, you will naturally produce more hormones. You won’t need that artificial, sugar laced energy drink and one cup of coffee will be enough. 
4. Add tea’s rather than coffee to your diet. There a thousand types of teas to choose from bags, loose leaf everyone can find something pleasing. Green teas (and others) naturally reduce body acidity and help reduce inflammation. Don’t misunderstand coffee has health benefits, but adding variety to your diet with tea’s provides other unique health benefits.
5. Exercise and learn some new stress releasing techniques like Yoga, Qi Gong breathing, Tai Qi and other types of relaxation / breathing exercises to reduce your stress. (All sorts of Youtube videos are freely available on these subjects) Get at least 45 minutes of sustained exercise everyday even if it’s just a brisk walk. Movement helps stimulate natural hormone production in your thymus, pituitary, adrenals and thyroid glands. Do it daily, for the greatest disease insurance.
It’s been said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, I think it’s something closer to a ton of cure.
This post is proud to be part of “Prevention Not Prescription Tues” at The Kathleen Show