Category: Health

It is estimated that about 150 million people worldwide suffer from sleep problems (1). Sleep deprivation is a silent, long-term killer and worldwide health issue. The first step in improving our sleep and health is to understand how sleep works and how it affects our body.

What is sleep?

Sleep is “the naturally recurring condition of rest and inactivity assumed by people and many animals, in which consciousness, response to external stimuli, and voluntary muscular action are largely suspended” (2). The average adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. During this period, the body will go through different types of sleep, known as sleep cycles.

The different stages of sleep

Each sleep cycle involves various stages. The two main types are: non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye-movement (REM).

The non-rapid eye movement (NREM) phase

NREM is the first phase of sleep the body goes into and it occupies about three-quarters of an adult’s sleeping time. It consists of three separate stages, known as stage 1 (NREM1 or N1), stage 2 (NREM2 or N2), and stage 3 (NREM3 or N3). NREM used to be separated into four stages, but 3 stages is the current official categorization.

Stage 1 is the transition from wakefulness to sleep. It is a light sleep that is easily disrupted. In this stage, a person can experience the sensation of falling, causing sudden twitches or hypnic jerks. As the muscles continue to relax, and the heart rate slows, and the body temperature decreases, we go into stage 2 of sleep.

The body goes through intermittent peaks and valleys, or positive and negative waves, of brain activity. “Together, these serve to protect sleep and suppress response to outside stimuli, as well as to aid in sleep-based memory consolidation and information processing. Because sleepers pass through this stage several times during the night, more time is spent in stage 2 sleep than in any other single stage” (3).

Stage 3 is known as delta or deep sleep. Neuronal activity, brain temperature, breathing rate, heart rate, and blood pressure are all at their lowest level during this stage. Memory consolidation and information processing also takes place at a greater level than at stage 2. Some dreams may also occur.

It is during these deepest stages of NREM sleep that the body goes through its healing processes. The heart provides more blood to relaxed muscles and a series of hormones are released into the bloodstream to help repair and regenerate tissue and muscle growth; build bone; regulate the metabolism and appetite; and strengthen the immune system.

The rapid eye movement phase

REM sleep is characterized by quick eye movements and facial and finger twitching. Most dreams occur during this phase. Brain activity increases to near waking levels; breathing becomes more rapid and irregular; and heart rate and blood pressure increase. Muscle tone is lowest during this stage. Studies have shown that lack of REM sleep can lead to negative effects.

It has been noted that people tend to spend more time than usual in REM sleep following days when they have been in unusual situations requiring them to learn a lot of new tasks. Memory consolidation, in particular procedural and spatial memory, also take place to some extent during this stage. REM sleep is important to feel refreshed and have good cognitive function. As a result, lack of REM sleep has been shown to impair the ability to learn complex tasks. An REM session lasts for about five to thirty minutes.

An adult goes through an average of four to six cycles of all stages of sleep for a sleep period of 7 to 8 hours. Each cycle lasts between 90 to 110 minutes. This pattern can vary depending on age. Children often go through shorter sleep cycles, while the elderly tend to sleep lighter and experience little stage 3 sleep. This can be problematic since the average adult still requires the same amount of sleep as they get older. Both NREM and REM sleep are essential in maintaining health and wellbeing.

“NREM sleep is thought to be more important to the body whereas REM sleep is more important to the mind (brain) although the two types cannot be separated” (4).

Because each sleep stage fulfills a distinct physiological and neurological function, it can affect the body if sleep is interrupted or if certain stages are missing. It can leave a person feeling tired or groggy, even after an apparently sufficient sleep period, and can lead to long term health consequences.

What happens when we don’t get enough sleep?

We cannot survive without sleep. Missing one night of sleep isn’t fatal, but missing more than that can lead to depression, impaired memory and thought process, and even hallucinations. Getting only a few hours of sleep per night can lead to similar symptoms over time.

Other problems caused by sleep deprivation or poor sleeping patterns include: weight gain, irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, moodiness, hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, irregular heartbeat, altered immune function, impaired memory, slowed speech, apathy, inability to multitask, drowsiness and microsleeps (nodding off for five to ten seconds at a time), cancer, heart disease, diabetes, inflammation, and increased pain.

These are only some of the many problems and consequences associated with sleep deprivation and poor sleep patterns. Oversleeping can also lead to feelings of lethargy and impaired brain function.

Getting the right amount of quality sleep can improve memory and cognitive function, curb inflammation, improve creativity, help maintain a healthy weight, reduce stress, avoid accidents induced by sleepiness and impaired attention, prevent depression, improve skin, enhance memory, lower energy consumption, and improve immunity. Getting proper sleep has been linked with longer lifespans and better quality of life. Although it is recommended to have 7 to 8 hours of sleep, the quality of that sleep is more important than the actual length.

External factors that influence sleep

Three main factors in getting a proper sleep include preparation (habits before going to sleep), environment, and timing.

For preparation, it is important to: exercise regularly in the morning or afternoon, but not right before bed; set a gentler alarm that wakes you up with music or soothing sounds instead of a loud, annoying buzz, or use a wake-up light that gradually raises the light level in the room; and avoid alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes, particularly after 2pm.

In addition, one should reduce the use of electronic devices and artificial light, and instead engage in an activity that is relaxing such as meditation or reading with a soft light (avoid reading on backlight devices such as tablets, ipods, or e-readers). Try to avoid thinking about tasks or chores, and don’t let yourself get stressed or anxious if you don’t fall asleep right away. Concentrate simply on relaxing. It is also important to increase natural light exposure during the day.

The environment of the bedroom or wherever you sleep is equally important. To stimulate better sleep, remove or reduce all artificial light sources and electronic devices. There should be no televisions, phones, or tablets in the room. It is important to keep the room dark and cool. If the weather is warm, try keeping the windows open. In addition, it is essential to have a comfortable bed.

The next step to improving sleep is timing. It is important to have a set schedule and routine before bed. Try to go to bed at the same time every night. Frequently changing the time you go to bed or wake up can disrupt your sleep cycles. Instead of sleeping in on a day off, it is best to get up at your usual time, so you can sleep better at night. If you are particularly tired, you can take a power nap (a nap of thirty minutes to one hour) in the early afternoon. Having a set routine and sleep schedule prepares your body and helps relax it. Of course, eating right and getting plenty of exercise will help in all aspects of health, including sleeping.

Takeaway

Sleep problems may be rising, but we can work to stop that. By understanding how sleep works, and taking steps to improve our sleep routine and pattern, we can take another step towards achieving optimal health.

In today’s busy world, it is all too easy to use our sleep time for work or other obligations. This choice may seem to help us momentarily, but it has disastrous consequences in the long run. Sleep, like other biological necessities such as eating and exercise, is integral to survival. Equal attention should be given to trying to get quality sleep as it is to other aspects of health. The next time you go to put off sleep or decide to pull an all-nighter, think about the impact it will have. Sleep doesn’t just get rid of drowsiness, it promotes better overall health and wellbeing.

References

1. “Are Sleep Problems the Next Global Health Crisis?” http://www.psychologytoday.com
2. Paperback Oxford Canadian Dictionary,  Second Edition, 964.
3. http://www.howsleepworks.com/types_nonrem.html
4. http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/sleep.html

Today’s world is more interconnected than ever before in both the speed we can travel to other countries and with computer technology giving the ability to connect with people around the world through the internet instantly. The result of this is coming into contact with people that speak a language different than our own. Learning a new language allows us to reach and connect with others both directly and on a global basis. Being able to connect with others is not the only benefit that learning a second language provides as it gives plenty of other health benefits.

Learning a new language provides mental nourishment and exercise that strengthens and grows the brain similar to how exercise strengthens and grows our muscles. This stimulation and growth increases the amount of neurons that the brain contains. More neuron connectors allows us to process information more quickly and efficiently, as they are the information transport system of the brain. Knowing additional languages is shown to help prevent the development of Alzheimer’s and dementia by an average of 4.1 years. These conditions cause damage to the pathways, preventing information transport. The increased pathways from exercising the brain, such as in the case of learning a new language, allows the brain to utilize alternate pathways if some are damaged. Increased amount of neuron pathways is not the only growth that occurs when learning a second language.

Learning a second language has also been shown to increase the size of the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is responsible for the formation, storing, and retrieving of memories. Six weeks is the short time needed for the growth and changes in the brain to be detected. Age is not a factor for gaining these benefits as it is shown to happen no matter the person’s age, whether they are young or elderly. It also does not matter if a person can read or write, just learning to speak a new language provides these benefits.

Learning a new language enhances the brain by creating new challenges. These challenges include recognizing and understanding the meaning of new words and learning how to communicate in the new language. We also need to focus on the language’s grammar, conjugation, and sentence structure, creating an awareness on how to utilize and manipulate the language. This focus and understanding help us to become more efficient communicators, have sharper writing and editing skills, and increase our ability to distinguish meaning from discreet sounds. These benefits are not just exclusive to the new language as they provide the same benefits to a person’s native language as well. Knowing an additional language means a person is switching between each language’s writing, speech, and structure. This ability to switch between languages is shown to improve a person’s skill at multitasking.

People that know another language are shown to make more rational decisions and more likely to notice misleading information. Every language contains nuances and subtle implications that can without notice lead to bias judgment. People that know a second language were shown to be more confident and less affected by these biases as they would process the information or decision with their second language to verify their initial conclusion, enabling them to notice these subtle biases in the language.

Those that knew more than one language showed more creativity as they were more likely to experiment with new words and phrases. Sometimes we forget or are unable to recall certain words, preventing us from properly conveying our message, but those knowing multiple languages were more likely to think of different words or phrases to convey the same message meaning.

Knowing a second language is shown to increase a person’s perception. Multilinguists were better at noticing what was happening in their surroundings and were better at filtering out irrelevant information to instead focus their attention on what was relevant. They also demonstrated higher memorization skills as they showed improved memorisation of shopping lists, names, and directions.

Learning a second language keeps the brain in an efficient working state, even with age. Elderly people that knew a second language are shown to have the same efficient brains like those of young adults. The benefits to the brain in learning an additional language is further enhanced when learning even more languages. Even the learning of a third or more language is made easier as the brain is more efficient in noticing subtleties and breaking down the language into learning steps.

Knowing more than one language is able to help with getting a job or acquiring higher positions in a company. Due the interconnected world, many companies are looking to tap into as many markets as possible and are more willing to hire people that allow them to reach these new market opportunities. The willingness in learning additional languages demonstrates to the company that a person is motivated and driven to learn. This tells the company that the person is more likely to be self motivated and willing to learn new skills to better themselves in their working environment.

Learning an additional language is demonstrated as being beneficial to the health of our brain and its ability to function and grow. It increases our ability to process information, improves multitasking, helps us be assertive of our decisions, increases our language skills in both writing and speech communication, and widens our ability in reaching out to connect with others in our vast interconnected world.

The previous blog post we learned about method that can be utilized in overcoming and combating negative emotions that are harming our mind and thus our health. Now we will learn of ways to prevent negative emotions from infecting our mind and harming us and how we can utilize these emotions to understand what is and why aspect of our lives might be bothering us, enabling us to push forward in our lives in the direction we want.

Having social contact with people who maintain a positive mindset allows us to express some of our problems and find solutions to help better our lives and move forward. Having a flexible mindset is beneficial in combating stress and other negative emotions. It prevents our mind from becoming blocked, which creates stress, and instead enables us to think of new ways to solve problems. A flexible mindset helps prevent our mind from obsessing over negative emotions as when the mind obsesses over negative emotions a buildup of stress can occur.To avoid this “obsession stress”, it is beneficial to prevent ourselves from obsessing over negative emotions and what caused them, not to the point of avoiding or hiding them by pretending to be happy, but to remove ourselves from them enough so that they do not overtake everything else in our lives.

Our emotional state is influenced by our environment and the situations we are in. Writing our thoughts and emotions down in a journal can help us identify what we are feeling and what is causing or affecting these emotions, particularly if these feelings are long-term. We are constantly thinking and moving, and our moods can fluctuate accordingly. For short term emotions, it can sometimes be best to simply acknowledge them and let them pass. There are times when we can give our emotions too much attention, which can cause us to focus on them and make them worse. Nevertheless, it can be motivating to make note of positive thoughts and can be helpful to monitor chronic or long term stress caused by negative emotions.

Writing down negative emotions can help us determine what is causing them and what we can do to change them or handle them more effectively. If you find yourself constantly irritated or angry whenever work is brought up or thought about, then you can look into what it is about your job that is causing these feelings. Then, you can work out a possible solution. For some, that might mean changing careers. For others, that may not be currently possible, and so they may change the way they handle their emotions through relaxation techniques such as meditation, painting, or music.

If our negative thoughts and emotions are directed towards others, then it is best to find out why. Perhaps we are angry because we feel that this person ignored us, or was rude. This information can help us take action, by finding a way to discuss the issue with the person or to realize that we are dwelling on something that is not as important in the long term as we had initially believed. If we find we are unable to confront the other person or mend relationships, then we need to learn to let these feelings go because the only person they are hurting is ourselves. Bitterness tends to cause the person feeling it more harm than the person the emotion is directed to. The negative emotions or thoughts may not be directed toward someone else, but toward ourselves. We may have habits that frustrate us that we need to work on changing, or we may blame ourselves for making mistakes. It is important to foster forgiveness not only toward others but ourselves as well. Dwelling on our mistakes or failures prevents us from creating the positive, healthy mindset that is needed in order to change. We need to let go of blame in order to make room for learning and healing.

These negative emotions can be a signal from our body letting us know that something is not right, whether it is our health or our lifestyle, and needs changed. Overviewing these emotions, if possible without being overwhelmed, by writing them down or using other forms of contemplative thought processes can help determine why we have these thoughts and their source, allowing us to change or overcome the issue.

It is important to not only write down negative thoughts, but positive ones as well. These positive thoughts, emotions, and memories can give us something to look back on when we need an emotional boost.

Various activities and techniques such as listening to music or guided imagery audio, meditation, yoga, and Tai Chi are able to calm our mind and release the negative emotions. Deep breathing by taking 15 deep breaths into the abdomen helps to expel negative emotions from our system, lowering heart rate and blood pressure almost immediately. If an argument starts to escalate or a situation is causing stress, taking a moment to remove yourselves from the situation and take 15 deep breaths while reassuring that all is good and you are in control will help lower stress levels. When calm, a person can go back to the discussion or stressful situation. If the situation still escalates then it best to leave if possible.

Emotions play a larger role than just in how we mentally respond to situations in our surroundings and social interactions, it has profound effects on how the body is able to function externally and internally. Negative emotions impair the body’s ability to function by lowering immunity; preventing wound healing; causing anxiety; increasing blood pressure and risk of diabetes and cancer; and increasing feelings of pain, tiredness, and insomnia, along with many other health complications. Positive emotions are very much the opposite in both how they make us feel emotionally and in the way they affect us physically. They lower blood pressure, increase our healing capabilities, improve memory, allow for proper function in the nerve system, boost the immune system, and help with proper sleep, cellular repair, and efficient heart function, among many other benefits. Positive emotions and feelings prevent and reduce the levels of stress hormones in the system, which help in preventing negative emotions from occurring and causing harm. All emotions have a role and purpose in our lives, even negative emotions to an extent. This is why it is important to understand how emotions affect us and what is causing them so we are in control of our emotional state to help us have a positive healthy lifestyle.

The last two blog post talked about how different emotions are able to affect us both mentally and physically. This blog post will overview methods a person can use to prevent, combat, and overcome harmful negative emotions so that we can stay in a healthy positive mindset.

There are different methods that a person can utilize to remove harmful stress or negative emotions from our system. Keeping them suppressed or trapped inside will only make it worse. Telling someone such as a loved one, family member, or friend, about the situation even if they are unable to help directly will help prevent emotions from building up and harming us. If unable to discuss the issue with those close to us, talking to an outside source such as a doctor, counsellor, or religious advisor will help with getting the feelings out. Discussing your negative emotions with a doctor will allow them to determine whether these negative feelings are just personal or are the result of other problems. Letting doctors know about strong persistent negative emotions will allow them to determine if these negative emotions are feelings of major depression, in which case they might diagnose deficiencies in your diet, prescribe medication, give a referral to see a counsellor, or a combination of these to help relieve the body of major symptoms and help reverse the condition.

Medication is commonly used to treat depression or severe anxiety. It is important to be aware that this medication does not provide a cure. It can cover up some symptoms and mask the problem, especially since these medications cause serious side-effects that negatively affect our mental and physical health. Antidepressant drugs have many complications. Common ones include nausea, anxiety, restlessness, headaches, weight gain, constipation, sleepiness, fatigue, dry mouth, diarrhea, blurred vision, tremors, sweating, nightmares, sleepwalking, and dizziness. These drugs are also known to have other harmful effects including insomnia, feelings of panic, and, as a study has shown, an increase in violent behavior such as hostility, anger, and aggression. It was shown that people taking antidepressants are more likely to have bone fractures than those that do not. Studies show that the drugs double the amount of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children under 18. It is actually recommended that children should not take antidepressant drugs due to this, although they are still commonly prescribed to them.

The complications are very common. Many individuals who have taken antidepressants have experienced nausea or headaches as side effects. These two symptoms would appear to almost disappear over time, but the person just stops noticing the symptoms and builds up resistance. The problem, however, is still there. 50% of people taking antidepressants have been found to have sex related issues and 22% of people have been found to have sleeping problems, with many of them having more than just one sleeping complication. Finding other methods than medication for relieving major depression is optimal as while they might mask the problem of depression many of their side effects can increase or cause other negative mental issues. Talk therapy is shown to provide the same or more benefits than taking medication and avoids the medication’s harmful side effects. These types of medication do not provide an instant cure or answer for the issue. It is best to first focus on improving or changing your diet, lifestyle, and mindset through other means such as diagnosing any possible allergies, such as those to gluten or dairy, or possible nutrient deficiencies; eating more antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables; getting more exercise or activity; engaging in a fun or relaxing hobby; volunteering or helping others; seeking professional counseling or therapy; or changing the situation you are in to reduce stress. If you feel you are unable to change the situation you are in, such as if you are working a job you hate, then you might want to change how you are dealing with the stress. You help deal with stress or work out your thoughts and emotions through journal writing, yoga, meditation, drawing, painting, playing an instrument, etc.

Creating a positive outlook and purpose in life provides us with a mental fortitude that can combat and prevent negative emotions and feeling from harming us. A positive state of mind can be created by finding aspects of life to be grateful about. This can be done by taking time to reflect on all good things that happened during the day and thinking about what makes us happy. Writing these events down in a journal helps to reaffirm them into our mind and allows us to read them again if we are feeling down and have negative feelings.

It is important to keep a positive image of ourselves to combat negative thoughts. Using techniques such as affirmations or hypnotherapy provide us ways to enter and keep our mindset in a healthy state by affirming positive aspects about ourselves. Repeating positive statements to ourselves with affirmations helps to remove buildup of negative feelings, lifting our spirits, energy levels, and improve our health. Exercising and eating a healthy balanced diet makes the body feel good which in turn gives us a positive mindset about ourselves.

Exercising is shown to help remove built up negative emotions, making it a form of activity to use if negative thoughts or emotions are affecting us. It is able to accomplish this in multiple ways. Exercising helps open up the blood vessels, increasing heart rate and blood flow, which in turn reduces blood pressure. It is able to regulate the heart rate and relax muscles; all of which help in reducing built up stress. The levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin in the brain increase. These are “feel good” transmitters that not only help in increasing our positive feelings, but also help in improving focus and attention levels. Exercise causes the release of endorphins which help with pain and interact with the brain, helping us feel good, lowering feeling of depression and anxiety, and boosting self-esteem.

Time spent exercising can be considered a form of quiet time as it allows our focus to be on the activity instead of our distracting or negative thoughts. An awareness of the physical sensations and benefits of exercising helps us realize the purpose of doing it and helps improve our body image by making us aware of what bodies are capable of. There is the notion that exercise will make us feel tired or fatigued after. It can, depending on the intensity and duration of the exercise, but it actually helps increase our energy levels, particularly long-term, giving a boost on our daily performance. Exercise can help to socialize with people as many can be done with family, friends, or other individuals in an exercise group. A consistent exercise regimen is shown to be a useful substitute for antidepressant drugs and lowers the risk of relapse into depression. Many view exercise as another chore to add to their day but another way of viewing it is as a tool that can be utilized to help better ourselves both physically and mentally.

Food should be avoided for use as a way of comfort. It does not solve the problem nor does eating for comfort give the ability to remove the negative emotions. Comfort foods only make it easy to overeat, creating even more problems not only physically but mentally as well. In regard to food, a well balanced and nutritional meal plan will help in creating and maintaining a positive mindset. Having proper nutrition makes the body feel good. This improved mood helps create a more positive self image, which in turn helps create a more positive mindset regarding our perception of our environment. A lack of nutrients can be a major cause for negative thought patterns as many nutritional deficiencies are linked with negative thoughts. Deficiencies in omega 3 and vitamin D are linked with depression. Amino acids are also required for proper brain function, which affects mood. A well balanced meal helps keep the body functioning properly. This helps prevent negative thoughts and feelings from affecting us and keeps the brain in a positive and calm mindset.

There are many method that a person can use to combat and overcome negative emotions that plague the mind. These method are important to know and utilized in today’s work with the constant bombardment of negative. In the next blog post we will discuss methods to prevent negative emotions from infecting our mind and to learn how to utilize these emotions to learn what is truly bothering us so that we can push forward in life.

The previous blog post mentioned the effects of negative emotions on our mental and physical health. Not only do negative emotions affect our health and life, so do our positive emotions.

Positive emotions are in direct opposition to negative emotions in how they affect our health. They are able to keep our body in a positive state that boosts its healing ability and overall performance.

Love is a form of positive emotion that is shown to provide many health benefits. Research done on the subject “falling in love” revealed that love is able to increase the amount of nerve growth factor (NGF) in our system for about a year. The Nerve Growth Factor is a gene that is inserted into protein structures to be incorporated into larger structures. They provide instructions and components that are used for the growth, repair, and wellbeing of the body’s nervous system. NGF provides a calming effect on the body and mind. It is known to provide the feelings of being in love along with contentment. Unfortunately the levels of NGF is shown to drop after about a year after first falling in love.

Positive physical contact with another person has shown to provide positive health benefits. The act of cuddling together releases the hormone oxytocin referred to as the bonding hormone or love hormone. This hormone acts as a neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger in the brain. It increases the feelings of empathy, generosity, and trust and is considered a type of cure for depression feelings and reduces the stress response and anxiety.

The act of laughing is shown to have many positive health benefits. Laughter, and even the anticipation of laughter, is able to reduce the levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenalin. It is able to relax tense muscles, reduce the production of stress hormones, lower blood pressure, increase oxygen absorption in the blood, increase levels of the mood boosting beta-endorphin by 27%, and increase levels of human growth factor, helping in how well we sleep. Laughter’s stress reducing ability is able to reduce the risk of heart attacks since it prevents the effects of stress from harming the protective lining of the blood vessels. Cellular repair is shown to increase by 87% from laughing. Laughing is good for our face muscles. Over 400 muscles are used for the activity. There has been some research that estimates laughing 100 times is able to burn the same amount of calories as doing a 10 minute aerobic workout on a rowing machine or doing 15 minutes on an exercise bike.

The emotional aspect of gratitude such as feeling thankful for what we have, what we are given by others, and for being alive as well as the positive feeling associated with achievements are shown to lower blood pressure, boost immunity, and speed up the healing process throughout the entire body. Feelings of gratitude along with love and other positive emotions increases the release of oxytocin. The effects of gratitude is shown to boost the function and performance of the heart and brain by increasing their harmonious electric activity.

In most cases, stress is shown to negatively impact our health. While this is true for many forms of stress, especially when experienced long-term, there is an exception. Short bursts of stress are actually able to provide a boost to immunity and raise the level of cancer fighting molecules. This positive effect is shown to last for weeks after the stress situation. Long term stress is the opposite and will cause harm to our body. Thus, we need to find a way of removing long-term stressful situations.

In the next blog post we will discuss ways in preventing, removing, and overcoming the harmful negative emotions so that we can keep our mind in a positive mindset to push us forward in life.

The previous Tips & Techniques article “Benefits of Reading” mentioned the many benefits associated with reading. Reading can play a role in health, knowledge, vocabulary, and more. The way we read has changed over the years with the advancement of technology. In today’s world there are two popular available forms of reading: physical and digital. These two forms have changed how we consume written media, and our understanding of what is being read.

Physical text, such as letters or books, have been used for thousands of years since it was the best and only method of sharing information and stories to people far and wide. In today’s society, the use of electronics allows the sharing of these stories or information digitally, so we can consume them on devices such as e-readers, tablets, phones, and computers. Even with digital’s ease of access in getting books or information when learning or studying new subjects, physical books have shown to be much preferred over digital formats. Several studies have been done with students regarding their preferences and the effect of reading physical versus digital formats. The studies concluded that physical books help in creating a clearer, deeper understanding of the written text. They gave the feeling of being more immersed into the book and the students were more inclined to spend longer times reading than with digital.

This immersion is attributed with the feeling that physical books provided, such as the different types and textures of paper. The weight of the book gave a sense of whether the book was a light read or a heavy read, which is lost in digital formats since their only weight is the device you read it on, resulting in all ebooks (electronic books) weighing the same. The act of turning pages in physical books creates a sense of immersion and progress as one sees the pages that they have yet to read get smaller and the pages which they have already read get larger. Some digital readers do try and copy this feeling such as swiping to turn pages or having a progress bar but not all of them do and they do not provide the same feeling as with a physical book.

This visual progress with physical books allows the mind to create visual mental maps of where information or events occur in the book such as in the beginning, middle, and end. It even helps with knowing what chapter it occurs in and where on the page. Digital books do not provide this same mental map connection. This is evident as when asked to reconstruct the plot of a book, the people reading digital had a much harder time in placing events in the right order whereas those who read physical scored much higher in reconstructing plot placement.

Many found it easier to take notes with physical books as they could highlight sections of the page, attach sticky notes, write on the page, bend pages, and place bookmarks. These features are not always present in the same way or are not possible to replicate with digital reading.

The ability to focus on reading is higher with physical books than compared to digital. The studies found that digital devices connected to internet provided distractions if they have clickable links and contain changing images on the page. Many mentioned it was easier to multitask when reading on a digital device. This was considered both good and bad as some felt it prevented them from focusing while others liked this ability since they could accomplish other tasks at the same time. Multitasking does mean that their mind was more clouded with other thoughts or distractions and it showed there was less dedication to the text with reading digital than with physical. It was found that those who read digital are more likely to skim read and use search features on devices and online functions, such as google or similar services, to quickly skim for information instead of reading the text slowly and carefully. The greater ability to focus and higher attention levels associated with physical books makes it more beneficial for people that have problems with memory or concentration. It improved their ability to stay more focused on what they are reading and to avoid or remove other stimuli or distracting thoughts.

Physical books are easier for the eyes than compared to digital. Eye strain caused by digital devices is extremely common and is known as digital eye strain or computer visual syndrome. Digital readers provide much eye strain, with a study showing 50% of people reading digital complaining of this condition. Glossy screens are shown to provide the most eye strain but even screens that promote themselves as easier on the eyes still cause strain. Increased eye strain with digital reading is due to a few factors. Screens produce a glare due to their reflective nature. This makes it hard for the eyes to focus or see what is on the screen, causing the eyes to strain to see the screen. The viewing angle of the screen will affect the eyes. Monitors have a certain viewing range to see the screen properly due to certain screen type limitations. If a person is reading near the edge or outside of this viewing range it will cause the eyes to strain to see the image on the screen. This is alleviated by some monitors such as IPS monitors as they contain a fairly large viewing range. Digital screens produce their own light to give us the image we see but this can effect our eyes.

Blue light, though produced naturally in nature, have adverse effects on our eyes with overexposure that comes from digital. Blue light has shorter wavelengths and requires more energy than other colours in the visible light spectrum. This makes it harder for the eyes and it is what causes screens to flash when they need to refresh their light settings. Blue light plays a role in the regulation of our circadian rhythm, the sleep wake cycle. The blue light signals our body that it is daytime and that we need to stay awake by preventing the release and performance of melatonin.

Melatonin is a hormone that tells the body to enter rest mode so that various sleep activities such as healing can occur. During the day, light stops melatonin release while the darkness of night tells the body to release it. It is shown that blue light compared to other light types has the biggest impact on preventing melatonin release. This is the reason that viewing sources of blue light at night such as those produced by digital screens can prevent our body from entering its sleep state. This is the reason why it can be harder to fall asleep with digital sources and why we may have poorer sleep. There are some tools that can help with digital blue light protection. This includes special glasses, or lenses or lense coatings that can be added to certain prescription glasses, that help filter out blue light. Some screens have low blue light technology that allows for the adjustment of blue light exposure. Proper light source helps with the blue light exposure and the screen’s high contrast and glare.

Physical books for the most part do not give the same eye strain as digital but shares some common eye strain problems. Eye strain with physical books are due to inadequate lighting conditions when reading. Eye strain can be caused by fonts being too small, not blinking enough which is more common when using digital devices, and not taking regular breaks when reading whether physical or digital. A rule of 20-20-20 was created, which consists of viewing something 20 feet away for 20 seconds after every 20 minutes. This technique is recommended for taking breaks and helping prevent eye strain as it helps the eyes to refocus.

Digital devices produce an electronic field, called an electromagnetic field (EMF), that can affect our health. All things produce their own electromagnetic field. This field can be interfered with or altered by other electromagnetic energy fields, such as electronic devices. Electronic devices produce an electromagnetic field that negatively affects our own. While different electronic devices can have more serious effects than others, all of them do have an effect. These field interferences are linked to conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, genetic damage, reproductive damage, and impaired immune system, along with others. It is due to this that a person should take breaks from electronic devices to allow the body to recover and repair its own protective electromagnetic system. There are also devices or products that help protect against harmful electromagnetic fields such grounding pads. These EMF protection devices can help reduce the effects of electromagnetic exposure, but one should still remember to avoid long exposure to harmful frequencies. This is something that a person will need to consider when reading on a digital device. Physical books do not give a harmful field, thus a person does not need to worry about electromagnetic field damage.

Digital formats do provide their own benefits that are not present in physical books. Many ereaders allow making adjustments to the size and type of font, making it possible to use fonts and font sizes that suit the needs of the reader. This can make it easier for people with conditions such as dyslexia to read books. If a book has images, such as science books, some digital readers allow a user to zoom closer to the image for a better view. This is not possible with physical books. The layout of the reader’s digital page can be changed to match a person’s preferences.

Many people found that they liked that digital readers made it easier to read books in the dark, though this does cause eye strain and the light that is produced has been shown to prevent people from having a proper sleep. Research showed that 54% of children that slept near a small screen lost 20 minutes of sleep. Due to its digital nature many ebooks can fit into one ereader making it easier to take multiple books on the go such as for business trips and travelling. It was mentioned that digital books are nice in they can give a sense of privacy on which books a person reads. Ebooks are usually cheaper than physical books, helping people who are on a budget. Many older books or text are available for free as their copyright has expired and there is vast resources of online information that a person can view.

A problem that all electronics have is that they can have glitches or other complications. They could get stuck loading a book, have unexpected pauses when reading, and can suddenly slow down, which can happen particularly when viewing larger books that contain lots of images. It is not just electronic devices with low specifications, such as low memory, but can happen to any electronic device. This can distract the reader from being immersed into the book.

One aspect that is always mentioned about the benefits of ebooks is that they can save trees since they do not use paper. This is true, but since physical books are made of paper it makes the entire book recyclable and thus can be used to make new books. Electronics are not exempt from producing waste that harms the environment as they produce their own e-waste. Many of the components used to create electronics need to be dug up, mined, from the earth. Not all electronic components can be recycled either, meaning they end up in landfills or need to be specially disposed of. Biodegradability is something to consider too on their environment impact; paper will biodegrade over time while many electronic parts will not. A digital book can have DRM (digital rights managements) that can prevent how the book is viewed. It might require a special app or may only be used on select devices. This DRM can also prevent ebooks from being shared or given to other people. Physical books do not have this problem. This means you can more easily share them with others, give them as gifts, or borrow them from a library.

A benefit with digital books is they can be used to create more unique and interactive reading experiences. They can be used to create books that have choices, such as choose your own adventure books, where parts of the story will have choices for you to select. These choices will affect the outcome of the story. While some physical books do have this, digital formats allow for more choices and do not require constant flipping throughout the book, creating a more seamless reading experience. Digital books give the ability to have interactive images or to play sounds when reading the story. Physical books do not provide this same interactivity when reading.

The reading of books in either form provides us with benefits to our brain’s growth and health. The different forms, though, do change our ability to comprehend what we are reading, with physical books showing the advantage in our understanding and memorization of the book’s content. Digital does give the ability to purchase books cheaper than physical, with many available for free, and provides unique interactivity, and ability to take multiple book on the go. Despite these benefits, digital is shown to have adverse effects on health such as increased eye strain and less understanding of the books content. Due to these negative effects, physical books are shown to be much preferred by readers by providing benefits such as greater concentration and clearer memorization and understanding of the books content. Whichever form a person chooses to read either physical or digital it is always beneficial to read a good book.

Emotions are a major determining factor in how we think and feel, overriding much of our logic thought process. There is a wide range of emotional experiences such as anger, happiness, sadness, joy, depression, and excitement, along with many more. Emotions have a wide variety of effects on personal well being due to how integrated they are in thought processes, playing a role in both mental and physical health. Due to the way they affect health, emotions can be placed under the categories of negative or positive.

All emotions are needed in one form or another depending on different situations in our lives. Some emotions though, when uncontrolled, place more harm on bodies than good. Emotions that cause harm to our own health are classified as negative emotions. These poor emotional states or negative states include emotions such as anger, sadness, depression, stress, jealousy, and others that have similar feelings. These emotions cause the body to enter in a state that prevents it from functioning properly as they place the body under constant pressure, eventually leading to chronic stress. Many of these negative emotions cause the flight or fight reaction in the body. While this reaction is beneficial in certain situations as it gives us the needed energy to run or fight a threat, it is not needed in the majority of society activities today and does more harm than good. Constant stress turns off the body’s growth and repair system and prevents it from healing. It stops the functioning of the immune system, causes high blood pressure, damages the arteries and blood vessels, prevents us from focusing, impairs memory and accuracy, makes us more easily tired, causes depression, increases cholesterol level, and reduces our reproduction system. The negative effects lead to many health conditions such as cancer, heart attacks, diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.

Anger, even with its ability of increasing strength and giving the ability to be more “forceful”, has benefits when confronting threats but this emotion causes harm to our health. Studies have shown that angry outbursts, even if they last only a few minutes, will cause a massive release of adrenaline, placing the body under stress conditions and increasing blood pressure and heart rate. The stress from anger increases the risk of heart disease by 19% and the risk of heart attacks and stroke by five times. It is not only anger outbursts that cause harm, but repressing or trapping our anger is known to cause health problems. A study showed that women who suppressed their anger during confrontations have twice the risk of dying from heart attacks, stroke, and cancer. This shows that anger outbursts during confrontations poses the same risk as trapping our anger inside.

Arguments themselves are known to have adverse effects on health. Research has shown that a half hour argument with a lover will slow the body’s ability to heal by at least a day, with frequent arguments causing the impaired healing time to double. The negative effects of arguments cause harm not only during the moment of the argument but also in the recollection of arguments, both causing stress levels to significantly increase. It is more than just large outbursts or trapping of anger that cause harm. Subtle forms like impatience, irritability, and grouchiness damage our health and are associated with the conditions of anxiety, low mood, and suppressed immune system.

Jealousy is a complex emotion in how it affects us and the harm it causes to our health. It is considered a complex emotion due to it being a mixture of anger, stress, and fear. This combination of emotions results in an intense flight or fight reaction and leads to many complications. It harms us by increasing blood pressure, heart rate, and adrenalin levels; weakening the immune system; and causing anxiety and insomnia. Jealousy can be a very powerful and painful emotion that is difficult to control,with a variety of causes. It is an emotion that requires special observation and needs to be avoided to prevent us from harming ourselves with it.

A variety of emotions are linked with feeling down such as depression, pessimism, and apathy. These emotions lower the levels of the feel good neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine present in the brain. Low amounts of these neurotransmitters affect how a person perceives pain since serotonin is used to regulate pain perception. It is believed that due to its function in pain regulation that low levels of this neurotransmitter is why people who suffer with depression experience increased aches and pains. Serotonin has a role with the feelings of desire and low amounts of this neurotransmitter is linked with low levels of brain chemicals, altering the way the brain functions. This altering of brain function links the emotion of feeling down with poor sleep, fatigue, and sexual dysfunction.

During moments of negative stress and frustration a person might cry. While some might view it as a sign of weakness, crying actually provides us with benefits in reducing stress levels and the harmful effects it provides. A comparison study was conducted on the difference between emotional tears and tears produced when chopping onions. The study showed that emotional tears contained high levels of stress hormones and neurotransmitters, allowing the body to remove them from the system. Along with removal of stress hormones and neurotransmitters, emotional tears are shown to reduce heart pressure and heart rate, and are able to increase synchronised brain-wave patterns. Suppressing tears prevents the release of these stress components, and leaves the body in a constant state of tension. This constant state of tension makes the body susceptible to the negative effects of stress such as anxiety, weak immune system, impaired memory, and poor digestion, along with many of its other negative effects.

Negative emotions can play a big role in our mental and physical health. It hampers our body and mind from progressing forward in live and can even set us backwards. They can hunt us, give us poor sleep, prevent proper digestion of food, weaken our immune system, place our minds in such a negative state that we can lash out at people causing relationship damage with family and friends, and can cause us mentally destroy ourselves along with a host of other problems in our lives.

In the next blog post, we will look into positive emotions and how they affect our health, push us forward in life, and help overcome negative emotions.

Many people enjoy picking up a book or magazine to read as a form of entertainment or to obtain information. Reading allows us to experience worlds that others have created, to learn about new things, or to understand the thoughts and opinions of other people. It is more than just a form of entertainment though as reading is shown to provide many health benefits.

Reading is shown to increase a person’s vocabulary. Children’s books, though most would not assume, will expose 50% more words to the child than watching prime time TV and is shown to provide more words than listening to a conversation between college student graduates. This increased vocabulary from reading benefits people of all ages by teaching them to be more articulate. Whether the reading subject is fiction, non-fiction, newspapers, or well thought out articles, reading introduces new words that we can incorporate into our vocabulary. An increased vocabulary is shown to be linked with a boost in confidence and self esteem, increasing our performance ability on what we set out to accomplish. Writing skills will improve the more we read as the larger vocabulary means we have more word to utilize to convey what we want to tell. Even how the book is written will affect our writing as we will incorporate the style of writing and combine it with our own, inspiring us to develop our own unique way of writing and improving the writing quality.

Reading gives us a way to increase our knowledge and our understanding of various aspect of the world. Ever increasing knowledge means that we are better able to accomplish more things in life. It gives us the knowledge on how to accomplish many things. Our knowledge and larger vocabulary from reading provides a boost to our social interaction skills. It gives us topics and the words to use to interact with other people about many things. Research shows that companies prefer people who are well-spoken, well-read, and knowledgeable about various subjects. This means that reading will help us to get a job or increase the likelihood of promotion at our current jobs.

There are many benefits that reading provides that help us with tasks we want to complete. Just 20 minutes of reading is shown to provide a boost in concentration ability as it allows the mind to focus solely on what is being read. This concentration persists even after reading, staying with us throughout the entire day. Getting a concentrated mindset is harder now than any other time with the constant switching between social media, checking our phones, background conversation, and other things that deter our attention.

Analytical thinking skills are beneficial in solving problems that we could encounter in our daily lives. Reading is able to provide us with analytical skills by allowing the mind to piece together the story, character interaction, events, and how various topics relate to each other. Talking about books with others or discussing thoughts on the story and characters help us to analyze and understand not just the book but how other people interpret and understand different things.

Reading books, particularly fiction books, increases our ability to empathize with others. It does this by giving readers a way to know what the book’s characters are thinking and their emotional response, allowing us to understand how they personally feel. Even just reading the beginning or a chapter of a book is shown to produce a noticeable increase of empathy a week later. This increase in empathy and understanding regarding characters’ thoughts and feelings helps us with complex social relationships, creating positive social interactions. This in turn reduces stress levels and helps us live longer, healthier lives.

There are additional ways that reading reduces stress levels. Reading allows a person to clear the mind from stressful situations, enter a state of relaxation, and instead focus on the written words. Its ability to reduce stress is quite large with research showing that reading is able to reduce stress levels by as much as 68%. Reading self-help books provide their own benefits as they are shown to help people that suffer from certain mood disorders and mild mental illnesses. A person needs to be careful of what they read though, as while newspapers can tell us of various things happening, they can negatively affect the mind. It is shown that reading the newspaper will decrease our ability to empathize with others and can create stress.

Reading provides a workout for our brain, similar to how exercise provides a workout for the body, boosting its performance. This brain workout is able to increase memory function by having the brain process and remember the book’s events, characters, and other important information of the chosen reading topic. Reading is shown to prevent decline in brain function due to age, as frequent brain usage is able to reduce age-related mental decline by 32%. The frequent use of brain function helps with other complications such as in the prevention and even reverse of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Reading is able to help in the creation of new synapses (brain pathways) and to strengthen existing ones, helping in short term memory recall and in stabilizing our moods.

The new brain pathways, or what is called cognitive reserve, helps with many complications such as stroke, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other brain damaging conditions. If damaged, the brain is able to utilize the reserves for ways around the damaged area. This is the reason why researchers believe that, when checking the brains of elders that had passed away, the elders had shown no outward complications or symptoms, such as memory loss or problems speaking, despite their brains having advanced signs of the neurodegenerative disease. Reading provides many of the ways to build up this reserve as high vocabulary, knowledge of foreign words, and learning new languages are the biggest factors for creating new cognitive reserves. The growing and strengthening of cognitive pathways is provided much more from books than from reading newspapers. Newspapers mostly involve just skimming the headlines while books require the memorization of previous chapters and information.

Depending on where a person lives reading can be a form of free or low-cost entertainment. A person can visit a library to choose between a huge selection of books that they can read there. A lot of older books can be found online that have entered the public domain, meaning their copyright has expired. Sometimes authors have placed their books under a public domain license themselves. It is important to be careful to make certain that these free books are legally free. This means finding a trusted and reputable source for getting them and determining their status.

Reading is a wonderful activity that provides many benefits. It increases our knowledge, vocabulary, helps us relax, reduces stress, boosts brain’s ability to function, allows our brains to grow and prevent many brain complications. All of these benefits allow us to live longer, healthier lives. With all its benefits, it’s easy to see that we should be reading, and the real question is what should we read next.