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Handy hints for good circadian rhythm and good sleep

1. Eat a big breakfastThis is a vital first step in correcting any sleep issues. The circadian clock is all about good habits and eating at the same time every day. Doing so helps entrain the circadian clock. Skipping breakfast causes a struggle with insulin sensitivity and perpetuates insulin resistance (Farshchi, H. et al, 2005). You will be hungry again at night and then overeat. This exacerbates poor sleep and perpetuates the metabolic syndrome you are trying to outrun. It makes sense to have your largest meal earlier in the day and to thus eat your supper early as well.The BB is designed as a tryptophan- rich meal and encourages people to get up with the sun and get sunlight...

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3 Tips To Fight Menopause-Induced Stress

by Ellen Dolgen You’re hot, you’re cold, you’re mad, you’re sad. So you ask, how could menopause not stress you out?“Menopause, itself, is a stressful life event because of the various types of change that occur,” says Dr. Jeff Brown, a professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and author of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive for Great Health.Hot flashes are tightly linked with stress and anxiety, according to a six-year study published in Menopause. Researchers found that anxiety and stress preceded hot flashes among perimenopausal and post-menopausal women. Women with the highest levels of stress were more than five times (I repeat, five times!) more likely than normally stressed women to report hot flashes.But what exactly is...

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10 Ways for Men to Reduce Stress

By Dennis Thompson Jr Stress has become a major modern-day factor affecting men's health. The tension and emotional strain of day-to-day living has been linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, migraine, headaches, back pain, diabetes, cancer, and a weakened immune response to disease. Men experiencing high levels of stress can experience anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, and depression, and may turn to unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking, overeating, or drug abuse to help deal with their stress. BUY NOW   Men’s Health: The Dangers of Stress Stress is harmful because it presses biological buttons inside men that have long outlived their usefulness. When a man had to battle wild animals to save his family, that stress prompted certain fight-or-flight responses within his body: The...

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7 tricks to help stressed moms chill out

By Dr. Michele Borba Stressed? You're not alone. Apparently 70 percent of U.S. moms say mothering is “incredibly stressful.” And 96 percent also feel that we are far more stressed than our own mothers were. So what’s triggering Mommy Angst, circa 2012? (How much time do you have?) It's everything from financial insecurities, a more intensive parenting style and  higher expectations for our kids’ success to a lack of support, time famine, relationship demands, and concern that the world is more perilous for kid raising. But more significant than the cause is the way unchecked stress can hurt our health and our family’s well-being. Chronically stressed moms  tend to be more insensitive to kids. Studies also show that a parent’s ability to manage stress is a...

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Stress, Illness and the Immune System

Stress, Illness and the Immune System  By Saul McLeod updated 2010 The immune system is a collection of billions of cells that travel through the bloodstream.  They move in and out of tissues and organs, defending the body against foreign bodies (antigens), such as bacteria, viruses and cancerous cells. There are two types of lymphocytes: B cells- produce antibodies which are released into the fluid surrounding the body’s cells to destroy the invading viruses and bacteria. T cells (see picture opposite) - if the invader gets inside a cell, these (T cells) lock on to the infected cell, multiply and destroy it. The main types of immune cells are white blood cells. There are two types of white blood cells – lymphocytes and phagocytes. When...

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