Many parents know that a good night’s sleep can cut down the frequency of colds and possible emotional meltdowns, but did you know that there are a plethora of other reasons your kids need more sleep NOW? Promotes Growth - Growth hormones are primarily secreted when children sleep, which is why babies are programmed to enter into deep sleep more than 50% of the time. Studies show that children with deficient growth hormone levels, sleep less than those with average [...continue reading]

Blue light is complicated, as it is both good and bad for us. Whether you’re stepping outside and bathing in sunlight or you’re turning on a light indoors, both of these activities involve contact with blue light. Sunlight alone contains yellow, orange, red, green and blue light, including many in-between shades of these colors. There are two different types of wavelengths: Long Wavelengths - Contain less energy Short Wavelengths - Contain more energy Colors on the red end of the [...continue reading]

Light is a type of medicine. Take light therapy, for example, which can help people that suffer from seasonal depression. Proper light exposure can help boost sleep, performance and increase energy levels. However, because today’s world is full of electronic devices, being too lit-up has a downside, which can negatively affect your overall health and sleep. Our bodies are designed to wake when there is light out, and go to sleep when it gets dark out, which is the way [...continue reading]

Teens are among the most impressionable and require a solid eight to 10 hours of sleep per night for optimal health. However, recent studies highlight alarming trends where more than 70-percent of high students do not get the necessary sleep they require to operate at peak performance. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital analyzed the sleeping data of risk-taking behaviors and how they correlate to sleep duration. The data, compiled over an eight-year period, found a link between risk-taking actions [...continue reading]

Sleep plays an essential role in the body’s health and overall well-being. In fact, getting enough sleep can help protect people’s mental health, quality of life, physical health and safety. While adults sleep, the body works to maintain physical health and brain function. In children and teens, sleep supports development and growth. When someone suffers from a sleep deficiency, it increases their risks for chronic health problems, as well as impacting how well the body can work, think, react, learn [...continue reading]

The Nielsen Total Audience Report conducted a survey and found that American adults spend more than 11 hours a day either watching, listening to, reading or interacting with media. There are many reasons why more people are camping out on media sites. There are many new platforms, and the upcoming younger generation leverages several different social media sites, compared to older generations that focus primarily on one media site, such as TV. The ability to pause Live TV and record [...continue reading]

A new study conducted by the University of Toledo in Ohio shows that blue-tinted screens of electronic devices, such as cell phones, may contribute to vision loss and precipitate macular degeneration. The study, which was recently published in the journal “Scientific Reports” highlights that prolonged exposure to harmful blue light rays may cause a type of toxic chemical reaction, which occurs in the retinal molecules and can ultimately kill photoreceptor cells. Researchers from the study recommend that people avoid using [...continue reading]

Tossing and turning and find yourself tired on a regular basis? Scientists and doctors recognize a link to electronic devices and insomnia. Screen time causes cognitive stimulation, which results in sleep deprivation. Smartphones and artificial light also increase your brain’s electrical activity, causing neurons to race and divert you from the achieving the peaceful state of mind necessary for a good night's sleep. Additionally, the act of responding to text messages, reading emails or browsing through social media sites at [...continue reading]

The science of sleep is fascinating and has interested humankind for centuries. In 350 B.C., Aristotle wrote a pivotal philosophical essay entitled, “On Sleep and Sleeplessness.” Millennia passed, and still, we didn’t have an answer about sleep. It wasn’t until 1924, when Hans Berger, a German psychiatrist invented the machine - the electroencephalogram - that would change the way science views sleep. The device would record electrical activity in the brain when patients would sleep. Over the past few decades, [...continue reading]