Want to Sleep Better? Unplug First

Are you having trouble falling asleep? You may have an overactive mind from all the electronics in your life. Phones, Facebook, TV, blogs, e-readers—electronics have become such a constant part of our daily lives that we feel almost lost without them. But it's hard to wind down and nearly impossible to get a good night's sleep when our brains are all wired up!

Experts suggest giving yourself a curfew for electronics to prepare yourself for a full night of zzz's. At least a half hour before you want to fall asleep, power down all your devices, and even keep them in another room. (Yes, your does smart phone does have an off switch.) Exercise your right to shut off the world and enjoy some peace and quiet.

[See Trouble Sleeping? Ask Yourself Why]

Yes, we all have busy lives, but no good will come from fooling ourselves into thinking four or five hours of sleep is enough. Don't skimp on sleep, because that's when our bodies crank out important hormones that help repair cells and tissues, fight off infection, and boost our immune system.

Approach bedtime with a ritual like meditation. Maybe meditation sounds scary to you, but all you have to do is breathe. Try this: Sit with your feet flat on the ground, with your hands on your knees, and your eyes closed. Breathe in for eight seconds, hold, and then breathe out for eight seconds. In an eight-week mindfulness meditation program, researchers found that meditating didn't just help participants manage stress, but it actually changed their brain so they became less reactive to stress. This same practice also helps you sleep well. Give it a shot for eight minutes before bedtime. Out with the electronics, and in with the deep breathing. I promise, your zzz's will thank me!

[See Top Recommended Sleep Aid Products]

Check out the video for more sleep tips:

Keri Glassman, MS, RD, CDN, is the founder and president of Nutritious Life, a nutrition practice based in New York City, and Nutritious Life Meals, a gourmet, healthy, daily diet delivery program available across the country. She is a member of Women’s Health Magazine’s advisory board and has authored Slim Calm Sexy Diet, The O2 Diet, and The Snack Factor Diet. Her fourth book, The New You and Improved Diet, will be released in December. Her expertise is regularly featured on the Today show, Good Morning America, and Access Hollywood Live, among others, and she hosts “A Little Bit Better” on YouTube’s Livestrong Woman channel. Read more of Keri’s tips every day on Facebook!

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Why a Sleep Apnea Diagnosis May Save Your Life

It's one of the most underdiagnosed conditions around, and I'd argue that, in a sense, the diagnosis of sleep apnea is more a blessing than a curse.

For those who aren't familiar with sleep apnea, its most common form, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), causes sufferers to stop breathing periodically throughout the night, or breathe so shallowly that the oxygenation level of their blood plummets, leaving their bodies in an almost nightlong state of metabolic panic.

In severe cases, a person may wake up dozens of times an hour, yet these micro-awakenings aren't usually conscious ones, and so sufferers might well have no idea they're even happening. More than just a tiring nuisance, people with OSA are at greater risk of developing a myriad of medical conditions including heart disease, heart attack, obesity, depression, and sudden death.

[See 7 Steps Toward a Healthy Heart (and Long Life)]

While weight itself is a tremendous risk factor for the development of OSA, neck architecture is also involved, consequently, simply because you might be at a lighter weight doesn't exclude you from the possibility of having OSA.

[See 5 Weight-Loss Tricks That Don't Involve Dieting or (Much) Exercise]

Symptoms of sleep apnea vary, but the most common ones include never feeling well rested, even after a good night's sleep; excessive daytime or afternoon sleepines; and morning headaches. Partners of individuals with OSA may complain that they snore excessively; they may also note hearing actual pauses in their partner's breathing, which often resumes with grunts, gasps or snorts.

Screening tests for sleep apnea can occur at home via home-testing kits, but the gold standard of testing involves spending a night in a sleep lab hooked up to more electrodes than you can imagine. And while being hooked up to electrodes does make it more challenging to sleep, you only need to be out for an hour or two to get a definitive reading.

The reason I suggest the diagnosis is more a blessing than a curse is how incredibly effective OSA's non-drug treatment can be, and how life changing it often is. People who've suffered unknowingly with OSA will sometimes report, even after a single night of treatment, that they feel more energetic than they have in years.

[See Diet and Fitness Tips to Help You Sleep]

So besides reducing the risk of sudden death, treatment markedly improves quality of life. On the other hand, if you've got symptoms suggestive of OSA, yet the sleep lab tells you you're fine, well then you might well be stuck being perpetually tired.

[See Top-Recommended Sleep Aids]

Treatment options vary from devices that help to keep a person off of their back (where OSA is often worst) to dental devices as well as CPAP and APAP machines, which use air to keep the airways open, and even surgeries.

If you'd like to take a simple test to determine whether or not you might want to consider testing for sleep apnea, just answer the following eight questions. If you reply with three or more yeses, I'd strongly encourage you to ask your physician to organize a night for you in the sleep lab.

1. Do you snore loudly?

2. Do you feel tired during the day?

3. Has anyone ever seen you stop breathing during your sleep?

4. Do you have high blood pressure (high blood pressure that's been treated counts as high blood pressure)?

5. Is your BMI greater than 35?

6. Are you older than age 50?

7. Is your neck size greater than 15.75 inches?

8. Are you male?

[See In Pictures: 11 Health Habits That Will Help You Live to 100]

Hungry for more? Write to eatandrun@usnews.com with your questions, concerns, and feedback.

Yoni Freedhoff, MD, is an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Ottawa, where he's the founder and medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute—dedicated to non-surgical weight management since 2004. Dr. Freedhoff sounds off daily on his award-winning blog, Weighty Matters, and is also easily reachable on Twitter. Dr. Freedhoff's latest book Why Diets Fail and How to Make Yours Work will be published by Random House's Crown/Harmony in 2014.

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