6 Doctor-Recommended Sleep Aids

Tired of counting sheep? Try one of these remedies and get a good night’s sleep.

1. Aromatherapy
Try it: When you’re drowsy but slightly tense.
How to use it: Massage a dab of aromatherapeutic balm or oil into the back of your neck and shoulders (and inhale deeply) before you hit the sack. Certain fragrances, including lavender and lemon balm, promote snooze-inducing relaxation, says Rubin Naiman, Ph.D., a sleep specialist at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, in Tucson.
Good to know: You don’t have to stick to traditional aromatherapeutic scents—any fragrance that makes you feel good can be calming, says Phyllis Zee, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of neurology and the director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Northwestern University, in Chicago.

2. Valerian Tea
Try it: If you are getting a full night’s sleep but still feel tired in the a.m.
How to use it: Sip a brew made from the flowering plant an hour or so before bedtime. Some studies have shown that valerian can help increase sleep quality (it’s packed with antioxidants, too). You may have to drink it for several nights in a row before it works, says Naiman.
Good to know: Valerian shouldn’t be taken for more than two weeks at a time, since prolonged use can lead to dependency. And it can interfere with some prescription medications, including cholesterol drugs, so check with your doctor before steeping.

3. GABA-Enhanced Drink
Try it: When your head is racing with worries.
How to use it: Down a shot of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) right before bed.
“GABA, an amino acid found in your body, has been shown to quiet the mind when taken orally,” says Naiman.
Good to know: Certain foods, including brown rice, bananas, and mackerel, contain GABA. Consuming them during the day may help you sleep better at night.

4. Melatonin Supplement
Try it: If you don’t feel tired until way past bedtime.
How to use it: Take a three-milligram tablet 15 to 20 minutes before bed. Your brain makes this neurohormone naturally to “tell the body that it’s time for sleep,” says Naiman. “But many people have suppressed melatonin production because they’re overexposed to light in the evening.” Naiman has been using it nightly for 20 years.
Good to know: Consult with your doctor before taking melatonin. It is not recommended for pregnant women, women trying to conceive, children, and adolescent boys (it can affect testosterone levels in maturing males).

5. Over-the-Counter Sleeping Pill
Try it: When you’re going through a short period of sleeplessness, like during a stressful time at work.
How to use it: At bedtime, take two tablets that contain diphenhydramine, an antihistamine that makes you feel sleepy (research shows that an excess of histamine in the body may cause insomnia). “The less often you take these pills, the better,” says Dr. Lisa Shives, a sleep specialist in Evanston, Ill. “You can build up a tolerance, and then they won’t work as well.” (Try Unisom SleepGels; $10 for 32 gel tabs, at drugstores.)
Note: Never mix alcohol and sleeping pills.
Good to know: “The older you are, the slower you metabolize this type of drug,” says Shives. That means you may experience lingering sleepiness in the morning.

6. Prescription Medication
Try it: When insomnia becomes a chronic problem.
How to use it: Work with your doctor to figure out which medication is best for you. Shives’s favorite is Rozerem (rozerem.com). It acts on the melatonin receptors in the brain that help you fall and stay asleep (other aids act only as a sedative). Take a tablet about 30 minutes before bed.
Good to know: Finding the right medication may require trial and error: Some can make you more wired and awake. Side effects are common, says Shives, and range from the annoying (headaches, grogginess) to the serious, like unconscious nighttime binge eating and driving. Pregnant women may want to avoid these aids, even though they have not been proven to be dangerous.

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Study connects religious service attendance to less depression

A new study published in the Journal of Religion and Health has connected the regular attendance of religious services with an increased level of optimism and a decreased risk of depression.

As a follow-up to a 2008 report from the Women’s Health Initiative that showed regular attendance of religious services increased life expectancy, this new study looked at 92,539 post-menopausal women over the age of 50. The religious affiliations of all the participants, as well as their social and economic statuses, were diverse.

Led by Eliezer Schnall from the Yeshiva University in Manhattan, the results showed that out of the participants that attended services regularly, 56 percent were more likely to be optimistic about their lives. It also showed that 27 percent of the participants were less likely to be depressed than those who did not attend services regularly.

Of those that were included in the research, 34 percent of the women said they had not attended services within the last month. Of those that attended, 21 percent were less than once a week, 30 percent were weekly and 14 percent attended activities more than once a week.

After the 2008 study showed that regular attendance of religious services by women reduced their risk of death by 20 percent, the researchers wanted to see what factors may contribute to that risk reduction and believe they could be related to psychological factors. The Women’s Health Initiative study began in 1991 and is funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in an effort to track women’s health and habits.

Schnall cautions that these results and their study apply only to women, and older women at that. The benefit of regular religious service attendance by younger women or men has not been looked at in this study. Past research has shown that older women tend to take more of a social role in religious activities and may gain the most from it.

Abstract

Measures of religiosity are linked to health outcomes, possibly indicating mediating effects of associated psychological and social factors. We examined cross-sectional data from 92,539 postmenopausal participants of the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study who responded to questions on religious service attendance, psychological characteristics, and social support domains. 

We present odds ratios from multiple logistic regressions controlling for covariates. Women attending services weekly during the past month, compared with those not attending at all in the past month, were less likely to be depressed [OR = 0.78; CI = 0.74–0.83] or characterized by cynical hostility [OR = 0.94; CI = 0.90–0.98], and more likely to be optimistic [OR = 1.22; CI = 1.17–1.26]. 

They were also more likely to report overall positive social support [OR = 1.28; CI = 1.24–1.33], as well as social support of four subtypes (emotional/informational support, affection support, tangible support, and positive social interaction), and were less likely to report social strain [OR = 0.91; CI = 0.88–0.94]. However, those attending more or less than weekly were not less likely to be characterized by cynical hostility, nor were they less likely to report social strain, compared to those not attending during the past month.

© 2011 Medical Xpress
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Space siblings at least two years apart to make them smarter

According to a new study by University of Notre Dame economist Kasey Buckles and graduate student Elizabeth Munnich, siblings spaced more than two years apart have higher reading and math scores than children born closer together. The positive academic effects of greater spacing between children were seen in older siblings, but not in younger ones, according to Buckles.

The study will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Human Resources.

Using the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), researchers sampled a nationally representative panel survey of 12,686 young people ages 14 to 22 in 1979, and their children. The study was designed to identify the causal effect of spacing on academic achievement.

“Our results indicate that longer gaps improve test scores for older children, and have no effect on the scores of younger children,” Buckles says. “This appears to be due in part to the fact that older children get more of their parents’ time when the younger sibling is not born until a few years later.”

Earlier research in other fields has focused mostly on the effects of small gaps (less than two years) between siblings on early outcomes such as birth weight and infant mortality. Buckles’ study investigates the effects of birth spacing on later-life academic performance as measured by the Peabody Individual Achievement Tests for math and reading.

“Parents often wonder whether there is an ideal spacing between children. Our results suggest that for at least one important outcome—academic achievement—greater spacing can improve outcomes for the older sibling.”

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Smokeout Day: The Best Ways to Quit

As thousands of smokers across the United States try to kick their bad habit as part of the Great American Smokeout on Thursday, experts agree that a two-pronged strategy is the best bet for success.

"The U.S. Public Health Service has twice done very extensive reviews of all the evidence, and [best] is a combination of counseling/advice, by pharmacists, physicians or quitlines, plus medicine," said Thomas Glynn, director of cancer science and trends and of international cancer control for the American Cancer Society.
A lot has changed since 1976, when the first smokeout took place, Glynn noted. "People could smoke on airplanes and in restaurants; the person sitting next to you in the movie theater could be smoking. Two of every five people smoked; now it's one of five."

Another difference: "Now, there are a number of ways that people can succeed, [including] seven medications approved by the FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration]," he said.
Still, many Americans resist medications or counseling, and rely on personal willpower to get them through nicotine withdrawal.
"Cold turkey, sheer willpower; the best data is that about 5 percent of people succeed," said Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer at the American Lung Association.
"People who smoke 10 cigarettes a day, light smokers, if they want to try quitting on their own, that's fine," said Gary Giovino, chair of the department of community health and health behavior at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. For heavy smokers, he recommends starting with nicotine replacement therapy.

Smoking-cessation medications come "in three buckets: nicotine replacement, Wellbutrin/Zyban (bupropion) and Chantix (varenicline)," said Dr. Nancy Rigotti, director of the tobacco research and treatment unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "They all work. It's better to take one than none."
Nicotine patches give users a steady dose of nicotine through the skin and come in 16- or 24-hour varieties, by prescription or over-the-counter. Fast-acting forms of nicotine replacement therapy are lozenges and gum, available over-the-counter, and prescription inhalers and nasal sprays.
"You use the patch to get constant coverage and use the other forms to get over cravings, as supplements," Rigotti said.

In its 2008 recommendations, the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality advised clinicians to consider nicotine patches in combination with Wellbutrin or Zyban for smokers unable to quit with a single type of medication. Wellbutrin, Zyban and Chantix all carry black box warnings about the increased possibility of suicidal thoughts, although Chantix has come under the most scrutiny for this potential side effect.
"The fear is of big changes in behavior," Giovino said. "The question is, does it happen more often with Chantix or if you stop smoking with a nicotine replacement drug?"

"If people want something based on a prescription, they should discuss it with their doctor," Giovino said.
Telephone quitlines can be effective, convenient and free, but are underused because smokers have misconceptions about them, Rigotti and Giovino said.
"It's like getting a phone appointment with your doctor," Rigotti said. "They'll schedule calls around your quit day. It's so you can talk to somebody who can help you if you've slipped, you can get back on the wagon. It's practical information, not psychotherapy, not voodoo."

Internet quit sites provide another option. For instance, the American Lung Association offers the "Freedom From Smoking" online program, Edelman noted.
Even with outside help, willpower still comes into play in breaking long-held habits and battling sharp cravings.
Giovino suggested the "'six Ds': delay, drink water, distract yourself, discuss with someone, deep breath and, finally, don't debate. People who do best are those who decide smoking is no longer an option."
(HealthDay News)

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How Has Magic Johnson Survived 20 Years with HIV?

On Nov. 7, 1991, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Earvin "Magic" Johnson shocked the world when he announced that he had contracted HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. After the press conference, the perception was that Johnson had just pronounced his own death sentence.

Yet, 20 years later, the now-52-year-old Johnson is going as strong as ever in his roles as a sports analyst, businessman and HIV activist. In 1991, when most of what people knew about HIV/AIDS was that it lead to death at a young age, this outcome might have seemed impossible.

So why is Johnson still alive?
The answer to Johnson's survival is far from "magic." According to reports, he takes the same kinds of drugs that are available to other HIV patients in the developed world, and increasingly in impoverished nations in Africa and Asia, where the disease still runs rampant. Many people have lived with HIV even longer than Johnson.

"There is nothing unique about Magic," said Spencer Lieb, senior epidemiologist and HIV/AIDS research coordinator for the Florida Consortium for HIV/AIDS Research. "There are still people alive and kicking and doing very well 20 and 30 years after infection."

Lieb said that in the state of Florida alone, hundreds of patients have hung on since becoming infected with HIV in the early 1980s, when the first confirmed AIDS cases turned up in the United States. But Johnson and these people are still in the minority: According to research and estimates by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1.2 million Americans have HIV, and 20 percent of them are undiagnosed. Approximately 50,000 people become infected each year, and more than 18,000 die annually.

Stopping HIV in the back court
The key with Johnson and others has been preventing their incurable disease from progressing into full-blown AIDS.
Upon infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a person's immune system kills off nearly all of the virus and infected cells. But some small number remain, and over time, those HIV cells replicate, and replicate, and replicate. Then, usually 10 years after the initial infection, the viral load reaches a critical count, and the virus begins killing off the vital immune cells that protect us against infections.

At that critical count, a person is considered to have acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); with the body’s immunological defenses destroyed, it's usually only a matter of months before a range of opportunistic infections and cancers complete their lethal work.

Researchers have developed a number of powerful drugs to help people like Johnson avoid this fate. The key weapon has been a regimen of three or four antiretroviral drugs, collectively known as highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART.
According to a Newsweek story from last spring, one of Johnson's doctors who helped pioneer the treatment placed him on the then-experimental drug cocktail in 1994, about a year and a half before it came into widespread use in 1996.

"Magic got a jumpstart on experimental drugs before they were released to the general public," Lieb told Life's Little Mysteries, "but there were many people in clinical trials benefitting at the same time."

The meds that slam dunk HIV
HIV spreads by hijacking a subset of white blood cells called T cells, which are the body's first line of defense against foreign invaders, and using the cells' DNA to make copies of itself or replicate; in this process, these T cells get destroyed. The most common drugs in the HAART regimen target two of the enzymes that HIV uses to replicate itself.

The first enzyme, called reverse transcriptase, turns the virus' genetic instructions encoded in a single RNA strand into double-stranded DNA. (In scientific terms, this mode of replication classifies HIV as a retrovirus, hence "antiretroviral" drugs.)

The second enzyme, known as protease, creates new, functional HIV virus particles by cutting up the proteins cranked out by our hijacked cellular machinery.
Medication can disrupt these processes, and to that end, Johnson is currently taking reverse transcriptase inhibitor and protease inhibitor drugs, which are contained in the pharmaceuticals Trizivir and Kaletra, respectively, as reported by Newsweek.

Although these and other HIV-fighting drugs are "hideously expensive," Lieb noted, so are a substantial number of prescription drugs for much more everyday diseases.

Public and private medical insurance, as well as various assistance programs, make the medicines affordable and available to the vast majority of patients in the United States and other parts of the world. It is a "myth," said Lieb, that Johnson, who is wealthy, is buying himself special treatments.

Staying in the game
By taking the right regimen every day, most HIV patients can see the number of virus particles in a sample of their blood, or viral load, become undetectably low.
Not only does a low viral count stave off symptoms of HIV and AIDS, but it also slashes the odds of a randomly mutated copy of the virus emerging that can prove resistant to the therapy. Furthermore, a low viral load severely reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to others.

Yet even without modern drugs, in rare instances an HIV-positive person can manage on their own to keep AIDS at bay. These "long-term nonprogressors" or "elite controllers," estimated at as few as one in 500, have lived for decades with HIV, despite not being on antiretroviral therapy.

It is not known if Johnson is among this "scarce breed," as Lieb called them, but more than likely "without medications, he'd be progressing."

Researchers continue to study long-term nonprogressors for get insights on HIV resistance that could help the 33 million people battling the virus.
As Johnson has prominently shown, however, those with HIV can still live productive lives. Lieb has seen many such promising cases in person. "We have very buff-looking, healthy-looking HIV patients who have been infected for ages," Lieb said. "You can't tell the difference between them and you and me."

LiveScience.com

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3 Reasons to Vaccinate Your Daughters for HPV

Recently, Michele Bachmann let loose on Texas Gov. Rick Perry for signing a bill requiring all girls to be vaccinated with the HPV vaccine in order to attend public school.
Michele Bachmann doesn't like this because it takes away from the rights of the parents to choose. (Funny how she's all about "choice" on this particular issue, and not so much on others.) She went on to claim that one parent told her the vaccine was dangerous and caused mental retardation in her child. This has been hotly contested by medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. Parents in Texas can easily opt out of the requirement, but that's not really the point. The point is, why would any parent decide against protecting their daughter from a virus that has been shown to cause cervical cancer?
Here are three reasons why your daughter is not safe, no matter how you've raised her.
Someday, she will have sex.
I know, it is really difficult for a mom (and especially a dad) to admit. But it is true. If your daughter is a normal, healthy kid who will grow into a normal healthy adult-sex is probably inevitable. Whether it happens in the back seat of a Buick in high school or on silk sheets on her wedding night doesn't matter. What does matter is that she will be having sex with someone else. Your daughter may be chaste and innocent, but is her partner? Has her partner exercised due diligence, or did her partner have a past that she knows nothing about?
The "Unthinkable" could happen to her.
According to a study conducted by the National Organization for Women, more than 600 women are raped or sexually assaulted in the United States every day. Surviving a sexual assault is not an easy thing. If the aftereffects of that sexual assault are revisited years later because the perpetrator of the crime passed on a virus that causes her to contract cervical cancer, survival may not even be possible.
She might make her own mistakes.
Your daughter is cute and innocent right now. She might be playing with her dolls, or her brother's dump truck. Either way, the thought that she might someday fall into the company of the wrong kind of kids, experiment with drugs, alcohol and sex, or make any decision in her life that might not be in accordance with your morals or the way you are raising her-well, it's just not possible. Not right now.
But you have no idea what choices she might make in the long run. If she does ultimately fall into dangerous situations, isn't it your responsibility to protect her from harm? We can't hold her hand while she crosses every street, nor can we choose which streets she will cross, but we can provide her with certain safety nets. One of those nets is a vaccine that may prevent permanent repercussions from temporary lapses in judgment.
Michele Bachmann will say anything to make herself look like the better choice for the Republican nod. She will do anything to make her opponents look like horrible men who would take parenting rights out of parents' hands. Generally, she makes herself look like a fool, but this time she has done something even worse. She has misled parents into fearing something that could help their daughters, and even save their lives.
Make your own decisions, but whatever you do, consider all of the outside influences that have to do with this particular decision. HPV vaccinations can save your daughter's life. When you are making the decision of whether to have her vaccinated, remember that your moral code has very little to do with it.

(ABC News)

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Selling Your Body To Science

Have you ever wondered who discovered Viagra and how many years of research it took for it to come out on the market? Have you ever thought about the number of voluntary patients who sell their bodies to clinical trials in the name of science? Well, the number is staggering, mainly because of the large paycheck that comes with the job.
how does it work?
Although drugs go through various testing procedures, there are generally four stages involved in bringing a new drug from the drawing board to the general public.
Research and development
Hundreds of researchers in different fields of biological and chemical studies work together to identify existing or potential diseases, and formulate thousands of variations on the chemical structure of a drug in order to find the perfect one for each disease.
Preclinical trials
Pharmaceutical companies investigate the safety of about 0.002% of the potential drug variations in a controlled laboratory environment -- that is, on animals. Usually, the animals are "destroyed" after the completion of each trial. The type of animals include -- but are not restricted to -- mice, rats, rabbits, dogs, and chimps.
Phase I - III clinical trials
The next step is a study designed to assess the benefits and side effects of certain drug compounds on approximately 30 to 100 human subjects. It is the first evaluation of a new drug in humans.
In addition to assessing its safety and tolerance, the researchers gain information about its side effects. As they do so, they also select an optimum dose range for the new drug. Finally, comparative testing is performed with conventional marketed therapies if any exist.
Phase IV - Post-marketing evaluation
This stage is designed to identify rare or infrequent side effects once the drug has been approved by the FDA for use by the general public. Researchers also evaluate the pharmacoeconomics and quality of life attributed to the new drug.
the good and the bad
As a university student, I used to hear a lot of chatter about easy ways to make a lot of cash quickly.
A friend of mine told me about a Contract Research Organization (which will remain anonymous) that was recruiting healthy, non-smoking males between the ages of 18 and 45 for a two-weekend stay at their clinical site. And the best part of the deal was that they paid $2,000. Who could say no? Well, I did.
Shortly after, another buddy of mine told me how badly he was treated. They literally made him feel like a guinea pig. His meals, sleep and playtime were strictly controlled, and he had no privacy whatsoever. However, after I went into the field of clinical research myself, I realized the importance and benefits of enrolling in these trials, and I also found out that my buddy was exaggerating.
benefits
There are many benefits to participating in clinical trials:
• They allow affected patients to be exposed to new and innovative therapies that wouldn't normally be available to them.
• They help ensure the safety and effectiveness of new medicines, devices and medical therapies.
• You can make a lot of money; a two- to three-day clinical trial will generally pay between $1,000 and $2,000.
side effects
Although there are clearly more pros than cons in this matter, the major downside of participating in these trials is the potential serious damage to your health.
For example, I remember a study in which 70 cancer patients were enrolled in a Phase I trial for a new drug that was used in conjunction with lasers to destroy cancerous cells.
The drug was supposed to sensitize skin cells in order to help the laser to do its job. However, an unfortunate event occurred: The effect of the drug never wore off, and the patients still experience first- and second-degree burns on their skin when exposed to regular daylight.
your life, your choice
A word of caution for those interested in participating in a clinical trial: Read the fine print of the Informed Consent Form.
Nothing is hidden from the patient. This form basically explains what they will do to you during the trial and what the possible side effects of the drug are. Of course, there is always a risk involved, but you should generally be safe, as pharmaceutical companies follow a strict ethical code of conduct when running these trials.
A brand new drug therapy holds more risk than one that has already been tested and is out on the market  -- yes, they still perform trials on already marketed drugs. So choose carefully and wisely.
I highly recommend that people who suffer from a yet non-curable disease try new therapies. Not only do you have nothing to lose, but you will also be helping to get the drug onto the market where others might also benefit from it.

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