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Ah, a good nights sleep. We all want to get in the recommended 7-8 hours, yet according to the National Sleep Foundation, almost one-third of Americans sleep 6.5 hours or less each night. So, not only are we walking around in a bad mood, eyes half open, giant cup of Joe in hand, but now research shows that we are actually putting our heart at risk! Research by Dr. Alexandros Vgontzas, professor of psychiatry at The Pennsylvania State University in Hershey reveals that even modest sleep deprivation may be associated with low-grade inflammation, which can lead to a number of cardiovascular problems. Vgontzas and his team of researchers deprived 25 men and women just two hours of sleep per night over a six-week period. They measured blood levels for immune-system molecules called cytokines, which are normally secreted during inflammation and infection. Both men and women in the study had increased concentrations of cytokines, which confirms lack of sleep may stimulate an increase in chronic inflammation. This is troublesome, particularly because continuous inflammation has been shown to lead to hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease and even heart failure. Also, lack of quality sleep has a significant effect on your blood sugar levels. If you are sleep deprived, it requires more insulin to balance your blood sugar levels, which, in turn, can lead to heart disease and a host of other health related problems. So, you know you need more shut-eye but getting to bed early and sleeping in later just aren't an option with your busy schedule. Maybe the quantity of hours shouldn't be your main focus, let's try focusing on getting 'quality' sleep. The first option that comes to mind for most people who want to sleep more soundly is to seek out over-the-counter or prescription sleep aids. However, there are several downsides to consider: Risk of tolerance - meaning your body can require more and more of the medication in order to achieve result

When the mind is bogged down by depression, it makes it difficult to muster the energy to accomplish even simple tasks. Many are in search of alternative remedies for treating depression, since medications are rarely a permanent solution - and can even make symptoms worse over time. Yoga provides a simple solution for reawakening vitality lost to depression by energizing you from the inside out.

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We live in an age of turmoil, tension and transition. The old is collapsing and the new is struggling to be born, we find ourselves adrift on a turbulent ocean with no established landmarks between the vanished past and an indeterminate future. Ayurveda can be a good source of healing and inspiration. The image of Ayurveda has been distorted by glossy pictures of seaside resorts, oil being poured over a forehead, beautiful hands massaging a back, healthy looking vegetarian dishes and colourful Indian herbal spices. All of the above are to be found as posters and brochures as Ayurvedic supplements in health shops and on the internet. Is that Ayurveda though? Is that all that this oldest living healing science means? These images present a very limited view of Ayurveda as a short detox holiday. Very few people realize just how incomplete this picture is. Ayurveda is a highly specialized and scientific form of ancient medicine. It is about various aspects such as healing, energy, kindness, compassion, cooking, music, beauty and colours. In India a VAIDYA (Ayurvedic doctor) must complete a six-year university degree. All Ayurvedic graduates are trained in both Ayurvedic and medical hospitals. A 3-year post-graduate MD degree is offered to the most successful graduates. Is Ayurveda a religious philosophy? No, definitely not! Ayurveda is a product of experiences of Vedic civilisations that occurred thousands of years ago. Ayurveda was created for human well being and Vedic philosophy and is not based on any specific text or on the teachings of any particular person or any specific point in time. There is a pluralism which is built into the very structure of Vedic thought, because it is based on the collective wisdom of seers and sages referred to as 'Rishis'. The great utterances of the Rishis have come down to us over many thousands of years and remain a source of great inspiration. An Ayurvedic doctor

Six Steps to Supersleep 19 June 2007 None of us can live without it. We need it every day. And most of us are deficient in it. It's not a vitamin or a mineral - it's sleep. An alarming 47 per cent of people have difficulty falling to sleep or staying asleep throughout the night, but many more are simply not getting enough for optimal health. Before the electric light bulb extended our days, most people slept for up to ten hours a night. The figure now hovers around seven and continues to fall. Not only are we sleeping less in the 21st century because we've learnt how to extend our daytime, but we also sleep less to get more done. Yet research clearly shows that it's a rare person who can survive on a great deal less than seven or eight hours' kip a night. One of the great mysteries is why we need sleep at all. Without it, even for a night, the body shows clear signs of stress - mood and concentration go, defences drop, vital nutrients zinc and magnesium levels fall, vitamin C is used up at an alarming rate. Sleep both rejuvenates the body and the mind. During the first three hours of sleep, the body goes into rapid repair mode. This is one of the reasons why, if you are injured or sick, nothing is better than a good night's sleep. The Importance of Dreaming After a couple of hours, we enter the dream state sleep, known as rapid eye movement, or REM, Stage 1. REM sleep normally occurs 90 minutes after the onset of sleep, but if we are sleep deprived it may occur within 30 minutes. Dreaming occurs during REM sleep and most of us have four or more REM periods per night, even though many people have difficulty remembering the dreams that occur in them. As well as providing physical rest, sleep may provide the chance to make a 'back-up tape' of the day's events for our large computer, the brain. While Westerners pay little heed to dreams, one African tribe believe 'real life' is lived in dreams and daytime is the illusion. The Bolivian philo

Sleepless in South Africa Is your sleep deep and delightful � or do sweet dreams elude you? Here�s everything you need to know about sleep and sleeplessness. BY ELISE-MARIE RANCRED AND THE HEALTH24 TEAM for You Pulse magazine Whether you live in New York or Nieu Bethesda you could be sharing a nightmare with many people around the world � sleep! Or rather the lack of it. According to experts we�re sleeping less than ever before. In fact, chronic sleep deprivation has been called ��the disease of our times��. Consider the following: 100 years ago people slept for an average of nine hours a night; today it�s closer to seven hours. With the exception of the Margaret Thatchers and Helen Zilles of this world, who claim to flourish on fewer than four hours, we simply haven�t been getting enough shut-eye since electricity was invented. Why do we have to sleep? Survival is the simple answer. Scientists today know sleep is a complicated but necessary rest time for the body. Glucose reserves are replenished, brain networks that would otherwise decline are given a workout and essential cycles, such as the secretion of growth hormones, take place. Sleep also helps organise the memory, refresh the mind and improve learning abilities, says Peet Vermaak, neurophysiologist at The Pretoria Sleep Lab. To understand just how important sleep is for survival think about what happens when you don�t get enough: you�re grumpy, irritable and forgetful, your moods swing, you can�t concentrate, your memory fails and even your speech is affected. Sleep deprivation has a serious, negative impact on your brain. Breaking the sleepless record This impact can be felt after just 17 sleepless hours: at that point your judgment and skills are the same as someone who has had two glasses of wine and has a blood alcohol level of 0,05 per cent � enough to land you behind bars. American Randy Gardner holds the record for going without sleep. He stayed awake for 11 full da