Iowa Sleep Blog

To be one of the best athletes in the world we know you need to train hard and eat a balanced diet. But if you’re also not sleeping well, all this hard work is going to waste. For the world’s top athletes, one night of bad sleep could be the difference between a win and a loss. Sleep and athletic performance is especially critical this time of year, as the NCAA March Madness college…

A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with Iowa senators and representatives about the importance of sleep. Members of and advocates for the National Sleep Foundation gathered to educate and information lawmakers on three sleep-related issues, including: 1.Studying the effects of delayed school start times. The 2014 Sleep in America poll …

With the month of March just beginning, many of us have begun dreaming of spring and with that comes the beginning of Daylight Saving Time, when clocks are adjusted one hour ahead. Daylight Saving Time was officially instituted in the U.S. in 1942, starting the second Sunday in March and ending the first Sunday in November, to better utilize the natural daylight by moving one hour from…

Obesity's effects on sleep   Today, over 65% of Americans are overweight or considered obese, with those numbers growing among both children and adults. This increase can be linked to our more sedative lifestyles, change in diets and heredity traits over time. Adults are not the only ones affected by obesity, as the number of children who are considered obese has also risen. According the…

Although researchers aren’t exactly sure why different species have different sleep needs, we have learned there are many important things that happen in the body during rest. Each of the unique body systems perform tasks while we sleep that are essential to proper functioning. When you don’t get enough sleep, these jobs are not completed, making your body unable to operate at its highest…

Sleep Habits of Past Presidents Being the President of the United States is one of the most stressful jobs in the world. With the long hours, constant travel and tense situations, paired with busy schedules, many presidents choose to forgo sleep or sleep very little each night in order to get everything done. This President’s Day, learn about the poor sleep habits of these past…

 The Valentine’s Day gift of good sleep February is arguably the busiest month of the year, as many industries are starting their sales pushes and tax season approaches. This busy time can mean long hours at the offices, high stress levels and hours of lost sleep. When you aren’t sleeping well, it can affect almost every aspect of your body, such as your mood, diet, energy levels,…

Many people don’t realize the side effects of poor sleep and that sleep plays a big part in the health of your heart. Recent studies have shown that getting less than six hours of sleep each night increases your chance of developing risk factors for heart disease, which is no joking matter. In the United States, heart disease is the number one cause of death for both men and women, but…

Des Moines Register: Find solutions for seasonal affective disorder Experiencing some “winter blues” is nothing new for natives of the Midwest. Maybe it comes about on a cold January morning, when it takes a little extra motivation to get out of a warm bed. These blues and their more serious form, called seasonal affective disorder, are a type of depression that is directly affected by…

Signs it’s time to see a sleep doctor Sleeping is a natural function of the body, so it can be hard to tell when your “simple” sleep troubles are actually more complicated sleep disorders. Many don’t even realize their poor sleep can affect other aspects of their health such as their overall heart health, managing diabetes and controlling body weight. Many times, these sleep disorders…