Daylight Savings Time: Sleep Tips and Planning

By Lisa Feierstein, RN

Daylight Savings Time Preparation TipsIt’s no accident that March 5-11th, which is National Sleep Awareness Week, coincides with the Daylight Savings Time (DST) switch on Sunday March 11th at 2am in most parts of the U.S. Most folks love the extra light in the evenings, but not at the loss of their sleep. DST equates to flying from west to east. It’s a lot harder than flying from east to west because it’s harder on the body to go to bed earlier than to stay up later to compensate for the time change.

 

Since I feel your pain I’ve listed several sleep tips to plan for March 11th so it won’t catch you by surprise like it probably did last year.

 

Your 4-Step Sleep Prep Plan for March 11th

 

• Get a good night’s sleep (7-8 hours) on the nights leading up to the Sunday time change

 

• Reset your clocks by the afternoon on Saturday, March 10th to get yourself mentally prepared

 

• Plan on rising on Sunday the time you would normally get up, which will be an hour earlier than your old time. So if you rise on Sundays at 7am, it will feel like it is 6am—but don’t worry; your circadian rhythm will adjust to your new normal soon!

 

• Go to bed Sunday at your “normal” (non Daylight Savings Time) time, so if it’s normally 11pm, go to bed then, which will really be midnight. Try not to take a nap on Sunday—you’ll mess up your new time pattern.

 

• Turn on all of your lights on Sunday morning since it will be darker outside. Your body will thank you for the extra light stimulation.

 

As an added bonus here are three more tips on sleep hygiene which are even more important Time Change Weekend:

 

• Regular exercise of 20-30 minutes a day will help you sleep better, but be careful that you don’t exercise too close to bedtime

 

• Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol at least 6-8 hours before bedtime. The caffeine in coffee, chocolate, soft drinks, non-herbal teas, diet drugs, and some pain relievers will keep you up. Nicotine will turn you into a light sleeper and alcohol will rob you of deep sleep opportunities in REM sleep so you remain in the lighter stages of sleep. Also avoid eating a heavy meal two hours before bedtime.

 

• Make a habit with a relaxing bedtime ritual such as a warm bath, reading or listening to soft music. You’ll train your brain to associate these rituals with sleep.

 

Your Turn:

 

What tips have we missed? What worked for you last year for Time Change Weekend? Please share your tips with us and your fellow readers!

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Sleep Apnea Linked to Silent Strokes

By Lisa Feierstein, RN

Stroke - brain damage, bleeding, paralysis, slur, bleedingYou all probably know untreated sleep apnea leads to heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, drowsy driving and strokes. But you may not know that sleep apnea can cause tissue death or a silent stroke. Silent strokes are symptomless, but they are still serious since having a series of them can cause memory loss and difficulties with walking. Their seriousness adds up with dangerous consequences over time.

 

A recent German study found that 91 percent of its participants, who had experienced a stroke, also had sleep apnea. The participants underwent brain imaging scans which showed the tissue death and the evidence of a silent stroke. Interestingly, the more times a participant stopped breathing, the greater the chance of them experiencing a silent stroke.

 

Since this study only included stroke victims, more needs to be done to study silent strokes and its correlation to sleep apnea. But this new study should raise a flag because it reveals how necessary it is to treat people for sleep apnea.

 

More on Strokes and Sleep Apnea

 

Stroke is caused by high blood pressure, smoking, drinking alcohol, obesity, heredity factors, physical inactivity, and sleep apnea is also a part of this list. Sleep apnea can increase the risk of stroke. Almost 70 percent of those who have a stroke also have sleep apnea because many of these patients also have hypertension (high blood pressure).

 

Sleep apnea is disruptive, dangerous and under-diagnosed. Approximately 80 percent of people with sleep apnea remain undiagnosed and untreated—wow! Untreated sleep apnea sufferers increase their risk of not only stroke, but cardiovascular, kidney disease and death. Men who are 40 and older and have sleep apnea should be especially concerned with strokes.

 

Usually, blood pressure lowers in sleep, but when someone has sleep apnea, their blood pressure is elevated due to the pauses in breathing and abnormal oxygen flow. After a time, the cells of the blood vessels become damaged .This increase in blood pressure also raises the blood pressure in the brain, which is when a stroke can occur.

 

The symptoms of a stroke include a sudden weakness on one side of the body, difficulty seeing or speaking, trouble walking, and a sudden severe headache with no known cause. But before you suffer a stroke, visit a health professional for a sleep screening if you know that you are a frequent snorer or you suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness. You could have untreated sleep apnea. Also get a sleep screening if you have several other risk factors such as a heart condition, diabetes or high blood pressure. If you do have sleep apnea, then the next step is to treat your sleep apnea with the gold standard, the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) device. With the CPAP device, the troubled airway that closes during sleep is kept open with a gentle stream of air delivered via a mask.

 

Don’t let a stroke rob you of your memory, mobility, or of your life. You can fight the stroke epidemic in this country and enjoy many more years of health!

 

Your Turn:

 

We want to hear from you! What concerns do you have about strokes and your health?

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The Psychological Effects of Sleep Apnea

By Lisa Feierstein, RN

It’s a vicious cycle: if you suffer from sleep apnea you may also suffer from depression. Untreated sleep apnea can affect you in many psychological ways leaving you tired and ready to give up—but don’t! Read on to learn how treating your sleep apnea can alleviate some of your symptoms and other psychological issues.

 

You know that because of your sleep apnea quality sleep is hard to come by and so you may feel restless, fatigued, and irritable during the day. If you already suffer from depression or anxiety, you have a harder time sleeping. Years of this can wear you down mentally, leading to bouts of depression.

 

Getting the Proper Treatment

 

Sleep apnea and depression are both challenging to treat. Depression affects 17% of people during their lifetime and it’s more than feeling sad or blue every once in a while—the symptoms need to persist for two weeks. Depression’s symptoms include lethargy, an inability to enjoy once-loved activities, insomnia, lack of interest in sex, exercise or food and suicidal thoughts. Some people who are depressed may also gain weight, and this can affect their sleep apnea— excess fatty tissue in the neck can contribute to airway obstruction, and larger-than-normal waist circumference may add to improper positioning in bed.

 

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms of depression, your first step is to see a health practitioner. Sleep apnea’s symptoms often mirror those of depression, and the symptoms and treatment of depression often aggravate sleep apnea. To be properly diagnosed, the health care professional needs to identify and distinguish between the symptoms of depression and sleep apnea. She or he will give a thorough evaluation of the patient, including an informed history, to determine a more precise diagnosis and eventual treatment.

 

ResMed SoftGel Nasal Mask

Successful CPAP therapy is attainable with a variety of PAP devices and masks

If sleep apnea is suspected, the health provider may prescribe a sleep study. If symptoms of a sleep disorder are discovered, you may be treated with a PAP (positive airway pressure) device to help with your breathing during sleep, which is the gold standard for treating sleep apnea. With the PAP device, the airway that closes during sleep is kept open with a gentle stream of air delivered via a mask.

 

Once PAP therapy is adhered to, your depression should improve. Using a PAP device nightly to manage sleep apnea will provide patients with the proper treatment they need so they can find their way back to a healthy mind and body again.

 

Your Turn:
What other tips can you offer folks if you suffer from sleep apnea and depression? Do you feel your sleep apnea is causing you your depression or is it the other way around?

 

If you have other questions about sleep visit Active Healthcare for information and education. Sign up for our monthly newsletter Sleep EZzzz and keep up with our blog posts so you can take charge of your health through better sleep tonight!

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One response to “The Psychological Effects of Sleep Apnea”

  1. Cluster Headache Treatment
    March 22, 2012 at 12:46 am |

    Here is some more information on cluster headaches and sleep apnea.

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Have Migraines? Your PAP Device Can Help

By Lisa Feierstein, RN

Migraines are no fun. While their cause is not known, they are likely triggered by changes in the brain stem and/or overactive neurons in the trigeminal nerve, which is a major pain pathway. In a recent “People’s Pharmacy” column, Joe and Terry Graedon answered a reader who said that her PAP device help relieve her migraines. Diagnosed with severe sleep apnea twelve years ago, her doctor said her new PAP device would increase her oxygen flow to her vital organs. It did and she dropped her need for her migraine medications by 80 to 90 percent. I love how she adds that her PAP device saved her life! I see this scenario repeated frequently in our practice.

 

ResMed Swift FX for her

A variety of masks are available for your PAP device including the ResMed Swift FX for Her

It’s wonderful that sleep apnea is getting more press and awareness from widely-read syndicated columns such as the “People’s Pharmacy.” Sleep apnea is a sleep-related breathing disorder that causes your body to stop breathing from a few to hundreds of times a night, sometimes for just a few seconds or it can be for minutes at a time. This occurs because the tissue in the back of your throat collapses and blocks the airway during sleep, decreasing oxygen to your lungs and vital organs.

 

Your PAP device helps open up your troubled airway with a gentle stream of air. Not only will you be able to have better quality sleep, you’ll reduce your fatigue, daytime sleepiness, irritability, poor memory, depression, morning headaches, loss of interest in sex and frequent nighttime awakenings to urinate. Now we can also add relief from migraine pain to this list.

 

Sleep apnea also affects 20 million Americans, with 80 percent of this number leaving their sleep apnea untreated. Migraines affect 28 million Americans and they arrive as a pounding, throbbing moderate to severe headache. They can be produced by hormones or certain foods and can occur a few times a month and last from a few hours to several days. Migraine sufferers experience light sensitivity, nausea or vomiting and stomach upset. Some sufferers also see or feel an aura, which can be a visual, motor or a verbal disturbance caused by brain chemicals.

 

We Want to Hear from You:

 

Do you have sleep apnea and also suffer from migraines? Has your PAP device helped your migraines and if so, by how much?

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Comfort & Compliance – Heated Tubing and Tube Wraps

By Lisa Feierstein, RN

Humidity is not something you think about every day when it comes to managing your sleep apnea, but lower room temperatures may cause excess moisture to build up in your tubing. Your tubing may wear out faster and won’t be able to deliver the right amount of pressurized air you need to sleep through the night. Now excess humidity in your tubing can be fixed with Tube Wraps and ResMed’s ClimateLine Heated Tubing (only available for ResMed’s S9 Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) devices). With these products the air moving in the tubes stays warm and humidified and tubing condensation is minimized.

 

The S9’s ClimateLine Heated Tubing’s internal heated coil and mask temperature sensor senses the room temperature adjust the unit’s electrical system and monitor humidity changes to eliminate rainout.

S9 ClimateLine Tubing

Climate Line Heating Tubing and Tube Wraps help eliminate rainout which happens when you have heated air in your tube and your bedroom temperature is much cooler than the tube’s temperature, for example 60° in the bedroom and 80° in the tubing. This condition happens more frequently in the wintertime. The S9’s ClimateLine Heated Tubing’s internal heated coil and mask temperature sensor senses the room temperature to adjust the unit’s electrical system and monitor humidity changes to eliminate rainout.

 

Tube Wrap

Tube Wraps insulate your CPAP tubing to prevent rainout.

If you have a PAP device without the heated tubing options, you can get Tube Wraps or another tubing cover, which keep the room temperature from affecting the temperature in the tube. Think of the tube wraps as koozies for your tubing!

 

Now is a great time to insulate your tubing. This may be a good time to update your PAP device with ResMed’s S9 series, which features the ClimateLine Heated Tubing or if you want to wait a bit on that purchase, the Tube Wraps have a cash price of $20. Don’t forget you can receive FREE shipping on these products with your next resupply order.

 

Your Turn:
For you users of ClimateLine Heated Tubing and Tube Wraps, how has this feature/product changed your experience with managing your sleep apnea?

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Depression and Sleep

By Lisa Feierstein, RN

What is the connection between depression and sleep?Do you suffer from depression? Not able to sleep? Feel depressed from your lack of sleep? Adding insomnia to the equation can make your depression ten times worse: it may take you longer to get to sleep, your total sleep time feels shorter and there is little or no deep sleep, which is essential for good overall health. Clinical depression affects 19 million Americans. Women and the elderly are more likely to experience the condition than other groups. They also have higher rates of insomnia.

 

Research has shown that people with depression are more likely to have breathing-related sleep disorders! I’ve written many times about the dangers of untreated sleep apnea: increased risk for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes, just to name a few. Patients diagnosed with depression may benefit from a sleep disorders screening as a part of their overall treatment plan.

 

Understanding depression is the first step in treating it. If you have experienced these symptoms below you may want to seek out the advice of a healthcare professional:

 

• persistent sad, anxious or “empty” mood
• you oversleep or you can’t get to sleep
• reduced appetite, or increased appetite or weight gain
• loss of pleasure in once-enjoyable activities
• loss of libido
• restlessness
• chronic pain and digestive disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
• difficulty concentrating at work
• fatigue or loss of energy
• feeling guilty, hopeless or worthless
• thoughts of suicide or death

 

Medications for Treatment of Depression and Sleep Apnea
If you suspect you may have depression, a healthcare professional can recommend proper treatment, psychotherapy, drugs, etc. But if you do have untreated sleep apnea, you may want to avoid any sedating antidepressant medications such as amitriptyline and dosulepin which may worsen your sleep apnea; check in with your healthcare provider.

 

Great sleep tips to help have a better nights rest:
• Keep a regular sleep schedule (For example, go to bed every night at 10:30pm and wake up at 6 am, even on weekends)
• Move into bright light after you wake up
• Don’t nap if you suffer from insomnia
• Get your daily exercise in, but don’t work out too close to bedtime
• Limit or stop your caffeine and alcohol intake

 

If you have any other questions about sleep, visit Active Healthcare for immediate information and education. Sign up for our monthly newsletter Sleep EZzzz. Also keep up with our blog posts so you can take charge of your health through better sleep tonight!

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Weight Loss Will Help With Your Sleep Apnea

By Lisa Feierstein, RN

If you have sleep apnea and are overweight, make good on your 2012 resolution to lose that weight! It’s not easy, but the facts are in that a significant weight loss of about 20 pounds, and/or about 10 percent of your overall weight, will help you manage and even reduce your sleep apnea issues. According to a study by Sleep Review, controlling your portions and exercising at least 150 minutes a week (about 20 minutes / day) can help you lose weight and can help you with your sleep apnea.

 

ScienceDaily reported on an obesity/sleep apnea study conducted over a year where the 264 participants with sleep apnea and type 2 diabetes between 45 to 75 years old were divided into two groups. One group received a behavioral weight loss program with restricted calorie diets and a structured exercise regimen of 175 minutes per week. The other group only attended three info sessions about diabetes management that year. Which group do you think lost the most weight? You’re right if you guessed the first group that actively dove into their weight loss. With the help of dieticians and trainers, these participants reduced both their waistline and their sleep apnea. The other group reported no great change in their weight or health after the study.

 

While many physicians agree that weight loss is a significant step towards reducing the overall effects of sleep apnea, sleep apnea must still be managed even if the patient does lose a lot of weight—many times this significant fact is not included in these studies. And even if the patient does lose the weight, if they have hypertension, diabetes, or cardiac disease those diseases also need specific treatments. The gold standard treatment after you are diagnosed with sleep apnea and are overweight is to eat right, exercise and manage your sleep apnea every night with a PAP device.

Active Healthcare offers a wide selection of PAP units and masks

Active Healthcare offers an extensive selection of PAP units and masks for our customers

But what if the patient is not compliant with their PAP therapy? This is a tough issue and I would make certain that you work with a supplier that offers tremendous support and lots of mask options. Using a PAP device requires a lifestyle change and working with a supportive community can make all the difference. If you live in the Triangle region of North Carolina come to one of our free support groups, or you can follow us on Twitter during the meetings for more information and support about sleep apnea. If you live outside of this area go to www.sleepapnea.org and find a free sleep apnea support group near your home.

 

Choosing good health may require a significant lifestyle change that takes motivation and desire, as that first study of obese sleep apnea patients demonstrated. But it can be done in a supportive environment! You only have one body and now’s the time to step it up in 2012—you’re worth it many times over.

 

Your Turn:

 

What’s your best tip for significant weight loss?

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The Connection Between Uncontrolled Sleep Apnea and Weight

By Lisa Feierstein, RN

Sleep Your Way to a Thinner YouIt’s no longer a coincidence—if you are not treating your sleep apnea the right way with a PAP device, you will have a more difficult time losing weight. Unfortunately, many sleep apnea sufferers already are overweight and their poor sleep routine of stops and starts contributes even more to their weight gain. This is because of their hormones, ghrelin and leptin, receiving the wrong signals at the wrong time of the day making it difficult to feel satisfied with ones food intake and hungry all the time. Not getting enough sleep causes one to take in more calories during the day to fuel their energy needs and reduces any motivation to exercise. Weight gain is more damaging to your health than not fitting into your favorite pair of jeans—excess weight can bring on type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke.

 

Recent studies in scientific journals have reported that sleep apnea patients who lose weight through a regimented weight loss plan with portion controls are able to lose a significant amount of weight which in turns helps reduce or bring their sleep apnea into remission. Before these studies, doctors recommended sleep apnea patients to lose weight, but really in a more general sense for their overall health and well-being—now it’s a given connection that sleep apnea will lead to weight gain and by managing your weight you will manage and maybe even beat your sleep apnea.

 

Now that we know about the connection, what can we do about it? First, we educate undiagnosed sleep apnea sufferers that they need to see a health professional if they have snoring issues, if they have daytime sleepiness or fatigue coupled with high blood pressure and/or diabetes. They may recommend a sleep study to determine if they have sleep apnea and if they have a positive diagnosis, a PAP (positive airway pressure) device may be recommended. Patients will be educated on use of the PAP device and mask every night. Overweight sleep apnea sufferers should also combine their PAP management with a regimented weight loss plan. We’re not talking about any crash diets, but a lifestyle plan that involves portion control, social support and daily exercise. Losing weight is never easy, but there’s so much to gain in terms of health and longevity when you do!

 

Your Turn:

 

What’s your best tip for someone who is overweight and who has sleep apnea?

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2 responses to “The Connection Between Uncontrolled Sleep Apnea and Weight”

  1. Michael Foehr
    April 1, 2012 at 4:03 pm | | Reply

    I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in 1990! I was at the time 440 lbs. I started on my CPAP in 1990 and over a 5 yr period lost 100 lbs. Then in the last two years I lost another 80 lbs! I have lost at least 180 pounds in the last decade and now I can rum 5kms twice daily or do 10 kms without stopping! I am trying to lose 50 more before the year is out! I can assure you that sleep apnea is and was the root of my weight problems all my life! I am glad medical technology has advanced to the degree it has …IT SAVED MY LIFE… NO BS!!! I feel fantastic at 51!! Mike

    [Reply]

  2. Lisa Feierstein, RN
    April 2, 2012 at 2:59 pm | | Reply

    @Michael Foehr, I’m so glad you are committed to using your CPAP and that it has made such a tremendous impact on you life and health. Keep up the good work. Lisa

    [Reply]

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Boost Your Comfort – Boost Your Success

By Lisa Feierstein, RN

Boost your comfort and your compliance with our great PAP accessories such as:
     ResMed Gecko Nasal Pad and RemZzzs Mask Liners
     SleePAP Pillow
     ClimateLine Heated Tubing and Tube Wraps
     Humidifier
     ResMed S9 Skinits

 

These comfort accessories can help you overcome common PAP therapy challenges such as mask discomfort, mask leaking, dry mouth and can even give your PAP device a makeover!

 

Read up on them briefly in this post and for the next series of blog posts we’ll spend more time with each of them. Now’s a great time to think about using them because we’re offering free shipping with your next resupply order.

 

The Nasal Pad is adhesive and silicone-free and can be placed where your mask connects with your nose.

Gecko Nasal Pad

If your nasal or your full face mask rubs your skin and doesn’t fit as well as it should, try the ResMed Gecko Nasal Pad or the RemZzzs Mask Liners. If chafing was a problem before you’ll look forward every night to your sleep knowing your mask won’t irritate your skin or leak. Another great thing about these two products is that they are affordable (cash price is $25 per package) and it may be possible to obtain insurance coverage for them. The Nasal Pad is adhesive and silicone-free and can be placed where your mask connects with your nose. The Mask Liners are placed over the forehead stabilizing bar and the other over the nose/mouth area.

 

The SleePAP Pillow looks like a regular pillow, but for the concaved cut-out sides and bottom which help you prevent mask leak and reduce pressure points on your face.

SleePAP Pillow

The SleePAP Pillow looks like a regular pillow, but for the concaved cut-out sides and bottom which help you prevent mask leak and reduce pressure points on your face. The pillow is designed like this to keep your tubing and mask in place if you’re a nasal or a full face mask user. The cut-outs also prevent carbon monoxide build-up if the mask’s exhalation ports are blocked. It comes with its own all cotton white pillow case that can be removed for washing. The cash price is $65.

 

The S9’s ClimateLine Heated Tubing’s internal heated coil and mask temperature sensor senses the room temperature adjust the unit’s electrical system and monitor humidity changes to eliminate rainout.

S9 ClimateLine Tubing

ClimateLine Heating Tubing (typically an insurance covered item; cash price of $ 66) and Tube Wraps (cash price of $20) help eliminate rainout which happens when you have heated air in your tube and your bedroom temperature is much cooler than the tube’s temperature, for example 60° in the bedroom and 80° in the tubing. This condition happens more frequently in the wintertime. The S9’s ClimateLine Heated Tubing’s internal heated coil and mask temperature sensor senses the room temperature adjust the unit’s electrical system and monitor humidity changes to eliminate rainout.

 

Another top benefit of using a humidifier with your PAP device is the ability to adjust your settings to the season.

ResMed H5i Humidifier

The air in your PAP device can quickly irritate you since you’ll be trying harder to breathe with drier air. If you’re someone who suffers from nasal congestion where you breathe through your nose, not your mouth, you now have complete control with a heated humidifier. Heated humidifiers can be stand alone, integrated or can be built into your machine. Another top benefit of using a humidifier with your PAP device is the ability to adjust your settings to the season. Just as I mentioned with the Tube Wraps, a heated humidifier can increase your comfort while it eliminates rainout in your tubing. Humidifiers are typically an insurance covered item. Cash pricing varies based on device.

 

Now you can match your PAP machine to your bedroom’s décor or to your favorite sports team.

ResMed S9 Skinits

Goodbye boring PAP machine! Now you can match your PAP machine to your bedroom’s décor or to your favorite sports team. Maybe by personalizing your machine with a variety of designs (art, sports, Disney, Hello Kitty, abstract designs) from ResMed or by uploading your own photo, you’ll be more apt to use your machine every night! The Skinits are only available for RedMed’s S9 machine. The cash price is $25.99 for one device or $44.99 for the device+humidifier (the system). You can even save $10 with a discount card available through Active Healthcare till January 31, 2012.

 

Your Turn: If you are a user of any of these devices, how have they helped your comfort and success?

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2012 Shared Wisdom Calendar

By Lisa Feierstein, RN

It’s not every day you’re a calendar girl. I’m thrilled to be featured Saturday, January 7th in The Woman’s Advantage 2012 Shared Wisdom Calendar.

 

My quote is “Sleep your way to the top! With proper sleep, your goals are attainable.”

 

Mary Cantando, Growth Expert of The Woman’s Advantage selected this quote from over 5,000 submissions last year. As you know, I talk about the advantages of sleep everywhere I go because these days many people, especially women, complain about not getting enough sleep. The good news is that major media influencers like Oprah and Dr. Oz are touting the “Get More Sleep” message and women are starting to pay attention.

 

Getting the recommended 7 to 8 hours of sleep is necessary for the body to repair itself from all the damaging exposure to the sun and pollution, as well as the daily stresses of our modern lifestyles. Not getting enough sleep may lead to insufficient repair of the body’s systems and can invite sickness and chronic health problems to your door. Poor sleep also leads to weight gain because of hormone fluctuations and lethargy which stalls exercise.

 

It takes a conscious effort for most women to the get the right amount of sleep for themselves because they’re overworked, they have poor sleep habits or they have a breathing disorder, such as sleep apnea.

 

Here are a few tips to get your 7-8 hours of beauty sleep in 2012:

 

• Lower your bedroom’s temperature
• Treat yourself to high quality sheets and a firm, supportive pillow (convince yourself you deserve it)
• Begin a nighttime ritual of turning off televisions, computers, lights, and saying good night should begin about one hour before you expect to fall asleep—sacrifice that late night movie or book
• Keep your bedroom dark and quiet, unless you prefer some soothing night music; cover up all extra lights, including your digital clock
• Drink warm milk, but avoid eating too much or drinking too much water before bed
• Use your PAP device every night if you suffer from sleep apnea

 

Why not use all of the resources at your disposal, including getting a good night’s sleep, to help you realize your 2012 goals. Remember that a good sleep will improve your memory, reaction time to stress, and most of all, your health. You can’t be the best you can be in business and in your personal life without it. And remember that with sleep, it is not quantity but quality that counts.

 

Your Turn: For all of you busy women out there: share your best methods for getting your sleep with us.

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