Dr. Oz: Rejuvenate While you Sleep

According to Dr. Oz, making small changes to your bedtime routine can help you maintain or restore your youth while you sleep.

Dr. Oz notes that everyone has some sort of bedtime routine they follow each night. By adding some of the steps below, you might be able to slow or even reverse the effects of aging.

1. Wash your face with gentle soap that hydrates and exfoliates.

2. Use a moisturizer that contains vitamin A to avoid and erase wrinkles.

3. Use a humidifier to keep your skin well-hydrated.

4. Keep a glass of water next to your bed so you don’t have to get up if you are thirsty.

5. Take half of your vitamins in the morning and half at night so they stay in your system all day.

Taking the time to enhance your sleep routine and nighttime habits may increase the quality and quantity of your sleep.

Many Americans place sleep at the bottom of their priority list, and practice poor sleep hygiene.

Earlier this month, the Sleep Education Blog reported that making small changes to your bedroom and your bedtime routine can help improve your sleep.

AASM member Dr. Charles Czeisler recently told ABC News that "You need to set aside the time for sleep. You need a few hours to unwind before. It takes time for the brain to wind down."

Consult a board-certified sleep expert at an AASM-accredited sleep center if your problems continue after you have improved your sleep environment and bedtime routine.

Changes in Bedtime Routine and Sleep Environment Can Improve Your Sleep

According to a recent blog post, making small changes in her night time habits and bedroom have helped Glamour Magazine’s Cindi Leive improve her sleep during Sleep Challenge 2010.

Leive said that since she began the sleep challenge, her awareness of her sleep has increased, and that has made a positive impact. She notes that the small changes she made to her night time habits and bedroom have increased the quality and quantity of her sleep. Some of the changes include buying a new pillow, creating a bedtime routine, making her bedroom darker and keeping electronics out of her room. Leive has also given herself a bedtime.

After speaking with several sleep experts, including AASM member Dr. Michael Breus, Leive and Huffington have focused on the factors that were keeping them from getting the sleep they need. They are currently in the process of making lifestyle changes that will allow sleep to be included as a major priority.

Last year, the Sleep Education Blog reported that following a nightly bedtime routine can reduce daytime sleepiness. Research showed that the most effective strategies to feel less sleepy were taking a bath and going to bed at the same time every night.

In order to improve your sleep the AASM also recommends that you:

• Wake up at the same time each day, even on weekends.
• Avoid naps if you can during the day.
• Don’t drink caffeine in the afternoon.
• Don’t read, write, eat, watch TV, talk on the phone, or play cards in bed.
• Make your bedroom quiet, dark, and a little bit cool.

Find more tips about good sleep hygiene at Sleep Education.com.Contact an AASM-accredited sleep disorders center if you have an ongoing sleep problem.

Image courtesy of Glamour Magazine

The Young & the Restless: Children, TV & Bedtime

The AP reports that there is some controversy over a bedtime TV program for children. “The Good Night Show” is a three-hour block of programs for children between the ages of 2 and 5. It airs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the PBS Kids Sprout network.

A network executive says the show is a helpful tool in the “real world” where most homes have a TV on at night. It’s a better viewing option for children than other programs that are on at the same time.

But critics say that parents should be interacting with their children instead of plopping them in front of the TV at night. They also say that TV viewing can make it harder for children to fall asleep. It stimulates them when they should be winding down.

Research shows that there is good reason to be concerned. Studies indicate that watching TV can have a negative effect on children’s sleep.

A study in 1999 involved 495 children in kindergarten through the fourth grade. Increased TV viewing at bedtime was linked to bedtime resistance, delayed sleep onset, sleep anxiety and short sleep duration.

Research also shows that sleep problems frequently occur when children have a TV in their bedroom.

A 2007 study involved children who were 5.5 years of age. Having a TV in the bedroom was associated with sleep problems. Forty-one percent of the children had a TV in their bedroom.

You might think that this problem is unique to children in the U.S. But it is common in other countries as well.

One study involved children between 6 and 12 years of age in Japan. Watching TV, playing video games and surfing the Internet had a negative impact on sleep. Children were more active before bedtime if they had a TV or video game system in their bedroom.

About 18 percent of children in a Chinese study had a TV or computer in the bedroom. These children had later bedtimes and wake times, and shorter sleep durations. They also were more likely to display bedtime resistance and sleep anxiety.

In a study from Belgium, teens with a TV set in their bedroom went to bed later and spent less time in bed. Teens who watched more TV also woke up later and were more tired.

It’s clear that parents should keep the TV out of their child’s bedroom. While you’re at it, take the computer out of the bedroom too.

You also can help your child wind down for bedtime by turning off the TV and the computer earlier in the evening.