Practice a new bedtime

Gradually introduce a new bedtime to your child. That way when daylight saving time begins, your child is somewhat acclimated. A week or so before daylight saving time starts, put your child to bed 5-15 minutes earlier. Then, 1 to 2 days before daylight saving, put your child to bed 20-30 minutes earlier. When it’s finally time to move the clock forward an hour, your child will be ready to go to bed at an earlier time.

Keep naps regular

Try to keep nap times as regular as possible. Parents can make the mistake of letting their child sleep in the day after daylight saving time begins. Instead, wake your child up at the same time. You may think denying them of this rest will cause them to be sleep deprived; however, if you do let them sleep, they may not be able get to bed on time in the evening. This will lead to an overall more difficult adjustment to the new sleep schedule.

Wake up earlier

Waking your child up earlier may be the best tactic if you have not practiced a new bedtime. When daylight saving begins, wake your child up an hour earlier. This will cause them to be sleepier in the evening, allowing them to be put to bed much earlier. This will start a healthy sleep cycle of falling asleep and waking up at the appropriate time.

Remember, as an adult you will adjust to daylight saving time much easier than your child. However, these tips will work for your sleep schedule just as well! Neighbors Emergency Center has more centers opening in Texas. Be sure to check out our Facebook Page for neighborly news and updates. We are so excited to serve the Kerrville community!

As sleep is such an integral part of the health equation, it makes sense that better food choices will result in higher-quality sleep. We break down the top foods for sleep and why.

• Cherries: one study showed that adults who drank two full glasses of tart cherry juice slept on average for forty minutes longer.
• Walnuts: also great for cognitive and heart health.

Good Minerals

Some minerals naturally occurring in foods can have powerful effects on the body. Some of these include:

• Bananas. They contain an abundance of magnesium and potassium, both of which are powerful relaxation minerals.
• Legumes (beans, peas, and peanuts). These foods also have a nice amount of magnesium.
• A glass of warm milk. The age-old advice is not just a myth. Warm milk works because of relaxing minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
• Lean proteins. There’s truth to the Thanksgiving sleepy stories. The tryptophan in turkey and chicken is an amino acid that can increase your serotonin levels to make you sleepy if eaten in large amounts.

This Stir-Fried Walnut Chicken packs a nutritional punch and serves as an easy weeknight meal.

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Getting a proper amount of sleep ensures optimal mental health. The brain-boosting benefits of good sleep include improved concentration, better memory, and clearer thinking. Physical health benefits include less chronic pain, better weight control, stronger immunity, and a lower risk for heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

which can positively impact performance at work or concentration at school.

If you’re so busy that the thought of exercise makes you tired, consider this: though skipping the workout may seem like the easier choice, the benefits of exercising will have much more impact over the long-term. In fact, moderate forms of exercise such as walking have been shown to have significant impact. Go outside and get moving!

stretching your muscles and prepping your body for relaxation.

Your health is important to us. If you have an emergency, please visit the Neighbors 24 hour emergency room in Houston and surrounding cities. Find us online at nec24.com.

The Beginning

Traced back to around the fifth or sixth century BCE, yoga developed in ancient Indian ascetic circles, tied to both Hindu and Buddhist origins. Yoga gurus introduced the practice to the West, and over the past thirty years we have embraced it as a form of physical exercise, though in the East it is regarded as much more than that.

In Vedic Sanskrit, the literal meaning of the word yoga is to join, add, or unite. At its heart, yoga seeks to do this with the unification of mind, body, and spirit.

The breathing that is so essential to yoga creates breath awareness that strengthens the mind-body connection, which leads to improved mental functioning.

Yoga has a positive impact on the spine. Spinal disks crave movement because it provides them with the nutrients they need to stay supple. As you progress with the poses of yoga, the results will give you increased flexibility and improved posture. This leads to less injury.

Other physical benefits include maintaining a healthy metabolism, weight reduction, and cardiovascular and circulatory health.

Yoga also helps you sleep, remain calmer, and handle stress with more ease. The reasons are interconnected: all require turning off anxious natural tendencies. By being more present in the moment, we are able to soothe our minds in a manner that promotes relaxation. A calmer mind, in turn, flows into increased energy and vitality.

Those who do yoga report fewer migraines, as migraines are caused by a combination of mental stressors and misalignment.

For many, the biggest change comes from the renewed outlook on life. Better breathing and posture lead to improved overall health, and feeling good again makes a world of difference.

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Less Sleep, More Weight

Studies show that people who do not get enough sleep, have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, and wake up several times during the night are more likely to be overweight or obese. When you don’t get enough sleep, even for one night, your brain responds differently to high calorie junk foods.

The part of the brain that motivates a person to desire fattening foods was much more active. So when you are sleep deprived, it’s harder to say no to potato chips and ice cream. Also, the level of activity in your frontal cortex is reduced. This is where consequences are weighed and rational decisions are made. So once again, when you don’t get enough sleep, your ability to pass up junk food becomes more difficult.

The Diabetes Factor

Not getting enough sleep may also lead to an increased risk for type 2 diabetes. Sleep deprivation wreaks havoc on your body’s metabolic regulation. If you only get four hours of sleep a night, your body’s ability to use insulin is impaired by 25 percent. Insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes, a condition where your body is unable to use insulin to control glucose levels from food. If left untreated, type 2 diabetes can lead to other illnesses like heart disease.

The Insomnia Blues

Depression is much more likely among people who are sleep deprived. Studies were done on people who have insomnia, and it showed that insomniacs face a two-to-five- fold increased risk for developing depression. Insomnia is defined as having trouble falling or staying asleep most of the time.

Most people think a glass of wine will help them sleep better, but in actuality, it causes a more restless sleep. Avoid major activities an hour before bedtime. Refrain from doing chores, working out, or having arguments right before bed. Also, minimize noise, light, and temperature extremes in your bedroom. Get a sleep mask to reduce light, ear plugs or a white noise machine to drown out unwanted sounds, and make sure your thermostat is set between 54 and 75 degrees.

Hopefully these tips will help you get a more restful sleep and more hours of sleep. It’s something that we could all use a little more of. Nighty night!

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