Alzheimer's - A women's disease

Many theories exist as to the cause of Alzheimer’s disease, but one thing scientists know for certain: Women are being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia at almost twice the rate of men.  According to the Alzheimer’s Association 2011 report, 5.4 million women in india are living with Alzheimer’s and 90 percent of this cases are undiagnosed..

Symptoms and side effects of the disease also appear to affect men and women differently.

• Men often become more aggressive. This may manifest itself in verbal, physical or even sexual aggression.  Men also are prone to wander and can become socially inappropriate more so than women.

• Women are apt to become more emotional and reclusive.  They are more likely to begin hoarding things and often suffer from depression and even delusions.  Crying spells are not uncommon and periods of extreme anxiousness can occur.

Brain fog during Manopause

Millions of women in their 40s and 50s won’t be surprised to learn that the memory problems commonly referred to as brain fog are real.   Results of a recent study conducted by scientists from the University of Illinois and the University of Rochester Medical Center validate brain fog and offer explanations as to what is happening when women enter menopause.

Brain fog

The study followed 75 women between the ages of 40 and 60 who were approaching or entering into menopause.   Testing included patient interviews and cognitive testing.  Results demonstrated that almost half of all women who go through menopause have measurable changes in their brains performance.  Often the biggest frustration and measured difference is the reduced ability to concentrate when learning and retaining new information.

Why You Need It So Badly - Sleep!!!

I came across recent studies and articles about the importance of sleep, so I thought it is very good topic to share with you guys! After writing this, I think I’ll definitely be getting a good night’s sleep tonight–if I can stop worrying about all the sleep I’ve lost to date!

Sleep affects your ability to do a good job at work. A study published in The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that people with insomnia or insufficient sleep showed worse productivity and performance on the job. Lack of sleep can have serious consequences on and off the job

A study published in JAMA found that surgeons who worked a night shift and got less than 6 hours of sleep had more complications in the surgeries they performed, compared to others. Another study showed that sleep-deprived medical residents were more likely to crash their cars and make more mistakes on the job.

Poor sleep in kids and teens leads to poor performance in school. studies have shown that kids and teens who get up during the night or don’t get enough sleep do worse in school than their sleep-sound schoolmates. They have problems paying attention and equals more depression and suicidal thoughts in teens. A study on parent-mandated bedtimes found that adolescents who went to bed at 10 PM had significantly lower rates of depression and suicidal thoughts versus those who went to bed at midnight.

Sleep-deprived people don’t realize how impaired they are. Harvard sleep expert Charles Czeisler has been quoted as saying “Like a drunk, a person who is sleep deprived has no idea how functionally impaired he or she truly is. Most of us have forgotten what it really feels like to be awake.”

Lack of sleep combined with alcohol is far more dangerous than you think. Says Cornell expert James Maas, “One drink on six hours of sleep, in terms of your ability to drive a car, is the equivalent of six drinks on eight hours a sleep.

Poor sleep can make you fat and also leads to higher blood pressure. People who sleep less are hungrier and consume more calories–perhaps because they’re looking for food to perk them up. This leads to hormonal changes that make you crave more carbohydrates and make you feel less like exercising.

Beauty and  sleep is not a myth. people were considered to be less attractive and less healthy after sleep deprivation than when they had gotten a full night’s sleep. Lack of sleep can’t be repaired in just one night. Many people believe that one good night’s sleep is sufficient to make up for previous poor sleep, but research has found that chronic sleep loss has residual negative effects, particularly when sleep is lost during the Circadian “night.”

Lack of sleep can literally kill you. People who sleep fewer than six hours a night are 12% more likely to die prematurely than people who sleep between six and eight hours. Another study showed that an average of 7 hours a night for older women was correlated with the best chance of longevity.

- Team Shirsa