A Wake-up Call for Parents of Teens
Teens aren’t staying up all night to annoy you, parents, they’re built that way, says a study of adolescent sleep habits.
“When children are little, their sleep pressure rises faster, so they fall asleep early. But when it’s slower like it is for teenagers, it’s harder to sleep,” says Mary Carskadon, director of the Bradley Hospital Sleep Laboratory.
Experts already know teens have a hard time falling asleep because their brains’ internal clocks change as they enter puberty, according to the study published in the medical journal Sleep. Now they know teens experience less “sleep pressure,” the biological trigger that causes sleepiness.
“The results show that the adage ‘early to bed, early to rise’ presents a real challenge for adolescents,” Carskadon says.
“... The higher tolerance to prolonged waking may prepare children for adult lifestyles and for performing tasks under sleep deficits that are common in adults of modern societies,” the study says.
A New Way to Brush Away Tooth Decay
Parents can make their children’s early dental appointments pleasant by opting for a fluoride varnish, which significantly reduces the risk of early childhood tooth decay, says a study from the UC-San Francsico School of Dentistry.
In a study of 280 kids, those who did not receive the varnish were four times more likely to develop tooth decay than kids who were treated with it twice a year.
Made of a resin with concentrated fluoride, the varnish is brushed on a child’s teeth like nail polish, the study says. And it’s cheaper than the cost of treating childhood tooth decay.
“Fluoride varnish is relatively inexpensive, easy to brush on a child’s teeth and can be a part of a positive first dental visit to help prevent tooth decay,” says Jane Weintraub, D.D.S., M.P.H.
Weintraub continues: “First, the results support the use of fluoride varnish to prevent tooth decay in very young children. Second, the results support parents bringing children for a first dental visit at age 1 when they are getting their first teeth.”
Cough Doesn’t Go Down Easily
Cough syrup may be good for what ails kids but can harm their teeth, according to the Academy of General Dentistry.
Over-the-counter antihistamine syrups often contain low ph levels and high acidity that can erode tooth enamel.
When administering cough syrup, the family dentists group suggests the following: Take it with a meal, not before bedtime; rinse with water after taking or chew sugar-free gum; take calcium supplements or topical fluorides after swallowing cough medicine.
Stop the Noise, Save a Marriage
Sure, fights over money and infidelity contribute to the pitifully high rate of divorce. But snoring?
Yep. Add snoring to the list of factors that can make a marriage go kaput, according to researchers at the Sleep Disorders Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
“This is a frequent problem within marriages that nobody is paying enough attention to,” says Rosalind Cartwright, Ph.D., founder of the center. “Couples who struggle with sleep apnea have a high divorce rate.”
Researchers studied 10 couples where the husband had obstructive sleep apnea, characterized by a breathing interruption that occurs when the soft tissue in the back of a person’s throat relaxes, blocking air.
Fatigue and crankiness from sleepless nights unwittingly affected the wives in the study, Cartwright explains. Couples fought often and expressed dissatisfaction with their marriages. In one case, one husband’s snoring woke up his wife eight times an hour. She tried ear plugs, earphones and other devices. Eventually she chose to sleep someplace else.
“The strain on the marriage was evident,” Cartwright says. “The couple was fighting all the time, and the surveys revealed low satisfaction with the marriage, especially when it came to effective communication.”
After two weeks of treatment using continuous positive airway pressure to prevent the soft throat tissue from collapsing, the husband’s lungs functioned normally, according to clinic reports. The wife’s quality of life improved, too. She likes being married again.
“Our early results have been terrific,” Cartwright says. “It is beautiful to see couples getting along so much better.”
Click and learn
Visit www.Rush.edu/ sleep to participate in a conversational, interactive tool to address your sleep issues.
Sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when tissue in the back of the throat collapses and blocks the airway, according to the experts at the Sleep Disorders Center at Rush. The breathing pause lasts at least 10 seconds and can occur 10 or more times an hour. It lowers oxygen levels in the blood, leaving sufferers at risk of hypertension, stroke and other heart problems.
Signs of Apnea
Loud snoring, choking, gasping during sleep or fighting sleepiness during the day. Treatments include continuous positive airway pressure, losing weight, sleeping on your side, and avoiding alcohol and tobacco.
Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is
Just because gum disease is common is no reason to get comfortable with it, according to a study that found a strong link between heart and periodontal disease.
Researchers in Australia and Norway found a link between gum disease and an increased risk of developing blood clots. This, according to results published in the Journal of Dental Research, could lead to the onset of heart attack and stroke.
In the study, tests for blood-clot and inflammation risk factors were performed on gum disease sufferers before and after treatment. Many of the patients suffered so badly their teeth had to be pulled out.
The result?
The risk for heart attacks and clots was significantly reduced after the gum disease was treated, the study concludes.
Nothing Fishy About Eating Seafood
Despite what you’ve heard about mercury, toxins and other dangers of eating seafood, the benefits outweigh the risks, according to a panel of scientists presenting to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
“The best science coming out over the last two years has overwhelmingly been in favor of the benefits of seafood consumption,” says Michael Morrisey, director of Oregon State University’s Seafood Laboratory.
A 10-year study of 700 kids in the Seychelles Islands also examined their mothers. The moms ate more than 12 meals of fish weekly, which is 10 times the average consumed in the United States. Cognitive tests on the kids showed no defects or other illnesses related to absorbing mercury, which naturally occurs in the environment and binds with the proteins in fish, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (Cooking does little to reduce the methyl mercury content in fish, the FDA says.)
But some folks should avoid certain types of seafood: kids and pregnant women.
“If you’re in that group, avoid eating shark, swordfish and Spanish mackerel,” Morrisey says. “But young children and pregnant women should still eat 12 ounces a week of a variety of fish to be sure to get the important nutrients, especially omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s have been shown to boost heart health, especially in people at high risk of getting heart disease, according to the American Heart Association.
Is Smoking an Acquired Taste?
Taste genes may hold the secret to why some people smoke, according to scientists at both the University of Wisconsin and University of Utah.
In a study of 384 smokers and 183 nonsmokers (the control group), blood samples showed a connection to a “bitterness” taste gene and the propensity to smoke.
Smokers who possessed less sensitivity to bitter taste were more likely to rate taste as a strong reason for smoking, and those who were sensitive to bitter taste were less likely to smoke for taste, according to reports on the study.
“What this study tells us is that genetic factors involving the taste of cigarettes should be examined as part of the analysis of nicotine dependence,” says the University of Utah’s Dale Cannon, lead study author.
Workout While You Work
Working mom Mary Moslander knows how hard it is to stick to fitness goals while running a family and reaching new career heights. The founder of LiveHealthier.com, which provides expertise and community for people needing support for their wellness goals, needed help herself when she stalled on losing weight after having her third baby.
“I needed to be accountable to someone,” says Moslander, 39, who admitted that talking to her friend (and site co-founder) Janice every morning and stating her diet and fitness goals kept her on the straight and narrow – and away from extra handfuls of potato chips. She had a way of coming up with excuses not to go to the gym.
“In my situation, it was ... acknowledging that the laundry has to get done – and I have to burn calories,” Moslander says.
LiveHealthier.com offers the following ways to help you multitask your chores and workout.
Calf-Raise Cooking
While at the sink or stove, do calf raises by standing with your feet together about hip-width apart.
Start by standing tall and squeezing your abs for balance.
Raise your heels off the ground so you are standing on the balls of your feet.
Hold for three seconds and lower to starting position.
Laundry Lunges
Do lunges as you load your washer.
Stand facing the washer with both feet together, put one piece of laundry into the washer and take a big step back with your right leg.
Keep your left knee at a 90-degree angle so it does not come over your toes, lower body straight down into a lunge position with right knee pointing to the ground.
Make sure your shoulders are retracted and avoid leaning forward as you lunge.
Press through the left heel to bring yourself back up to starting position.
Put another piece of laundry in the washer and repeat with the other leg.
LiveHealthier.com offers a free 10-day trial and costs $5 a week. It offers a buddy system, access to dietitians and personal trainers, how-to videos and more.
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