What is Sleep Debt

Sleep debt or sleep deprivation simply means you owe your body some sleep. What is sleep debt is the accumulation of not getting enough sleep. Sleep debt can cause mental and physical fatigue.

Scientists though are skeptical if sleep debt phenomenon does exist. Studies have shown though that consistent lack of sleep could cause daytime sleepiness.

In psychology, it is believed that if one owes sleep then he needs to sleep of half of the time owed. For instance, if the required amount of sleep each night is 8 hours and sleep only for 6 hours then you owe 2 hours but are only required to sleep 1 hour to pay the sleep debt.

Sleep deprivation is considered as one of the most pressing health problems in the United States. In 2002 a poll was conducted in America. Around 1,000 adults participated. One third of those polled said that they require 8 hours of sleep. They however sleep only for an average of 6.9 hours on weeknights and 7.5 hours on weekend nights.

A study using rats to determine the effects of lack of sleep to our body revealed that rats which were not able to sleep for around three weeks will die because of low body heat and infection.

In humans, similar total lack of sleep called fatal familial insomnia could lead to death after several months. The scientists though could not determine if the cause is sleep loss or brain damage.

Most often, lack of sleep for a night could cause a person to be irritable and tires easily. Lack of sleep for two nights could make the person lack focus and commit mistakes on routine tasks. Three nights of no sleep could cause hallucination.

A study in 1997 conducted on people who sleep only for four (4) or five (5) hours a day for one week revealed that these same people would require two full nights of sleep to be able to go back to their normal alertness levels.

How to Burn More Calories Running

Exercising inside the house is often best accomplished by a treadmill. The fact is that running is one of the effective ways to burn fats and calories. But the problem is when you do the same running routine every day your body adjust to the intensity and becomes more efficient causing you to burn less fat and calories for the same amount of exercise. To make your running more effective, consider adding some of these calorie-burning ideas to your running program.

How to Burn More Calories Running

1. It is a good idea to run outside which is one way to burn more calories than running indoors using treadmill. You can reap the benefits of five percent more calories burn when you run outside. Plus, running outside is more motivating and stimulating which may cause you to run longer and harder.

2. Doing an interval training is one of the effective ways to burn more calories. But before you do
you must see a doctor if you have a personal or family history of heart disease, diabetes or high
blood pressure. Interval training involves running at a slow, steady pace for a few minutes
followed by a minute or two or intense exertion to significantly elevate your heart rate.

3. Running through water, running in the sand or jog are also effective ways to burn more calories. Try running through water because really enhance the ability to burn more calories. The resistance allows you to burn twice more calories than plain running in land. Running in the sand may also burn around 30 percent more calories than running on pavement or dry land.

4. You may take a green tea extract before you run. It is good if you have green tea supplement,
take it before you start exercising to help burn more calories running.

How to Lose Weight Effectively

One notable goal that we should all strive attain is how to lose weight effectively. Being physically fit allows one to pursue more interests and focus on greater things. It also promotes good health. If that does not convince you then how about the fact that good health increases life expectancy? Not to mention increases one’s productivity in all aspects of life.

Imagine how difficult it would be to aim for success when you are always feeling tired and ill due to weight problems. Much of the physical problems afflicting our generation today like diabetes, heart ailment and others are due to being overweight.

Here are some of the few tips on how to lose weight effectively which are delineated from the Oprah show:

1. Lose weight slowly. An important step in how to lose weight effectively. Don’t try to make drastic changes to your weight. This is not healthy. It is also counterproductive as this might cause more problems later. Better take it slowly but surely until your body gets used to the fitness routine. Make it a habit. Stick to a fitness regimen that you are capable of doing like simple walking. This is critical on how to lose weight effectively.

It is not advisable to do strenuous exercises at the onset because this could cause undue stress to the heart. You do not want that kind of burden.

Also, losing a lot of weight in short period of time might lead to health problems later. Doctors advised that you lose around 2-5 lbs per month. Anything more than that could cause physical problems such as low immunity to viruses, putting you at risk for various ailments.

2. Take Brisk Walking Daily. Another method on how to lose weight effectively is walking. Walking, as we all know, is the perfect exercise. You do not need to spend money to be able to do it. There are no apparel or equipment requirements. Plus it does not strain the heart if done correctly.

The goal should be to walk 10,000 steps daily. But do not attempt reaching 10,000 steps on first try. I timed the number of steps I take a minute and it was 80 steps a minute. 10,000 divided by 80 steps that would mean 125 minutes or 2.083 hours daily.

As mentioned, do not try to reach 10,000 steps in one swoop. That might not be good for you especially if you have certain ailments. The first rule still applies and that is take brisk walking everyday regardless of the number of steps. Do not push yourself to walk faster or beyond your limits just to reach the desired 10,000 steps. Take one step at a time. Then gradually build up the number of steps until you reach 10,000.

You can walk for like 30 minutes in the morning, then another 30 minutes in the afternoon, 30 minutes in evening and another 30 minutes before sleeping. However, please be warned that exercising close to bedtime might not induce sleep.

Whatever works for you. Also count the number of minutes you walk at work. When you are at the office, make it a point to do some walking while doing work like going to the copier machine, walking to the pantry for coffee or juice, walking to the canteen or taking the stairs instead of using elevators. Or, even going to the comfort room. The steps you took will add up.

3. Do Not eat 3 hours before you sleep. A very important step on how to lose weight effectively. If you follow this advice, you will automatically lose weight. If you make it a habit and do this everyday, you will lose more weight. Since activities are lesser or lighter at night than at daytime, then there are lesser calories to burn. Eating food, more than necessary, will make you gain weight. Try to limit food intake at nighttime so you will not store unnecessary fats.

These are simple easy-to-do-steps on how to lose weight effectively can be done anytime, anywhere. You don’t need to buy anything. Just simply adhering to the steps will help you lose weight and help you attain a healthier lifestyle in the process.

The Dangers of Second Hand Smoke

We all know that smoking is dangerous but what we don’t know is being exposed to cigarette smoke or second-hand smoke could also have harmful effects to our body.

It is no secret that smoking causes preventable death and disease. ‘Cigarettes cause more deaths than cocaine, auto accidents, AIDS, alcohol, heroin, fire, suicide and homicide combined’ (Reynolds, Patrick 1998). Reynolds wrote in Anti-Smoking.Org’s official website that smoking caused 400,000 deaths every year in the United States alone. That equates to at least 1,200 lives per day. The resulting effect contributes to a $50 billion annual loss in productivity and additional health care costs.

In the international scene, smoking attributes to two to three million deaths each year. There are more or less 1.2 billion smokers worldwide. World Health Organization estimates a staggering 500 million smokers or an equivalent of 9% of the world’s population will die due to smoking. If these findings do not alarm us, then the fact that the tragic effects of smoking are not exclusive to smokers alone but extend to the innocent non-smoking public should send warning bells to our minds.

Second-Hand Smoke

Scottish Health Executives (2004) defined second-hand smoke as “Other people’s tobacco smoke, either from the burning tip of the cigarette or the smoke that is exhaled by the smoker.” Secondhand smoke or ETS has been classed as a Class A (known human) carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency in the USA, in the same class as asbestos, arsenic, benzene and radon gas.

A non-smoker living with a smoker is exposed to an average of about 1% of the tobacco being actively smoked. In a recent study conducted, it was revealed that second-hand smoke or passive smoking is the third major cause of lung cancer in the United States. The health risks due to exposure of second-hand smoke also known as ‘environmental tobacco smoke’ (ETS) are serious. The Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health concludes that:

- second-hand smoke can cause of lung cancer, long-term exposure increases the risk by 20-30%
- second-hand smoke can lead to heart disease
- second-hand smoke causes asthma in children, and it could worsen the condition for those afflicted
with asthma

Aside from the long-term effects, it was found out that second-hand smoke can trigger heart attacks in some people after being exposed for a short time. People with coronary heart disease and coronary artery disease are advised to take precautionary measures to avoid indoor smoke. Tobacco companies’ aggressive advertising in the product has depicted smoking as a lifestyle for the elite. It is estimated that they spend as much as over $4 billion annually on advertising to create this image.

How to Do Fitness Walk Even When You don’t Have Enough Time

Exercise is an important component of health. It should be part of your daily routine.

You should bear it in your mind that exercise is important to your health and well-being. Because of work, your mind is preoccupied of work assignments and it might be difficult to incorporate fitness walking into your daily schedule activities.

Diet or exercise alone would not suffice to improve the overall health and good quality of life. Diet and should go hand in hand to achieve fitness goals. To focus on these fitness goals, you must first come to realize that fitness walk exercise is important and make it a priority in your life. Here are some suggestions to make it easier to make fitness walking a part of your daily routine schedule.

1.A good plan to walk first thing in the morning is an ideal time to exercise before doing other works assignments . You will able to achieve fitness goals which can elevate your mood and boost self-esteem.

2. It is better to walk with companion and you can make fitness walk more pleasurable than walking alone. You feel enthusiastic having conversation with friend while walking. Sometimes there are days you are tempted not to exercise, your friend is a strong motivator.

3. It is good to walk with dog companion and consider dog as part of your fitness walk routine. Both of you gain the benefits of more toned and conditioned body.

4. When you have work in the office , instead of spending more time eating your lunch, you may incorporate your fitness walking exercise after eating lunch. Walking around the office complex. You feel energetic and ready to work when you return to the office.

5. Make a schedule each week to make it easier to complete your fitness walk routine.

The Benefits of Regular Exercise

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall
health. It is performed for many different reasons. These include: strengthening muscles and the
cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, and weight loss or maintenance. Frequent and
regular physical exercise boosts the immune system, and helps prevent diseases of affluence such
as heart disease, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. It also improves mental
health and helps prevent depression.

People do not exercise mainly because they have deficit knowledge about the Physical and Psychological benefits of Regular Exercise. Without knowing it, some people never realize that regular exercise is significant as this would improve the overall health, well being and quality of life of a person. Even if one has never been overweight, it does not mean that he or she is healthy and physically fit.

With knowledge deficit , some people are not able to engage in a structured program of physical
activity intended to help them maintain or achieve maximum physical fitness, such as walking, aerobics or rowing. By doing this regular exercise, they could have availed these benefits like helping them manage to maintain weight, this keeps their weight within healthy limits and can lower the risks of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis.

Controlling blood pressure as it strengthens the heart so it can pump more blood with less effort
and with less pressure on the arteries. Decreasing the risk of heart attack through exercise such
as brisk walking for three hours a week— or just half an hour a day — is associated with a 30%
to 40% lower risk of heart disease in women. Boosting “good” cholosterol – the level of high-
density lipoproteins (HDL). Physical activity helps reduce low-density lipoproteins (LDL or
“bad” cholesterol) in the blood, which can cause plaque buildup along the artery walls — a major
cause of heart attacks. Also, lowering the risk of stroke, through regular, moderate exercise
equivalent to brisk walking for an hour a day, five days a week, can cut the risk of stroke in half.
And reducing the risk o breast cancer and type 2 diabetes, people at high risk of diabetes cut their
risk in half by combining consistent exercise like walking with lower fat intake and a 5% to 7%
weight loss.

The Psychological benefits can be as significant as Physical Benefits in which Inga doesn’t feel
invigorated and enthusiastic without engaging regular exercise. Because of deficit knowledge of
psychological benefits, Inga never realizes that this would boost her self esteem and greater
sense of self-reliance and self-confidence. Improve her mental alertness, perception and
information process. Increase perceptions of acceptance by others. Decrease overall feelings of
stress and tension. Lastly, reduced frustration with daily problems, and more a constructive
response to disappointments and failures.

As year goes by, the physical capacity of person is diminishing. People who have never been
involved in any form of exercise nor physical activity would not be healthy as those
of people who do.

Doing regular exercise is necessary if one wants to stay healthy, feel better and make their life longer. There are numerous benefits one gets from regular exercise. Keeping a healthy weight is good for physical and mental well-being. Eating the right types of foods and regular exercise constitute healthy living.

The Health Benefits of Stretching

Benefits of Stretching
The body was built to be flexible. You must be able to flex and extend to something you dropped on the ground. You should be capable of zipping the back of your dress on your own. It is essential for you to be able to reach that book you’ve been wanting to read at the top shelf.

These are easy activities. Nothing impressive about them, you simply stretched out a little. Nonetheless, whenever there are difficulties performing such simple motions, then you have to extend your boundaries.

What Is Stretching?

Stretching is merely the act of allowing your body to extend fully. This activity requires straightening out or extending the limb structure.

How do you perform the stretching routine?

Stretching is somewhat simple. As brought up in the beginning of this article, it is part of normal activities. It can be performed by anyone, no matter your age.

However the extent of which you can flex and stretch differs. As a person ages their muscles tighten up. The range of joint motions can be reduced. This could very easily hinder an on-the-go lifestyle. That is why as the individual grows older, flexing and bending may become more limited. This is how come stretching on a regular basis, as part of a workout program is really important.

You can do simple stretches everyday. These stretches can be integrated into your lifestyle and daily routines. It does not demand a great deal of your time.

Stretching exercises may also be performed while working-out. Actually, stretching represents an all-important piece of any training or athletic activity. Stretching exercises should be practiced first prior to anything else. Stretching your body and limbs prepares you for more rigorous activities.

Most athletes perform the site and reach exercise, wherein they position along the ground, extend their legs and reaching the tip of their foot with the tip of their fingers. Actually,many fitness trainers actually ask their athletes to stretch before playing sports.

The ideal length of time for stretching is best when done for 10 minutes. This will establish enough opportunity for the body to move and flex the muscles, thus developing it for more complex and strenuous movements.

Experts nonetheless would disagree with stretching beyond 10 minutes. By extending the exercise to 30 minutes or more will already fatigue the body. This won’t be encouraging if one is gearing up for a game.

What Are the Benefits of Stretching?

1. Increasing Your Range of Movement
   When you consistently do the stretching exercises, the length of the muscles and tendons are further expanded. This will assist in maximizing the range of your movement. Thus, the limbs and joints are able to move, in plenty of time before an injury can occur.
2. Enhancing Your Ability to Perform Skills
   When you possess an ample range of movement, the further you are able to perform several more things. For instance, you will be able to jump high without experiencing any pain when you land. This will also assist you in beginning a new sport or allowing you to be better in the sport you are in. By stretching you can have a more active lifestyle.
3. Preventing Injury
   Stretching helps prevent injury to muscles, joints and tendons. Well flexed tendons and muscles are considered to be in good working condition. This will help in a speedy recovery and reduced soreness. The muscles of the body are able to consume more draining and stringent movements with less chance of becoming injured.
4. Decreasing Muscle Tension
   If the muscles are granted their daily exercises and stretching, there is less potential that they will contract. This will unquestionably free you of any muscle pain or problems.
5. Energy Enhancement
   Being capable of moving more will allow you to have much more energy. Stretching can further heighten your consciousness, as if recognizing that you have a body that has the ability of performing several other things. Since you are becoming more impelled to be active instead of sulking in the corner.
6. Reducing Your Cholesterol
   Research has shown that executing extended stretching exercises, such as yoga, will help keep down the cholesterol in the body. This of course of action should be made with a healthy diet. This may prevent and even reverse the hardening of the arteries, enabling you to avert coronary diseases.

Integrating stretching into your daily lifestyle. It produces benefits that you can not afford to deny. It also does not demand a great deal. It can make up your regular activities, flexing and bending every so often. After all, your fitness represents everything so in order to do what works to keep the body in the best physical shape.

Choosing The Perfect Fitness Product For Your Home

So you want to be fit eh? Well let’s look at some home fitness products that are available and see what we can come up with. Keep in mind that you want to purchase something based on your needs and not simply the hype of the infomercial. If you don’t then you’ll end up like so many others with machines that just sit around your house collecting dust or better yet, become clothing racks.

When thinking about buying an exercise system you want to consider a number of factors with the main one being your budget. Once you find the equipment that is right for you then you need to do some shopping around. I would strongly consider checking out Ebay and Craigslist for some smoking deals.

Let’s consider what your getting this home gym for. What is the area that causes you the most problems. Is it your belly or is it your thighs? Do you just want to be stronger or are you looking to simply lost fat? These are some things that you need to consider before starting or even looking into buying something. Once you decide the reason you need this machine you can now think about your budget.

How much do you really want to spend on this? I can tell you that prices range anywhere from $50 dollar to several thousand dollars. Like I said at the beginning you should check out second hand places if you are looking to save some money. Most people buy fitness equipment and then hardly use it so you are surely to get something like new for much less.

The next thing you want to think about is space. How much space do you have and where are you going to put this thing? You may want something that you don’t have room for so you better get that sorted out first. Some fitness equipment can fold up and slide under your bed and others must stay put together at all times. If you don’t have a dedicated room or even garage for this then you are going to be limited to looking at equipment that is small and can fold down. I would recommend the Total Gym. It’s a great piece of equipment and is easy to set up and also folds down and can be placed under your bed or in your closet. If this seems to much you can always purchase a membership at your local gym. Either way I hope this helps you be more informed about making that very important decision about what method to use when choosing your own home fitness equipment.

Switching from Barbells to Dumbbells

I’ve always worked out with barbells and have felt very happy to lift so much weight. But a friend of mine recently convinced me to dump the barbells and focus solely on dumbbells. I thought to myself that he must be crazy. Dumbbells are for your arms, they are for shaping and toning but not for building lean muscle mass like I was after. But boy was I ever wrong. After just a few workouts I came to realize that working out with dumbbells is much more challenging then working out with barbells. Sure I can’t lift the same amount as I could with the barbell but I sure can feel the different in the way my muscles are being challenged, which only means that I’m headed for some big time gains. When you can challenge your muscles you are going to get some thickness on those muscles.

Here are five reasons that I feel you should be making the switch from barbells to dumbbells.

1. By using dumbbells you are not going to hit that plateau that so many of us struggle with. The reason for this is you can use dumbbells in a multitude of ways, thus causing your muscles to not become bored and to continue to grow. You will continue to see results which will help keep you motivated.
2. You may not believe this but you can actually do full body workouts with dumbbells. Most people think dumbbells are just for the arms but that is simply not true. You can execute all the exercises that you do with the barbell and because you are using a dumbbell you have to be even more precise to keep them even. This requires great strength and concentration.
3. Dumbbells give you a broader range of motion. For example with a barbell while you are doing chest presses you can only go down so far. But with a dumbbell you can go down so much further and really stretch those muscles. By doing this you are ensuring that your muscles will get stronger because of the muscle fiber that is being used to perform this exercise.
4. Balance is a very important part of becoming stronger and there is not better way to improve you balance than by using dumbbells. Dumbbells force you to keep your body stable while doing exercises. This ensures that all your muscles are being worked equally.
5. The fifth reason that I believe dumbbells are a great alternative is because they are very practical. You don’t need a big space to store them and they don’t cost that much either. You can also use them just about anywhere. This gives you some variety which helps keep you motivated when working out.

I really think dumbbells will be a great workout for most people. I’ve even seen some dumbbells that you don’t even have to change the weights. All you do is adjust them by turning a knob and you are set to go. So get yourself some dumbbells and see what I’m talking about.

The Benefits Of Aerobics And Walking

Are you looking for a good way to burn calories so you can lose some of that fat you have accumulated over the years? If so then let me introduce you to walking. Walking has been known to help burn fat as well as many other things. Many doctors will often recommend brisk walking for their patients.

If you are in the class of being obese or becoming obese then you should know that this will bring some unhealthy conditions to your body. The body has trouble both internally and externally. If you are obese you also risk your physical appearance such as looking older than you really are. If you really want to look younger, feel better and live longer than you need to think about ways you can lose those extra pounds. Aerobic workouts are essential in winning this battle.

Some great aerobic exercises to try are riding your bicycle, taking a swim in the pool and running at the park or in your neighborhood. Aerobic exercises are referred to as cardio exercises. What this means is they are usually free hand movements that do not require and type of weights.

However it can be good to combine both aerobics and weight training and many people do this. By doing this you increase your chances of burning even more calories which in turn leads to less fat. Most trainers will recommend a balanced exercise program that includes both of these methods.

We know that fat is much thicker than carbs which means that it takes more oxygen to burn. While you are walking briskly you are supplying more oxygen to your muscles. Because of this we can say that you will burn fat at a much higher percentage when you are doing aerobic exercises than when you are doing simply weight exercises. When you are doing weight exercises you are more likely to burn more carbohydrates than fat.

Again, if you combine both weight training and aerobics like walking, running and bicycling you are going to burn the most amount of fat possible. This is also a very inexpensive way to workout. During these difficult times, it’s good to know that we can still stay healthy without breaking the bank account.