Published: May 07, 2008 05:43 pm            

Health Matters: Sufficient sleep leads to better health

TERRE HAUTE — All I wanted to do was find something about May being national sleep month or something like that. What I found, on www.strengthforcaring.com, was a long list of national awareness and observances days, weeks and even all month for May. Fifty-one of them, in fact, from Anxiety Disorders Screening Day (the first week of the month) to World Red Cross Red Crescent Day (always on the 8th, it says).

Four pages printed out. In … well, smaller type than you’re reading here. Along with all the other listings, however, is the notation that May is, indeed, National Better Sleep Month. (As an aside, the first full week of May is National Hug Holiday. You now have two more days to get your squeezes in.)

Why is sleep so important? Lack of sleep can raise your risk of getting diabetes (presumably Type 2), cardiovascular diseases (also associated with diabetes), obesity and depression, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Sufficient sleep,” it adds, “is increasingly being recognized as an essential aspect of chronic disease prevention and health promotion.”

One group that’s chronically sleep-deprived is teenagers, who need 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep a day. The main problem is a delay in the timing of their internal clocks, making it difficult for teens to fall asleep before 11 p.m., according to the Sleep Foundation. Then they have to wake up to get to school before they’ve gotten enough sleep. Advocates of starting the school day later say sufficient sleep leads to:

• A decreased likelihood of depressed moods

• Reduced tardiness

• Reduced absenteeism

• Better grades

• Reduced risk of car crashes caused by falling asleep and

• Reduced risk of metabolic and nutritional deficiencies

• • •

If you’re having trouble sleeping, or believe you’re getting sufficient sleep but are tired all the time, you may need to spend a night at a sleep clinic. There, healthcare professional can analyze what’s going on so you can get rested up again — and realize the health benefits of getting enough sleep.

The number of beds available for those sleep studies is about to increase, with the addition of four beds in AP&S Clinic’s sleep center.

The addition will double the number of beds to eight. Each nice, big, comfy bed is in a private room.

“Currently, there is about a six-week wait to have a sleep study completed,” says Susan Snider, marketing and public relations manager for AP&S. It’s now booking for the second half of June.

At the same time, the sleep center will be moving, from 1801 N Sixth St. to the clinic’s 1739 N. Fourth St. location, into space left vacant when the oncology center moved to the new Hux Cancer Center at Union Hospital. The new center should be ready in early July, Snider says.

• • •

Ever wanted to find out if you and Tai Chi would get along well together, even if you don’t move so well? Now’s your chance, during a free workshop in Tai Chi for Health from noon to 1:30 p.m. May 17.

Fun with Yoga at 3426 E. Wabash Ave. (that’s on the north side of the street shortly before you reach Fruitridge Avenue) will be the site of the workshop, given by Susan Rose, who is certified in Tai Chi for Arthritis.

Tai Chi is an activity that can “help reduce falls, is good for balance, helps lubricate joints and helps strengthen the muscles around the joints,” Rose says. “It’s great for all ages and for those with limited mobility.”

Head over there to learn more about Tai Chi and try a move or two. Call (812) 299-0134 if you need more information.

• • •

Are you or members of your family immune to measles? Us older folks probably had the measles as part of our childhood rites, and the younger ones benefited from vaccines.

Why am I asking? It seems there’s an outbreak of measles across the United States. According to the CDC, it’s the largest outbreak since 2001.

More than just an uncomfortable itchy rash, measles also can lead to ear infections, pneumonia, inflammation of the brain and even death.

The first dose of MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, should be given to children aged 12-15 months (6-11 months old for babies traveling internationally) and the second when the child is between 4 and 6 years old. If you were born during or before 1957, and are not immune to measles, you should get at least one dose.

International travelers, people who work in healthcare and secondary and post-secondary students need two does.

        

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