7 Lucky New Year’s Eve Foods

Greens

Supposedly greens are eaten on New Year's Eve because they resemble money. Try: Sesame Greens and Bean Sprouts

Beans

Beans, like greens, resemble money; more specifically, they symbolize coins. Whether you choose black beans, lentils, or black-eyes peas, healthy fiber-filled beans will help soak up that champagne. Try: Lentil, Roasted Red Pepper, and Spinach Salad with Walnuts, Olives, and Sherry Vinaigrette

Noodles and Grains

Noodles are symbols of long life, and grains like rice, quinoa, and barley stand for abundance. Slurp the noodles whole for even more luck. Try: Teriyaki-Style Noodles With Tofu

Fruit

On New Year's Eve, Mexicans pop a grape for each stroke of midnight, with each representing a page of the calendar ahead. If one is bitter, watch out for that month! Other popular fruits to eat include the pomegranates, with its many seeds standing in for prosperity, and figs, which are a symbol of fertility. Try: Watermelon Boat Salad

Pork

Pigs are a lucky symbol because they root forward, and are rotund. Traditionally, in the American South, pork, beans, and greens are combined in a dish called Hoppin' John for New Year's Eve. Try: Pesto-Coated Pork Chops

Cake

Ring shaped cakes—sometimes with trinkets baked inside—are a symbol of coming full circle. Indulge a little with the delicious chocolate recipe below. Try: Molten Chocolate Cakes

Fish

Source: Meagahan cameron - www.rd.com

Fish are believed to be lucky because their scales resemble coins, and they swim in schools which invoke the idea of abundance. Try: Salmon With Mango Salsa

Eat less sugar .......

4 Ways Running is Best for Weight Loss

Looking to get fit? Here's why you should be running.

Any exercise is good exercise, but when it comes to 

losing weight, it’s hard to beat running. After all, running 

is one of the most efficient ways to burn calories. 

If you’re already a runner, keep on keepin’ on. 

If you’re not a runner yet but interested in how to 

lose weight, here are four reasons running can 

be the best exercise for weight loss.

• 
  

1. Running works even when you’re at rest. 

High-intensity exercise like running stimulates more “afterburn” than low-intensity exercise. That is, even when comparing running with walking the same distance, studies find that running will lead to greater weight loss, most likely because your resting energy expenditure stays elevated after you run. In a long-term comparison study of runners and walkers, calories burned through running led to 90% more weight loss than calories burned through walking.

2. Running is time-efficient. 

Even if the myth that running a mile and walking a mile burn the same number of calories were true, running is a considerably faster way to burn those calories. Most people can run two or three times as far as they can walk in a given amount of time. At the other end of the spectrum, super-intense but short workouts, such as the “Scientific 7-minute Workout” from the Human Performance Institute, may burn more calories per minute per running, but because they're so short, your total caloric burn isn't as great as if you ran. 

3. Running is convenient. 

Though many of us have accumulated a vast arsenal of GPS gadgets and tech tees over the years, little is actually required to go running. You can do it alone. You can do it almost anywhere. You don’t need any equipment beyond a pair of running shoes. For this reason alone, running is the best workout for weight loss because it’s cheap, it’s accessible, and there are fewer barriers to maintaining a routine, even while travelling.

4. Two words: runner’s high. 

The first rule of exercising for weight loss is that if you don’t enjoy it, you won’t stick with it. Fortunately, studies support what many runners have experienced on an anecdotal level—running can actually get you high. Scientists have found links between moderate to intense exercise and morphine-like brain chemicals called endocannabinoids, which suggest endorphins alone aren’t responsible for the occasional flood of euphoria that rushes over you during a hard run. That floaty, happy sensation you had after your last race—makes you want to go for another run, right?

6 Health Benefits Of Taking Baths

        6 Health Benefits Of Taking Baths

Baths and bathing have been such a huge part of human health that there's a bathing tradition on every continent; Scandinavians take plunges in cool water after time in a sauna, while the Roman love for baths gave birth to huge bathing complexes with under-floor heating and a range of temperatures, some of which are still standing today. Nowadays, however, hot baths in one guise or another are largely prescribed for relaxation and getting a bit of time for yourself. But does taking baths also have medicinal qualities?

Too-warm baths are actually not particularly good for you; they put your body under what's called heat stress, where your body's internal temperature regulation is thrown and doesn't have enough opportunity to recalibrate (i.e. if you've got most of your skin submerged in scalding water and it can't cool down). Heat stress, according to Harvard Medical School, is actually a strain on the heart, so ideally you should take slightly cooler baths or frequently pour cold water on yourself while you broil. (It's why people with heart disorders should stay away from hot tubs and saunas.) Otherwise, baths' medicinal benefits are focused on two areas: psychological relaxation, and targeting specific conditions.

And here's a myth busted: hot baths can't help cure cancer. Heat is sometimes used as part of "hyperthermia" treatments to treat cancer, in combination with radiotherapy and chemotherapy; but hyperthermia uses highly specialized heat treatment, like heating up blood and re-injecting it or putting heated probes into tumours, rather than general immersion into water. Sorry, guys.

An important side note: If you're a sufferer of frequent UTIs, you might actually want to avoid baths. Excessive time spent in bathwater, particularly if it's got bubble bath or bath oils in it, has been linked to increased rates of UTIs, even in young girls, because the exposure to bacteria from your rectum can end up entering your urethra. Sad, but sometimes, no amount of health benefits is worth the pain.

If that's not you, then behold these six health benefits of taking baths.

1. Being Horizontal In Water Helps Your Mood

This is actually not the most amazing revelation, but it may surprise you to know that it's actually scientifically proven. In 2002 a University of Wolverhampton study found that a daily bath, usually at the end of the day, significantly improved the mood and optimism of the participants, which was attributed to a combination of bodily comfort, warmth, isolation, and body positioning.

2. Baths Can Help Relieve Skin Conditions

If you suffer from psoriasis or another skin condition, you've likely been prescribed medicated or oiled baths as a method of moisturizing your skin, sloughing off dead cells, and attempting to remove potential causes of infection. And there's new research to suggest that a material that ideally shouldn't go anywhere near human skin might actually be a cure for inflammatory skin diseases in baths: bleach.

Researchers at Stanford found that baths in 0.005 percent bleach helped eczema sufferers both by killing the bacteria on the skin and by dampening the immune system's inflammation response, reducing pain and swelling. It's not recommended if you're not suffering from serious dermatitis of some kind, though. (Also, be really, really careful if you ever try this at home.)

3. Bath Heat Can Help With Muscle Pain

The real culprit behind the relief of muscle pain in your bath isn't actually your bath salts: depending on the type of bath you take, it's either heat or lactic acid. If you're taking a hot bath, it's suggested that the heat of the bath is providing the equivalent of a "hot pack" that increases the temperature of the aching muscles, blocking pain sensors and producing pain relief.

If you're an athlete, though, you're more likely to throw yourself into a cold bath, which lowers the levels of lactic acid in the bloodstream. The cold constricts blood vessels and drains lactic acid, which builds up in the body during intense exercise, out of the affected muscles. Once you get out, new blood, free of acid build-up, replaces it, and your recovery time significantly improves.

4. Hot Baths Before Bed Produce Better Sleep

A Agood night's sleep is associated with a host of health benefits, from immune system strength to better pain recovery, and a heated bath before bed is apparently a good way to ensure that you drift off to the Land of Nod without too much difficulty. It's a matter of temperature adjustment and hormones.

A drop in body temperature at night is one of the classic signals for the body to start producing melatonin, the hormone that induces sleep. Our bodies get colder at night naturally: apparently the temperature dip starts two hours before bed and lasts till about 4 a.m. Kick-starting that downward shift by heating yourself up artificially is an old trick to get yourself to feel sleepy. Get out of a bath, cool yourself down for a while, then slip into bed. Don't massively overheat yourself, though, or you'll find you're actually revved up instead of chilled out.

5. Steam Helps To Reduce Cold Symptoms

One of the warm bath's better qualities is as a treatment for symptoms is its function for winter cold-sufferers. We can't make the common cold vanish, but getting yourself submerged in hot water targets two different elements of cold-management: steam therapy and overall body temperature.

The inhalation of steam is an excellent remedy for cold-induced misery. It clears out the nasal passages while reducing inflammation, and a steamy bath is a great source of the stuff. And it's recommended that you keep yourself warm when you're suffering from a virus: a 2011 study showed that elevated body temperature actually helps certain elements of your immune system to function more efficiently, helping you fight off infections and general nasties. A warm bath makes your immune system work better.

6. Salt Water Baths Calm Arthritic Pain

If you're a sufferer of chronic pain related to arthritis, fibromyalgia, or muscular low back issues, this one may actually be a godsend: using average table salt in your next bath can really help to reduce the amount of pain you get in your joints. The discovery, made by scientists in 2012, shows that a saltwater bath takes a lot of the agony out of inflammation-based pain syndromes.

The reason? Salt reduces swelling in cells by dehydrating them, and acts as an inhibitor of the inflammation that causes such serious pain in sufferers. Interestingly, salt baths are one of the most ancient on the planet, beloved by the ancient Greeks and made into a full-blown industry in the 1700s in Europe. Clearly salt baths for pain relief have been a thing for thousands of years, but it's only now that we're understanding why.

Source: JR Thorpe - www.bustle.com

Ten ways to avoid colds and flu this winter

Ten ways to avoid colds and flu this winter

Winter is the season for colds and flu, below are some ways you can minimise your risk of catching colds and flu.

Keep warm

Granny was right - keeping warm can help you avoid coughs, colds and flu. Dr Bird says: 'After our exceptionally mild autumn, people won't be used to dressing warmly for wintry weather. So if there's a sudden icy snap, we will be more likely to feel the cold and start to shiver.

'Shivering depresses the immune system and this makes us more likely to catch colds. Also, lower levels of sunlight and altered levels of hormones such as melatonin and serotonin negatively affect how the immune system performs.' We lose up to 30per cent of our body heat through our heads - so wear a hat.

Wash your hands

Dr Nicola Goddard, clinical scientist at the Public Health Laboratory Service, says: 'Although most infections are mainly carried in the air and transmitted by the "aerosol" effect when someone sneezes, germs can be transmitted by physical contact and enter the body when infected hands touch vulnerable parts like our eyes, mouths and noses. 

'These areas offer easy access to invading germs despite being equipped with defence mechanisms such as mucous and hairs. Washing hands often - and drying them on disposable paper towels (or laundering hand towels regularly) - can significantly reduce the chances of catching a virus, especially the rotavirus, which tends to infect children and causes vomiting and diarrhoea. 

Watch the weather

Low cloud, dull and misty conditions tend to bring an increase in germs, says Dr Bird. 'Viruses survive longer when the weather is moist. They can hang in the air attached to water droplets more easily, and when it's cloudy and dull there are fewer breezes to blow the germs away. 

'This is the time when you're more likely to catch something - although you may not notice you've done so until ten to 12 days later, the incubation period for many colds and coughs.'

Avoid huddling and heating

Because people are much closer together physically during winter, this makes it easier for infections to pass between people. Crowded trains and Tubes with little ventilation, department stores bustling with shoppers, and people gathering for parties all make catching a cold more likely. 

'Central heating reduces our defences and affects the respiratory system by drying out the protective mucous in our nasal passages,' says Dr Bird. 'The dry, stuffy air of central heating can also lead to sore throats and aggravate chest complaints like asthma.' A humidifier can help.

Herbal help

If your immune system needs pepping up to withstand the winter onslaught of germs, Echinacea should be an integral part of your daily routine. 

The Echinacea plant was originally used by native Americans to heal wounds and infections. Nowadays, it is popularly used to boost the immune system in fighting colds and flu, and also as an agent to help heal viral and bacterial infections. 

Although Echinacea is used to boost the immune system, it does tend to lose effectiveness with lengthy usage. Ideally, you should take it for no more than six to eight weeks at a time. 

The normal dose is 3-4ml of alcoholic extract or 300mg of powdered herb tablets taken three times daily at the first sign of infection. It is not recommended for people with progressive systemic and autoimmune diseases such as tuberculosis, lupus or Aids.

Zinc and garlic

The mineral zinc is essential to help fight colds and provide a boost to a flagging immune system. Good food sources include meat, oysters, eggs, seafood, tofu, black- eyed peas and wheat germ. Zinc and Vitamin C make a great cold-busting duo. 

Garlic helps ease chest complaints, and small amounts taken daily may also reduce the frequency of colds and flu.

Drink plenty

Doctors recommend we drink about eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy. Rehydration expert Dr Susan Shirreffs says: 'Water helps the kidneys function properly and flushes out the toxins that accumulate in our bodies.' 

If you have a cold, being dehydrated makes your mucus drier and thicker and less able to cope against invading bacteria and viruses. If you've already caught a cold, drinking plenty of fluids will help flush out the infection.

Sleep soundly

Lack of sleep makes us more prone to infection, says Dr Bird. 'But it's not a matter of simply sleeping for longer, as some people - especially those who are positively motivated - can have fewer than seven hours' sleep every night and not suffer at all. 

'Moods also affect our ability to fight off infections, and if you feel stressed you are more likely to become ill compared to when you're feeling buoyant, happy and relaxed,' he says.

Keep on moving

Dr Bird says: 'Don't underestimate the importance of regular activity, especially in winter. Apart from keeping our circulation going, regular moderate exercise increases the number of natural killer (NK) cells in our bodies.' 

These lymphocytes in the bloodstream and the mucosal layer of the nose and airways travel around our bodies scavenging foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses. 

'When you exercise, NK levels go up and stay elevated for about 36 hours afterwards,' says Dr Bird. 'However, if you exercise too much, this will actually lower levels of NK cells.' 

Take vitamins and probiotics

Taking a daily multivitamin is especially important in the winter when we may be less likely to be eating enough fresh fruit and vegetables, and are also more at risk from infection. 

Probiotics, such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, are 'friendly' bacteria in our intestines and increasingly recognised for their importance not only in maintaining a healthy digestive system, but for improving the body's natural defence mechanisms. 

Studies have shown that taking probiotic supplements can improve the body's resistance to bacterial and viral infections.

Source: STEPHANIE ZINSER, Daily Mail

Why December is the best time to get fit - and the perfect party season exercise plan

Most people embrace the festive spirit wholeheartedly and put any hopes of starting a new fitness regime on the back burner until January. That's what New Year's resolutions are for right?  

"There are always plenty of opportunities to indulge what with festive parties, office 'dos, and even at home with the huge tins of Quality Streets, but in my opinion it's still the best time to start getting into shape," says Wharton. Here are his three arguments why we should all be heading to the gym...

1. Gyms are empty

2. Make use of the best deals

3. Energy boost

The best party season exercise plan

Despite the bulk of gym-goers hitting the bar from mid-November on wards, the studios keep the same opening hours all year round. Not only does this mean that you won't have to queue to use the machines and equipment, but more than likely you'll get free-reign across the gym. 

"At this time of year most gyms and personal trainers will offer deals of memberships and sessions," says Wharton. While there is no shortage of clients in January, the month before requires promotions to entice people through the door. 

Most of us will experience at least one hangover between now and Christmas and all of us are likely to feel tired and lethargic simply glancing at our to-do list. "Finding time to fit in some regular training will help stimulate the release of endorphins, release the Christmas stress and keep you motivated," says Wharton. There's also the added benefit of not feeling quite so guilty about over-indulging over Christmas. 

So, what are the best ways to exercise throughout the party season? "20 minutes of interval training at least three times a week is easy to slot into your routine and will work as many muscle groups as possible, whilst also challenging your heart and lungs," says Wharton. If you can't get to a gym, here is Wharton's speedy at-home workout.

Each exercise should be performed for 60 seconds,between three and five times. 

Step sprints: Use a 6-12 inch high step and place one foot on the step and quickly alternate feet to keep your heart rate up. 

Sumo squats: With your feet slightly more than shoulder width apart, with your hands held out in front of your and your chest high, sit down into a squat position with your upper legs parallel to the floor. Hold for two seconds and push back up to standing, squeezing in your bum and thighs. 

Ab cycle: Lie on your back with your hands behind your head and raise it and your shoulders off of the floor with your lower back firmly pushed into the ground. Quickly raise your knee to the opposite elbow and alternate in a cycle motion. 

Press-up: Start in a plank position and lower your chest to the floor to the count of three before pushing yourself up to the starting position. 

High knees: Sprint on the spot, bringing your knees up as high as possible. 

Source: CHRIS WHARTON, PERSONAL TRAINER AND DIRECTOR AT BETTER BODY GROUP

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very healthy and happy Christmas!

Sneak in a workout

5 Healthiest Cheeses

5 Healthiest Cheeses

Cheese gets a lot of bad press for clogging arteries and packing on the pounds. But just because you shouldn't eat an entire platter of Paula Deen's cheese balls doesn't mean you have to avoid cheese altogether.

Cheese can be both delicious and a great source of lean protein, calcium, phosphorus, and other health benefits -- if you choose the right varieties. Here are five cheeses that belong on any shopping list.

1. Feta

A key component of Greek cuisine, feta is lower in fat and calories than most cheeses, says Natalie Caine-Bish, an associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at Kent State University. A one-ounce serving -- enough to make a Greek salad lover happy -- has 4 grams of protein and only 74 calories.

Caine-Bish says feta's characteristic strong flavor means you can get away with using less cheese without feeling cheated. Feta's salty flavor makes it a good choice to crumble on salads and soups. It also pairs well with sweeter produce, like watermelon or sweet potatoes.

Tip: Although domestic feta is often made with cow's milk, Greek feta is made from sheep or goat's milk, which makes it a good choice for someone with problems digesting bovine dairy products. Keep in mind, though, that unpasteurized feta and other soft cheeses have a higher risk of containing the Listeria bacteria than other cheeses -- so be sure to buy pasteurized feta if you'll be serving it to a pregnant woman or someone with a compromised immune system.

2. String cheese

Seriously. String cheese, that favorite kid snack, is a great choice for adults too.

For starters, if you choose string cheese made of part-skim mozzarella, it's low in calories and high in protein (a one-ounce serving has 71 calories and 7 grams of protein).

What's more, string cheese isn't actually a processed cheese -- mozzarella naturally behaves in that stringy way, so it counts as a whole food. (Just make sure to buy string cheese that's 100 percent mozzarella.)

Tip: String cheese is "quick and easy -- grab and go, and already portioned out for you," says Silvia Veri, the nutrition supervisor at Beaumont Health System's Weight Control Center in Royal Oak, Michigan. The fact that it's prepackaged makes it handy for healthy snacks at work, between errands, or at home.

3. Parmesan

Like feta, Parmesan is a great choice because just a little packs a potent, nutty punch.

Parmigiano-Reggiano comes from the Parma area of Italy, and its strong flavor has inspired a lot of buzz throughout history: Samuel Pepys famously buried his Parmesan cheese to keep it safe during the Great Fire of London, and Boccacio, in The Decameron, imagines a mountain of Parmesan inhabited by macaroni and ravioli makers.

Parmesan is relatively low in calories (110 in a one-ounce serving), but it's high in sodium (449 milligrams for the same serving size), so be sure to use it in moderation.

Tip: Try shaving pieces onto a salad or eating small slices with ripe apples or pears, in addition to grating it over pasta and pizza.

4. Swiss

Swiss is another strong cheese that's good for you. What we call Swiss cheese is often Swiss Emmentaler (or Emmental), though other cheeses with a similar taste and hole-studded texture are sometimes lumped in as well.

Swiss is a popular cheese, and Caine-Bish likes it specifically for that reason. Since it comes in a number of varieties, including low-sodium or low-fat, it's easy to find a version that fits your dietary needs.

As a hard cheese, Swiss is also richer in phosphorus than nearly all soft cheeses. According to Caine-Bish, "Calcium and phosphorus are key to bone formation and to maintaining bone density" -- important for women of any age.

Tip: Try adding a slice to your sandwich or grating a few ounces into scrambled or baked eggs. Small slices or cubes make a great snack, especially with fruit instead of crackers.

5. Cottage cheese

There's a reason dieters love cottage cheese: It's high in protein, low in fat (if you buy a low-fat variety), and versatile enough to add to most any meal or snack.

"You can eat it with almost anything," says Veri. "You can eat it with veggies and make it savory, or add fruit and cinnamon and make it sweet."

A one-ounce serving of low-fat cottage cheese has 3 grams of protein and only 20 calories. Like all cheeses, it's also high in calcium.

Indian paneer, Mexican queso fresco, and other types of farmer's cheese are simply pressed versions of cottage cheese. If you're the DIY-type, this cheese and its firmer derivatives are some of the easiest cheeses to make at home.

Tip: Cottage cheese can have a lot of sodium, especially when it's low-fat or nonfat. Be sure to check the nutrition label on the container before buying it. Some companies, such as Lucerne and Friendship Dairy, make no-salt-added versions.

Source:Megan Kempston - www.caring.com

Dogs need to eat healthy too!

Don't forget to look after your pets this Christmas as well as yourself.

Healthy Holiday Tips

10 Reasons Why Good Sleep is Important

A good night’s sleep is incredibly important for health.

In fact, it is just as important as eating healthy and exercising.

Unfortunately, the Western environment is interfering with natural sleep patterns.

People are now sleeping less than they did in the past, and sleep quality has decreased as well.

Here are 10 reasons why good sleep is important.

1. Poor Sleep Can Make You Fat

Poor sleep is strongly linked to weight gain.

People with short sleep duration tend to weigh significantly more than those who get adequate sleep.

In fact, short sleep duration is one of the strongest risk factors for obesity.

In one massive review study, children and adults with short sleep duration were 89% and 55% more likely to become obese, respectively.

The effect of sleep on weight gain is believed to be mediated by numerous factors, including hormones and motivation to exercise.

If you are trying to lose weight, getting quality sleep is absolutely crucial.

Bottom Line: Short sleep duration is associated with a drastically increased risk of weight gain and obesity, in both children and adults.

2. Good Sleepers Tend to Eat Fewer Calories

Studies show that sleep deprived individuals have a bigger appetite and tend to eat more calories.

Sleep deprivation disrupts the daily fluctuations in appetite hormones and is believed to cause poor appetite regulation. 

This includes higher levels of ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates appetite, and reduced levels of leptin, the hormone that suppresses appetite.

Bottom Line: Poor sleep affects hormones that regulate appetite. Those who get adequate sleep tend to eat fewer calories than those who don’t.

3. Good Sleep Can Improve Concentration and Productivity

Sleep is important for various aspects of brain function.

This includes cognition, concentration, productivity and performance.

All of these are negatively affected by sleep deprivation.

A study on medical interns provides a good example.

Interns on a “traditional schedule” made 36% more serious medical errors than interns on a schedule that allowed more sleep.

Another study found short sleep can negatively impact some aspects of brain function to a similar degree as alcohol intoxication.

Good sleep, on the other hand, has been shown to improve problem solving skills and enhance memory performance of both children and adults.

Bottom Line: Good sleep can maximize problem solving skills and enhance memory. Poor sleep has been shown to impair brain function.

4. Good Sleep Can Maximize Athletic Performance

Sleep has been shown to enhance athletic performance.

In a study on basketball players, longer sleep was shown to significantly improve speed, accuracy, reaction times, and mental wellbeing.

Less sleep duration has also been associated with poor exercise performance and functional limitation in elderly women.

A study of over 2,800 women found that poor sleep was linked to slower walking, lower grip strength, and greater difficulty performing independent activities.

Bottom Line: Longer sleep has been shown to improve many aspects of athletic and physical performance.

5. Poor Sleepers Have a Greater Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke

We know that sleep quality and duration can have a major effect on many risk factors.

These are the factors believed to drive chronic diseases, including heart disease.

A review of 15 studies found that short sleepers are at far greater risk of heart disease or stroke than those who sleep 7 to 8 hours per night.

Bottom Line: Sleeping less than 7-8 hours per night is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

6. Sleep Affects Glucose Metabolism and Type 2 Diabetes Risk

Experimental sleep restriction affects blood sugar and reduces insulin sensitivity.

In a study of healthy young men, restricting sleep to 4 hours per night for 6 nights in a row caused symptoms of pre-diabetes.

This was then resolved after 1 week of increased sleep duration.

Poor sleep habits are also strongly linked to adverse effects on blood sugar in the general population.

Those sleeping less than 6 hours per night have repeatedly been shown to be at increased risk for type 2 diabetes.

Bottom Line: Sleep deprivation can cause pre-diabetes in healthy adults, in as little as 6 days. Many studies show a strong link between short sleep duration and type 2 diabetes risk.

7. Poor Sleep is Linked to Depression

Mental health issues, such as depression, are strongly linked to poor sleep quality and sleeping disorders.

It has been estimated that 90% of patients with depression complain about sleep quality.

Poor sleep is even associated with increased risk of death by suicide.

Those with sleeping disorders, such as insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea, also report significantly higher rates of depression than those without.

Bottom Line: Poor sleeping patterns are strongly linked to depression, particularly for those with a sleeping disorder.

8. Sleep Improves Your Immune Function

Even a small loss of sleep has been shown to impair immune function.

One large 2-week study monitored the development of the common cold after giving people nasal drops with the virus that causes colds.

They found that those who slept less than 7 hours were almost three times more likely to develop a cold than those who slept 8 hours or more.

If you often get colds, ensuring that you get at least 8 hours of sleep per night could be very helpful. Eating more garlic can help too.

Bottom Line: Getting at least 8 hours of sleep can improve immune function and help fight the common cold.

9. Poor Sleep is Linked to Increased Inflammation

Sleep can have a major effect on inflammation in the body.

In fact, sleep loss is known to activate undesirable markers of inflammation and cell damage. 

Poor sleep has been strongly linked to long-term inflammation of the digestive tract, in disorders known as inflammatory bowel diseases.

One study observed that sleep deprived patients with Crohn’s disease were twice as likely to relapse as patients who slept well.

Researchers are even recommending sleep evaluation to help predict outcomes in sufferers of long-term inflammatory issues.

Bottom Line: Sleep affects the body’s inflammatory responses. Poor sleep is strongly linked to inflammatory bowel diseases and can increase the risk of disease recurrence.

10. Sleep Affects Emotions and Social Interactions

Sleep loss reduces our ability to interact socially.

Several studies confirmed this using emotional facial recognition tests.

One study found that people who had not slept had a reduced ability to recognize expressions of anger and happiness.

Researchers believe that poor sleep affects our ability to recognize important social cues and process emotional information.

Take Home Message

Along with nutrition and exercise, good sleep is one of the pillars of health.

You simply can not achieve optimal health without taking care of your sleep.

Source: Joe Leech, Dietitian