Hassel Free Living

Archive for January, 2011

I always take my snakes outdoors and spent three hours out today watching Tipr my male Ball Python and lots of thoughts and questions went through my mind mostly how it would feel to live his life so this video is the end result of my thoughts.

Duration : 0:8:10

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Technorati Tags: adult ball pythns, ball pythons, pythons, reptiles, snakes, snakes outdoors

http://mncranio.com/ Tina Rosenquist, creator and host of Knowledge For Wellness, interviews Dr. Roy Hakala, DDS, from the Minnesota Craniofacial Center Midway. Dr. Roy Hakala is a Diplomate of the American Board of Craniofacial Pain and of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine.

This interview covers the following snoring and sleep apnea treatments. Snoring has long been a joke in our culture, but it can be far more serious than that. Snoring can be disruptive to marriages and families, and it can be a symptom of a condition called obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA.

People with OSA appear to hold their breath repeatedly during the night, then abruptly begin breathing again, often with a snort. As a result, OSA sufferers do not get enough oxygen as they sleep and may wake with morning headaches. Also, they are not able to maintain the deeper restful stages of sleep and wake feeling unrefreshed. Sometimes, they wake feeling more tired than when they went to bed. OSA often leads to excessive daytime sleepiness, dozing off inappropriately, falling asleep when working or driving, lowered energy levels, memory loss, and depression and anxiety. OSA has even been linked to death by cardiovascular disease. OSA elevates blood pressure, aggravates diabetes, and can cause gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD, or heartburn). And most of the chronic pain disorders such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and multiple sclerosis (MS) can be aggravated by OSA. Even the immune system can be suppressed by inadequate quality sleep.

The first step is to call our office for an examination, as an accurate diagnosis is essential to appropriate treatment of a sleep disorder. Depending on the examination results, we may need to refer you for further medical evaluation. Often an overnight sleep study, called a polysomnogram, needs to be scheduled at a sleep center. In some cases, overnight home testing can be done.

Frequently, we provide effective treatment of snoring and OSA easily and painlessly, with special appliances that look somewhat like orthodontic retainers and are worn inside the mouth at night. Oral appliances often can substitute for the mechanical CPAP nightstand machines and nose masks that many people use. Oral appliances are easy to wear and care for, and are extremely portable. They can be worn camping, in remote cabins, and when traveling. With oral appliances, it is possible to sleep quietly and restfully, even on an airplane.

In particularly severe cases where even CPAP is not effective, oral appliances often can be combined with CPAP for double benefit. Surgery may be recommended in some OSA cases, especially when large tonsils or adenoids are involved.

Denial and embarrassment are common reasons for OSA to go undiagnosed and untreated. The person with symptoms of a sleep disorder may refuse to believe that he or she snores, and may be offended by a confrontation. The Center can provide additional information and support and help you locate a sleep center, if needed.

Part 2 of two. http://www.knowledgeforwellness.com/

Duration : 0:14:51

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Technorati Tags: Chronic fatigue syndrome, CPAP, fatigue, fibromyalgia, Knowledge-For-Wellness, Minnesota-Craniofacial-Center, MS, multiple sclerosis, obstructive sleep apnea, oral-appliances, OSA, restless-sleep, sleep, sleep apnea, sleepiness, snoring, St.-Paul-Minnesota, St.-Paul-MN

Neurocore is the authority on brain-related issues and treatments, with specific passion for finding long-term non-invasive solutions to behavioral issues. We do not patch behavioral issues with a short-term fix; we seek to repair the symptoms at their core — the brain.

Our vast experience sets us apart. We have had the opportunity to assess and train more than 10,000 brains and to work with a variety of individuals from elite athletes to school children from business professionals to the elderly. We utilize Autonomic Nervous System Regulation (ANSR) to sharpen focus, reduce stress, and make positive changes in the way your brain operates. Every person can benefit from the ANSR training process and see improvements in handling ADD/ADHD, stress, anxiety, tension, and in sustaining focus and improving sleep.

Duration : 0:0:30

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Technorati Tags: 139education, ADD, ADHD, anxiety, biofeedback, depression, dr. royer, Hope139, insomnia, Mental Health, migraines, Neurocore, Neurofeedback, reclaim your brain, royer, sleep, tim royer

Most of us know that stress is bad for us and that it has all kinds of negative effects on health. In fact, it has been estimated that 80% of modern diseases can be linked to stress and that stress-related complaints account for a significant portion of G.P consultations. More and more people are seeking ways to manage their stress and you may have found that setting time aside to sit down and ‘do nothing’ does not actually lead to you feeling relaxed, as you still have thoughts and worries whirring in your head.

A non-drug method of achieving relaxation, which is widely advocated by healthcare professionals, is relaxation training. The aim of relaxation training is for the individuals to be able to achieve both a relaxed body, with muscles free from tension and also peaceful thoughts, so that the mind too is relaxed.

Relaxation training can work as a preventative measure (to protect the body from stress related damage), as a coping strategy (to be employed in times of stress and thus reduce the effect of stress) and as a treatment for stress related illnesses such as high blood pressure, tension headaches, Irritable Bowel syndrome and much more.

Relaxation training refers to learning formal techniques. These usually take two forms, physical and psychological. The physical techniques work directly on the body and aim to educate the individual to recognise and reduce muscle tension. The techniques differ and may involve stretching, tensing and releasing individual muscle groups, learning to breathe in a way that encourages relaxation, moving body parts out of defensive tense positioning into relaxed positioning, reviewing each muscle group in the body, identifying any tension and then releasing it, practising the posture of a relaxed person. Psychological techniques focus on relaxing the mind. Psychological techniques vary and may involve visualisation, meditation, guided goal directed visualisation, self-awareness, autogenic training and imagery. Since the body and mind are interconnected, techniques which encourage physical relaxation, also work on the mind and techniques which encourage peaceful thoughts, also result in the body being more relaxed.

Once you have learnt such techniques they are a life-long skill and can be applied both formally to achieve a deep state of relaxation and “on the spot’ when you need to quickly release tension as you go about your daily life. Relaxation training is taught by various healthcare professionals, such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses, social workers and sports professionals such as exercise coaches. With a good relaxation book, it is also possible to teach yourself techniques. Like most things worth doing, learning to relax takes commitment and practice and it will only be effective if you practice it regularly and build it into your routine.

For now, why not try the following simple technique, known as peripheral vision. It’s quick and simple to learn and is very effective at activating the part of the nervous system, which is responsible for helping us feel calm.

Get comfortable in a chair and find a spot on the wall, straight in front of you and slightly above eye level. Throughout this process just keep focusing on the spot. Just continue to look at that same point, perhaps in soft focus, after a while begin to broaden out your field of vision, wider and wider until your really paying attention to what you can see out of the corners of your eyes. Keeping your eyes on the spot, extend your awareness all around you, become aware of all the other things in the room that you can see by using your imagination. Perhaps, imagine a tennis ball hovering just behind the back of your head. What else can you see behind your head? You may have noticed that your breathing has slowed down and that the muscles of your face have relaxed.

Keep practising this technique; it may help to play some relaxing music at the same time. You will notice that is impossible to feel tense or worried whilst you are in peripheral vision.

Karen Hastings, Hertfordshire
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/stress-management-a-technique-110120.html

When is the best time to do exercise?

To improve the sleep quality it is recommended to do exercise during mid to late afternoon. Experiment yourself to find the best time that work best for you. It might take several weeks of trial and error to determine the best time of day for you to get your exercise. If you’re a morning person, you may want to wake up a little earlier every day and go to the gym or jog around the neighborhood.
That will start your day to an energetic start.

If you find you can’t exercise in the morning, maybe you could hit the gym on your lunch break or immediately after work. Some people find that evening exercise winds them up, while others find it helps them sleep.

Avoid exercise in the late evening or just before going to bed. Exercise is actually stimulating the body, raising its temperature. It can take quite a while for your muscles and circulation system to calm down again after a vigorous workout. That’s the opposite of what you want near bedtime, because a cooler body temperature is associated with sleep.

What kind of exercise works best?

Regular exercise works best for most people, but the exact type and amount varies from individual. Try to work with a personal trainer or exercise instructor to design a program that works best for you, especially if you are new to exercise. Endurance exercise such as walking, swimming or cycling,
performed for 30 to 60 minutes, three to five days a week is commonly prescribed for improving sleep quality in healthy adults. (Make sure to consult your doctor that you are healthy enough to conduct such exercise).

The exercise should involve vigorous use of legs which should help with your sleep. The fatigue produced by [using leg muscles] acts as a tranquilizer. Aerobic exercises such as jogging, swimming, riding a bicycle, jumping rope, dancing, riding a stationary bicycle, using a treadmill, and walking are the best to combat sleeplessness in which it increases the oxygen that reaches the
blood. A mild workout for fifteen to twenty minutes a day, four days a week, will be enough to feel the benefits. Stretch before and after doing anything vigorous. Let cool-down after exercising, before you do any stretching.

With regular exercise your sleep quality is improved and the transition between the cycles and phases of sleep becomes smoother and more regular. Try to increase your physical daily activity during the day may also help you deal with the stress and worry in your life. The goal here is to give your body enough stimulation during the day so that you are not restless at night. But DO NOT overdoing it, as ironically, too much exercise can interfere with sleep. Start at a reasonable level activity you enjoy, and increase exercise volume gradually to avoid injury and sleep problems.

Studies indicate that there is a direct correlation between how much we exercise and how we feel both emotionally and physically by changes in our brain chemistry that occur from regular exercise.
Mild, non-aerobic exercise may help you unwind at the end of the day and maybe beneficial to handle insomnia problem. Take a leisurely walk or gentle dancing to pleasant music can help you lift your mood and relax the body. The ollowing activities are relaxing and have other healing properties:

- Yoga has a stimulatory effect on your nervous system, in particular to the brain. Yoga uses breathing techniques and yoga postures increase blood circulation of the brain, promoting regular and restful sleeping patterns. Regular practice of yoga will relax you as well as relieve stress and tension in your body.

- Tai Chi is a form of breathing and movement that was developed by ancient Chinese monks. The movements involved are precise and slow, which is ideal if you have joint pain or are unable to participate in high impact aerobic exercises. Studies have shown that Tai Chi might help people with insomnia by promoting relaxation.

If you find that you have no time to exercise on a regular basis try to add extra moments of activity into your daily schedule. Take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible.

Try parking your car around the corner and walking that extra block to your office. There are many small simple ways that you can add activity into your life. Your goal is to have a healthy, well balanced life.

Irwan Lee