Untreated sleep apnea will most likely lead to sexual frustration and difficulty in your life.

Sleep and Sex can often be a barometer of your overall health. 

Most people who have sleep struggles are aware that it affects many aspects of daily life. However, did you know that it also affects your sex life as well? 

A large percentage of people with sleep apnea are undiagnosed However, there is a lot of data that can help those with sleep apnea get a better night’s rest as well as improve their sex lives.

In 2002, a study was done at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology which proved the fact that male patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea experience decreased libido and sexual activity. Not only does the lack of sleep affect their libido, but it was also found that those who suffer from sleep apnea secrete lower levels of testosterone. However, men are not the only people who suffer from sleep apnea. A study performed in 2011 focused on women with sleep apnea, and found that their scores on the Female Sexual Function Index indicated that they were at a higher risk for having sexual difficulties.

You could have probably guessed by this point that lack of sleep affects your libido. In men, lack of sleep attributes to dramatically reduced levels of testosterone, as discovered by scientists at the University of Chicago. This without a doubt contributes to a decreased sex drive. Additionally, lack of sleep leads to reduced sex drive in women as well. A study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine focuses on the effects of sleep deprivation on women, and found that obtaining sufficient sleep is important to the promotion of healthy sexual desire and genital response.

Clearly, lack of sleep leads to decreased sexual desire among both genders.

We’ve all probably heard that it’s bad to use electronics before bed-the light messes up our bodies and prevents us from getting a good night’s sleep, almost to the equivalence of the way drugs affects our sleep. However, now it is recommended to turn off your electronics before bed to benefit your sex life as well. Durex has launched a new campaign based off their most recent research to urge people to shut off their electronics in order to help their romantic lives in the bedroom. Take a look: 

It’s as simple as that: just TURNING OFF your electronics can greatly benefit bedroom romance.

Our communication is greatly suffering because of technology, and it is crucial to have face to face intimate moments with your partner/spouse.

So please “Turn off to turn on.” It's also good for a sleep hygiene and healthy sleep habits. 

to continue read the full article please follow: https://medium.com/@sleepasap/how-to-stay-sexy-when-you-are-sleep-deprived-d252e1fe10

For more articles like this as soon as they’re published, enter your email here. 

3 Health Tips To Getting Better Sleep

At Sleep ASAP, we strive to build a community for sleep strugglers around the world to share alternative methods for getting a good night’s sleep.

Below are three suggestions we have for examining your methods of getting a good night’s rest and what you can do to improve them.

1) One size does not fit all

There is no generic solution to curing sleep deprivation. We are all very different people with a variety of backgrounds, genes, and lifestyles. Through our research, we have found that most people benefit very differently from various types of solutions. Sleep ASAP wants to encourage a community where sleep strugglers are able to share their trials, tribulations, and successes in their journey to getting a good night’s sleep.

2) Traditional healthcare has limitations

We believe that the first step to solving the solution of sleep deprivation is through a method of personalized medicine. Traditional forms of healthcare are very limited in their abilities to take into account all existing symptoms of each sleep struggler because physicians are often missing details of your personal story. This frequently leads to misdiagnoses. “Failure to recognize sleep problems not only precludes diagnosis and treatment — it also precludes the possibility of preventing their grave public health consequences” (Colten HR, & Altevogt, BM, 2006). Through personalized medicine, the patient can help work with the doctor throughout the process to assure that a knowledgeable and informed diagnosis is made.

3) Personalized agendas are the solution

The goal of the Sleep ASAP team is to assist you through your journey in finding the solution that works best for your personal sleep struggle. Our solution is to go through a personalized agenda to better understand your symptoms and provide you with a customised solution. By creating a community of likeminded people with similar philosophies, we hope to provide sleep strugglers with the knowledge of many types of alternative therapies to narcotics, and through this newfound knowledge, find an agenda that best fits your needs.

We want to hear from you:

We know how different each and every one of you are, and we want to adapt our work to best benefit your needs! Tell us your personal stories, and share with us, as well as other sleep strugglers, your journey to finding a solution to getting a good night’s sleep. Through our community, you can help each other build a personalized solution to your sleep struggles.

If you are just beginning your journey, take the time to fill out our questionnaire, which we will then analyze based upon answers of more than 210,000 other people who has been diagnosed recently, and then provide you with a detailed report concerning your sleeping disorder.

COME REPRESENT Sleep ASAP® ON YOUR CAMPUS

JOIN OUR ELITE TEAM OF GLOBAL Sleep ASAP® AMBASSADORS!

If you are an outgoing, entrepreneurial scientist and social networker, eager for hands-on experience with an innovative product, let’s talk. 

We are in search of top minds from around the world who are interested in helping to reinvent sleep management education by enabling sleep strugglers & sleep experts to find and share the best patient centric methods for a good night’s sleep through creative crowdsourcing.

Insufficient Sleep Is a Public Health Epidemic. People experiencing sleep insufficiency are also more likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, and obesity, as well as from cancer. Sleep disorders are a global healthcare problem, with 50-70 million sufferers in the US alone.

COME REPRESENT Sleep ASAP® ON YOUR CAMPUS

As a Sleep ASAP® Campus Ambassador you will be part of an exclusive team of exceptional students. You will go deep into one of the industry’s visionary and pioneering social-enterprises, working to learn, understand and create lasting solutions to the most serious sleeping problems.

Ready to apply? www.sleepasap.org

What if? The best and simplest medical advice for a healthy life

What if I told you that medical care across the world could be dramatically improved by a single act that costs almost no money and has almost no risks involved? What if I told you  that this same medical act could save more lives than many recent technologies like CT scans and MRIs and advanced microscopic surgeries? I think it is fair to say that most people would demand that such a medical act be performed as often as possible.

If we could get every single physician, nurse, healthcare provider and patient to wash their hands before and after interacting with their surroundings, we would save millions of lives every year. It is truly astounding and very difficult to believe that a doctor would not hesitate to order expensive and invasive tests, but would easily forget to wash his or her hands before touching a patient. The obvious question is why?

Modern medicine has created a conundrum. We assume that all of the “simple” diseases have been conquered and that our modern technology is fighting a relatively small group of problems that are very difficult to treat. This assumption is totally incorrect. People who are lucky enough to have been born into a society that has widespread healthcare, assume  that they do not need to worry about diseases like polio and measles. One only needs to look at the newspaper to see that those who have not vaccinated themselves continue to suffer and even die from diseases that were until recently forgotten from a great part of the world.

Medical students are taught early on in their training that “common things are common” and that “when one hears hoofbeats, they should look for horses and not zebras”. The point of these statements is to remind medical students that real-life is not a TV show where semi-angelic doctors discover that a simple fever is in fact a dangerous and rare disease that will require the most advanced treatments to overcome. In real life, in the vast majority of cases, a simple fever is simple. It is not a sign of a dangerous disease. It is often secondary to a simple viral infection that will pass on its own. The role of the real-life doctor is to rule out the relatively small number of cases where a fever really is a sign of a dangerous problem.

I have personally had the honor of working in various medical services that provided me direct access to hundreds of thousands of patients over my career. And thousands of these cases,  I was the primary doctor seeing the patient. In tens of thousands of these cases, I was a consultant who was brought in to discuss the case. And in the rest of these cases, I was a reviewer of charts to provide quality assurance and follow-up for the patients when necessary. In all of that time, even living in the Middle East in a country that is in many ways a portal between the westernized world and the developing world, I never came across a case of Ebola. I have seen a few cases of malaria. I have only seen a couple of cases of Lyme disease. And I have unfortunately come across a number of cases of cancer, some of which had not yet even been diagnosed. I think it’s clear though that I have spent my medical career doing things that would not make for very good TV. Welcome to the real world.

So what can I offer a patient in this real world? What advice  can I give to people to improve their chances of staying healthy? How can I guide a patient so that he or she reduces their risk of cancer and other life-threatening diseases? I must admit that the source of my advice is not from the most recent edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. A great deal of my advice stems back to Hippocrates and Maimonides. In fact, even if they did not understand the actual pathology of the diseases they treated, they still managed to provide a very good level of care to many people.

My basic advice would unfortunately not fill the pages of a new age “better life” book [so that I could sell the book and make billions]. My basic advice is as follows:

• Eat a reasonable diet. There are thousands of diet books and videos and interviews that all describe the best way to eat.. I can professionally say that the sum total of our knowledge in regards to diet is to eat intelligently 80 to 90% of the time, and to allow yourself to eat naughty foods the other 10 to 20% of the time. So eat your vegetables, peel an orange a few times a week, eat fish three or four times a week, have a nice piece of meat once or twice a week, drink a good amount of water and enjoy a couple of scoops of ice cream on the weekends. Based on what I know of the accepted medical literature, there is no diet that will produce better results than this one.

• walk and lift a reasonable amount of weight, four times a week. I could’ve said three times a week or five times a week, but four seems like a good average. Notice that I did not say “run”, because as it turns out, running can cause  a lot of wear and tear on our joints and make even walking difficult as a person ages. Bicycling is fine and so is swimming.. The key is to move and especially these days, push yourself away from the screen [whether it be 54 inches or 5 inches across]. The importance of weightlifting is that it stimulates muscles across the entire body. In practice, there are really only two or three exercises that a person should do to stimulate the critical set of muscles that will preserve our straight backs and healthy pelvis throughout our lives. People who exercise tend to suffer less from falls. People who exercise tend to remain independent far longer.  Exercise may even have a protective effect against Alzheimer’s. A simple and safe exercise program is magic. And once again, I feel more than comfortable challenging anyone to show me medical literature that supports a different approach with clearly superior outcomes.

• Sleep. It’s not that complicated. At a certain point in your day, you shut off the TV, put your phone on mute  and enjoy the comfort of your pillow. The benefits of sleep are tremendous, and we are still learning a great deal  about the importance of sleep. Nearly half the world is sleep deprived. And yes, that means that half the world is performing far less  than their best. Imagine if I told the CEO that I had a method for increasing productivity by 50% with minimal investment and zero risk to the employees. I think that most CEOs would jump at such an opportunity. Now, imagine me telling the CEO that we are going to train people how to sleep better. I can promise you that many CEOs would end the conversation at that point. But of the few CEOs who would be willing to listen, they would eventually benefit tremendously from a workforce that knows how to sleep. Eventually all of the doubting CEOs would come knocking. Good sleep is equal to a better life for the employer, employee, their families and friends and everyone around them.

• See your doctor. 100 years ago, one of the key roles  of physicians was to teach people the basics of public health. When a person became ill with a communicable disease, it was the role the physician to identify the disease and begin to isolate the sick patients from the healthy population. Such an approach was fundamentally important to restricting the spread of deadly  infections. In this way, not much has changed. a doctor today should be teaching parents about how to raise their children in a healthy way [and this includes vaccinations]. If a child is having difficulty  in gym class, the family physician will assess the child for asthma. Asthma is not a very exciting disease but it is unfortunately very common and at times life-threatening. Identification and treatment of this disease can restore a child to a normal life. There are certain screening tests that have been shown to be of value in the medical literature. Admittedly, this literature can lead to different conclusions over the course of years to decades. When I was an early resident, the standard was to check all males of a certain age  for prostate cancer by using a special blood test. Today, the recommendation is not to use  such a blood test for screening. When patients ask in a legitimately confused way how it can be that yesterday, something was essential and today it is contraindicated, the physician has to take the time to explain how science moves forward. A physician is a purveyor of knowledge. It is the role of the physician to learn and continue to study throughout their careers in order to always be able to answer the questions that patients have. And when the physician does not have the answer, he is expected to consult. The role of the physician is to be a guide through life in order to maximize the good health of the patient no matter what maladies that patients may encounter.

Even with the best of intentions and the best of genes, people get bad diseases. And it is at this point that we are very lucky to have  advanced technologies to identify those diseases and treat them. This is also appointed which a family physician can act as an interpreter between the specialist who is deciding on the care and the patient who has to make a decision about whether to follow the specialist advice. Diseases like multiple sclerosis and diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis, used to be the harbingers of a life of misery before an early death. Today,  we are far better at managing these diseases, and the hope is that we will be far better in the next decade. I personally feel that we are in the midst of a perfect storm of basic science, engineering, biology, financial investment and other components that will all finally meet in a big bang that results in cures for diseases that we once thought were incurable. When people ask me  what I pray for every day, it is to have the privilege of being alive to experience these magical moments.

To all who are reading this, I can honestly say to you that the future holds great promise and is a tremendous source of hope. Smile every day, even laugh for no good reason. The medical literature actually shown that laughing can dramatically improve a person’s health. Oh, and I almost forgot about having great sex at least three times a week. Once again, yes, there is medical literature about the tremendous benefits of emotional and physical intimacy.

I wish you all the best of health and the best of reasons to enjoy every moment in your life.

About the author: Dr. Nahum Kovalski received his bachelor's of science in computer science and his medical degree in Canada. He came to Israel in 1991 and married his wife of 22 years in 1992. He has 3 amazing children and has lived in Jerusalem since making Aliyah. Dr. Kovalski was with TEREM Emergency Medical Services for 21 years until June of 2014, and is now a private consultant on medicine and technology. 

Why do nerds become successful in college?

College admission letters go out this month. Most recipients (Students and their parents) will place great emphasis on which universities said; Yes and which said No. A growing body of evidence however suggests that the most significant thing about college is not where you go, but what you do once you get there. Going to college is not enough. You also have to study the right subjects, set your goals and become a successful student.

Everyone knows about successful-straight-A-students, right?!

We see them frequently in TV sitcoms and in movies like "Revenge of the Nerds". They get high grades, all right, but only by becoming dull grinds, their noses always stuck in a book.

This is stereotypical, however, it is not untrue.

In this topic however I'm not going to post a quick tips on being a successful college nerd. Neither am I not going to share with you any secret of the holly nerdology science. In this blog post I’m going to share some very surprising benefits of sleep that works 100% for every nerd at every campus worldwide.

So, yes - SLEEP, is the one of the physiological needs required for human survival especially in campus. Exactly like food, air and sex (not sure about the last one about nerds) - sleep is a mostly important thing in your campus life.

"Students who slept better improved GRADES by 12% more". Rebbeca S. Robbins, PhD Candidate, Co-Author of Sleep for success: Everything you must know about sleep but are too tired to ask

Sleep takes a third of your college time. You better think how you would invest in your sleep for better college education and high grades.

Do you know college students are one of the most sleep-deprived populations? Sleep deprivation in students has been linked to lower GPAs because sleep affects concentration, memory and the ability to learn. The average adult sleeps less than seven hours each night, while most need eight or more hours.

Daytime sleepiness, sleep deprivation and irregular sleep schedules are highly prevalent among college students. 50% report daytime sleepiness and 70% attain insufficient sleep. The consequences of sleep deprivation and daytime sleepiness are especially problematic to college students and can result in lower grade point averages, increased risk of academic failure, compromised learning, impaired mood and increased risk of motor vehicle accidents.

So, how does sleep relate to nerds and what can you do on regular basis to empower your Mojo for better sleep?! Here are very easy-to-follow tips:

·      Nerds aren't smoke a much, if any.

Try to limit Caffeine and Nicotine and see what nerds aren't missing. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants, which disrupt sleep. It is best to stay away from these after lunchtime.  If you are up late studying or just need a little more energy, try a small energy-boosting snack instead of a caffeinated beverage.  If you feel you must have caffeinated coffee when up late studying, try to limit the amount of caffeine by filling half your cup with decaffeinated coffee. 

·      Nerds avoiding alcohol naturally.

Sleep experts recommend avoiding alcohol at least four to six hours prior to bed.A common but inaccurate belief is that alcohol helps people sleep. Although it may help people fall asleep faster, research has shown that alcohol disrupts sleep throughout the night. Alcohol aggravates snoring and sleep apnea. Sleep apnea has been linked to chronic medical conditions including hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases.Drinking alcohol while on medications such as psychiatric medications, can further worsen sleeping problems and side effects.

·      Just like a nerd, try to get homework done in time and avoid all-nighters.

While all-nighters and late-night study sessions may appear to give you more time to cram, they are also likely to drain your brainpower. Sleep deprivation hinders your ability to perform complex cognitive tasks like those required on exams. And it is unlikely that you will retain much information that you study while sleep-deprived. It is better to sleep the night before an exam, even if it means studying for fewer hours. Remember: research has shown that a good night of sleep is more beneficial for learning than staying up late cramming.

 

·      Minimize Sleep Disruptions.

Living in places like residence halls, apartments, houses or fraternities/sororities with many people can make it very difficult to control your sleep environment.  Your roommate might be up studying late with lights on, or your housemates may decide to entertain until very late.
 You can be creative in finding ways to reduce the disruptions that keep you from getting a good night’s sleep. Below are some suggestions:

• Talk to your roommates about setting a regular sleep time so they can be respectful of your need for a quiet environment.
• Purchase a white noise machine to block sounds from within your own room or even outside. Instead of or in addition to the white noise machine, ear plugs or a small fan may be helpful.
• You might think this will make you look stupid but, use a sleep mask to block out any unwanted light. This could be a great compromise with your residence hall roommate who may prefer to stay up later to study. And yes it's supper nerdish. 
• Purchase a desk lamp for you and each roommate to avoid using the overhead lights when one of you is sleeping.
• Create a comfortable sleeping area to improve your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. If you have the option, choose the pillows, mattress, and bedding that are most comfortable for you.
• Keep the bedroom at a comfortable temperature (ideally slightly cool), and well-ventilated.

College is a time of intellectual growth, development and young adults’ transition from adolescence to adulthood. Although the worth of college in terms of increased productivity and higher earning potential is rarely debated, there is a significant personal and societal cost of college both in terms of time and money. For optimal return on the investment of time, effort and money, students need to maximize their learning, academic and personal growth. Sleepiness from any cause can compromise these goals through impact on learning, memory, grades, perception of effort, driving performance and mood.

For many students even those who recognize the importance of sleep—balancing work, college, friends, social activities and personal time can be difficult. Sleep is often one of the first activities to get squeezed out.  So if you wishing to success in college just set your goals and make them real, but do not debt on sleep - Sleep Debt Hard to Repay, as hard as lower GPAs.

Bottom line: Sleep can often be a barometer of your overall health. If you’re getting sleep deprived get a help.  You may need a sleep specialist if a sleep disorder is interfering with your daily life. A doctor or accredited sleep disorder center may be able to help.

As reference, either a doctor or an accredited sleep-disorder center/clinic may be the right place to go to contact:

·      American Academy ofSleep Medicine (AASM)

This is an organization of doctors and researchers that is dedicated to the advancement of sleep medicine and related research. 

·      Sleep ASAP

A Worldwide Social enterprise for sleep-management education through technology.

·    The National Sleep Foundation 

The National Sleep Foundation is dedicated to improving health and well-being through sleep education and advocacy.

[Los Angeles] Wed, April 15th, Options Beyond Pharmaceuticals for Sleepless in LA: Rest Well, Sleep Deeply.

Sleepless in LA? Having bad Insomnia? You are not alone, about the half of the global population are sleep deprived.

Many, many more people have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, getting back to sleep or do not feel refreshed when they wake up. For that reason we calling you to attend a free face to face meetup in Los Angeles. 

Come, meet the sleep strugglers like you are, share yours own stories, learn new technics and the best practice from the 1st hand.  

We’re gathering in an intimate space, we will hear from several alternative/holistic health practitioners about various approaches to the improving sleep experience; some live demos; group discussion and sharing about what has helped us/our sleep success /victories. 

Together we will build a body of collective wisdom. 

Mark your calendar and attend >> http://goo.gl/QauEYJ

Spread the word, let other sleep strugglers to know, please share. 

[Los Angeles] Wed, April 15th - HOW TO Sleep Deeply, Rest Well: Options Beyond Pharmaceuticals. RSVP >> http://goo.gl/QauEYJ PLS. SHARE

Finally, Insomnia kicked out of my head!

Maurya battled chronic insomnia for 20 years. During that time, she tried every solution on market, but nothing worked. It wasn't until she realized that all the pills and sleep remedies did nothing to cure insomnia. Maurya discovered the inner power within herself to heal sleep patterns. It took looking at things differently, but the results were astounding.

Maurya Siedler joins Sleep ASAP for a one-on-one deep dive session into her private insomnia story. Thanks a million for this wonderful story. Worth watching&sharing https://youtu.be/LtIgCb_20e0

For more sleep-educative materials from SleepASAP please follow us at:

Youtube - http://j.mp/iCanSleep
Meetup - http://j.mp/CommunityASAP

TWITTER - http://j.mp/TW-ASAP

FACEBOOK - http://j.mp/FB-ASAP

please share if you like it


+Maurya Siedler