Today's lesson is on the importance of sleep, as well as the connection between diabetes and dementia. current data suggests that both sleep deprivation and poor quality of sleep affect the incidence and prevalence of obesity and type two diabetes. Studies have shown that lack of sleep caused either by Sleep Apnea or lifestyle choices, such as staying up late and getting up early is associated with an increased incidence of diabetes. getting less than six hours or more than nine hours of sleep is also associated with increased prevalence of diabetes. So your sleep habits really do affect your blood sugar levels. If you find that you're lacking sleep, talk to your doctor about the possibility of setting up a screening for a sleep disorder or even sleep apnea.

If you don't have a physiological reason for losing sleep, then knowing and following the regimen for good sleep habits can be the remedy. According to the Mayo Clinic there are seven habits to improve your sleep. One, stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends. You may be tempted to sleep in, but your body likes regular schedules and it'll learn when to fall asleep. Pay attention to what you eat and drink.

Don't eat a big meal right before bedtime. The digestive process interferes with your body's ability to relax. Next, Don't drink too much liquid unless you enjoy jumping out of bed several times a night to use the bathroom. Some people are very sensitive to caffeine and shouldn't ingest it after 12 o'clock noon. Because caffeine can keep you up. Alcohol is another substance to avoid close to bedtime.

Ironically, it can help you go to sleep, but then wakes you up in the middle of the night. Then there you are awake. Create a bedtime ritual. In the same way that you might give your child a bath and read him a bedtime story as a way to help him wind down. You need to create a bedtime ritual that helps you wind down. This might include taking a warm bath or shower, reading a book or listening to soothing music, preferably with the light down.

Relaxing activities can promote better sleep by easing the transition between wakefulness and drowsiness. Also, doing stimulating activities on the computer or watching dramatic TV shows can make it harder for you to wind down the bright lights from the screen. trick your brain into thinking that it's daytime. And this inhibits the production of melatonin, which helps you sleep. Create a sleep friendly bedroom. create an environment that's good for sleeping.

Keep your bedroom dark, quiet and cool. You may even want to cover up the lights on your electronics because even these small lights can interfere with your sleep. Then, limit your distractions. Make sure you have a comfortable mattress, plenty of room and keep the pets off the bed if they have a tendency to wake you up. Limit daytime naps. If you like to nap during the day.

Limit yourself to about 10 to 30 minutes and make it during the mid afternoon. Power naps are good but make sure that they don't exceed 30 minutes because you want your body to get sleepy later on. include physical activity in your daily routine. regular physical activity can promote better sleep, helping you to fall asleep faster and enjoy deeper sleep. But if you work out too close to bedtime, you might be too energized to fall asleep. manage your stress, stress will definitely interfere with your sleep because you'll end up tossing and turning as you think about the problems in your life.

Ironically, you can't solve those problems while you're lying in bed. But often that's where your mind wants to go. Try putting those problems in an imaginary file cabinet where you can store them until the morning when you might actually be able to work on a solution. Finally, if you feel that lack of sleep is affecting you negatively, talk to your doctor. There may be a medical solution that can restore a night of restful sleep for you. Alright, let's talk about the link between diabeetus and dementia.

This is one excellent reason to avoid diabetes, if at all possible, which in most cases it is. According to one study, researchers found that elderly people with type two diabetes experienced two and a half times the amount of natural brain shrinkage that comes with age compared to their non diabetic peers. Most of this loss was in the frontal lobe where higher mental functions occur. The good news is that the best prevention for dementia is not developing diabetes in the first place. Eating antioxidant rich foods such as berries, vegetables, nuts and grains, promote brain health. So bottom line, there's a lot that you as a consumer can do to protect yourself from the chronic diseases such as diabetes and dementia.

Be proactive, not reactive. Proactive is better. Okay, here are your action steps. Do a review of your sleep habits. Is there anything you'd like to change? Then review your daily food chart?

Are you eating low glycemic foods? Are you exercising 150 minutes a week. This is your prevention plan. If you're not where you want to be, recommit, that's all it takes. You can do this