Don't Let the Time Change Keep You Down!

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.

·      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:

·      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.

·      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.

·      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.

·      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.

·      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%.

·      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