Even though you might feel it is impossible to sleep without pillows, you will be surprised to know that sleeping without a pillow is a good way of preventing neck, back, and shoulder pain. Remember when you were a child, you would fall asleep at any place without waiting for a pillow? The human body can thus adapt to any situation owing to its resilience. And as we age, we are still able to rest our body comfortably without needing a pillow or any other form of support.

The Many Benefits Of Sleeping Without A Pillow-
If you have already encountered some signs and symptoms of sleep deprivation, you will need to find the root of the problem. In doing this, you may find that all these health issues may stem from the pillow you sleep on. If you, like many others, believe that pillows are an indispensable part of your sleep, you may be wrong. Your soft and cozy pillow may do you harm without leaving any scope of suspicion. Here are some of the most compelling advantages of not using a pillow while sleeping:

Neck and Shoulder Benefits: When you don t have a pillow while sleeping, your back, neck and shoulder muscles will extend naturally without causing any aches or sprains. When you sleep on a pillow that is very soft, it will strain the muscles on the neck while also decreasing the flow of blood to the head. When your head is tilted downwards on any pillow that is not able to provide optimum support for the head, the airflow to the respiratory system is much reduced. If you are already suffering from neck and shoulder pain, you may try sleeping a night without any support to see if the pain subsides.
Spinal benefits: Sleeping on your back without a pillow allows the spine to rest completely with the natural curves of the body. Sleeping with a thick pillow can displace your spine.
Sleep Benefits: When you are not having any neck and head support while sleeping, your body would be able to rest optimally. When you sleep on pillows that do not offer good support, your body starts compensating by engaging the back and neck muscles. This causes more strain when the body is supposed to be resting to overcome everyday stress.
Facial Benefits: Many people tend to bury their face in the pillow while sleeping. This will prevent your face from being able to breathe and perspire. The pores on the skin surface will not have any access to air. This leads to the formation of oil and grease on the face, and it will give way to blackheads as the added dust and impurities on the surface of the pillow will come in contact with your face.
For all these compelling reasons, you can try to forgo your pillows and observe improvement in your general health.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Sleeping With A Pillow- Is It Good Or Bad For You?

We all look forward to a good night s sleep after a long day at work. Sleep is one of the most blissful habits and is very essential as well. When one has not had a good night s sleep, the following day s productivity takes a toll for sure. It is therefore very essential to get good rest for at least 8 hours. Take the suggested therapy for any disease and it would include 8 hours of rest.

However, when you look closer, the poor sleep is due to some patterns that are our habits. This could include our food patterns, the side we sleep, the pillow we use, etc. Read on to know more!

Food habits: Eating very close to bedtime is one of the worst things to do, especially if it is a greasy meal that you have had. Lying down after a heavy meal gets the acid coming up to the throat and causing further irritation. Keep the dinner light if you really are late for it.
Smoking: Smoking up just before you hit the bed is another habit you should kick (even if you can t kick the habit of smoking itself), the chemicals released keep you awake and stimulated and do not let you sleep.
Alcohol: Though the general belief is that alcohol induces a good amount of sleep, it requires extra metabolism and so does not give a good night s sleep. Think of hangover the next morning! There is no one who has a hangover without feeling groggy.
Irregular sleeping pattern: While this is difficult with the changing times, it is very important to stick to a schedule. This helps in the body getting a good, restful sleep and not confusing it as to when to sleep and when to wake up.
Lack of exercise: One of the many side effects of lack of sleep is the lack of a good sleep.
Sleep environment: Keep a pillow and blanket that is comfortable, not too cosy. The room temperature should neither be too warm or cold.
Technology: Keep technology (TV, mobile, tablet, etc.) out of your room and see how your sleep will improve. You can always catch up later on what is happening around you.
If you thought it was just about some hours of sleep, think again. In the long run, there are multiple effects of poor sleep including.

Irritated, moody, angry
Lack of focus and concentration
Loss of productivity
Memory loss
Relationship issues
Poor habits like binge eating and drinking (caffeine and coke) and excessive smoking and drinking
So, sleep for the prescribed 8 hours and see your quality of life improve.

Sleeping Habits - 7 Things That Can Help You Improve It!

Haematuria refers to a medical condition where blood is passed out with urine. Blood can ooze out in tiny droplets or in large volume, often causing discomfort and pain.

Urine mostly has a reddish hue when you have this condition, and can be colored anything ranging from pink to a darkish brown. While in many cases this disease may be caused by trivial underlying issues, there may be major complications at work too. Hence, you should consult a doctor right away if you locate any symptoms such as abdominal pain, frequent urination, etc.

Causes of haematuria

Haematuria may be caused by factors both minor and severe. These include-

Urinary tract infection (UTI) - UTI is caused when foreign bodies like viruses or bacteria get accumulated in the urinary tract. This causes haematuria, as the kidneys may be affected leading to leakage of red blood cells into the urine.

Cancer - There are various types of cancer that may cause blood to come through the urine. These include prostate, renal and bladder cancer. This is a symptom visible during advanced stages of the cancers when treatment becomes difficult.

Kidney or gallbladder stones - This is another type of serious ailment that may cause haematuria as a symptom. The key difference from the other causal factors of haematuria is that in this case bleeding is very painful.

Traumatic injury to kidneys - A sharp hit or blunt attack to the kidneys you may sustain while falling down or a vehicle crash may cause internal injuries in the kidney and make blood show up in your urine.

Treating haematuria: What are the different approaches?

To treat haematuria, most doctors generally treat the underlying disease that is causing it as a symptom. The treatment entails-

Several types of anti-bacterial or antifungal agents are used to treat urinary tract infections. These medicines can both be prescribed by a doctor or bought over the counter.

Kidney and bladder stones may heal if you drink a lot of water. However, in very severe cases, you may need a surgical procedure called lithotripsy. Lithotripsy involves using ultrasound shock waves that break kidney stones into tiny particles and passes them out of your body.

For cancers, the extent of spread determines the treatment course recommendable. In general, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery are the treatment modes used.

When the traumatic injury is the underlying factor, drugs or bandages may help, but you should also not ignore large injuries. In such cases, surgery may be required to set things right.

Haematuria is the medical name for the condition in which either small or large amounts of blood become visible in your urine. While this condition may be developing in you due to a number of reasons that may be minor, you should get yourself checked anyway.

Haematuria - Causes & Treatment Of It!

Blood in urine, medically known as Hematuria is not usually a cause of concern, but it can translate into an adverse condition if left unevaluated. The kidneys and other structures in the urinary tracts such as urethra (tube connecting the bladder to the outer part of the body); bladder (that stores the urine) and ureters (tube joining the bladder to the kidney) are the sources of blood flow to the urine. Hematuria can be accompanied by symptoms such as discharge of tea-colored, brownish-red or pink colored urine due to the presence of red blood cells, traces of which can only be detected under the microscope.

Underlying causes behind this disorder might be

Urinary tract infection is where the bacteria enter the body through the urethra and begin to proliferate in the bladder.
Kidney infections (pyelonephritis) is when bacteria infiltrate into the kidneys from the bloodstream or travel up from the uterus to the kidneys.
A kidney or a bladder stone is marked by the minerals in the concentrated urine precipitating out and molding into crystals that deposit on the bladder or kidney walls.
Enlarged prostate is a condition in which the prostate gland, that is situated just below the bladder surrounding the upper part of the urethra, starts growing as males head towards their middle age.
Kidney disease such as glomerulonephritis causes swelling of the kidneys, thus disrupting the filtering system.
Bladder, kidney and prostate cancer are also possible causes.
Hereditary disorders such as sickle cell anemia (a hereditary disease of the red blood cells in the hemoglobin) can also pose as a cause behind this disorder.
Kidney injury as a result of heavy blows, accidents or injuries sustained while playing a spot can also contribute to this condition.
Medications such as penicillin or the anti-cancer drug  cyclophosphamide 
Strenuous physical exercises like intense workout or running may also result in Hematuria.
Treatments
There is no fixed cure for Hematuria; instead the doctor would work on treating the repressed conditions behind the symptoms, such as prescribing antibiotics to heal the urinary tract infection or a medicine to shrink and normalize the enlarged prostate or administer a shock wave therapy to destroy the kidney or bladder stones. 

Blood in Urine - 10 Reasons Behind It!

Sleep is a vital component of the human construct. This is the time when the body restores  itself. While too little sleep can be dangerous for the body, new research has shown that too much sleep has its pitfalls too. Oversleeping is an indication of certain health risk. It also indicates few medical conditions that a person might have. Here is more on the risks of oversleeping:

Difficult to get pregnant: A study conducted by a Korean research team in the year 2013 found that out of a sample size of 650 women who were undergoing in-vitro fertilization, the ones who got pregnant had 7-8 hours of daily sleep. The study also suggested that sleep can affect menstrual cycles, circadian rhythms, and hormone secretion. While research is yet to find out a direct co-relation between sleep and infertility, a number of researchers are trying to break the jinx.
Risk of diabetes: A Quebec study conducted in 2013 clearly showed that a person who sleeps for more than eight hours in a day is more risk prone to suffer from type 2 diabetes and reduced glucose tolerance. On a six-period time frame, people who sleep for more than 7-8 hours, are more likely to suffer from diabetes related complication, even if they keep body mass under control.
Mental health and depression: Depression is a major symptom of oversleeping. While people with depression tend to suffer from insomnia, an estimated 15 percent patients suffering from depression tend to oversleep. Compared to regular sleepers, the ones who oversleep tend to suffer from anxiety symptoms and persistent depression. A recent study has revealed that sleeping too much can increase the chances of genetic heritability. Another study revealed that people who sleep for more than 10 hours can result in mental illness. Another research conducted at the John Hopkins Medical School revealed that an irregularity of the body s sleeping clock can lead to temporary mental depression.
Increased inflammation: Oversleeping can increase the risk of certain diseases such as the Alzheimer s disease, cardiovascular disease etc. A study conducted by a group of researchers revealed that women who slept for more than eight hours are likely to suffer from 44 percent higher C-reactive protein. Another study reported that C-reactive increased by more than 8 percent for every hour of additional sleep an individual takes.
More pain: While sleep and rest are often associated with healing, oversleeping can, at times, exacerbate symptoms. Spending too much time in bed can aggravate back and shoulder pain. Oversleeping is also associated with a higher frequency of headaches. Oversleeping often triggers one-sided migraine and increases the level of stress in a person.

Sleeping More Than 8 Hours - How It Can Put Your Health At Risk?

"Nightcaps (Drinking alcohol before bed) give you the worst sleep ever!

Any alcoholic beverage (generally brandy, wine, beer, bourbon etc) consumed before bedtime is known as a nightcap. You may have a nightcap thinking you’ll get better sleep, but did you know that it’s actually responsible for giving you a disrupted sleep pattern? Nightcaps may gradually start interfering with your sleeping quality, causing you to wake up sooner than you want.

How do nightcaps adversely affect your sleeping pattern?

Recently, a study conducted by the University of Melbourne revealed the fact that alcohol before bedtime can give you the worst sleep ever. In this study, several volunteering adults were neurologically monitored in a lab for a few days. Half of them were asked to have nightcaps, while the other half was instructed to drink non-alcoholic beverages. After completing their observation, the researchers reached the conclusion that though alcohol resulted in greater number of sleeping hours, it left the participants feeling dehydrated and less refreshed in the morning due to fragmented sleep. This is because the sleep induced by nightcaps is very shallow, and having nightcaps regularly can result in less restorative sleep. 

The side-effects of nightcaps

Ruining your sleep is not the only ill effect nightcaps have on your health. Nightcaps give rise to other issues too, like snoring and night sweats. Moreover, consuming alcohol before falling asleep also weakens your immune system, damages your memory, speeds up the ageing process, results in nightmares, and causes headaches and insomnia. In fact, regular nightcaps are bad for your heart too. 

4 ways how you can prevent alcohol from affecting your sleep pattern

Nonetheless, if you want to include a bit of alcohol to your dinner, it can be done in the correct way to ensure that it doesn’t affect the quality of your sleep. You can follow these simple rules to minimise the ill effects of nightcaps:

1. Stick to the three hour rule: Ensure that you drink alcohol at least 3 hours prior to sleeping.

2. Limit yourself to a fixed amount: Always consume alcoholic beverages in moderation and try to limit yourself to only one or two drinks every day.

3. Sleep early: Try to avoid staying awake longer than you usually do as this adds up to alcohol’s abilities of disturbing your sleep.

4. Increase your water intake: Prevent your body from getting dehydrated by the effect of alcohol by consuming at least one glass of water for each glass of alcohol. Additionally, don’t forget to sip a few glasses of water after waking up in the morning.

Sleep is important for your overall well being, so try not to compromise with it by consuming nightcaps regularly, especially after knowing about its devastating effects.



Do You Know Nightcaps (Drinking Alcohol Before Bed) Give You the Worst Sleep!

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