A hard night's sleep

Snoring, sleep apnoea, insomnia and restless leg syndrome

25% of the UK population suffer some form of sleep disorder that results in excessive daytime sleepiness.

Explained below are some of the common disorders keeping us awake at night: snoring, sleep apnoea, insomnia and restless leg syndrome.

Snoring

In a survey by the British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association, 54% of people have had their holidays adversely affected by snoring and 20% have been banished to the bathroom because of the noise.

It is not only an embarrassment for sufferers but a test of endurance for family and friends.

What is snoring?

Snoring affects around 3.5 million people in the UK. It is an anatomy problem involving the soft tissue at the back of the throat and causes the emission of sound from the airway during sleep.

What causes snoring?

Snoring occurs when the soft palate tissue at the back of the throat relaxes too much, obstructing the entrance to the throat. As air tries to pass through, the soft palate vibrates and produces the snoring sound.

The problem may get worse with age but one of the main causes is size and body shape. People with short wide necks are most prone to snoring because the muscles around their windpipe can't support the fat around it when the person is asleep. As a general rule, anyone with a collar size of 16.5 inches or more is likely to snore.

Other snorers may have:

• poor muscle tone in the tongue and throat. Muscles that are too relaxed contribute to snoring.
• large throat tissue. Children with large tonsils often snore.
• obstructed nasal passageway. People with stuffy or blocked noses often snore.

Can snoring be treated?

In 99% of cases, snoring is treatable. Weight is usually the main cause of snoring so shedding excess fat around the neck will stop extra pressure being put on the airways. Other treatments depend on diagnosis so an examination by a doctor will be useful. Also consider these self-help remedies:

• Avoid sleeping pills and alcohol before bedtime. These relax the very same muscles that cause snoring and also dehydrates the body, leaving nasal passages blocked up.
• Avoid heavy meals at least four hours before bedtime.
• Sleep on your side rather than your back. When you sleep on your back, your tongue falls backwards into your throat which can narrow your airway and partly block airflow. Try sewing a tennis ball into the back of your pyjama top. This will certainly stop you from sleeping on your back!
• Humidify the air in the bedroom and rubbing a few drops of eucalyptus or olbas oil into the pillowcase to help clear the nose.
• Exercise. This will improve muscle strength and promote weight loss.

 One woman's struggle with her husband's snoring

Sleep apnoea

What is sleep apnoea?

Sleep apnoea owes its meaning to the Greek wordapnea, meaning 'want of breath' and this condition affects the sleep of around 180,000 people in the UK.

What causes sleep apnoea?

Apnoea is caused by the same muscles that cause snoring. It occurs when the muscles of the soft palate at the base of the tongue and the uvula (the small fleshy piece of tissue hanging back of the throat) relax, partially blocking the opening of the airway. However, sleep apnoea is more dangerous than snoring in that it alters normal breathing patterns.

While asleep, suffers may stop breathing for between 10 to 25 seconds at a time, depleting the bloodstream and brain of vital oxygen supplies. The brain then suddenly sends an emergency signal, telling the person to wake up and take in a big gulp of air. In one single night, suffers may experience up to 350 'apneic events' and usually find themselves waking up sweaty, with a dry mouth and headache. The frequent interruptions of deep sleep leads to excessive daytime fatigue and sleepiness.

Can sleep apnoea be treated?

Sleep apnoea is a potentially life-threatening condition associated with strokes, heart attacks and high blood pressure and therefore requires medical attention.

A sleep test called 'polysomnography' is usually carried out to diagnose sleep apnoea. Treatment varies according to severity of symptoms. Mild cases can be effectively treated through behavioural changes - losing weight, cutting down on alcohol or sleeping on your side, for example.

More severe cases may be treated with a CPAP machine, so named because they maintain constant positive air pressure to the wind pipe to help users breathe easy at night. The benefits are better sleep and reduced risk of heart attacks during the night.

 Dr Rob Hicks on obstructive sleep apnoea

Insomnia

What is insomnia?

One third of the UK population suffers from insomnia, a prolonged and usually abnormal inability to obtain adequate, uninterrupted sleep. Symptoms may include having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early in the morning, feeling unrefreshed. The consequences are unpleasant, leaving sufferers feeling exhausted, irritable and unable to concentrate on simple tasks.

What causes insomnia?

There's no one specific trigger for insomnia but certain conditions seem to make individuals more likely to experience it:

• People aged over sixty
• Females
• Those with a history of depression

Stress is a major contributor. Traumatic events such as acute illness, injury or surgery, the loss of a loved one, exams, or trouble at work can all disrupt one's sleep patterns. In such cases, normal sleep almost always returns when the individual recovers from the event or becomes acclimated to the new situation.

Jet lag can also cause insomnia. Travelling east across time zones is more difficult to adjust to than travelling west, to earlier times. Usually one day of adjustment is all that is required to overcome the insomnia.

Environmental or lifestyle factors may also come into play - too much light in the bedroom or too much caffeine or stimulants in the body.

Can insomnia be treated?

Treatment is related to the cause, if the cause can be determined. Patients are evaluated with the help of a medical and sleep history (sleep diary). Chronic suffers may be treated through cognitive behavioural therapy involving relaxation and reconditioning.

One of the best ways to prevent insomnia is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Avoid going to bed feeling stressed and worried. If you're worried about falling asleep, it will be more difficult to fall asleep. Try not to eat too close to bedtime and avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks.

Just remember, the less you worry about it, the more likely you'll achieve the perfect slumber.

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)

What is RLS?

Around 5.6% of the UK population suffer from restless leg syndrome, which causes a tingling, itching sensation and unexplained aches and pains in the lower limbs.

Sleep is disturbed because people often have a strong urge to move the legs to relieve the discomfort by stretching, rubbing the legs or getting up and pacing around.

What causes RLS?

It may be inherited. It occurs three to five times more frequently in first-degree relatives of RLS sufferers. Hormonal changes during pregnancy may worsen the symptoms. Other cases of RLS are associated with iron deficiency or nerve damage in the legs.

Can RLS be treated?

In mild cases, it might be just a matter of cutting out caffeine and alcohol, both of which aggravate the symptoms. Having a warm bath, massaging the legs or using a heat or cold pack will also help to alleviate the symptoms.

For more severe cases, there are a number of pharmacological treatments. Consult your doctor for further advice.

LACK OF SLEEP DEVASTATES THE SCHOOL DAY

Lack of sleep among primary school children is having a devastating effect in schools with nine out of 10 teachers (92%) complaining that pupils are so tired they are unable to pay attention in class. More than a third (38%) said lack of sleep among youngsters is a daily problem for them.

Nearly nine out of 10 teachers (88%) felt that too many distractions in the bedroom (games machines, TVs etc) were at the root of the sleep related problems along with the fact parents are simply not strict enough about enforcing bedtimes (82%).

And more than half (55%) of those questioned agreed that the brightest children in the classroom are the best slept and most wide awake.

The poll of 250 primary school teachers was conducted for The Sleep Council which is launching its first ever ‘sleep awareness’ project in schools – “Better Brains with More Sleep” – as part of National Bed Month (March). It aims to teach primary school children the importance of a good night’s sleep and the factors – such as regular bedtimes and a good bed – that can affect it.

“As part of our project we wanted to establish just how much of an issue lack of sleep has become among young school children,” said Jessica Alexander of The Sleep Council. “Even we have been taken aback by the sheer scale of the problem.”

It would seem lack of sleep has now become so widespread in primary schools that nearly a quarter (24%) of the teachers questioned admitted that they had had to resort to letting children who are very tired sleep in a corner of the classroom.

For two thirds of teachers (65%) the problem is so serious they consider that the long term progress of their pupils can be affected while nearly half (48%) said lack of sleep made children unruly and badly behaved.

Commenting on the survey results, Siôn Humphreys, Policy Advisor for the National Association of Headteachers said: “NAHT is pleased to support this important initiative, drawing attention as it does to an oft-hidden yet significant matter. Schools cannot succeed without effective partnerships with the home. A tired and irritable child will not thrive, particularly in the active and pacey modern classroom. NAHT is particularly concerned about the still small but rising numbers of pupils who stay up late engaged in online gaming.”

And it’s not just academic performance that can be affected by youngsters who stay up too late. More than four in ten (45%) of those polled said lack of sleep made young children more susceptible to colds and other minor ailments.

When asked how they dealt with the problem of tired children in the classroom, more than six in 10 (66%) said they contacted the parents. But rather worryingly a small minority (6%) of teachers said they just ignored the problem as they simply didn’t have time to deal with it.

Proving that a good night’s sleep is key to academic achievement, more than two-thirds (68%) of teachers questioned said up to a quarter of their pupils regularly came in to school looking tired – a further one in five said between a quarter and half the class regularly seemed tired.

Less than four in 10 teachers (38%) felt a poor diet was to blame for sleep-related problems.

Said Jessica Alexander: “Lack of sleep would appear to be an issue across all primary school age groups which is a real concern. Our schools project will be looking to raise awareness among schoolchildren themselves but will also involve them monitoring the sleep habits of their parents.

“Hopefully this will in turn remind parents that they need to ensure their children get a decent night’s sleep if they are to do well at school.”

Being a traveler can make you lead a happier

Traveling the world and exploring new places can change your life. It exposes you to new cultures and can help shape your mindset. Without further ado, seven ways being a traveler can make you lead a happier, healthier life.

1. Improve Your Social Skills

Meeting new people is one of the great upsides of traveling. Whether it's chatting up your hostel roommate, making small talk with your seat-mate on a train or having a lively discussion at a local bar, you will be forced to improve your social skills (especially if you're traveling solo). If new situations tend to make you anxious, traveling is a sure way to take steps toward reducing that anxiety.

2. Reduce Stress

Taking time off is an obvious way to recharge and reduce stress levels. But while staying home and resting is a worthy use of your time off, traveling removes you from your everyday life and lets you truly escape. Traveling lets you put aside your daily responsibilities and focus on yourself for a moment. When you return home you'll feel refreshed and have the motivation you felt drained of before you left.

3. Accomplish Goals

Having a travel "to-do" list and slowly crossing things off that list keeps you motivated and positive. That list can include things like visiting certain locations or accomplishing a feat such as climbing a mountain or becoming conversational in the language of your next destination. Achieving those goals also increases confidence and gives a sense of success.

4. Stay Fit

Once you catch the adventure travel bug, you'll never be the same. Let's say while traveling you get lured into taking a hike with beautiful panoramic views. You go, it's not too strenuous and the experience takes your breath away. Now you want more -- harder hikes with even better pay off. While home, you exercise and prepare for more challenging hikes. You're healthier and fitter than ever and you get to look forward to accomplishing new goals.

5. Become More Flexible

Sometimes things don't go according to plan while traveling. Maybe your flight is cancelled or it rains the day you're scheduled to go on an epic outdoor adventure. It's okay -- there are other flights to take (or trains, or buses) and maybe on that rainy day you'll discover a hidden bookstore to explore or an adorable cafe to experience. Traveling helps you be more flexible and open-minded, making you more zen in your everyday life.

6. Become More Patient

Travel can involve a lot of waiting. You'll wait in lines. You'll wait for flights. You'll wait at restaurants. Learning how to cope with those waits, how to make conversation with those you're waiting with and how to stay calm in frustratingly slow situations will teach you how to remain patient and calm in all situations.

7. Have Better Relationships

Surveys have shown that couples who travel together report more intimate relationships. While travel can't make you have a good relationship, it can strengthen it. Being free of responsibilities like doing the dishes and walking the dog helps you relax together and focus on each other.

Eleven Benefits Of Lemon Water

I was first introduced to the concept of lemon water when I started doing yoga. An avid drinker (of water!), it was refreshing to learn a new spin on an old favorite. When I started having a glass of lemon water every morning, it was after learning only two of the benefits of lemon water.

Why lemons?

Lemons are packed like a clown car with nutrients, including vitamin C, B-complex vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and fiber. (Fun fact: they contain more potassium than apples or grapes!)

Because of how hard lemon juice can be on the enamel of your teeth, it’s important to dilute it with water of any temperature (though lukewarm is recommended). Drink it first thing in the morning, and wait 15 to 30 minutes to have breakfast. This will help you fully receive the benefits of lemon water, which are listed below.

1. Gives your immune system a boost
Vitamin C is like our immune system’s jumper cables, and lemon juice is full of it. The level of vitamin C in your system is one of the first things to plummet when you’re stressed, which is why experts recommended popping extra vitamin C during especially stressful days.

2. Excellent source of potassium
As already mentioned, lemons are high in potassium, which is good for heart health, as well as brain and nerve function.

3. Aids digestion
Lemon juice not only encourages healthy digestion by loosening toxins in your digestive tract, it helps to relieve symptoms of indigestion such as heartburn, burping, and bloating.

4. Cleanses your system
It helps flush out the toxins in your body by enhancing enzyme function, stimulating your liver.

5. Freshens your breath
It also helps relieve toothaches and gingivitis. Because the citric acid can erode tooth enamel, either hold off on brushing your teeth after drinking lemon water or brush your teeth before drinking it.

6. Keeps your skin blemish-free
The antioxidants in lemon juice help to not only decrease blemishes, but wrinkles too! It can also be applied to scars and age spots to reduce their appearance, and because it’s detoxifying your blood, it will maintain your skin’s radiance.

7. Helps you lose weight
Lemons contain pectin fiber, which assists in fighting hunger cravings.

8. Reduces inflammation
If you drink lemon water on a regular basis, it will decrease the acidity in your body, which is where disease states occur. It removes uric acid in your joints, which is one of the main causes of inflammation.

9. Gives you an energy boost
Lemon juice provides your body with energy when it enters your digestive tract, and it also helps reduce anxiety and depression. (Even the scent of lemons has a calming effect on your nervous system!)

10. Helps to cut out caffeine
I didn’t believe this until I tried it, but replacing my morning coffee with a cup of hot lemon water has really done wonders! I feel refreshed, and no longer have to deal with that pesky afternoon crash. Plus, my nerves are thankful.

Warm lemon water is the most effective way to diminish viral infections and their subsequent sore throats. Plus, with the lemon juice also boosting your immune system, you’ll simultaneously fight off the infection completely.

How much?

For those who weigh less than 150 pounds, squeeze half a lemon’s worth of juice into a glass of water. If over 150 pounds, use an entire lemon’s juice. You can of course dilute the lemon juice more, depending on your personal taste.

The 12 Sleeps Of Christmas

As the nation goes into Christmas Mode, The Sleep Council offers 12 tips for surviving the 12 sleeps of Christmas.

1. Try, as much as possible, to keep regular hours – we know it can be hard when you’re staying up late for Santa! Going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time, all the time, will programme your body to sleep better.

2. Create a restful sleeping environment. Keep the Christmas decorations to the other parts of your home! Your bedroom should be kept for rest and sleep and it should be neither too hot, nor too cold; and as quiet and dark as possible.

3. Creating a perfect sleep environment means ditching tellies and all other technology from the bedroom too.

4. Make sure your bed is comfortable. It’s difficult to get deep, restful sleep on one that’s too soft, too hard, too small or too old. It should also be as big as possible so your partner rarely disturbs you. If it’s not – or if your bed is seven years old or more – then it could be time to hit the sales on Boxing Day and buy a new one! 

5. Take more exercise. Regular, moderate exercise such as swimming or walking can help relieve the day’s stresses and strains. But not too close to bedtime or it may keep you awake. A good brisk walk is ideal to stop you feeling sluggish after a hefty Christmas dinner!

6. Don’t end up compensating for lack of sleep by going too heavy on stimulants such as caffeine in tea, coffee or cola – especially in the evening. They interfere with falling asleep and prevent deep sleep. Have a hot milky drink or herbal tea instead.

7. Don’t over-indulge on turkey, mince pies and mulled wine! Too much food or alcohol, especially late at night, can play havoc with sleep patterns. Alcohol may help you fall asleep initially, but will interrupt your sleep later on in the night. It’s hard in the party period but try to swap to water a couple of hours before bedtime.

8. Keep some ear plugs handy to block out the sound of your partner’s alcohol or feast-induced snoring.

9. Try to relax and insist on some ‘me time’ before going to bed. Have a warm bath, listen to some quiet music, do some yoga – all help to relax both the mind and body. Your doctor may be able to recommend a helpful relaxation tape, too.

10. Resolve arguments before bed. Ongoing conflicts are not conducive to putting you in the right frame of mind for sleep!

11. If you can’t sleep, don’t lie there worrying about it. Get up and do something you find relaxing until you feel sleepy again – then go back to bed.

12. If, like much of the nation, you’re having some well-earned time off over Christmas, then give yourself one of life’s ultimate treats: a long lazy lie-in, in your warm, cosy bed!

Sleep Yourself Young

Legendary Friends actress, Courteney Cox, has revealed that ‘sleep and water’ are her simple secrets to looking youthful. She looks fantastic given that she’s a year off turning 50. Here’s hoping I look as good as she does when I’m that age!

And it’s true that sleep keeps you looking young. When you’re fast asleep, the body goes into repair mode and regenerates skin, blood and brain cells, as well as muscles.

If you sleep badly, you are likely to become stressed, and this can cause the capillaries to tighten up, affecting the flow of nutrients to the skin and scalp and causing the skin and hair to look dull.

And research undertaken by the Skin Study Centre at University Hospitals in Ohio has demonstrated how lack of sleep accelerates skin ageing.  They studied the skin of 30 women aged 30-49 who had poor quality sleep compared to 30 who had good rest.  Those with less rest had more fine lines, uneven pigmentation, and slacker, less elastic skin. And that’s before you even think about eye bags and shadows!

Never underestimate the value of a good night’s sleep. If you find it hard to get sleep take a look at your sleeping environment – is it conducive to good night’s kip? Make sure the temperature is right, that it’s dark and free from gadgets. More importantly make sure that you are sleeping on a comfortable bed.

After all, the phrase ‘beauty sleep’ didn’t come from nowhere!

Porsche Macan World Debut: The Best-Selling Porsche Yet?

Porsche unveiled the entry-level SUV it hopes will beat out rivals like Mercedes’ GLK and BMW’s X3.

The 2015 Porsche Macan is a small sport activity vehicle built on Volkswagen’s MLB platform (which it shares with the Audi

Audi Q5 and A4) but that looks radically different from anything at Audi. Indeed, it’s very Porsche, sharing the side angles of a 911 and the height of a Cayenne—its front end is also very similar to its bigger brother—while repping even the Boxster a bit in the styling of its air intakes and side profile.

Porsche is hoping the entry-level SUV will fill out its portfolio the same way the Panamera (luxury sedan) and the Cayenne (luxury SUV) evened it out past the sports car core it developed with the 911, Cayman and Boxster. Audi, with its Q5, and Land Rover with its Evoque have also entered this mix, which is the best-growing and most profitable segment in the car industry today. Initial “cautious estimates” from top brass at Porsche put the Macan volume around 50, 000-55, 000 units sold per year; more recently they’re saying that sales numbers could reach as high as 75, 000 units, which would mean Macan would represent almost half of Porsche’s total volume.

Macan comes offering a choice from two engines for its new ride: a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 that gets 340 horsepower (it’s the same engine as the one in the Panamera) or a 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 that gets 400 horsepower. Those’ll get the car to 60 mph in as quick as 4.4 seconds, with a top speed of 164mph. No diesel or hybrid options are available now.

Off-road capability in the Macan comes in the form of an Off-road mode optimized to provide traction in dirt and snow; the suspension can be raised for an approach angle of 26.6 degrees and departure angle of 23.6 degrees—decent figures considering the smaller nature of this vehicle.

Inside, the Macan has leather-appointed sport seats, center-mounted dials, a 5-inch color display and a sport steering wheel. Upgrades like a Sport Chrono package, lane departure warning, active cruise control and carbon fiber trim abound. Expect the price to start around $50, 000.

The Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker built this car to help its bottom line in the same way the Cayenne did 10 years ago — and from the looks of things last night, it fills that small-SUV gap nicely. It will likely be Porsche’s next best-seller.

The iPhone 5S Review: Probably The Best All-Round Smartphone To Date

Cards on the table, this is not going to be a forensic review of the iPhone 5S. Seven weeks ago it reached the hands of the public, and since then Apple has struggled to keep their latest flagship smartphone in stock. It’s hard to disagree with those sort of sales numbers, and after spending two weeks with the iPhone 5S I haven’t found any reason to even try. The iPhone 5S is the best all-round smartphone on the market right now.

Yes, that’s a statement that’s going to raise a lot of eyebrows (and I can imagine the comments are already being mentally composed). There is a lot of choice in the smartphone market right now, and there is no right answer to the question of ‘which is the best phone to buy.’ Every handset and every operating system is a collection of compromises, and the iPhone is compromised in a different way to an Android, Windows Phone, or BlackBerry handset.

The iPhone 5S puts much more focus on ease of use and simple choices than an Android handset such as the Samsung Galaxy S4. Where Android opens up a world of choice in settings, layouts, launchers, and options, the iPhone 5S provides a standard platform for everyone using the handset.

That reduces the appeal of the the iOS platform to the vocal power-users and hacker community who want a platform to play with, but it also makes the handset much more appealing to the general public. For many, smartphones are still complicated little beasts, which is where Apple’s whole ethos for the iPhone and iOS comes in to play. The iPhone 5S is designed for everyday use and to just work, not something that needs to be tweaked and maintained.

The iPhone 5S is unashamedly aimed at the mainstream user, and it achieves that goal with ease.

The focus of the application model used (go into an app, do something, move back to the launch screen, go into another app) is uncluttered, which makes it approachable and understandable. Without a home screen for icons and widgets, or external launchers, you know where to find everything, but this trade-off for minimalism does reduce the configurability that many Android fans enjoy.

The iPhone switches effortlessly between 3G, 4G LTE, and Wi-fi data, keeping the bills down and the speed as high as possible. The mobile version of Safari is smooth and quick to render pages. I’ve not come across any issues in using it for my regular browsing.

Connecting to my computer remains one of the joys of the Apple system, if you are happy to buy into the iOS ecosystem. While there are various application suites and connectivity packages on other platforms, there is still no easier way to move a managed music collection from a desktop computer over to a smartphone than iTunes. There’s no need to worry about directory structures, location and copying files on your deskbound computer, or play around with DRM issues. iTunes just works, both for local and purchased media.

The iPhone 5S builds on the design of the iPhone 5, adding in the new 64-bit A7 processor, and introducing the M7 motion co-processor. Both of these are very much on the bleeding edge, with only a handful of applications set up to make use of them at the moment. Going forwards though, these two chips and their architecture are going to be keystones of the platform, which makes the 5S as future proof a smartphone as you could hope to buy.

While the 5S is geared towards being a mainstream phone with appeal, it’s not perfect. Much of that is down to the software, specifically iOS 7. The reworking of Apple’s mobile operating system has been critiqued from some areas as reducing the functionality of the device, looking like a ‘My First Smartphone’ OS, and reducing the flexibility of the handset.

I think a lot of the noise around the look of iOS 7 is more to do with the familiarity of iOS 6 rather than an appreciation of iOS 7. When things change, it’s rare for the existing user base to be anything other than vocal about a change. While I could point out the countless changes as a cosmetic level, the loss of highlighting on selectable text options, and the abundance of the white backgrounds and spindly text, this is the almost modernist look that Apple’s Jony Ive has chosen.

That’s not to say there are areas that should have been examined. The look of iOS 7, and therefore the look of the iPhone 5S is not quite consistent. Apple’s strength is keeping everything simple and easy to understand, and that requires a laser-like focus, so it’s just a shame that there are a number of areas that make me do a double take on the OS. Case in point the keyboard. For whatever reason, there are three different styles of keyboard that could show up – a modern dark style, a modern white style, and the old grey and black keyboard. There may be technical reasons why these are still available to first and third party developers, but it’s an area I would have expected Apple to be a lot more professional.

I found the various options and locations in the Settings app to be a mixed bag as well. There’s a certain logic to grouping settings by function (such as notifications), but you also have individual apps names for other settings . Splitting these out over multiple locations means a lot of hunting for a specific option in an app, with the settings for alerts, retrieval, and updates in different locations.