Posted in Sleep

A good night’s sleep is so important for maintaining overall health and well-being, but recent research suggests that it can also have a critical impact on your risk of developing dementia. A recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has linked three indicators of sleep disturbance – sleep-initiation insomnia, sleep-maintenance insomnia, and the use of sleep medications – with the likelihood of developing dementia. People who experience sleep-in...

New research explores how genetic and environmental disruption of the circadian clock can impact colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. According to the National Institutes of Health, there has been an alarming rise in early-onset colorectal cancer among young individuals. Today, nearly 10 percent of CRC cases are now diagnosed in people younger than 50 years, and this trend is on a steady rise. Suspected risk factors include environmental aspects, such as lifestyle and dietary factors, which ...

Green tea is well known for its high amounts of antioxidants, particularly one known as epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG. However, green tea also contains a high amount of an amino acid known as L-theanine. L-theanine is widely used and studied in Japan, a culture particularly known for their tea consumption. L-theanine has been observed to promote relaxation and reduce stress by a variety of possible mechanisms, with clinical evidence also showing these benefits. Studies have shown that L...

Our internal body clock, called a circadian clock, tells us when we are ready to sleep. There are actually several circadian clocks in the body, found in the brain and other organs. They are triggered by cues such as daylight (we feel alert) and darkness (we feel drowsy). These clocks can also be triggered by artificial bright light or stimulants like caffeine and alcohol that cause us to feel awake even if it is nighttime. There are several phases of sleep our body experiences. They are c...

Once the stress of a cancer diagnosis and its intensive treatments have passed, the hope is that life can return to normal. But we know that this is not true for many people who have had treatments for cancer, and sleep is often impacted for a long time after treatment. Researchers at the American Cancer Society studied responses from 1,903 cancer survivors from across the US. These survivors were diagnosed with cancers such as breast cancer or prostate cancer about nine years before th...

We’ve all been there at least once. Whether it be a list of deadlines, a high-stakes presentation the next day, early morning travel, or a crying infant keeping you awake all night, we all have those 24 hours when our sleep is absolutely shot, and yet we have to make it through another challenging day. Nerves frazzled, we pour that morning coffee and hope for the best. But what if there was an elixir, in pill or other forms, that actually helped restore our body to balance, bringing us...