Sleeping Well Every Night

Who would have thought that how much we sleep could turn out to be a coronary artery risk factor which is as important as smoking or high blood pressure? In fact, you can be an avid marathon runner, health food nut, gum rat, non-smoker, non-drinker and even a relatively stress-free lean person but still suffer due to getting less-than-adequate sleep.

One such person was Ranjan Das, a young and popular chief executive officer in India and a fitness buff.

He suffered a massive heart attack at the age of 42. He seemed to have done everything right but sleep—getting only 4-5 hours a night when he really needed more.

Evidence has shown that there's a link between lack of sleep and heart disease.

Studies have documented the following:

• Sleeping fewer than 6 hours a night has been linked to an increased risk for high blood pressure by 350-500% compared with those who slept more than 6 hours a night.

•  Young people (25-49 years of age) are twice as likely to get high blood pressure if they sleep less.

• Individuals who sleep less than 5 hours a night have a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks.

• Middle-aged women who slept for 5 or fewer hours a night had a greater chance of suffering heart attacks than those who have 8 hours of sleep.

• Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of C-reactive protein, the strongest predictor of heart attacks and other substances that reflect active inflammation. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stay high.

• Just 1 night of sleep loss increases toxic substances in the body that increase risks of many illnesses such as cancer, arthritis and heart disease.

According to Professor Francesco Cappucio, who co-authored a report published in the European Heart Journal, "If you sleep less than 6 hours per night and have disturbed sleep, you stand a 48% greater chance of developing or dying from heart disease and a 15% greater chance of developing or dying from a stroke. The trend for late nights and early mornings is actually a ticking time bomb for our health so you need to act now to reduce your risk of developing these life-threatening conditions."

Sleep deprivation is on the rise worldwide due to easy Internet access, a growing number of TV channels, financial worries and longer working hours. All these distract us from going to bed early, but it is important that we get our restorative 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

Here are a few basic good sleeping habits to practise:

• Go to bed and get up at the same time every day.

• Use your bed only for sleeping.

• Go easy on alcohol and caffeine—avoid nicotine.

• Exercise in the morning or late afternoon.

Get The Most Out Of Your Sleep

If you have trouble falling asleep or getting deep sleep, try a natural sleep supplement, such as Rilax to help regulate your sleep.

Rilax helps you experience a rejuvenating night's sleep, so that you wake up feeling recharged and re-energized.

Darren Atkinson 'Datguy', a radio announcer and news presenter with a local radio station shares, "Switching off and resting can be difficult at times due to my busy lifestyle. However, Rilax helps me to relax and gives me restful sleep when I really need it. With Rilax, I feel fresh, rested and alert the next day and ready to take on another busy day."

Another user, Sherilyn Wong shares, "My lifestyle as a real estate consultant can be very hectic. I often end up sleeping late and having to wake up early. Sometimes when I sleep, I find that my brain is still active and there are a lot of thoughts running through my mind.

"On some mornings, I wake up feeling tired rather than well rested.

"However, I find that Rilax helps me calm down before bedtime and although I only have a few hours of sleep, I'm able to wake up feeling well rested and refreshed."

Classified as a food product by the Ministry of Health Malaysia, Rilax contains 2 proven and award-winning ingredients:

• Lactium: a naturally-occurring peptide found in milk protein that has relaxing and calming properties. Lactium mimics the properties found in mother's milk, thus inducing the same state of calm that a baby enters after a feed.

• Green tea extract: rich in L-Theanine, an amino acid found in green tea leaves that promotes an alert state of relaxation without drowsiness.

Taken an hour before bedtime, Rilax's all-natural ingredients work well to improve sleep quality, particularly those that are stress-related, are safe, non-habit-forming, have no side effects and does not cause grogginess when you wake up.