How Alcohol Affects Your Snoring

There is no doubt that alcohol helps you relax and doze off easily, but it’s not quality sleep that’s taking place. Alcoholic sleep not only leaves you feeling fatigued and nauseated, but disrupts your sleep patterns and aggravates your snoring symptoms.  

How alcohol affects the stages of sleep

Drinking may make you fall asleep, but it will also activate your NERM cycle at the same time.  The NERM cycle is a temporary stage of sleep that does not allow any eye movement. During this stage, your muscles do not get paralyzed, and scientists believe that there is no dreaming taking place. As a result, you wake up feeling more tired than before you went to bed. Since your brain is unable to get quality restoration, your body remains fatigued and you may feel less focused throughout the day.

How alcohol makes you a loud snorer

As you know, alcohol works as a depressant, and has  strong sedative effects. Alcohol slows down your brain’s ability to process information and relaxes your muscles. Although this may seem like an added benefit, it is anything but. These effects of alcohol can cause the back of the throat and tongue to relax to the point that your airway becomes more obstructed than usual.  To fight this state, your body then gasps for air, thundering the room with a loud snoring sound. Learn more about what causes snoring

How to overcome loud snoring

One good habit to develop is to avoid alcohol a few hours before bed. But if you’re just dying to have that late night drink, be sure to refrain from hard liquor with higher alcohol content. Lastly, invest in a snoring mouthpiece that’s designed to keep your airway open, so that when you do indulge in the occasional late night drink, you can still enjoy a peaceful, snore-free sleep.

source https://goodmorningsnoresolution.com/blogs/news/how-alcohol-affects-your-snoring

The Trend of Sleep Deprivation

Sleep is vital for maintaining a healthy and happy life. However, the threatening rise in the trend of sleep deprivation has become a prevailing problem in our society. Busy schedules, family, work and other stressors have kept us from getting a peaceful sleep.

Major causes of sleep deprivation

Societal demands and busy schedules are two conspicuous facts which cannot be ignored when it comes to the major causes of sleep deprivation. These combined with medical sleep disorders such as insomnia, restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea are today’s leading causes of sleep deprivation.

Also, certain medications and excessive consumption of caffeine can be stimulants, aggravating the symptoms of sleep deprivation. Last but not the least; your sleep environment plays a great role in getting you your required hours of sleep. So if your partner snores, and he/she sleeps without any anti snoring mouthpiece, chances are you’re not getting the quality sleep you need. Hence, factors like noisy spaces, working splits, and excess lights can be some inevitable reasons encouraging the sleep deprivation trend.

The consequences

• Affects critical thinking - Sleep deprivation can affect your cognitive function and critical thinking process. Chronic sleep deprivation slows down the brain processing and interferes with decision-making capabilities, coordination and balance.
• Increases risk of disease - Research has shown that sleep deprivation increases the possible risk of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.
• A threat to mental health - Not getting enough sleep undoubtedly takes an immediate toll on on your mood and attitude throughout the day. But more importantly, research has shown a strong link between lack of sleep and increased depression.
• Causes deadly accidents - Being completely sleep deprived often results in the deadly accidents due to drowsy driving.

source https://goodmorningsnoresolution.com/blogs/news/the-trend-of-sleep-deprivation

5 Unconventional Ways to Boost Your Immune System

Cold and flu season has a way of sticking around a lot longer than anyone bargained for, and amidst the headaches, stinging coughs and clogged sinuses, most of us find ourselves wishing away a debilitating cold during the winter months.

We’re all aware of the usual immune system-boosting tips like drink lots of water, exercise, wash your hands, etc., but there are a few slightly unconventional methods that you may not have heard of. So how can you heal up quicker, or bet yet, not catch the bug in the first place? Here are five proven methods to boost your immune system:

Take cold showers

A research study back in 1993 revealed that people who took daily cold showers had more white blood cells to fight off viruses than those who took hot showers. As your body works to heat up after a cold shower, your metabolic rate increases, releasing more white blood cells and activating your immune system.

But let’s be real, who wants to take a cold shower? Don’t worry, we’re not suggesting you spend an hour lathering in ice water. Take your regular hot shower, and try finishing it off with a quick cold rinse.

Drink bone broth

We all know about the comforting powers of good ‘ol chicken soup, but you may or may not have heard about bone broth. Bone broth is what you get when you take animal bones and connective tissue, boil them, let them simmer for 10 - 20+ hours, and add herbs, vegetables and spices. Bones are loaded with proteins, anti-inflammatory amino acids, minerals, and other healing compounds, and the long simmering process ensures that all of that goodness is fully extracted and made available for you to consume. To learn more about bone broth, its benefits, and where you can get a hold of some.

Sleep more

Okay, so this one is pretty conventional, but we still had to squeeze it in. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you, but prioritizing your sleep not only helps you recover quicker, but it helps strengthen your immune system, preventing sickness in the first place. Learn more about how you can get a better sleep.

Invest in R&R

We all know that stress is bad for us. But did you know that your stress levels significantly affect your immune system? Actively managing the stress in your life can help you avoid illness and recover quickly when you do get sick. Get a massage, practice regular meditation, see a chiropractor, or go to a yoga class. Whatever it is, find something that you can do consistently throughout the week to relieve stress.

Get more sun

Vitamin D plays a huge part in strengthening your immune system, and research has proven time and time again that Americans are highly deficient in this area. As we all know, sunshine is the primary source of vitamin D, so during colder months, the body’s vitamin D deficiency becomes even greater.

On warmer days, take the time to go for a walk or just sit outside during your lunch break. And don’t forget, especially during the colder months, to take your Vitamin D.

Try these five things all year long, and you’ll be smiling all the way through next year’s cold and flu season.

source https://goodmorningsnoresolution.com/blogs/news/5-unconventional-ways-to-boost-your-immune-system

What Really Happens When You Hit ‘Snooze’

We can probably all agree that there are few things more satisfying in life than shutting off your alarm clock to stay in your dreamy slumber. However, there are certain things that happen to your body when you wake up, hit snooze and fall back to sleep.

When you surrender to your sleep once your alarm clock goes off, perplexity rises for your brain and body, causing you a state called sleep inertia. Sleep inertia is a foggy feeling that can last throughout the day, making you feel drained and exhausted. 

Drowning in the ocean of snooze can also have a significant impact on your REM sleep -a time when the brain is active, and body is inactive. Typically, the body transitions through different sleep stages to fall back to the final stage of sleep-REM.  Hitting the snooze button repeatedly makes it difficult for your body to restore the full consciousness. Not only this, but it also deprives you of having the restorative advantages of REM sleep. Falling back to sleep makes it harder for the brain to achieve the state of REM once you turn off your alarm.

A study conducted by the University of UK has found that abrupt snoozing not only disrupts your sleep cycle but also affects cognitive functions of the brain. It slows down brain processing and gives you a lethargic feeling that stays with you throughout the whole day. Ultimately, your disoriented mind suffers from the lack of concentration required to make important decisions.

Lastly, having constant interruption in the REM cycle can also affect your long-term memory. Sleep experts believe that we tend to process different skills and experiences during our REM stage of the sleep cycle, so if you’re one of those people who like to set an early alarm so you can experience the joy of snoozing, you may want to rethink this approach, as it disrupts the patterns of your sleep cycle.  

Although snoozing in the morning can be a magical feeling, it's not without its consequences. Practice setting your alarm for the exact time you need to wake up to enjoy a better night's sleep and more productivity throughout your day. 

Not a morning person? Here's how you can become one

source https://goodmorningsnoresolution.com/blogs/news/what-really-happens-when-you-hit-snooze