Lack of sleep is something that has dire consequences and usually this is connected with our health. We all need to rest and sleep so that our bodies and internal genes and organs are able to function and last longer to keep us healthy. But while others tend to forego sleep for the sake of producing more, they are actually sacrificing more in terms of intellect and sensible living.

Sleep deprivation is an abuse we lash at our bodies. Without rest, we find ourselves opening a door for all illnesses and diseases to come in which if contracted may place us in living shorter. Medical intervention in the form of specialists and pills are great but they still cannot guarantee if our lives will last longer because of them. Sleeping is still the most important part of living healthy and making our body function properly.

“We spend - or should spend - a third of our lives sleeping,” says Amita Sehgal, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

“The idea that so much time is spent in sleep is intriguing. Also, sleep deprivation has serious health consequences and impairs cognitive function.”

(Source) One India cognitive function, diseases, health consequences, Health Issues, How to sleep better, howard hughes medical institute, lack of sleep, medical intervention, neuroscience, pills, serious health, sleep deprivation, Sleep Disorders, Sleep Issues, SLEEP News

Sleep deprivation is something that is hard to get by and the various alternatives to help us address this growing issue has been slowly growing. While many are looking towards sleep specialists and physicians to aid them then perhaps a sleep vacation may be worth the look.

Maldives resort has recently developed a sleep spa concept that aims to aid sleep deprived adults and kids, offering the Sweet Dreams programme that customer can turn to. Normally, these programs are offered only during holidays when people get the chance to escape reality and embark on vacations. But with this sweet dreams programme, why wait? Check out their program:

For Adults, the Sweet Dreams programme includes:

- Special afternoon and evening spa treatments to encourage a siesta or good night’s sleep
- A yoga specialist who will offer private classes teaching special breathing techniques and stretching exercises designed to encourage relaxation
- Special teas designed to aid sleep
- Massages and baths with essential sleep-inducing oils
- A sleep concierge who is on-call so if guests can’t sleep they can ring for encouragement
- CD’s of poetry, music or a talking book which can be delivered to the room so Sweet Dreams guests can listen to their very own bedtime story
- A Sleep-All-Night-Cap, a special cocktail created using ingredients to aid sleep

Parents can rest assured that the younger member’s won’t lose sleep on holiday either, as Sweet Dreams also extends to children and is currently offered on a complimentary basis. It includes:

- A selection of children’s books that can be borrowed from the library for a bedtime story
- Early evening dinner buffet, bedtime story groups and slumber parties, hosted in conjunction with the kid’s club
- Audio-book or music-related CD’s for children to listen to as they fall asleep
- Sleep inducing drinks such as warm milk or hot chocolate

(Source) Easier Travel

After laboring for 10 months, once mothers give birth, you have to wonder if they can now start looking forward to making up for lost sleep. Apparently this is a problem for pregnant women who need to ensure the overall health of the child they are bearing and of course themselves. Alertness and being aware of what is going on inside these 10 months is indeed tedious. Some would call it a sacrifice for the sake of bringing joy and life to the world once more.

So when the child is out, can a mom sleep better? Highly unlikely considering now they have to take care of the child. Sleep deprivation starts to set in and apparently a newborn child will always look for her mother.

A mother can lie down in bed. But that does not mean that they can sleep through it. For sure they will wake up ever so often and once that happens, you have to sacrifice some more; this time for putting the baby to sleep so you too can sleep!

(Source) Wboy12

We all know that coffee is the drink to have when you are sleepy. But the belief that it contributes to sleep deprivation is something up for questioning. Apparently this was the case for this study conducted regarding the tests conducted which proved that aroma of coffee does indeed help lessen the stress of sleep deprivation present for most people today.

In experiments with laboratory rats, they found that coffee aroma orchestrates the expression of more than a dozen genes and some changes in protein expressions, in ways that help reduce the stress of sleep deprivation.

Han-Seok Seo and colleagues point out that hundreds of studies have been done on the ingredients in coffee, including substances linked to beneficial health effects. “There are few studies that deal with the beneficial effects of coffee aroma,” they note. “This study is the first effort to elucidate the effects of coffee bean aroma on the sleep deprivation-induced stress in the rat brain.”

We all know that these are tests only and that rats are merely experimental beings used to prove theories but they are all pointed towards the right direction as far as explaining the facts of sleep deprivation and helping us understand them as a whole.

(Source) Science Daily

As far as getting proper sleep is concerned, most people who have found themselves searching for it have obviously found themselves on the losing end and apparently are underachieving. This includes being successful in your career, work, and most of all, maintaining a healthy body and lifestyle.

People today are geared more towards doing more, meeting deadlines and sacrificing by pushing themselves to the limit. At first this does sound noble and something others should follow by example. But if you talk about putting yourself in high risk by leaving your body an open battlefield where diseases and illnesses can penetrate then that is another story.

You cannot expect to be fulfilled and successful if you do not rest and sleep. We can see this as our haggard bodies show something that is missing. If we do have problems with sleeping, a short visit to the doctor or specialist really wouldn’t hurt.

“For healthy people, there’s a big temptation to voluntarily restrict sleep, to stay up an hour or two or get up an hour or two earlier,” said Dr. Greg Belenky, director of the Sleep and Performance Research Center at Washington State University Spokane.

“But you’re really reducing your productivity and exposing yourself to risk,” Belenky added.

(Source) Yahoo Health