Your sleeping pattern affects your brain functions.

In recent news, the links between poor sleep and migraines have a distinct, albeit complicated relationship. Both too little and too much sleep can trigger a migraine attack. On the downside, the mechanisms involved are still unknown. On the upside, there are ways to ease both problems, and addressing your sleep habits is key.

Change your thinking. Some people whose migraines strike at night become afraid to go to sleep. If worrying about your migraines is keeping you from resting, consider talking to a counselor who works with people with chronic pain. An approach called cognitive behavioral therapy can help you learn how to adopt healthier thoughts and behaviors related to your migraines.

Comfort yourself. When you have a migraine, some people find that placing cold packs on their head helps them sleep, while others prefer a warm pack. Try each to see which kind helps you more.

Get Adjusted regularly! Research has proven that regular corrective chiropractic care to the upper cervical spine help reduce and eliminate headaches and migraines…no medication necessary!!

Sleepless Nights May Put the Aging Brain at Risk of Dementia

The older population can commonly have difficulty falling asleep, waking up on and off throughout the night, or feeling tired in the day and have to nap a lot. Studies evaluating more than 1,300 adults older than 75, initially assessing their sleep patterns and, five years later, their cognitive abilities, show that those with sleep-disordered breathing or sleep apnea had more than twice the odds of developing dementia years later. Those who developed disruptions of their circadian rhythm were also at increased risk. So were those who awoke throughout the night, tossing and turning. Some solutions and preventative practices:

• Restrict the amount of time you sleep. Start at only five hours or so, and slowly add 15-minute increments until you reach a full eight hours per night
• Limit time spent in bed to sleep only. Never watch TV, read, pay your bills, or surf the internet while in bed
• If you don’t fall asleep within 20 minutes, get up and do something relaxing and/or boring until you start feeling sleepy. Then lay down again
• Get rid of your clock. If you need the alarm, cover the clock with a cloth so you cannot look at the time and to block any light given off”