Don't Make That Face...

...or it might get stuck that way forever. Holy crap! That might be true!

"Sleep Apnea Mask May Cause Subtle Facial Changes"

From MSN Health & Fitness -

"The common treatment, called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) can help relieve the interrupted breathing of sleep apnea. However, 'my research found possible craniofacial change [as a result of] long-term CPAP use,' said study author Hiroko Tsuda, an assistant professor in the general oral clinic at Kyushu University Hospital in Japan."

Getting Your Zs

A new study points to the importance of getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night. If you get less, you could be increasing your risk of heart disease -

"On average, those in the study got about six hours of sleep a night.

"However, only 6 percent of those who got at least seven hours of sleep had calcification, compared with 11 percent who got five to seven hours and 27 percent who got less than five hours, said the senior author, Diane Lauderdale, an associate professor of health studies at the University of Chicago.

"The study took into account other known risk factors for heart disease, including sleep apnea, cholesterol, blood pressure, body weight, diabetes and depression.

"In fact, getting an extra hour of sleep had the same effect on heart disease risk as lowering one's systolic blood pressure (the upper reading) by 16.5 points"

Wake Up, Little Snoozy

There is so much helpful information on Men's Health's website that it's hard to read just one article and get back to work. I found this list of suggestions quite informative on reasons for sluggishness throughout the day along with ways to combat it.

In the morning, have some oatmeal.

For lunch, go easy on the carbs because they cause an insulin spike that tires you out.

In the afternoon, have some fruit as a snack.

Before your evening workout, drink Gatorade.

Don't lie down when watching TV and don't read in bed.

The suggestions all support the point that you need to develop a rhythm to your sleep and eating patterns to keep your energy levels up. Please read the full article here. I find it a little patronizing that Men's Health feels the need to publish so many articles as lists, but I guess that's what's happened to our collective attention span.

The Science of Sleep

Very interesting stuff on Time.com. People who sleep too little (fewer than 6 hours/night) or too much (more than 9 hours) are less healthy than people who sleep juuuuuust the right amount (7 to 8). Normal sleepers drink and smoke less, are of healthier weight and have lower rates of depression. As usual, there is no proof of a cause-and-effect relationship, but it's good to know this stuff if you're trying to take control of your life and move in a better direction.

Columbia University sleep researcher, James Gangwisch -

"We're getting to the point that they may start recommending getting enough sleep as a standard approach to weight loss and the prevention of obesity."

As my brother Mark says, "if you're not exercising or getting enough sleep, then you have your priorities screwed up". Which reminds me that I read in Forbes last night that the average American household watches 8 hours of TV a day! That horrifies me.

One last thing. "The Science of Sleep" is a great movie. Especially if you like weird European movies that employ several languages at the same time (English, Spanish, French, in this case).