Sleep

Sleep is a very relevant part in many areas of life.  Sleep is an important factor in maintaining a healthy and happy life.  However, even though sleep is important it is something that can not be abused. Sleeping too much is associated with weight gain especially in older women.1 Obesity is a leading problem with many Americans and women always think that they are fat regardless of anything, so a solution to that would be to maintain a consistent and healthy sleeping pattern.  This is true for me; there have been testing days where I usually decide to stay up all night studying, I find that I gain a lot of weight since my body is not used to such a lack of sleep.   There are also many health benefits that come with sleeping a decent amount of time every night.  The less sleep that people get, the more likely they are to get sick.2  Therefore, the more sleep someone gets, the less likely they are of getting sick.  People such as insomniacs have a lot of trouble sleeping and usually do not get the sleep that they need to function properly throughout the day.  Fortunately, this is not a problem with remedies such as white noise, and sleep hygiene which could help solve these issues. 3  Other ways in which sleep can be promoted is by having a beverage containing caffeine during the day which will cause a person to sleep better at night.  I consume coffee every morning; At night, I notice that my body lets me know that it is time to rest.  Taking a drug containing melatonin can also help regulate sleep patterns. 4  It might be hard to grasp the concept of how important sleep really is.  Many car accidents occur because of people falling asleep behind a wheel and this results in the lost lives of many people. 5   I do not drive when I am tired because my cousin had been involved in a serious car accident involving her lack of sleep.  Sleep is a very important aspect in all areas of life and is to be taken seriously, NEFAW (no excuses find a way!). 

References:

1. Sleep duration, general and abdominal obesity, and weight change among the older adult population in Spain.  Esther Lopez-Garcia, Raquel Faubel, Luz Leon-Munoz, Maria C Zuluaga, Jose R Banegas, Fernando Rodriguez-Artalejo.  The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 87 No. 2, 310-316, Feb. 2008
2. Sleep Habits and Susceptibility to the Common Cold.  Sheldon Cohen, William J. Doyle, Cuneyt M. Alpher, Denise Janicki-Deverts, Rondald B. Turner.  Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol. 169 No. 1. Jan. 12, 2009
3. Sleep Patterns of College Students at a Public University. LeAnne M. Forquer, Adrian E. Camden, Krista M. Gabriau, Merle Johnson. Journal of American Health, Vol. 56, N0. 5, 2008
4. Caffeine or Melatonin effects on sleep and sleepiness after rapid eastward transmeridian travel. M. Beaumont, D. Batejat, C. Pierard, P. Van Beers, J.B. Denis, O. Coste, P. Doireau, F. Chauffard, J. French, D. Lafarde. Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol. 96:50-58, 2004
5. Tiredness revealed as the sleeper in car crashes.  September 5, 2007. Chee Chee Leung, Science Reporter.  The Age (Melbourne, Australia). 

Introduction: Sleep

The topic that I am introducing is about sleep.  Sleep is a very underestimated aspect of life especially in the lives of teenagers that can not waste their time sleeping when they have too many other important things going on in their lives.  People are usually side tracked with their work, social lives, and themselves and usually neglect their need for sleep every night.  A lack of sleep causes loss of focus during the day, exhaustion, and does not allow for people to perform as well as they could with a goodnights sleep.  In order to observe this in a better way and experience the effects that sleep can have on performance, I have decided to write these blogs with an extreme lack of sleep and very late at night.  When I do not get enough sleep, I am usually very hyper and jumpy.  This reaction to my lack of sleep lasts about two to three hours with a following crash.  I also find it extremely difficult to concentrate like I am at this present moment.  There are many cases where students like myself decide to pull off an "all-nighter" and decide to study extremely hard for a test the night before.  Whenever I do this, I find that I can not concentrate during the test and I keep on thinking about how tired I am and how bad I can not wait to go home so that I can finally get some sleep.  I also realize that I do not do half as well on these tests when I do not sleep as opposed to when I have at least 8 hours of sleep.  Sleep is neglected and is not taken seriously by many people;  I will introduce ways in which we can schedule in time during our busy lives for this very important part of life.  

18 vs 60.

In order to get my Bachelorette Degree in Nursing at the College of Staten Island, it is mandated that I take up a PED (Physical Education) course.  I would say that it's a little ridiculous that I have to take a course like this in college, but in all honesty, I don't mind.  I've been an active person since I was a child doing swimming, karate, kickboxing, tennis and more.  So I figured this class would be pretty simple and easy going being as it is only one credit and our assigned instructor was about three times my age and fragile looking.  So I had this weekly class yesterday and we had a "pretty simple" task to do.  We were to walk 10 times around the swimming pool and "simply" keep up with her.  I clearly underestimated her.  This 60 year old woman could walk at about 60 miles per hour.  She was so fast and she didn't even break a sweat.  She was just relaxing waiting to make fun of us after our pain was over.  It's not as easy as it sounds to walk 10 laps around a swimming pool, especially at the pace that this woman was going at.  But I did not let her pass me.  I don't think I could possibly live with myself and accept myself if I let that happen.  My shins and calves burned and my body screamed "SIT THE HELL DOWN!!!!" But at least I wasn't included in the "pathetic" group of people that let her pass them.  This class is going to be a wake up call to many people I can tell.  I'd love to be as fit as she is when I become her age, and I'm sure I will.  Peace.