Archives for 2012

According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 40 million Americans suffer from chronic, long-term sleep disorders, and an additional 20 million report sleeping problems occasionally. Between work, family, and a wealth of other demands, many people struggle to shut out their stressful day  when it’s time to turn in. Fortunately, some factors that interfere with your sleep can be controlled.

If you’ve been daydreaming about a good night’s rest, then take a look at our checklist of things to do (or avoid!) before you hit the hay:

1. Cut out caffeine. 6 hours before you turn in, it’s a good idea to switch to decaf. Though caffeine is well know for keeping us awake during the day, it is also linked to interrupted sleep during the night.
2. Skip the booze. Or, at the very least, don’t drink alcohol 4 hours before bed. As the alcohol wanes from the body at night, it could pull you out of a much-needed slumber.
3. No more exercise. Exercise stimulates us and can make it harder to fall asleep. When your blood is pumping, your heart rate is up, which puts your body in an active mode rather than a restful state. Try to do your workouts earlier in the afternoon and save the evening for more gentle practices, such as yoga or meditation.
4. Reduce your fluids. An hour before bed, have a glass of warm milk (the tryptophan promotes relaxation), then cut off fluids. Otherwise, your bladder is likely to wake you up from an otherwise sound sleep.
5. Turn off your computer. Painful as it may be, put your cell phone aside, too. The light from the screens reduces melatonin production—that magical sandman hormone that whisks us to dreamland. Besides, at this point, looking a work emails will only keep you wired (and stressed).
6. Take a warm bath. After your skin warms, your core body temperature will drop, which triggers sleep.
7. Relax. Thirty minutes before bed, read a book, listen to music, meditate, or simply get in bed and breathe deeply. These calming activities will unwind your body (and your mind) and help usher in sleepiness.
8. Hit the lights. Once you adjust thermostat to 68 to 74 degrees—ideal sleeping temperature—turn off the lights. Darkness triggers the release of melatonin, the hormone that induces sleep. If it’s impossible to make your room completely dark, invest in an eye cover.

What helps you fall asleep?                                 

That’s right, pumpkin. It’s not just a Halloween symbol or the star ingredient of your Thanksgiving pie. In fact, this magical gourd is any health nut’s dream. This often-underappreciated veggie is exceptionally low in calories and loaded with potassium, beta-carotene, and Vitamin A. Studies show that pumpkin prevents cancer and heart disease and protects eye health—which means your diet deserves a little more pumpkin.

Here are our five favorite ways to enjoy pumpkin and rack up the health benefits:

• Roast whole pumpkins and use it in a variety of vegetable dishes. The roasted flesh makes a perfect base for a creamy, low-fat  fall-infused soup.

• If you’re looking for a sweeter way to relish your freshly roasted pumpkins, you can blend the pumpkin flesh and add it in your smoothies. Another option is to puree the flesh with apple juice, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then boil the mixture to make fresh homemade pumpkin butter.

• One of our favorite tricks for using canned pumpkin is to buy a box of cake mix, and instead of adding any milk or eggs, simply add one whole can of pureed pumpkin, stir with the mix, and bake! Not only is this a breezy way to make a sweet treat on the fly, but you also save good deal of calories and saturated fat by using pumpkin. Try it with a chocolate cake mix—the result is somewhere between a muffin and a cupcake. In a word, it’s heavenly.

• Pumpkin pie may be more popular this time of year, but cheesecake made with a cup or two of canned pumpkin is the perfect combination of creamy, sweet and savory. Bake it all in a crust made of crushed ginger snaps and you’ll never want to eat your cheesecake any other way.

• Perhaps best known for their role in prostate health, pumpkin seeds are nutritional powerhouses. Just scoop them out of the pumpkin, wash them thoroughly, season with sea salt, and bake in the oven at 375 for 10 to 15 minutes. These toasted seeds make a healthy snack  for only 187 calories per a one-quarter cup serving.

What are your favorite ways to enjoy pumpkin?