1.  Eat pumpkin seeds.  Many clinical trials in both men and women have shown that pumpkin seeds is a great herbal remedy for an overactive bladder. For centuries, Native Americans have been using pumpkin seeds to improve bladder health.   Pumpkin seeds are rich in essential fatty acids and phytoesterol, which have positive effects on bladder control.

2.  Do Kegel exercises every day.  Kegel exercises strengthen the muscles that help control the urethra.  When these muscles are weak, your bladder must release.  Doing kegels is easy even when you are in bed trying to fall asleep.  Pretend you are trying to stop the flow of urine.  Pull in and squeeze those muscles.  Hold for 10 seconds.  Release for 10 seconds.  Try to build up to 10 kegels, 3 times a day.

3.  Cut back on caffeine drinks, which are diuretics.  Caffeine doesn’t just stimulate the brain, it makes you go to the bathroom.

4.  Significantly reduce fluids after 4 p.m. This seems obvious, but if you are feel the need to urinate while trying to fall asleep then minimize fluids late in the day and evening.

See our comprehensive list of foods and recipes to help you sleep.

1.  Chamomile tea – This has always been a popular herbal sleep remedy because it tastes great and has virtually no side effects.  Chamomile is a mild relaxant that many use to combat stress and anxiety.  Chamomile helps you sleep because it acts as a mild sedative and muscle relaxant.

2.  Passion Flower Tea – A potent herbal remedy because it calms muscles and relieves stress.  The taste and smell is not nearly as pleasant as chamomile tea.  Passion Flower has been shown to be non-addictive, but not recommended if you are taking anti-depressant medications, pregnant, or breast-feeding.

3.  Lime Blossom (Linden) Tea – Used for centuries as a calming agent, Lime Blossom has a floral aroma and a refreshing, light taste.  Linden is considered safe for children.  Of course, you should check with your physician prior to giving it to your child.

4.  Valerian Root Tea – One of the most common herbs used for insomnia, Valerian Root Tea is not known for a pleasant smell or taste.  Many people prefer to take a pill or capsule instead of this rather awful tasting tea.   Valerian root produces a mild tranquilizing effect, which can help you fall asleep fast.  As with all other herbal supplements, you should check with your physician before taking it.

Click here for a comprensive list of natural sleep remedies.

1. Keep your home cool during the day by keeping blinds down and curtains drawn. Your bedroom should be dark as a cave during the day.

2. Open windows at nighttime if you don’t have or want to use air conditioning. A ceiling fan can really help insomnia sufferers because of the swooshing sound and cool breeze.

3. Avoid heat build up in the body by reducing activities and drinking plenty of water from late afternoon through dinner.

4. Avoid hot and heavy meals, especially at dinner. Instead, eat cool, refreshing foods like fruits and vegetables.

5. Take a cool shower or bath just before bedtime.

Bonus Tip: When it’s really hot, we sometimes camp out in the coolest room in our house: the basement! Remember, heat rises so 2nd floor bedrooms are always going to be warmer than the main floor and basement. I know it sounds crazy, but the kids love it! And, we all sleep really great because it’s much cooler.

The results of the study were presented at a recent Sleep conference in Seattle.   Brazillian researchers showed that eating  more fat leads to:

1.  Difficulty falling asleep due to heaviness of hard to digest fats and proteins.

2.  Increased number of times waking up during the night also known as middle-of-the-night insomnia.

3.  Reduced amount of time in REM sleep.  Other research links more REM sleep with more energy during the day.

So, instead of eating a cheeseburger for dinner, try eating delicious tryptophan filled foods like: chicken, fish, and veggies.  Tryptophan is the precursor to seratonin, which helps put you to sleep.

10 to 20 minutes of low impact exercise is all you need to gain energy for the rest of the day and to help put you to sleep at night. While it may seem that moving about when you are exhausted is the quickest route to feeling more exhausted, the opposite is true according to experts.

Here are 3 insomnia reducing exercise tips to gain energy during the day:

1. Walk instead of waiting in the car for kids.  In experiments conducted at California State University, a brisk 10-minute walk not only increased energy, but the effects lasted up to two hours.  And, when the daily 10-minute walks continued for 3 weeks, overall energy levels and mood were lifted.

2.  Squeeze your shoulder when sitting in a car pick-up line.  Relax your shoulder and neck muscles and squeeze your shoulder blades together 30 times.  Next do 30 shoulder raises but remember to keep your neck muscles relaxed.

3.  Tone your Thighs.  Another great car exercise.  Squeeze your thighs and ankles together as hard as you can.  Hold for 15 seconds (eventually working up to 30 seconds) and release.  Repeat 10-20 times. If you find this too easy then you can increase the toning effect by squeezing a ball between your legs.

Before you know it, you will be using your car and parking lot time as exercise opportunities. Your shoulders, thighs, abs, and butt will all benefit and you will sleep better from these seratonin inducing exercises.

Sweet and Sour Green Beans with Pancetta Recipe

Ingredients
1 pound trimmed green beans
1/2 pound of pancetta, coarsely chopped
1 medium shallot chopped
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water cook green beans until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl of ice water; cool 5 minutes. Drain. Transfer beans to paper towels and pat dry.
2. Heat large skillet over medium heat. Add pancetta and sauté until crisp, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon transfer pancetta to paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook chopped shallots in pancetta fat. When the shallots are translucent, toss in the vinegar, sugar, and salt in the shallot mixture. Make sure the ingredients are well incorporated.
3. Toss in the green beans into the shallot mixture. You don’t really want to cook the green beans. You want to make sure the green beans are heated through, about 4-5 minutes. Crumble pancetta on top to serve.

Sleep deprived teens reported falling asleep in school at least twice each day and falling asleep at the wheel while driving. The study, published in the June issue of Pediatrics, found that teens multitasked into the night with the assistance of caffeine thereby affecting their sleeping habits.

As the amount of technology in adolescents’ bedrooms increased, sleep duration decreased. According to the study, almost all teens have at least one electronic device in their room – TV, cell phone, computer, telephone or music device. The average 6th grader has two devices and a 12th grader has four electronic devices in their bedroom. On average, teens said they used four devices after 9 p.m. including watching TV, sending text messages and using the internet.

Tired teens use caffeine to stay awake. Eleven percent of teens drink the equivalent of more than four espressos daily. Many schools limit the sale of energy drinks so teens often get the bulk of their caffeine dose after 3 p.m., which could disrupt sleep.

Researchers recommend that parents limit technological devices in the bedroom such as taking cell phones out of the bedroom. They also stress that teens should practice good sleep hygiene and partake in activities that are claming before bed as part of a regular bedtime routine.

A study at Penn State University found that insufficient sleep leads to higher levels of cytokine in blood. This triggers inflammation, which damages tissue and plays a significant role in heart disease.

If you are sleeping less than 6 hours per night due to insomnia or middle-of-the-night insomnia, check out some of our sleep tips:

1.  Late-night exercise can actually make it difficult to fall asleep at night. People who exercise will see the most benefits when exercise is done during the day or in the morning.

2.  Eat foods high in tryptophan throughout the day. Search our comprehensive list of foods high in tryptophan.

3. Create a sleep-friendly bedroom.  Small changes to your bedroom can have a large impact on the quality of your sleep.  Try our tips out: http://www.sleepbettertips.com/sleep-tips/better-sleep-tips-the-bedroom

4. Don’t consume anything too spicy or rich late at night.  This can upset your stomach and wake you up frequently.

Ingredients

2 2/3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen blueberries, thaw in refrigerator)
1/3 cup of sugar
2/3 cup of water
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions

• In a small saucepan, mix together the sugar and water on medium heat until the sugar dissolves (about 1-3 minutes). Make sure you carefully watch this because you don’t want it to burn. Remove from heat and cool completely (this will take about 1-2 hours).
• In a food processor or blender, puree blueberries, lemon juice and cooled sugar water mixture.
• Pour combined liquid into the ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacture’s instructions. Sorbet is particularly soft after churning but firms up after freezing. After the sorbet is finished in the ice cream maker, transfer to an air tight container. Cover tightly and freeze until ready to serve.

Search our comprehensive list of foods high in tryptophan.

Notes: Don’t have an ice cream maker?  Pour your sorbet mixture into a freezer-safe covered container and “still freeze” it.  However, you have to stir the mixture every half-hour or so to keep it from freezing into a solid block.

After researching middle-of-the-night insomnia, I learned of a new study that is being presented this week at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Conference in Seattle.  Dr. Alexandros Vgontzas will present a study that indicates men who sleep 6 hours or less a night are about four times more likely to die over course of 14 years of follow-up than men without insomnia who slept more than six hours at a sleep center.

Previous studies have not found an association with sleep disorders and mortality, but Vgontzas’s study of 1700 people indicates that insomniacs have higher levels of cortisol and other stress hormones that have been linked to cardiovascular disease and metabolic issues, including high cholesterol.

My husband is now scheduled to see a certified sleep specialist to diagnose his sleep disorder, and hopefully add years to his life.