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New Research: Snooze Alarms Steal Hours of Sleep Each Month

The AHA! Team — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 05:08:24 +0000

Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta, Ph.D. via News-Medical – Why do so many people hit snooze? This global smartphone study uncovers surprising patterns and raises questions about how repeated alarms may be impacting our sleep health. Harvard Medical School researchers conducted a study on users of a sleep monitoring smartphone application to explore the prevalence and characteristics of snooze alarm use, a typical but poorly understood human behavior. The findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports. Background Sleep is a complex and dynamic physiological process for maintaining health and well-being. Internal circadian rhythms, together with time spent awake, influence the timing and duration of sleep. However, humans often subdue these biological regulatory processes for personal or professional reasons. The recommended duration of night sleep for adults ranges from 7 to 9 hours. However, over the past several decades, a trend of not meeting this recommendation has been observed in global populations, which may increase the risk of both physical and mental health complications. Although humans naturally wake after sufficient sleep, they often require assistance, such as the use of an alarm clock, to meet a desired wake time under conditions of insufficient sleep duration. The “snooze” function commonly available in alarm clocks is designed to repeatedly alert the sleeper in fixed intervals following the initial alarm. However, according to sleep experts, a sleeper should set an alarm for the last realistic wake time instead of setting a snooze alarm to get as much consolidated, uninterrupted, high-quality sleep as possible. Using a snooze alarm is a typical but poorly understood human behavior. Only a few studies have investigated the health impact of snooze alarms and reported that this practice is associated with short and poor-quality sleep and feelings of drowsiness upon waking. In the current study, researchers analyzed a large dataset to explore the prevalence and characteristics of snooze alarm use across countries, cultures, and climates. Study design The study analyzed a large pool of data from the users of a sleep monitoring smartphone application called “SleepCycle.” The database included six months of data from 21,222 app users and more than 3 million sleep sessions from users across four continents. The dataset included users who elected to use the traditional snooze feature, logged sleep sessions 50% or more of the nights in each month of the monitoring interval, used the app on an iPhone as opposed to an Android device, and consented for their data to be used in research. Study findings The analysis of sleep sessions opted by users at night revealed that more than half (specifically, 55.6%) of sessions end up with a snooze alarm. Of all users, about 45% were heavy snooze alarm users, 28% were moderate users, and 27% were light users. Compared to light and moderate users who used snooze alarm less frequently and demonstrated more consistent sleep times, heavy snooze alarm users, who used the alarm almost every day and multiple times within each day, demonstrated erratic sleep/wake times. Overall, users pressed the snooze alarm approximately 2.4 times daily and spent on average 10.8 minutes snoozing. This is equivalent to a monthly loss of nearly one 6-hour night of sleep. Heavy users chose the snooze alarm approximately 4 times daily, resulting in about 20 minutes of snoozing duration. On the other hand, light users chose the snooze alarm on average 1.2 times a day, resulting in 3 minutes of snoozing duration. The use of a snooze alarm was more frequent during weekdays (Monday to Friday) and less frequent on weekends (Saturday and Sunday). Fewer commitments on weekends among employees and students might be the reason for this less frequent use. The duration of snooze alarm use was significantly longer among women than men. The researchers suggest that this could stem from factors such as additional childcare and household duties over professional duties or an increased risk for insomnia among women, which might be the reason for women’s higher reliance on the snooze alarm. Month-to-month variations in snooze alarm use were minimal in the study population. Users in the Northern hemisphere exhibited slightly higher usage in December and less usage in September, while users in the Southern hemisphere exhibited the opposite trend. These variations might be associated with changes in seasonal sleep patterns due to factors like less access to natural light during winter months, potentially causing a delay in circadian rhythms. The frequency of snooze alarm use was also higher among long sleepers (more than 9 hours of sleep) compared to that among short sleepers (less than 7 hours of sleep) or those meeting the recommended sleep duration (7 to 9 hours of sleep). As researchers mentioned, higher snooze alarm usage observed after long sleep sessions could be indicative of hypersomnia or compensatory sleep to recover from sleep deficiency. The snooze alarm usage frequency was also higher among sleepers who went to bed later than usual compared to those who went to bed earlier. An unusual sleeping time is more common among shift workers who may have inadequate time in bed, and hence, more reliance on the snooze alarm. Furthermore, users with misaligned sleep may experience more fragmented sleep, and thus, greater reliance upon the snooze alarm. While the study provides valuable insights from a large, international dataset using objective snooze alarm data, the researchers acknowledge certain limitations. These include the sleep data being app-derived, which may overestimate actual sleep duration as it doesn’t account for time taken to fall asleep or awakenings during the night. Additionally, it was not certain if users were actually sleeping between alarms, and the sample of app users may not be fully representative of the general global population. The study also did not have information on the age of participants or self-reported feelings of grogginess upon waking. Overall study findings Overall, the study findings highlight that a higher frequency of snooze alarm use might be indicative of a poor sleep pattern and potentially part of the phenotype of poor sleep health. Given that snooze alarm use is discouraged by experts to avoid sleep fragmentation, researchers highlight the need for future investigations to understand the impact of snooze alarm use on daytime performance and overall health. They also suggest that public health messages encouraging individuals to set their alarm for the latest possible wake time, rather than relying on the snooze button, could be a viable strategy to promote better sleep habits. Journal reference: Robbins R. et al. 2025. Snooze alarm use in a global population of smartphone users. Scientific Reports. DOI:10.1038/s41598-025-99563-y, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-99563-y To read the original article click here.

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Vacation Health Benefits: How Taking Time Off Changes Your Brain

The AHA! Team — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 05:25:48 +0000

Kissairis Munoz via Dr. Axe – A study published in Translational Psychiatry found that both taking a vacation and meditating actually make an impact on our molecular networks. We can probably all agree that leaving the cubicle and heading out on a holiday or taking a midday break to meditate and de-clutter our minds feels good. But did you know that these disruptions in our regular schedules actually change our minds and bodies for the better, on a biological level? And that’s just one of the vacation health benefits. A study published in Translational Psychiatry found that both taking a vacation and meditating actually make an impact on our molecular networks. The study followed 94 healthy women between the ages of 30 to 60 years old. They all stayed at the same resort, with half simply on vacation and the other half following a meditation training program. To better understand the “meditation effect,” the scientists behind the study also followed a group of 30 experienced meditators staying at the retreat the same week. The research team looked at changes in 20,000 genes to figure out which genes changed during and after the resort trip. The results showed that spending a week at the resort significantly changed the molecular network patterns of participants in all the groups: the vacationers, the beginner meditators and the experienced meditators. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most notable gene activity was in those areas relating to stress response and immune function. A month after the experience was over, those newbie meditators were riding the relaxation wave with fewer symptoms of depression alongside visible stress relief compared to the non-meditating vacationers. Essentially, while it seems logical that taking a vacation or engaging in heavy meditation would reduce stress, this is one of the first times that researchers have been able to pinpoint large changes in the body’s genes in a short amount of time. What happens in your body when you go on vacation or meditate? Keep reading to learn more of the benefits of taking a vacation. Vacation health benefits Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Most of us don’t take enough time off. In fact, more than half (55 percent) of Americans don’t use all of their paid time off (PTO), and when they do take off, 52 percent say they have worked during time they took off. While it might seem that you’re just getting ahead and proving your worth to your boss, not taking full advantage of those days off means you’re failing to receive the benefits of vacation time. For starters, just planning a vacation can actually boost happiness levels. Whether it’s from the anticipation of the unknown or the excitement of planning time away, getting ready for a holiday can increase happiness, with one study finding that participants saw their mood levels improve about eight weeks before going away. But the real magic occurs when you vacation. Being in a new environment, particularly abroad, affects how our neural pathways respond to things (also known as neuroplasticity) and can make us more creative. When we’re in our normal, day-to-day lives, our brains can go on autopilot: They know how things work and where places are. When our brains are exposed to new sounds, tastes and cultures, different synapses fire off in our brains, revitalizing our minds and encouraging us to try new things, if only because we have to. Maybe you’re not too keen on getting in touch with your creative side. Going on vacation will help you physically, too. The Framingham Heart Study, which began in 1948 and is still going strong, found that women who took vacations just once every six years were nearly eight times more likely to have a heart attack than those who took one at least every two years. A University of Massachusetts study discovered that among middle-aged men at high risk for coronary heart disease, the frequency of annual vacations was associated with a reduced risk of dying. Men who went on vacation regularly were 21 percent less likely to die of any cause and 32 percent less likely to die of heart disease. Who needs medicine when you can lie on the beach? Maybe you don’t have the luxury of jet-setting off to an exotic locale or taking weeks off at a time. That doesn’t mean you should skip taking time off. Turning off your email and “unplugging” can ease you into a vacation state of mind, whether you’re enjoying a “staycation” or hitting the road with your family. Being willing to try new things, whether you’re in an unfamiliar location or not, can keep your brain active and on its toes. Try local food and an adventure you might not normally indulge in. Staying local? Check out a restaurant with a cuisine you might be unfamiliar with, or visit a nearby town you haven’t explored yet. How meditating changes your body Meditation has been around for thousands of years, and the positive effects from people who practice “mind exercising” have been touted for nearly as long. Now science can back up that the benefits you feel after taking a few minutes of zen are real and actually transform your cells. For instance, a 2014 study published in the journal Cancer found that cancer survivors who participated in stress-reducing techniques, including meditation and yoga, physically changed their cells. At the end of the three-month study, the two groups who meditated had longer telomere lengths than the control group, which only participated in one six-hour stress-reduction workshop. Telomeres are bits of DNA at the end of our chromosomes. Shortened telomeres are associated with aging, diseases like cancer as well as death. As our telomeres age and can no longer shorten, the cells they’re attached to begin dying as well. This is how our bodies age. When the study was over, the telomeres of those who meditated were the same length as when the study began. The control group’s telomeres were shorter, indicating that something about the stress-reducing activities was able to keep the telomeres intact in those three months. “We already know that psychosocial interventions like mindfulness meditation will help you feel better mentally, but now for the first time we have evidence that they can also influence key aspects of your biology,” said Linda E. Carlson, the study’s lead investigator. Meditation has also been proven to help reduce anxiety, and it all comes back to the “Me Center,” or the medial prefrontal cortex. This is the area of our brains that processes information about ourselves and the world around us (hence the “me”). Usually, the neural pathways from the sensation and fear areas of the brain to the Me Center are quite strong, triggering a reaction in the Me Center. Meditation actually weakens this connection, so the instinct to react to an upsetting situation weakens. At the same time, the Me Center link to the brain’s lateral prefrontal cortex, or Assessment Center, strengthens. Instead of freaking out about a situation, our minds are able to assess what’s happening in a more rational manner. So, for example, if you email your boss a question and it takes her a few hours to respond, instead of worrying that your job is in jeopardy, you’re able to ascertain that she’s probably in a long meeting and unreachable at the moment. Regularly meditating might actually make you a more compassionate person as well. A 2008 study found that when meditators heard sounds of people suffering, their temporal parietal junctures, the area of the brain linked with empathy, had a stronger response than in the brains of those who don’t regularly meditate. To read the original article click here.

The post Vacation Health Benefits: How Taking Time Off Changes Your Brain appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

Vacation Health Benefits: How Taking Time Off Changes Your Brain

AHA Publisher — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 07:00:47 +0000

Kissairis Munoz via Dr. Axe – We can probably all agree that leaving the cubicle and heading out on a holiday or taking a midday break to meditate and de-clutter our minds feels good. But did you know that these disruptions in our regular schedules actually change our minds and bodies for the better — on a biological level? A study published in Translational Psychiatry found that both taking a vacation and meditating actually make an impact on our molecular networks. The study followed 94 healthy women between the ages of 30 to 60 years old. They all stayed at the same resort, with half simply on vacation and the other half following a meditation training program. To better understand the “meditation effect,” the scientists behind the study also followed a group of 30 experienced meditators staying at the retreat the same week. The research team looked at changes in 20,000 genes to figure out which genes changed during and after the resort trip. The results showed that spending a week at the resort significantly changed the molecular network patterns of participants in all the groups — the vacationers, the beginner meditators and the experienced meditators. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most notable gene activity was in those areas relating to stress response and immune function. A month after the experience was over, those newbie meditators were riding the relaxation wave with fewer symptoms of depression alongside visible stress relief compared to the non-meditating vacationers. Essentially, while it seems logical that taking a vacation or engaging in heavy meditation would reduce stress, this is one of the first times that researchers have been able to pinpoint large changes in the body’s genes in a short amount of time. What happens in your body when you go on vacation or meditate? Vacation Health Benefits Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Most of us don’t enough time off. In fact, more than half (55 percent) of Americans don’t use all of their paid time off (PTO), and when they do take off, 52 percent say they have worked during time they took off. While it might seem that you’re just getting ahead and proving your worth to your boss, not taking full advantage of those days off means you’re not receiving the benefits of vacation time. For starters, just planning a vacation can actually boost happiness levels. Whether it’s from the anticipation of the unknown or the excitement of planning time away, getting ready for a holiday can increase happiness, with one study finding that participants saw their mood levels improve about eight weeks before going away. But the real magic occurs when you vacation. Being in a new environment, particularly abroad, affects how our neural pathways respond to things — also known as neuroplasticity— and can make us more creative. When we’re in our normal, day-to-day lives, our brains can go on autopilot: They know how things work and where places are. When our brains are exposed to new sounds, tastes and cultures, different synapses fire off in our brains, revitalizing our minds and encouraging us to try new things, if only because we have to. Maybe you’re not too keen on getting in touch with your creative side. Going on vacation will help you physically, too. The Framingham Heart Study, which began in 1948 and is still going strong, found that women who took vacations just once every six years were nearly eight times more likely to have a heart attack than those who took one at least every two years. A University of Massachusetts study discovered that among middle-aged men at high risk for coronary heart disease, the frequency of annual vacations was associated with a reduced risk of dying. Men who went on vacation regularly were 21 percent less likely to die of any cause and 32 percent less likely to die of heart disease. Who needs medicine when you can lie on the beach? Maybe you don’t have the luxury of jet-setting off to an exotic locale or taking weeks off at a time. That doesn’t mean you should skip taking time off. Turning off your email and “unplugging” can ease you into a vacation state of mind, whether you’re enjoying a “staycation” or hitting the road with your family. Being willing to try new things, whether you’re in an unfamiliar location or not, can keep your brain active and on its toes. Try local food and an adventure you might not normally indulge in. Staying local? Check out a restaurant with a cuisine you might be unfamiliar with, or visit a nearby town you haven’t explored yet. How Meditating Changes Your Body Meditation has been around for thousands of years, and the positive effects from people who practice “mind exercising” have been touted for nearly as long. Now science can back up that the benefits you feel after taking a few minutes of zen are real and actually transform your cells. For instance, a 2014 study published in the journal Cancer found that cancer survivors who participated in stress-reducing techniques, including meditation and yoga, physically changed their cells. At the end of the three-month study, the two groups who meditated had longer telomere lengths than the control group, which only participated in one six-hour stress-reduction workshop. Telomeres are bits of DNA at the end of our chromosomes. Shortened telomeres are associated with aging, diseases like cancer as well as death. As our telomeres age and can no longer shorten, the cells they’re attached to begin dying as well. This is how our bodies age. When the study was over, the telomeres of those who meditated were the same length as when the study began. The control group’s telomeres were shorter, indicating that something about the stress-reducing activities was able to keep the telomeres intact in those three months. “We already know that psychosocial interventions like mindfulness meditation will help you feel better mentally, but now for the first time we have evidence that they can also influence key aspects of your biology,” said Linda E. Carlson, the study’s lead investigator. Meditation has also been proven to help reduce anxiety, and it all comes back to the “Me Center,” or the medial prefrontal cortex. This is the area of our brains that processes information about ourselves and the world around us (hence the “me”). Usually, the neural pathways from the sensation and fear areas of our brain to the Me Center are quite strong, triggering a reaction in the Me Center. Meditation actually weakens this connection, so the instinct to react to an upsetting situation weakens. At the same time, our Me Centers link to the brain’s lateral prefrontal cortex, or Assessment Center, strengthens. Instead of freaking out about a situation, our minds are able to assess what’s happening in a more rational manner. So, for example, if you email your boss a question and it takes her a few hours to respond, instead of worrying that your job is in jeopardy, you’re able to ascertain that she’s probably in a long meeting and unreachable at the moment. Regularly meditating might actually make you a more compassionate person as well. A 2008 study found that when meditators heard sounds of people suffering, their temporal parietal junctures, the area of the brain linked with empathy, had a stronger response than in the brains of those who don’t regularly meditate. You don’t need to spend hours or money to start meditating. You can get started with free or inexpensive smartphone apps like “Stop, Breathe & Think,” “Headspace” or “Buddhify.” Even just mindfully taking a few deep breaths in and out can help ease our minds. (Also, check out our “guide” to guided meditation.) It’s fantastic to see that science is getting closer to understanding just how our minds affect our bodies and health. But let’s be honest — most of us don’t need a scientist to tell us that going on vacation or meditating will help us feel better. To read the original article click here.

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The Difference Between Rest & Restoration, Why Resting Alone Is Not Sufficient

AHA Publisher — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 08:00:29 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – In the middle of a global pandemic, the idea of rest seems so…complicated. What is it? How do you do it? How do you find peace when things seem so crazy? In this podcast (episode #253) and blog, I talk about the difference between resting to restore versus just resting, why rest alone is often not enough, and how to use a Neurocycle to effectively and sustainably restore your mind and brain. How many of you have ever binge-watched a Netflix show because you desperately needed a break, only to feel completely unrested the minute the binge ends? How many of you went on that weekend break or holiday, and came back feeling like you are still exhausted, even though you spent hours lying on that beach and going for long walks in beautiful scenery? If this sounds familiar, you are not alone! Indeed, finding ways to rest well can be incredibly challenging — it is a recurring challenge in my life. Although there is a ton of information out there (just look at how many social media posts are encouraging you to make self-care a routine part of your regimen!), so many people are still exhausted and burned out. It seems like almost every day I get a new article or research notification telling me how bad things are! So, what can we do? Is there hope? Although this may sound counterintuitive, rest has so much to do with the mind. Regardless of what technique we use or thing we do to rest, if we can’t manage what is going through our heads, it can backfire on us, leaving us feeling tired and downcast. To do this, I recommend doing a Neurocycle, the scientific mind-management process I have developed and researched over the past three decades and discuss in my upcoming book Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess and in my latest clinical trials. These 5 steps can help you learn how to rest well—speaking from experience. Recently, I started using the Neurocycle daily to find out why I was still having frequent periods exhaustion and burn-out. I knew the main reason why I felt this way was because of the issues I was dealing with in my business and family—I knew the root cause and was analyzing this because I try to live a mind-managed lifestyle (I really do apply my own system in my life!). I also have an incredible relationship with my husband—we live and work well together. I do daily fasted workouts and hot yoga, I eat real food mindfully, I have daily infrared sauna sessions, and really do try to take care of my mind and body. But still I was not truly resting, and I kept saying “I am so exhausted”. I couldn’t seem to catch my “mental breath”, so I knew something else was going on as well, and that I needed to dig deeper to find the vein of that root in my life. So, starting on Jan 1st, for around 7 minutes a day, I went through the 5 steps of the Neurocycle (gather, reflect, write, recheck and active reach—see below) to find out why I was not feeling rested even though I was taking “breaks” and living a mind-managed lifestyle. This is what I did daily: Step 1: Gather In this step, I gathered awareness of the rest I had that day and my physical and emotional warning signals, behaviors and perspectives. Step 2: Reflect I then asked, answered and discussed why I am feeling the way I do, based on what I became aware of in step 1. Step 3: Write I then wrote my answers down to help me organize my thinking and gain more clarity into how I felt that day and why. To do this, I used a Metacog, a way of writing that is naturally and instinctively based on how we try to work out meaning from information. In this method, I focus on the essentials, which is usually around 15 to 35 percent of the information we are processing. For more on this, see my book Think, Learn, Succeed. Step 4: Recheck In this step, I did what I call a “mental autopsy”. I rechecked what I wrote on my Metacog, looking for patterns and triggers, and thought about why I felt the way I did and how I can do better. Step 5: Active Reach Lastly, I worked out an action for the day from my recheck, which would help me practice what I learnt about myself and my need to rest better that day. Today is day 34—I still have 29 days of practice left to establish this thought as a habit in this 63-day cycle. However, I was so excited at what I have discovered thus far, which is helping me enormously, that I wanted to share it with you in this podcast and blog. I noticed the obvious pretty quickly, which was that I still wasn’t taking sufficient time out, and had been swinging between a heavy workload, financial strain, and a family crisis. I addressed this through my active reaches daily by taking time alone in the sauna and having long, hot baths at night. However, I was still battling with exhaustion. So, what was going on here? What was I doing wrong? My “ah-ha” moment came around day 14 (two weeks in): I had learned how to build rest into my routine, but I still wasn’t fully restoring! So, for the next week, days 15-21, I embraced, processed and reconceptualized this realization using the 5 steps of the Neurocycle until I worked out how to rest to restore versus just rest. And this is what I want to share with you now: Let’s begin with the definition of restoration. Restoring is a transitive verb; it means to give back, to return, to put or bring back into existence and use…to renew. The opposite of restoration is to weaken, undermine, cripple, undo, depress, split or dull. Rest, on the other hand, is defined as ceasing of activity to relax and refresh, or to recover strength. I recognized that, by days 19-21, I was getting the rest bit right, but I had missed the restore element. I wasn’t watching what my chaotic mind was doing while I was resting! So, for example, when I binged watched Netflix in my infrared sauna or with my family, or went to an exercise class, or had fun with my family, I was resting physically, but not restoring. Deep down, I was still worrying about a family member, the work I had to do, how this person was going to react to that person and how could I prevent it and all these things! Instead of allowing my mind and brain to renew and return to baseline, thus bringing coherence back into my mind, I was weakening, undermining and undoing my rest, which was impacting me mentally and physically. After realizing this, I came up with four active reaches I have been doing daily to rest to restore: 1. Taking more thinker moments Research shows that we spend half to ¾ of our day in our minds and time-traveling through our thoughts and memories. How we do this can either help or harm our ability to rest well, which is why it is important that we take what I call “thinker moments” throughout the day. These are periods where we let our minds wander and daydream, which help us rest and restore because they give our brains the downtime they need to function optimally. When we let our minds wander, we internally reboot our thinking, giving our internal dialogue some quality “me time”. I have found that the best way to have a thinker moment is to close your eyes and allow your mind to release a free flow of thoughts creatively for 5 minutes. I find that having pen and paper at hand is useful during this process, so you can write down the thoughts that are flowing freely and their direction, as well as the thoughts you keep coming back to that are stealing your peace, which you can then work on in a separate Neurocycle. 2. Avoiding “milkshake” multi-tasking Multi-tasking is really not good for the brain. Even though we can do it, our minds aren’t good at this kind of scattered, jumpy thinking. It draws energy from our brain and creates something akin to a dust storm in our minds, which can affect our mental and physical health. When we multitask, we end up with what I call “milkshake thinking”, which is the opposite of mindfulness. Every rapid, incomplete, and low quality shift of thought makes a “milkshake” with our brain cells and neurochemicals, which is the opposite of how the brain is designed to function. When we consciously try to jump rapidly from one task to another, we essentially cloud our ability to concentrate and think deeply, which impacts our ability to do a task well, leading to unnecessary levels of anxiety and stress in our life. If you are anything like me, sometimes it is hard to resist the temptation to multi-task when resting. However, I realized that when I consciously made an effort not to multi-task (I did a Neurocycle on this too!), I really did feel more restored and renewed. 3. Making my rest periods about myself, not other people. I came to the realization that I need to make my rest periods about my rest, and stop letting other people pull on my energy reserves. Indeed, you can’t help someone or deal with them if they are on your mind all the time, because it will wear you down. I also realized that being around negative people resulted in poor restoration. I needed to balance my time with healthy people and healthy, happy conversations, and I needed to enforce my own boundaries. 4. Practicing self-regulation. I realized that I felt more restored if I prepared myself mentally before whatever rest activity I was going to do, and self-regulated my thinking during my periods of rest to make sure I appreciated every moment. I would ask myself questions like “what am I thinking of now?”, “Is this bringing me mental peace?” and “Can I solve it now? If yes, then solve it and move on, and if no, then set a later time to deal with it”. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Leaf click here.

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7 Science-Backed Reasons to Rest from Labor This Labor Day

AHA Publisher — Mon, 07 Sep 2020 07:00:50 +0000

Dr. Don Colbert – What do you think of when you think of Labor Day? While it’s a great 3-day weekend to enjoy barbeque, family, and friends, it’s also a great reminder to rest. It’s incredible that God encouraged rest from work from the very beginning. Rest during the workweek, rest from eating, and even rest for the earth and fields. What’s also noteworthy is that science agrees; there are many great reasons to rest from labor. Unfortunately, many adults have a hard time truly unplugging, mentally relaxing from work, and finding a balance between non-work time and work. What’s more, as more people use their at-home devices for work, it’s very easy to allow it all to become entwined. What’s the risk? Your health. Your mental energy. Even your longevity. This labor day, reflect on your own patterns of labor and rest. Here’s why it’s important for every week of the year. 7 Reasons Rest from Labor Is Vital to Health 1. REST FROM LABOR REDUCES STRESS AND IMPROVES SHORT-TERM MEMORY It seems pretty obvious that taking time off of work reduces stress, especially if you consider your work to be stressful. But, it’s only successful if you can use your non-labor time to truly unplug from work and engage in other activities. For workers and employers, the benefits are clear: A CDC report found that “health care expenditures are nearly 50% greater for workers who report high levels of stress (1). What’s more, humans are generally more focused, have better short-term memory and improved memory formation when they are well-rested with sleep and awake-time breaks (2). 2. BREAKS FROM WORK IMPROVE PERFORMANCE AND MOTIVATION Of course, being keenly focused on a task is a good thing. But, when this task takes a lot of mental energy and time, performance is actually improved with breaks. One small study of 84 participants found that mental breaks improve performance compared to long-term mental focus (3). Participants were divided into a control group and a “switch group.” Both groups performed a 50-minute task. The control group performed it without breaks or diversions. The “switch group” first memorized a four-digit code before the task, and then responded during the task if the digits were presented. Interestingly, performance declined for those in the control group but remained steady for the switch group. The researchers concluded that taking a mental break and “switching thoughts” during tasks that require sustained attention actually renews performance and mental strength. This somewhat flies in the face of recommendations to be completely mentally focused on a task for long periods of time. Instead, small mental breaks may help. In addition, the researchers stated that motivation for the task itself can increase with mental breaks. They went on to “propose that deactivating and reactivating your goals allows you to stay focused…From a practical standpoint, our research suggests that, when faced with long tasks (such as studying before a final exam or doing your taxes), it is best to impose brief breaks on yourself. Brief mental breaks will actually help you stay focused on your task!” 3. TIME AWAY GIVES YOU A CHANCE TO BE ACTIVE AND HEALTHY Especially if you are a worker who sits on the job, it’s imperative to take breaks during the workday and entire days off of work to increase movement and activity. There are many health concerns aligned with sitting for consecutive hours. These include: Declines in physical (cardiovascular) fitness, grip strength, and sit-and-reach flexibility (4) Poorer quality of sleep (5) Impaired self-perceived energy and vigor, mood, levels of fatigue, and food cravings (6) Accelerated aging and increased mortality associated with chronic diseases (such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and more) (7) As work, you can use breaks to get up and move. On days off of work, get outside and be active if possible! 4. REST FROM LABOR SUPPORTS IMMUNE HEALTH Again, this goes back to chronic stress and stress reduction. We know that chronic stress is associated with higher levels of inflammatory hormones (8) and potentially maladaptive immune responses. To support immune health, reduce chronic stress and cortisol. During work, take short breaks to deactivate stressful thoughts and reduce cortisol. On days that you rest from labor, get sleep, laugh, spend time with loved ones, engage in relationships, and proactively spend time doing activities you enjoy to reduce stress. 5. REST FROM WORK SUPPORTS HEALTHY SLEEP HABITS It’s tough to get enough sleep if you’re working 16 hours a day. It’s tough to get enough sleep if you have trouble disengaging from work in general. It’s tough to get enough sleep in modern, busy lifestyles regardless. It’s important to rest from work, relax mentally, and slow down your lifestyle. Avoid work-related habits like checking emails, mentally hashing out issues, and others sleep-disrupters before you go to bed. Adequate sleep must be a priority for longterm health. 6. REST FROM LABOR ENHANCES YOUR CREATIVITY Humans were made as multi-faceted creatures. We are able to think analytically, creatively, and relationally. Giving your brain time away from work, to do anything creative, is healthy and invigorating.This doesn’t mean everyone needs to take up painting. Creativity can be found on a bicycle, sharing a story with a friend, spending time with a grandchild, and more. Our brains can be activated in different ways, and the more variety, the better! 7. REST FROM WORK ALLOWS DESIGNATED TIME WITH GOD Don’t get me wrong, God is with us in every activity, at work, in the car, and at home. We are never apart. However, God set aside one day per week to rest from His own labor, and this gives us a pattern and routine to emulate. As we rest, we can do so in Him, and release our stress. He tells us: “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day, he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” -Genesis 2:2-3 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7 And what does science say about prayer? It can improve health outcomes, mood, optimism, and stress levels (9). Bottom Line God has laid out a great plan! Let Labor Day remind you of the importance of rest from labor. Keep prioritizing your physical and mental health each day, week, and year. To learn more about healthy living, recipes, and tips, join our FREE Keto Zone Challenge today! To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Colbert click here.

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Fight Viruses With… Sleep?

AHA Publisher — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 07:00:49 +0000

Al Sears, MD, CNS – With the 24-hour news cycles spinning out of control these days, you may find yourself feeling way more stressed than usual. And that additional anxiety can lead to a lot of sleepless nights… If there’s one thing these trying times will teach us, it’s that we need to take control of our own health. We can’t rely on the government or anyone else to do it for us. After all, self-reliance in hard times is the core of the American spirit. Which means it’s up to each of us to protect and bolster our own immune system. And one of the best – and easiest – ways to do this is by getting enough sleep. Your immune defenses won’t work if you don’t. A good night’s sleep also affects how fast you’ll recover if you do get sick. You see, without enough shut-eye your body makes fewer cytokines. These are a kind of protein that targets infection and inflammation – basically creating your immune response. Cytokines are both produced and released during sleep, causing a double whammy if you don’t get enough sleep. Sleep Turns on Infection-Fighting T Cells Numerous studies show a good night’s sleep improves immune cells known as T cells. T cells are a specialized white blood cell that fights what are known as intracellular pathogens… viruses that live inside your cells, including flu, HIV, cancer – and coronavirus. In a new study from Germany, researchers compared immune-boosting T cells from volunteers who slept eight hours to those who stayed awake.1 They found that the T cells in the study participants who slept were much better equipped to fight off an invading virus than the T cells in than those who didn’t. It turns out that there’s a strong connection between stress hormones like adrenaline, T cells and sleep… Stress hormones decrease dramatically when you’re asleep. If you can’t sleep, levels of these hormones remain high. And high levels of these hormones prevent T cells from getting inside infected cells and killing the pathogens. When cells in your body recognize a cell infected with a virus, they activate something called an integrin. This is a sticky type of protein that allows them to attach to and kill infected cells. During these troubling times and sleepless nights, you might be tempted to ask your doctor for a sleep aid. But I don’t recommend it… Sleeping pills like Lunesta, Ambien or Halcion cause dizziness, headache, depression and anxiety. They can lead to suicidal thoughts, memory loss and hallucinations. Some people report sleep-walking, and even unconscious sleep-eating or sleep-driving. And come morning the drug is still in your system. You can feel hung over and groggy instead of rested. I don’t prescribe these drugs. Instead I help my patients restore rest with natural sleep solutions like melatonin. With Melatonin, Less is More… Now, a lot of people tell me that melatonin doesn’t work for them. But it will – if you don’t take too much. Most sleep-deprived Americans think that doses of 3 mg to 5 mg will knock them out faster. But they won’t. When you take high levels of melatonin, it stops working as a sleep aid. And it turns into a powerful anti-aging supplement. I tell my patients to take no more than 200 to 300 micrograms… That’s about a third of a milligram. If that amount isn’t helping you sleep, increase the dosage by 100 micrograms each night until you find a dose that works for you. Five hundred mcg is good for most people, but if you get up to a 1 milligram dose and it still doesn’t work, it’s likely melatonin is not your best option. And be sure to use a spray, drops or a sublingual tablet. They’re easier to absorb and work faster. When you take melatonin orally, it breaks down in the liver. Most of it never gets into your bloodstream. Supercharge Your Melatonin with These Two Sleep Supplements Certain nutrients boost the effectiveness of melatonin and help your body prepare for sleep. Sleep Supercharger #1: Jujube fruit (Ziziphus spinosa). This botanical is an exotic herb I like for helping to usher in a good night’s sleep. Jujube fruit has been used for years as a natural means to restore a sense of calm and relaxation.2 Take 25 mg per day in supplement form. Sleep Supercharger #2: Zinc. Supplementing with this mineral increases both the duration and quality of sleep.3 I recommend taking up to 30 mg per day. This article has been modified. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Al Sears, MD click here. References: 1. Dimitrov S, et al. “Gαs-coupled receptor signaling and sleep regulate integrin activation of human antigen-specific T cells.” J Exp Med. 2019 Mar 4;216(3):517-526. 2. Zhang M, et al. “Inhibitory effect of jujuboside A on glutamate-mediated excitatory signal pathway in hippocampus.” Planta Med. 2003;69(8):692-695. 3. Cherasse Y and Urade Y. “Dietary zinc acts as a sleep modulator.” Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18(11).

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Why Do We Feel Guilty About Taking Breaks + How To Take The Most Effective Brain Breaks

AHA Publisher — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 08:00:55 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – We need to recognize that although the mind is infinite, the brain is finite, and it needs rest to function well. We can only give our best when we are rested, which is why it is so important that we learn how to be okay with doing nothing… We all want holidays, but we often feel guilty about taking even a day off. In many cases, we find ourselves in a catch-22: we have so much to do, but can barely get through it all because we are exhausted and at our whit’s end. Yet, giving our brains a break is essential to our productivity, efficiency and ability to think creatively at work, so it is so important that we learn when to say “no” and when to rest, otherwise we increase our risk for burnout and chronic health issues! Of course, sometimes saying “no” to work can be hard, especially when we are made to feel guilty about needing a break, or if we feel our worth comes from the hours we spend in the office, as I discuss in this week’s blog and podcast. However, we are not machines; the brain can only do so much in one day, and we need more than work to fulfill us, which is why we need to make rest a and connection an important part of our 2020 New Year’s resolutions by: 1. Practicing doing nothing: Many of us feel guilty when we need to take a break or holiday, because we live in a society that constantly tells us that we are only valuable if we work all the time. We over-value people who work overtime, glorifying their hectic schedules, while we undervalue the power and beauty of rest and relaxation. We need to recognize that although the mind is infinite, the brain is finite, and it needs rest to function well. We can only give our best when we are rested, which is why it is so important that we learn how to be okay with doing nothing (this takes some practice, especially if you constantly feel the need to do something!). One way you can make resting and doing nothing a habit this is what I like to call “thinker moments”, where you just let your mind wander and daydream for a few moments to a few minutes throughout the day (I try do this for a minute or so every hour). These moments give the brain a break and allow it to reboot and heal, which increases clarity of thought and organizes the networks of the brain, so that when you do go back to work you will be able to get more done in a shorter amount of time, and with less stress! For more on thinker moments, see my book Think, Learn, Succeed and my recent blog and podcast. For more on rest and learning how to treat the weekends like a vacation to prevent burnout, listen to my recent podcast. 2. Disconnecting from technology and connecting with others: More and more research is coming out on how the happiest people are those who connect with others and build meaningful relationships, not those who work the most hours. As a society, we tend to focus more on our resume and CVs, or what we have achieved, rather than our relationships and our community. Yet the brain is made for human connection; we feel the most fulfilled and at peace when we are valued members of a group. Rather than seeing relationships as a burden, we need to realize that they are often our saving grace. Missing an email because we are having dinner with a friend is not the end of the world, while taking that time to disconnect from work and connect with a loved one can help us return to work feeling refreshed and motivated, which, in turn, can help us enjoy our work more! So, next time you find yourself saying “sorry, I am too busy” stop and ask yourself if you really are, or if getting out the office and spending time with a friend or family member is just what you need to get out of the work funk. 3. Setting boundaries: Of course, sometimes we have to work hard on a deadline, or something urgent needs to get done while we are on holiday. If this is the case, it is important to set work boundaries by setting aside an amount of time during the day to work, and then stopping and resting when it is done (using the timer or alarm on your phone can be helpful!). Don’t just say “let me finish this quick”, because you may end up working for hours on things that really don’t need to get done; schedule in work like you would schedule in a lunch date, and then enjoy your time off! To read the original article click here.

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