Health Tips from Nurse Sue

Reasons to Maintain a Healthy Body Weight

Water, and the Basics of Healthy Eating

Healthclub-Free Exercise Options

Especially for Flu Season

Rest, Sweet Rest

“Good health isn’t cheap, but compared to poor health, it’s a bargain.”
~Sue

Rest, Sweet Rest!

Sleep! Many, if not most, Americans are sleep deprived. We pride ourselves on how little sleep we can get by with and look down our noses on people who get 8 hours of sleep a night. Heaven help you if you take a nap in the daytime! If there are not enough hours in the day, we cut our sleep time to do all the other fun stuff. After all, our jobs require that we put in a full eight hours and sometimes ten or twelve hours. Then we have to exercise in order to stay in shape, and we can’t leave out watching the news lest we become bumbling idiots--no one wants to admit that being consistently sleep deprived is much more likely to make you a bumbling idiot. Of course, our families require a little time, but they often get cheated as much as our sleep time. And, just for balance, we have to have some recreation time to just “chill”. Before you know it, you are down to 4 or 5 hours of sleep most nights with the plan to “catch up” on the weekend. And they brag about it as though being too busy is a badge of honor and somehow makes them indispensable.

What most Americans don’t know is that they can work and play much more efficiently if they get a proper amount of sleep. They have better memory recall, their muscles perform better, and they feel less stressed and better able to cope with everything. Accidents and injuries can be prevented. Anger management is a serious problem for many people, and adequate sleep may be the first step in the right direction.
Let me list some interesting information about sleep that has been demonstrated in studies:

Your immune system regenerates during deep delta wave sleep. You are much more likely to pick up colds, flu and even noninfectious illnesses if you are sleep deprived.
REM sleep (that part of your sleep time when you dream) is important for destressing your mind. Consistently being over tired decreases REM sleep. You can cope with stress more successfully if you’ve gotten a good night’s sleep.
Driving tired is as bad as driving drunk.
The same holds true for operating machinery.
Sleep is good for your skin--”beauty rest” isn’t an old wives tale.
If you are taking a test, get a good night’s sleep. It will help you recall what you’ve learned. You’ll make fewer mistakes.
If you have trouble getting to sleep, there are some things you can do to help, besides taking sleeping medication.
- Give your body time to wind down, establish a bedtime routine
- Go to bed at about the same time every night.
- Do “bed time” activities regularly, like brush your teeth and wash your face.
- Pray, read your Bible or some other spiritual material.
- Take a warm bath, but not a hot shower-showers are stimulating.
- Drink warm milk or an herb tea; avoid alcoholic beverages, they may put you to sleep, but the alcohol wears off about the time the “sugar-high” hits and you’ll be wakeful in the middle of the night.
- Avoid caffeine in the evening.
- Exercise earlier in the day rather than just before going to bed.
- “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath!” Make peace.
- Don’t watch television, especially the news just before going to bed.
- Avoid naps if you routinely have trouble sleeping at night. Make sure you are tired when you go to bed.
- A back massage can go a long way toward relieving tension.
- Sometimes low level pain can keep you awake, pain that may not have even registered in your conscious mind because of all the other worries. Try taking a couple of Tylenol; it is like magic.
I’ve had young people scoff at the advise to get a good nights sleep, and insist they could get by staying up all night. Then they decompensate the next day into a panic attack because the days activities didn’t allow them to sleep during the day, either.
So how much sleep should you be getting? Most authorities agree that 8 hours, give or take an hour, is about right, and an occasional person may only need 6 hours. If you are “getting by” on less than that, you aren’t doing yourself or anyone else a favor and you could be headed for trouble. It will catch up with you sooner or later.



	Health Tips from Nurse Sue Reasons to Maintain a Healthy Body Weight Water, and the Basics of Healthy Eating Healthclub-Free Exercise Options Especially for Flu Season Rest, Sweet Rest “Good health isn’t cheap, but compared to poor health, it’s a bargain.” ~Sue

	Rest, Sweet Rest! Sleep! Many, if not most, Americans are sleep deprived. We pride ourselves on how little sleep we can get by with and look down our noses on people who get 8 hours of sleep a night. Heaven help you if you take a nap in the daytime! If there are not enough hours in the day, we cut our sleep time to do all the other fun stuff. After all, our jobs require that we put in a full eight hours and sometimes ten or twelve hours. Then we have to exercise in order to stay in shape, and we can’t leave out watching the news lest we become bumbling idiots--no one wants to admit that being consistently sleep deprived is much more likely to make you a bumbling idiot. Of course, our families require a little time, but they often get cheated as much as our sleep time. And, just for balance, we have to have some recreation time to just “chill”. Before you know it, you are down to 4 or 5 hours of sleep most nights with the plan to “catch up” on the weekend. And they brag about it as though being too busy is a badge of honor and somehow makes them indispensable. What most Americans don’t know is that they can work and play much more efficiently if they get a proper amount of sleep. They have better memory recall, their muscles perform better, and they feel less stressed and better able to cope with everything. Accidents and injuries can be prevented. Anger management is a serious problem for many people, and adequate sleep may be the first step in the right direction. Let me list some interesting information about sleep that has been demonstrated in studies: Your immune system regenerates during deep delta wave sleep. You are much more likely to pick up colds, flu and even noninfectious illnesses if you are sleep deprived. REM sleep (that part of your sleep time when you dream) is important for destressing your mind. Consistently being over tired decreases REM sleep. You can cope with stress more successfully if you’ve gotten a good night’s sleep. Driving tired is as bad as driving drunk. The same holds true for operating machinery. Sleep is good for your skin--”beauty rest” isn’t an old wives tale. If you are taking a test, get a good night’s sleep. It will help you recall what you’ve learned. You’ll make fewer mistakes. If you have trouble getting to sleep, there are some things you can do to help, besides taking sleeping medication. Give your body time to wind down, establish a bedtime routine Go to bed at about the same time every night. Do “bed time” activities regularly, like brush your teeth and wash your face. Pray, read your Bible or some other spiritual material. Take a warm bath, but not a hot shower-showers are stimulating. Drink warm milk or an herb tea; avoid alcoholic beverages, they may put you to sleep, but the alcohol wears off about the time the “sugar-high” hits and you’ll be wakeful in the middle of the night. Avoid caffeine in the evening. Exercise earlier in the day rather than just before going to bed. “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath!” Make peace. Don’t watch television, especially the news just before going to bed. Avoid naps if you routinely have trouble sleeping at night. Make sure you are tired when you go to bed. A back massage can go a long way toward relieving tension. Sometimes low level pain can keep you awake, pain that may not have even registered in your conscious mind because of all the other worries. Try taking a couple of Tylenol; it is like magic. I’ve had young people scoff at the advise to get a good nights sleep, and insist they could get by staying up all night. Then they decompensate the next day into a panic attack because the days activities didn’t allow them to sleep during the day, either. So how much sleep should you be getting? Most authorities agree that 8 hours, give or take an hour, is about right, and an occasional person may only need 6 hours. If you are “getting by” on less than that, you aren’t doing yourself or anyone else a favor and you could be headed for trouble. It will catch up with you sooner or later.