Troubled sleep?
[This is a 7 min read but if you have sleep problems, it is a worthwhile read.]

Sleep maintenance insomnia happens when you can’t stay asleep. It may be caused
by health conditions, such as illness, some medications, or stress.

The infuriation of interrupted sleep
You wake up — who knows why — and immediately stress about how cruddy
you’re going to feel the next day if you can’t fall back asleep fast enough.
Having just one episode is bad enough, but if it keeps happening, you’ll probably
want to figure out why and what to do about your insomnia. Yes, not being able to
stay asleep is actually a type of insomnia, and various factors, from your lifestyle
to an underlying condition, could be to blame.

Maintenance insomnia?
Insomnia is commonly thought of as simply staying up all night and not being able
to get to sleep, but that’s just one type of insomnia.
Being unable to stay asleep is a type of insomnia, too. It’s referred to as
maintenance insomnia, sleep maintenance insomnia, and, sometimes, middle-of-
the-night insomnia.
If you can’t stay asleep at least three nights per week for three months or longer,
your insomnia is considered chronic.

Why you can’t stay asleep
Here are some of the most common causes why you may struggle to stay asleep.

Stress
Stress is one of the most common reasons for insomnia. The cause of stress can be
all kinds of things, from lifestyle to medical conditions.
The real kicker with maintenance insomnia is that stress from not being able to
stay asleep can keep the cycle going, making your insomnia worse and leaving you
feeling pretty lousy.

Sleep apnea, asthma, or other breathing problems
Respiratory disturbances at night are common if you have asthma, sleep apnea, or
any other breathing problem, like allergies or even a cold.
If anything disrupts your breathing, even just for a second, it can wake you up and
make it hard to fall back asleep.

Pain
With some conditions, like fibromyalgia and arthritis, pain can flare up at night and wake you up.
If you have an injury or pain that’s worse with movement, turning over can hurt
and wake you up, too.

Illness
There are several illnesses associated with sleep issues. While not an exhaustive
list by any stretch, some common ones include:

neurological conditions, like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s
cardiovascular conditions
diabetes
other sleep disorders, like restless leg syndrome
Mental health disorders like depression or schizophrenia

Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep is a common side effect of mental health
conditions, like anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. On the flip side, poor sleep
can also worsen symptoms of these conditions.

Certain medications
Some over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications can cause side effects
that wake you up at night, like excitability, frequent urination, and vivid dreams.
These are some possible culprits:
diuretics
cold and allergy medications
corticosteroids
anticonvulsants
antidepressants
beta agonists
External issues, like worries about work or your social life.

Got stuff on your mind?
Worries about things like work or relationships can impact a full night’s sleep. You
can even experience nocturnal panic attacks if you’re under a lot of stress or
feeling anxious.

Hot flashes or hormone fluctuations
While anyone can experience hormone fluctuations that can mess with sleep,
women are more prone to hormone-induced sleep issues because they may
experience fluctuations during periods, pregnancy, perimenopause, and
menopause.
Hormone fluctuations can trigger sleep-disrupting symptoms like anxiety, hot
flashes, and night sweats.

Acid reflux
There’s nothing quite like stomach acid and other contents making their way up
into your esophagus and mouth to wake you up.
Lying flat can make acid reflux worse and even lead to choking.

Jet lag
Jet lag happens when there’s a mismatch between your circadian rhythm and the
time of day.
While your body’s clock is still anchored to another time zone, you can have
trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.

Poor sleep environment
Yep, your environment could be to blame for your inability to sleep through the
night.
As comfy and cozy as your bed may be, environmental factors, like bright lights
outside your bedroom window, street noise, or the incessant humming of an air
conditioner can wake you up throughout the night.

Blue light
Like to scroll your social feeds in bed? Your screen time and exposure to blue light
could be the reason why you can’t stay asleep.Blue light suppresses melatonin secretion, affecting sleep. It can also increase
alertness, which is the last thing you need when it’s time for sleep.

Age
As we age, our sleep patterns change. Nighttime arousal, shorter periods of deep
sleep and fragmented sleep has become very common for older adults.
The risk for chronic conditions also increases with age, adding to the stress that
makes it even harder to stay asleep.

How to stay asleep
Here are some common suggestions for making sure your sleep is restful.

Relax
No duh, right? Relaxation may be hard to come by when you’ve got a lot on
your mind and are stressed about your sleep issues to boot.

Here are some relaxation techniques that can help:
meditation
yoga
deep breathing

Talk with your doctor about your medication
If you’re taking meds, ask your doctor if insomnia is a known side effect.
They may recommend taking your medication at a different time or swapping it out for another one that won’t interfere with sleep.

Give yourself a bedtime
Strict bedtimes work for toddlers and can work for you, too. Aim to go to bed
around the same time every night so you can get your body used to sleeping at that
time. This bedtime consistency is all part of practicing good sleep hygiene.

Avoid caffeine later in the day
Caffeine later in the day could sabotage a good night’s sleep. In fact, research
suggests stopping your coffee intake 8-9 hours before your bedtime.

Here are some common caffeinated beverages to avoid:
coffee
black tea
energy drinks
soda
Avoid alcohol

You might find that alcohol helps you unwind and can make you drowsy enough to
fall asleep. But it won’t help you stay asleep.

Avoid smoking
A systematic review concluded that people who are cigarette smokers are
significantly more likely to experience sleep disturbance.

Exercise, just not before bedtime
Exercise can improve your sleep and reduce stress and anxiety that can be messing
with your slumber. Just don’t do it too close to bedtime, or you’ll risk perking yourself up when you should be winding down.

Don’t eat or drink before bedtime
Limit eating or drinking 3 hoursTrusted Source before going to sleep.
Going to bed on a full stomach can interfere with sleep and cause nocturnal
heartburn and reflux. Drinking too much or drinking too close to bedtime will
make you more likely to have to get up to pee.

Limit blue light exposure
This means no screen time 2 to 3 hours before bedtime. Swapping out a nightlight
for a red bulb and investing in some room-darkening curtains can also help.

Improve your sleep environment
Keeping your room at a comfortable temperature or investing in earplugs, a good
mattress, and bedding can all contribute to a full night’s sleep.

Don’t nap during the day
Napping can feel oh-so-good on a lazy afternoon, but even a short nap can prevent
you from staying asleep all night.If you really want to lie down during the day, make it earlier in the day and keep it under 20 minutes.

Change your sheets weekly
Dirty sheets can trigger or worsen symptoms if you have allergies or asthma.
Change your sheets weekly to prevent a stuffy nose and other sleep-busting
symptoms.

There are many reasons why you might not be able to stay asleep. There are many
lifestyle changes and sleep hygiene practices you can implement to improve your
sleep quality.
If you are still having trouble staying asleep, consider talking with a healthcare
professional to understand the underlying cause of your sleep challenges and
explore treatment options.

A persistent cough is a malady that should be examined by your doctor. 

Pickering resident Dr. Kristina Ramgobin writes about coughs, walking pneumonia, COVID 19 and more.

Read more -> RAMGOBIN

You just can’t win! Now fruit is bad for you. Watermelon, no less. Many of us ate watermelon by the loads because it had zero calories. Now read that it is no good for you. Next, you’ll reading that breath through the left nostril is wrong. You must breath through the right one, only. 

__________

Liver is one of the most important part of the body. It helps us to filter the toxins and from the body.

Although all fruits are beneficial for our overall body but there are some of fruits that are not good for liver’s health.

• Grapefruit -Grapefruit contains compounds that can make liver unable to metabolise certain chemicals.These can cause problems in the blood flow which can cause more problems later on.
• Papaya- Papaya is one of the fruit that is not good for liver,as it contains high quantity of natural sugar which can make the liver to difficult to digest.The natural sugar can cause lot of problems in the body as it takes a lot of time to digest natural sugar.
• Watermelon- Watermelons are one of the fruit that are rich in fructose,which makes the liver to process the watermolen to the other organs and later it cause problems to the other body ‘s organs.
• Berries -Berries are rich in fructose and antioxidants which make it difficult for liver to digest it .
• Pineapples-Pineapples are rich in bromelain,one of the enzyme which is responsible for blood thinning and blood clotting in some people.These can be harmful for people who are suffering from diseases.
• Mango-Mango is a fruit which has high glycemic ,which means that they can rise the blood sugar levels in the body which means it difficult for liver to digest.
• Coconut-Coconut is rich in saturated fats which makes the liver unable to digest and process the food to other organs.
• Dates – Dates are rich in sugar which means that it makes the liver to digest or process the food to other organs, It can rise the blood sugar levels in the body which cause problems and damage to the liver

Remember that fruits are gradually good for the body but these are some of the food that cause problems to liver’s health.

You live in a digital world. Adapt or be left behind.

Ageing in the Digital Era
Our world is becoming increasingly digitalized. More and more services move online everyday. ‘Offliners’ risk being excluded and isolated in an era that embraces fast-changing innovation in digital technology. This is very concerning for older persons who are less digitally connected than the youth who were born into the digital age. 

You cannot let this digital world leave you behind. Coping with it and learning about it is a challenging process. Find someone who can help you develop digital skills at a pace comfortable for you. Spend only what your budget allows, but get into the digital world. This world may modify itself to include non-digital persons, or it may not. Be brave. Jump in. Your mind and memory will grow.

Got questions? Phone your local library. Phone someone who uses technology. Explore where you can find help to get you into the “digital pool.”

Read Ian McClymont’s full article at -> DIGITAL WORLD

Taking a stand against falls

November is Fall Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness about the risks of falls. Falls are a significant health concern for older adults, as they can lead to injuries, loss of independence, and a decline in overall quality of life. They are also the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations among older adults in Canada, and between 20% and 30% of older adults fall each year. But the good news is, many falls are preventable and there are things you can do to stay steady on your feet.

Read the full story at McMaster Optimum Portal -> FALLS

Suffering from chronic pain, never ending pain?

The number of Canadians suffering chronic, endless pain is huge and they spend in excess of $4 billion dollars annually pursuing pain relief, reduction and/or management.

McMaster University has an ongoing study and research area that has produced a report about pain and its management. If you suffer from ongoing and endless pain, you may find some insights in listening/viewing the report.

The bottom line seems to be that most pains can be treated to bring pain reduction and pain relief to the patient but it takes more than just you and your doctor. The best success for pain alleviation or control, seems to come from a multidisciplinarian approach where a team of pain specialist become involved in the process: physiotherapists, clinicians, pharmacists, doctors, nurses and more, all working in focused and concerted effort at managing your pain.

Read the McMaster University article at

Brain function starts to decline in your mid-20s; but you can fight back. Follow these suggestions to help keep your mind in tip-top shape.

From the mid-20s, brain function starts to decline, although you may not notice the effects until decades later. When synapses – the connections between the ends of nerve cells – aren’t switched on regularly, the brain finds it harder to store and retrieve information. However bad your memory is now, mental aerobics, good nutrition and moderate physical activity can elevate mental acuity and memory skills.

1. Cook with sage
   Sage is traditionally associated with improving memory. Research has shown that people who take sage oil in capsule form before memory tests perform better than those who take a placebo. The purple variety is best – use it to flavour roasts and sauces or make a cup of surprisingly drinkable tea.
2. Take ginkgo
   The herb ginkgo biloba has earned its reputation as a brain tonic because it has a beneficial effect on the peripheral blood circulation, improving blood supply to the brain. (It helps with piles and varicose veins for the same reason.) Gingko is prescribed to dementia patients in France and Germany. Take as an herbal extract or tincture  following instructions on the pack. Avoid if taking other medication.
3. Switch hands
   Use your “wrong” hand to manipulate the mouse, brush teeth and hair and open doors. This expands the circuits in the part of the brain that processes that hand.
4. Find everyday mental challenges
   Get into the habit of attempting a crossword or Sudoku most days. One study found that people who complete a crossword four times a week seemed to have 47 per cent lowered risk of dementia.
5. Rearrange familiar objects
   Move objects you habitually reach for without thinking in the morning: alarm clock, toothbrush, cutlery, breakfast cereal. This forces your brain to shift into gear early on and may make mornings more wakeful.
6. Become a lifelong learner
   Continuing study through each new decade keeps the brain performing in a youthful way. Book an adult education course (to maintain interest make it a subject you feel passionate about), join a book group or local history society, a choir with a challenging and changing repertoire or try something practical such as car maintenance. The social aspect is important: socializing with others keeps the memory sharp and brain agile.
7. Learn a language
   Enrol in a language school or invest in a course to follow in the car or on the train. Learning languages stimulates the frontal lobes, the part of the brain that most often fades over the years. Book a holiday in a country that speaks the language and start buying local newspapers two weeks before you go. With a dictionary, pick through the weather report, arts and restaurant reviews.
8. Meditation
   Find 10 to 20 minutes a day to sit quietly. Research has found that daily meditation may slow age-related brain deterioration by altering the physical structure of the brain. People who meditated for 40 minutes a day had a denser cerebral cortex than people who did not. In other studies, practitioners of Transcendental Meditation demonstrated cognitive, perceptual and physical abilities equivalent to people up to 10 years their junior.
9. Three steps to basic meditating
   • Set an alarm to ring in five minutes. Sit with your spine upright, feet flat on the floor, palms resting on thighs. Relax your shoulders and jaw and switch off from everyday concerns. Close your eyes.

• Watch your breath moving in and out. Let this focus steer you away from trains of thought. If it helps, breathe in to a count of three or four. Exhale to the same count. When distractions arise, focus on your counting or awareness of your flow of breath in and out.
• Return to regular breathing as the alarm rings and slowly open your eyes. Once you feel easy with the technique, increase meditation time in increments of five minutes.

10. Enjoy family and friends
    Make time most days to enjoy the company of friends and family. In a study from the University of California, those with most emotional support from a strong social network were more likely to retain memory, abstract thinking and language skills — even if those relationships were testing!
11. Use stimulating aromas
    Perfume various times of day with different aromas to establish associations that trigger new neural pathways. Scent the car with two drops of essential oil of basil. Follow your morning shower with distinctly scented body oil.
12. Holiday senses
    Choose a novel scented soap for weekends away. This will stimulate your memory when you use it again as it reminds you of the holiday.
13. Eat greens
    Consume foods containing plant antioxidants, such as spinach and blueberries. An American study suggests this reverses mental decline as we age. Plants also rich in folate have more pluses: researchers found older men who ate more folate-rich leafy greens and citrus fruit had significantly less age-related decline in memory and brain function over three years than those with low folate diets.
14. Dine on fish
    Eating fish at least once a week can slow the rate of cognitive decline in older people by up to 13 percent per year, reports one study. Other research suggests that omega-3 fatty acids in oily fish are vital for the functioning of brain-cell receptors. Eat different varieties — mackerel, sardines and organically farmed trout — two or three times a week.
15. Include iron
    Anemia may cloud the memory with age (iron helps transport oxygen to the brain). Make sure you eat red meat, poultry, fish and eggs, and if vegetarian, plenty of pulses, nuts, seeds and whole grains, dark leafy greens, apricots and dark chocolate. For maximum absorption, accompany with a source of vitamin C, such as freshly squeezed orange juice, and the B vitamins found in yeast extract.
16. Zinc for thinking
    Zinc helps us think (find it in meat, poultry, fish, nuts, seeds, whole grains and onions). Absorption is blocked by a large intake of iron.
17. Care about choline
    In a study of adults over 50, a five-week supplement of choline halved memory lapse. This mineral aids the absorption and use of good fats, vital for cell membranes, and helps the body use a neurotransmitter that transmits signals across nerve endings. Add meat, nuts and eggs into your diet daily.
18. Try stimulating teas
    Incorporate new herbal teas into your day. Lemon balm seems to help the brain store and retrieve information; green and black teas are associated with preventing memory loss with age. Peppermint tea stimulates the brain, promoting concentration and alertness.
19. Unplug the phone
    The constant ping of emails and interruption of phone calls can cause IQ to drop by 10 points, found a study commissioned by Hewlett-Packard, leading to loss of concentration and problem-solving skills. Unplug the phone and resist the temptation to check e-mails for two-hour runs when you need to achieve results. Get up and walk across the office to talk to people instead, which also counts towards your daily activity quotient.
20. Play games
    Games that force you to think ahead, plan alternative strategies, and pre-guess others’ moves are very valuable. Games that advance spatial awareness (useful for reading maps) include chess and draughts.
21. Problem-solving walks
    Get outdoors for a walk to raise circulation to the brain when you have a problem. Switch off from the problem and turn your focus to your surroundings with your nose, ears and sense of touch. Walk backward and sideways to forge new circuits in the brain. After 15 minutes, start your return journey. Now, ponder potential solutions.
22. Mall strolling
    Research with older adults shows that brisk walking in indoor malls is a valuable addition to the 30-minute-a-day exercise rule. See if a mall near you has a walking scheme for a year-round sociable and safe activity.