This weekend marks the end of Daylight Saving Time as we "fall back" an hour on Sunday, November 3.
Research shows that sleep is just as
important to good health as diet and exercise, and preparing for the time change will help you adjust your sleep patterns for the winter season.
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More than 10 percent of Americans
suffer from sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, insomnia and narcolepsy. Nearly 30 percent of American adults sleep
less than 7 hours per night. What can you do to get a better night's sleep?
According to
published studies, regular consumption of tart
cherry juice has been shown to increase natural levels of melatonin in the
body.
Tart cherry juice may
help regulate the body’s natural sleep cycle and increase sleep efficiency,
including decreasing the time it takes to fall asleep.
And because tart cherries
have so many other antioxidants, such as anthocyanins, you get important health
benefits as a bonus. Try our Cheribundi RELAX every evening. You'll be in dreamland before you know it!
Here are more sleep facts and tips:
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Some studies suggest women need up to an hour's
extra sleep a night compared to men, and not getting it may be one reason women
are much more susceptible to depression than men. Also, women who sleep less
than 5 hours a night gain significantly more weight over time than those who
sleep 7 hours or more.
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Sleep deprivation has been linked to
health problems such as obesity and high blood pressure, negative mood and
behavior, decreased productivity, and safety issues in the home, on the job and
on the road.
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Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads
to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%,
which is considered impaired in some states.
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Caffeine has been called the most
popular drug in the world. Everywhere, people consume caffeine on a daily basis
in coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate, soda and some OTC drugs.
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Experts say one of the biggest sleep
distractions is the 24-hour accessibility of the Internet. Just a two-hour exposure to light from
electronic displays suppresses melatonin by about 22%.
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Even tiny luminous rays from a digital alarm
clock can be enough to disrupt the sleep cycle even if you do not fully wake,
causing levels of melatonin to decline within minutes. Before electric light, adults slept nine to
10 hours a night with periods of rest changing with the seasons in line with
sunrise and sunsets.
Sources:
The National Sleep Foundation, The Better Sleep Council and The Cherry
Marketing Institute
