Last Week’s Heath News: Too many naps can lead to dementia, the benefits of alternative sweeteners, and more.
Excessive naps can be a sign of dementia
Frequent naps or long, regular naps during the day may be a sign of early dementia in the elderly, new studies show.
Elderly people who took a nap at least once a day or for an hour or more were more likely than those who didn’t take a nap every day or took a nap for less than an hour a day, according to a study published Thursday for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. 40% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease: Journal of the Alzheimer’s Disease Association. Learn more about the link between excessive naps and dementia.
Alcohol-related deaths surged during a pandemic
Alcohol deaths in the United States increased by 25.5% between 2019 and 2020, according to a study published Friday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This is the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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This is a steep slope from the previous year. Between 1999 and 2017, the average annual increase in alcohol-related deaths was 2.2%.
In the United States, there were 78,927 alcohol-related deaths in 2019 and 99,017 in 2020. These deaths also include car accidents resulting from drunk driving. Read more facts and numbers here:
How to help people with eating disorders
If you know what you think a loved one has an eating disorder, supporting that person can change the game for them.
Eating disorders affect at least 9% of the world’s population, including about 30 million Americans. More than 10,000 people die each year from eating disorders, but only in the United States. A January study published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry found that pandemics led to an increase in the number and severity of cases. Read here how you can help, including knowing the signs:
Alternative sweeteners can help weight and risk of diabetes
In our sodas, teas, coffees and juices, we like to drink sugar.
According to the American Heart Association, Americans eat about 60 pounds (27 kilograms) of sugar annually on average, almost half of which comes from drinks.
According to a study published on Monday, sugar-free sweetened drinks may help people at risk or suffering from diabetes. Check out the study here:
Do you have trouble sleeping?Check this out
A new study found that sleeping overnight in dim light, such as a muted television, increased blood sugar and heart rate in healthy young people participating in sleep lab experiments.
What are your sleep myths and facts? As you know, what you are absolutely convinced of should and should not be to get a good night’s sleep. Studies show that most of us practice bad sleep habits without our knowledge. This can have serious health consequences. How do your beliefs about sleep build up?
Check out last week’s health news details:
Five sleep myths that may keep you away from good night rest
Is it a myth or a fact?If you lie in bed long enough, you will fall asleep
mythology.. When it comes to no-no-sleep, experts say this is a big problem. Lying in bed for more than 15-20 minutes, even with your eyes closed, is one of the worst things you can do to train your brain to associate your bed with sleep deprivation. It can lead to chronic insomnia, clinical psychologist and sleep expert Michael Grandner told CNN in a previous interview.
“Unintentionally, spending time in an awake bed turns the bed into a dentist’s chair,” said the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona and the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at the Banner University Medical Center in Tucson. Said Grandner, who leads. , Arizona.
“I want to make my bed look like my favorite restaurant. Even if I just ate it recently, I’m starting to get hungry,” he added. “You want the bed to do it for sleep.”
Photo courtesy Bembrener Hasset on Release the splash
Is it a myth or a fact?Don’t check your smartphone when you wake up at night
That is a fact.. According to experts, it is imperative to ban smartphones (or electrical devices that emit blue light) from the bedroom from about an hour before bedtime to all night. Light tells the body to stop producing melatonin, the body’s natural sleep aid. Studies have shown that blue light is particularly toxic to sleep.
Therefore, when you get out of bed 20 minutes after insomnia, avoid bright lights, watch TV, or check social media. Instead, do something you don’t mind, such as dimming the lights and folding your socks. Even better, perform one of these tricks to relax your mind and prepare for sleep.
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A sleep myth that may keep you away from the rest of good night
Studies show that most people practice bad sleep habits without their knowledge.
Alamy
Myths or facts: Exercise in the evening interferes with sleep
It’s a myth that was once true “Once upon a time,” Dasgupta said.
“Current data show that for all medical benefits, exercising at all times is better than not exercising, which helps reduce stress that helps sleep,” he said. “The data about not exercising at night is when you’re doing extreme exercise, like the Olympic athlete-type exercise.”
According to a 2011 survey, some people exercised for 35 minutes just before going to bed and others did not exercise at all. If night exercise affects sleep, experts suggest exercising early in the evening to help your heart rate and temperature return to normal before hitting the hay.
“If you tell me the best time to exercise, I think it will be in the morning and outside during the day. The circadian rhythm will be reset and the day will start well,” says Dasgupta. “But if night exercise is best for you, that’s fine.”
Photo courtesy Fitsum Admasu on Release the splash
Is it a myth or a fact?You can catch up with sleep on weekends
Who doesn’t believe this? Sadly, Science says we are wrong.. Experts say that you may feel better after sleeping on Saturday or Sunday morning, but that will compromise our overall sleep health. Changing your wake-up and bedtime on weekends (or every day) can make your sleep rhythm unpredictable and change your body’s circadian rhythm.
“I want to create a reliable rhythm so that the drummer counts the band’s beats,” Grandner said. “Set the beat by controlling when you wake up and go to bed.”
Overcome this myth by going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, even after weekends, vacations, or sleep-deprived nights.
“The brain likes regularity and predictability,” he added. “Wake up at the same time each day and add light and movement as soon as you wake up to set other rhythms for the day and increase your energy and mood.”
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