Wenatex Blog :: Healthy Sleep for a Better Life

Do you sleep with a snorer… or more the point do you get any sleep with a snorer?

Do you battle with your partner each and every night over his (or her) snoring?

If you do, I am certain that you will relate to a story. It is partiularly interesting as it not only talks about her ongoing battle with her snoring husband but it also talks about the different kinds of snorers and what you can potentially do to prevent certain types of snoring.

If you are interested, read the article at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1282711/HE-sleeps-like-log–snores-like-foghorn-SHE-spends-night-lying-awake-seething-rage–Its-snore-wars.html?ito=feeds-newsxml and share your experience.

One of the staff in our New Zealand office sent me the link to an interesting article today http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/7181065/lack-of-sleep-linked-to-early-death-study/. The article stated that researchers “aggregated decade-long studies from around the world involving more than 1.3 million people and found “unequivocal evidence of the direct link” between lack of sleep and premature death.”

Unequivocal evidence is hard to refute, don’t you think?

The study proves that, for optimum health, adults must get six to eight hours of sleep per night.

If you cannot achieve that, there are strategies out there to assist you improve the quantity (and the quality for that matter) of your sleep. Spend time to find out what they are and you will see a difference. Wenatex conducts free seminars on the subject of healthy sleep all over Australia and New Zealand. Go to http://www.wenatex.com.au/seminars_registration.asp to register your interest.

Nobody is quite sure of its origins… an article I read today suggests that “it might stem from shepherds of the olden days keeping track of their flocks before bedtime.” But when you can’t sleep, do you count sheep?

Does counting sheep work for you? This article claims that it doesn’t work. It argues that counting sheep is “so repetitive and boring that most people who try to do it don’t last long enough to see any success. The brain tires of the tedium and moves on to something more stimulating, which just wakes you up more.”

The article goes on to suggest some alternate strategies that it claims work better.

It is a really interesting article, check it out at http://www.divinecaroline.com/22189/97750-counting-sheep-counteracts-sleep–imagine and let me know your thoughts.

Hi Ladies, Ever felt guilty about taking a nap when there are so many jobs around the house waiting for you to do? If so, you are not alone.

I read an interesting article this morning about feminine “guilt” being the cause of sleep deprivation in women. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-trice/feminine-or-yin-guilt_b_417512.html

Please share your experiences on the topic.

Christmas is supposed to be a relaxing holiday time for kids, but as it turns out, it can be stressful for some. They have so much going on and so much excitement that they do not get enough sleep and can get grumpy.

I read an excellent article on the subject. You can find it at  http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iIAKv1KG7VTqRweCeQwPbTzDM6lA

Make sure that your children get enough sleep this holidays… it will be all the better for them and they will enjoy Christmas all the more!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Astronauts at the International Space Station recently had to sleep in escape pods while a piece of potentially dangerous debris floated past. The space junk missed the station this time but it will become a more frequent occurrence as the volume of space junk floating around the Earth increases!

How do you think the astronauts slept that night? Were the escape pods comfortable? Were they up all night worried sick that there would only be half a space station left when they woke up?

Do you think sleeping problems go away in space? I am sure they don’t! Let me know what you think.

You can read the article I read this morning at http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/too-much-space-junk-makes-astronauts-sleep-in-escape-pods.php.

Investigations into Michael Jackson’s death are well under way and it has been made public that he was a severe insomniac. It is alleged that he was taking some fairly serious drugs to help him sleep which may have caused his death. The article I read can be found at http://www.examiner.com/x-4592-Birmingham-Family-Health-Examiner~y2009m7d28-Gluten-attacks-my-sleep-and-I-contemplate-Michael-Jacksons-sleeping-problems.

Insomnia is a serious problem, not only for MJ, but for the entire population. I read an article recently which stated that in a recent Australian study, as many as two-thirds of the people who took part reported that they had difficulty going to sleep. http://www.pfizer.com.au/Media/Sleep.aspx

The cause of insomnia is often worry. “Worry… combined with the long hours and stresses of our 24 hour society, is a recipe for leaving the majority of the population living in a constant state of fatigue. Not a healthy, or safe, way to live.” http://www.pfizer.com.au/Media/Sleep.aspx

So, the lesson from all of this is don’t take the drastic steps that MJ did to get a good night’s sleep… make changes to your life to minimise stress and worry.

As well as reducing stress, there are also some practical things you can do to help you get off to sleep. See the Sleep Tips page on the Wenatex website at http://www.wenatex.com.au/sleep_tips.asp.

I know it seems obvious but this article serves as a reminder to all who have children that we should encourage our children to lead active healthy lives. This recent study reaffirms what we have known that active children develop healthy sleeping habits. 

The article I was reading can be found at http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/07/23/sleep-children-exercise.html. Let me know what you think.

I saw an excellent documentary on SBS last night (27/5/09) called Dead Tired. It was one part of a two part series. I was particularly interested in an experiment that was conducted on a young healthy man where he slept for three hours each night for a week. After six days, he really was in terrible shape and the experiment was cut short.

Update (30/7/10) - We are happy to announce that we have acquired this documentary and you can find the links on the homepage of the Wenatex website. Go to www.wenatex.com.au and click the links to watch full episodes.

I found it fascinating, I hope you do too! Please let me know what you think.

Dolphins are amazing creatures!

New research has revealed that dolphins are able to put half of their brains to sleep while the other half remains conscious. This means they can rest while continuously returning to the surface for air and stay alert to predators. 

Wouldn’t you love to learn this skill? Mums, can you imagine being able to get some rest while getting up to feed your hungry baby?

Anyway, I found this article fascinating and I hope you do too. Please let me know what you think.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/hscout/2009/05/06/hscout626519.html