Sleepy and Headache Relationship

Pay attention to your sleeping habits and you'll lessen the odds and intensity of migraineheadaches, say researchers.

The idea sounds almost too simple, and headache specialists have long advised their patients to heed what they term "good sleep hygiene." But a study by a University of North Carolina sleep specialist provides some scientific evidence that good sleep habits can reduce the number of headaches and their severity.

Migraine sufferers who cleaned up their act reduced their headache frequency by 29% and their headache intensity by 40% compared with those who didn't change their sleep habits, Anne Calhoun, MD, reported at the 48th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society in Los Angeles.

Sleep complaints were common and associated with headache in a sizeable proportion of patients. Over half of migraineurs reported difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep at least occasionally. Many in this sample reported chronically shortened sleep patterns similar to that observed in persons with insomnia, with 38% of patients sleeping on average 6 hours per night.

Migraines were triggered by sleep disturbance in 50% of patients. "Awakening headaches" or headaches awakening them from sleep were reported by 71% of patients. Interestingly, sleep was also a common palliative agent for headache; 85% of migraineurs indicated that they chose to sleep or rest because of headache and 75% were forced to sleep or rest because of headache.

Patients with chronic migraine reported shorter nightly sleep times than those with episodic migraine, and were more likely to exhibit trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, sleep triggering headache, and choosing to sleep because of headache. Short sleepers (ie, average sleep period 6 hours) exhibited significantly more frequent and more severe headaches than individuals who slept longer and were more likely to exhibit morning headaches on awakening.

Fight Influenza with Herbs

Influenza, also known as seasonal flu, is an extremely infectious condition caused by one of many different types of flu virus. The virus that causes influenza targets your lungs and upper airways, causing symptoms such as aches and pains and a spike in your body temperature. Herbal medicines have been used for many years to help treat influenza. Meet with your doctor before using herbs for this condition to weigh the risks and benefits.

Herbal remedies cannot cure a cold or flu. But they can bring relief of symptoms, stimulate the immune system and speed recovery. We will describe several herbal remedies useful for colds and flu. Later we will describe important herbs for treating flu.

For example, flavonoids can inhibit neuraminidase (NA), an important genetic segment in influenza. The order of the inhibition potency by some flavonoids has been discovered. Some herbs can modulate immune responses such as enhancing the production of antiviral antibodies. Some herbs have continuous effects before and after the influenza infection, and can be used for both prevention and treatment. Some herbal extracts can be potential adjuvants for the improvement of immune responses of influenza vaccines.

Many of the herbs have been used for thousands of years in traditional medicines such as Chinese medicine for healing colds and fever. Scientific studies of these natural products are helpful for the development of antiviral vaccine adjuvants and drugs. The latest discoveries of herbs with effective anti-influenza activities are introduced here. The herbs or herbal extracts are explained with their backgrounds, effects and interactions, dosages, active components, scientific mechanisms, and references. For example, sometimes a low dosage may show a significant protective effect.

Reducing Sugar to Get Six Pack Abs

According to its publicist, sugar is a health food. After all, it contains zero fat, provides instant energy, and makes almost any food taste better. But these attributes are all trumped by a physiological fact: Sugar makes you fat. That may seem like a given, but by understanding why, you can minimize sugar's harmful effects and create a leaner, healthier body.

Reading labels is an important part of avoiding sugar, look out for the following in the ingredients list:

Sucrose
Glucose
Dextrose
Fructose
Maltose

These are all forms of sugar!

Other forms of sugar include: honey, syrup, raw sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar, muscovado and concentrated fruit juice.

How to reduce your sugar intake?

Cut down on processed and packaged foods. Salad dressings, spaghetti sauces, soups and even pizza crusts contain sugar. If you make your own soup, you will unlikely be adding a cup of sugar to the stew pot, however this is exactly what manufacturers do. Try to purchase groceries with the least amount of packaging as possible.

Free sweets aren't free. Many work sites, businesses or offices always have on hand candy, doughnuts or other sweets to snack on. It is human nature to grab these cheap calories and ingest them, however you will pay for the free treats later with poor health and a belly roll.

Foods you think are healthy might actually contain excessive amounts of added sugar. Two of the most common culprits are yogurt and oatmeal. While many people believe that any type of yogurt is healthy, you should really choose only the plain varieties. Some types of fruit-flavored yogurt can contain as much sugar as a can of soda. Many instant and prepackaged oatmeal packets also contain high amounts of sugar. While the sugar might make the oatmeal more palatable, it does not do your body any favors.