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Wellness Wednesday: Meditation

Posted on September 25, 2024 by Patrick Hercules

Meditation is the habitual process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts. It can wipe away the day’s stress and bring inner peace. It can also be used as a practice to develop other beneficial habits and feelings, such as a positive mood and outlook, self-discipline, healthy sleep patterns, and even increased pain tolerance.

There are many types of mediation, including:

Guided meditation
Mantra meditation
Mindfulness meditation
Qigong
Tai chi
Yoga

Each type of meditation includes certain features to help you meditate. The most common features include:

Focused attention- focusing your attention is one of the most important elements of meditation. It helps free your mind from the many things that cause stress and worry.
Relaxed breathing- this meditation technique involves deep, even-paced breathing using the diaphragm to expand your lungs. The purpose is to slow your breathing, take in more oxygen, and reduce the use of shoulder, neck, and upper chest muscles while breathing so that you breathe better.
A quiet setting- if you’re a beginner, meditation may be easier to do if you’re in a quiet spot to have fewer distractions. As you get more skilled at meditation, you may be able to do it anywhere, including high-stress places.
A comfortable position- you can practice meditation whether sitting, lying down, walking, or in other positions or activities. Ensure you are comfortable to get the most out of your meditation. Aim to keep a good posture during meditation.
An open attitude- let thoughts pass through your mind without judging them.

Here are some emotional and physical benefits of meditation:

It helps reduce stress
It helps to control anxiety
It supports emotional health
It enhances self-awareness
It increases your attention span
It may reduce age-related memory loss
It can help generate kindness
It may help with addiction
It helps to improve sleep
It helps control pain
It can help decrease blood pressure
It is accessible anywhere
It enables you to be more patient

Meditation is something everyone can do to improve their mental and emotional health without special equipment or costly memberships. Trying a style of meditation suited to your goals is a great way to improve your quality of life, even if you only have a few minutes a day.

If you want to learn more about Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s integrative health services, events, or classes or would like to schedule an appointment, please call us at (718) 206-5675.

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.

Hypersomnia

Posted on August 27, 2024 by Xavia Malcolm

Hypersomnia is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by excessive sleepiness. Hypersomnia can be categorized as primary or secondary.

Primary hypersomnia is not caused by any other medical conditions; it is a condition in its own right. Conditions classified as primary hypersomnia include narcolepsy, Kleine-Levin syndrome, and idiopathic hypersomnia.

Secondary hypersomnia results from other medical conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, obstructive sleep apnea, depression, or bipolar disorder. It can also result from taking certain medications such as anti-hypertensive drugs, barbiturates, and anti-psychotics.

People living with hypersomnia feel extremely tired or sleepy during the day, even after getting adequate sleep at night. They have difficulty staying awake and fall asleep several times during the day. Other signs and symptoms of hypersomnia include:

Sleeping longer than normal (10 or more hours each day)
Difficulty waking up in the mornings
Difficulty concentrating
Memory problems
Hallucinations
Slow thinking and speech
Anxiety
Low energy
Irritability
Headache

Ignoring the signs and symptoms of hypersomnia can put you at risk for accidents and greatly affect your social, work, and personal life.

If you are consistently feeling sleepy despite getting adequate rest, you should speak with your doctor who can order several tests to determine a diagnosis.

Diagnosing hypersomnia may include getting an overnight sleep test, a multiple sleep latency test, or assessing your sleepiness using an Epworth Sleepiness Scale.

Treatments for hypersomnia may include medications and making lifestyle changes such as sticking to a sleep schedule and avoiding alcohol and other substances that can affect your sleep.

To schedule an appointment with a sleep specialist at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, please call 718-206-5916.

How to Increase Your Stamina

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Patrick Hercules

Stamina is the ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort.

Physical stamina is the ability to put in the maximum amount of effort during a physical activity, over some time while maintaining optimal performance.

Low stamina can negatively impact a person’s overall quality of life. Low physical stamina is associated with:

Poor athletic performance
Fatigue
Weight gain
Decreased sex drive
Erectile dysfunction
Difficulty sleeping

High physical stamina can lead to:

Increased energy levels
Improved cardiovascular health
Better sleep
Higher sex drive
Improved athletic performance

An effective way to build up physical stamina is by doing aerobic exercises and high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

Mental stamina, sometimes called mental toughness, is the ability to handle life’s stresses, perform well under pressure, and maintain focus despite distractions.

Mental stamina has multiple components that can be referred to as the four C’s of mental toughness including:

Control: feeling like you are in control of your life, circumstances, and emotions.
Commitment: sticking with your goals even when it gets difficult.
Challenge: viewing potential threats to your success as opportunities instead.
Confidence: believing in yourself and your ability to succeed.

Low mental stamina is associated with:

Difficulty with daily tasks
Depression
Increased stress levels
Decreased attention span
Irritability

High mental stamina can lead to:

Increased attention span
Improved ability to focus on a task
Decreased stress levels
Increase in productivity

There are several ways to build mental stamina, including:

Setting “S.M.A.R.T.” goals- increase mental stamina by setting specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and time-efficient goals.
Find your motivation- focus on “why” you are working on a particular task to help motivate you to keep going.
Seek outside support- find people who will support you as you pursue your goals, such as a coach or other people who are pursuing similar goals.
Be positive- maintain a positive attitude about your progress and visualize yourself achieving your goal.
Stay focused- mental stamina depends on your ability to pay attention to a task for an extended amount of time.
Be aware of your environment- remove potential distractions from your environment when working on tasks to help build mental stamina.
Practice stress management techniques- reducing stress can improve mental stamina. Techniques such as mindfulness, stress therapy, and diaphragmatic breathing can be helpful.

Remember stamina can be built up, whether it’s physical or mental.

If you are experiencing any medical problems while exercising, you can schedule an appointment with a neurologist at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Ambulatory Care Center, please call (718) 206-7001.

Food Dos and Don’ts for Sleep

Posted on July 17, 2024 by Patrick Hercules

We all enjoy a snack before bed. Sometimes those snacks can keep us awake or help us sleep.

Certain nutrients and hormones in foods help promote sleep. Tryptophan, found in turkey and fish, stimulates serotonin production. Melatonin, found in milk and cherries, makes you sleepy. Potassium found in bananas and magnesium also found in bananas and almonds help promote muscle relaxation.

Simple carbs and saturated fats in foods represent the danger zones of pre-sleep snacks. Both can reduce serotonin levels and can be difficult to digest.

With that in mind, here are some additional food dos and don’ts to consider before bedtime.

Some food do’s before bedtime:

Peanut butter on whole-grain bread.
Lean cheese on whole grain crackers.
Fortified cereal and milk.
Herbal teas like chamomile and mint.
Yogurt

Some food don’ts before bedtime:

Sweets and sugar
Dark chocolate
Fast food
Caffeine

Lastly, alcohol can make you sleepy but it can cause a restless night of sleep, and certain spicy foods we eat are hard to digest and may cause you to wake up.

Maintaining a well-balanced diet of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates across all meals and not just at night can promote healthy sleep and help you wake up refreshed.

If you still have trouble falling asleep or getting a restful night’s sleep, you should speak with your doctor as there may be an underlying medical issue. Jamaica Hospital’s state-of-the-art sleep center can help diagnose and treat various sleep disorders. For more information, or to make an appointment, please call 718-206-5916.

Effective Solutions for Snoring

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Jacob Lobosco

Snoring is a common occurrence for millions of people while they sleep. Many people might not even realize how often they snore, or that they do so at all. For most, snoring is harmless; however, it can potentially be disruptive for anyone who’s trying to sleep in the same room as someone who snores, depending on how loud or frequent it is. Additionally, snoring can sometimes be a sign of a more serious underlying condition.

If you snore, the first thing you should do is mention it to your doctor to rule out any potentially related medical problems. In certain cases, it can be linked to sleep apnea, which causes you to repeatedly stop and start breathing while you sleep. This can cause you to feel as though you didn’t sleep enough, even if you got a full night’s sleep. People who have sleep apnea also generally snore more loudly than people who do not. Other factors that can contribute to snoring include:

Obesity
Nasal congestion
Alcohol and certain medications
A deviated septum
Pregnancy
Age
Being assigned male at birth
A family history of snoring

If your doctor has ruled out the possibility of a serious underlying medical condition, there are several steps you can take to make your snoring quieter, less frequent, or both. Some of these approaches include:

Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight
Decreasing your consumption of alcoholic beverages
Changing your sleeping position

If any medical issues are contributing to your snoring, talk to your doctor to determine whether these solutions may help you:

Cold and allergy medications
Nasal strips
Mouth guards designed to keep your jaw in its proper position while sleeping

If you’re concerned that your snoring may be a sign of a medical problem, you can receive treatment from the ear, nose, and throat specialists at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. To schedule an appointment, please call (718) 206-7110.

Insomnia

Posted on March 12, 2024 by Xavia Malcolm

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that makes it difficult to fall or stay asleep. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, It is estimated that 30% of adults living in the United States experience symptoms of insomnia.

Insomnia can be categorized into two categories: primary and secondary. Primary insomnia is not linked to any other health conditions. In contrast, secondary insomnia can be caused by underlying health conditions or medication side effects.

Symptoms of insomnia may vary and can last for a short time ( a few days or weeks), or they can be chronic occurring at least three times per week and lasting more than three months. Insomnia symptoms can include:

Having a hard time falling asleep at night
Trouble staying asleep throughout the night
Waking up too early
Tiredness or sleepiness during the day
Fatigue
Difficulty concentrating
Memory problems
Irritability
Mood swings

Longterm sleep deprivation caused by severe or chronic insomnia can lead to the development of complications such as:

Anxiety
Depression
Sleep apnea
Type 2 diabetes
Hypertension
Obesity
Stroke

Getting good quality sleep is crucial for our mental and physical health. There are a few things that we can do to improve our quality of sleep. They include:

Setting and following a sleep schedule
Avoid using electronic devices before bed
Avoid eating heavy meals late in the day
Avoid the consumption of foods or beverages that contain alcohol or caffeine before bed

If you are experiencing long-term insomnia symptoms that are affecting your ability to do daily activities, you should speak with a doctor. A sleep specialist can conduct a series of tests to determine the cause of sleep deprivation and create a treatment plan.

To schedule an appointment with a sleep specialist at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, please call 718-206-5916.

Sleep Awareness Week

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Jamaica Hospital Medical Center

The keys to a healthy lifestyle are eating right, exercising, and getting adequate sleep. While we give a great deal of attention to the first two, the importance of a good night’s sleep is often overlooked. March 12th through the 18th has been designated Sleep Awareness Week, the 25^th Anniversary of this event. Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) want to raise awareness and educate the community about how important sleep is to each and every one of us.

There are many health benefits that sleep can provide. Sleep aids our heart, brain, lungs, and muscles to function properly. Additional benefits include:

Improved immunity
Decreased pain
Increased alertness
Lower risk of injury
Improved memory
Better mood

The NSF recommends that adults receive seven to nine hours of sleep each night. They also provide the following tips to ensure a restful night’s sleep.

Stick to a sleep schedule with the same bedtime and wake-up time, even on the weekends.
Practice a relaxing bedtime ritual. Try to separate your sleep time from activities that can cause excitement, stress, or anxiety; a lot of which can make it more difficult to fall asleep.
If you have trouble sleeping, avoid naps, especially in the afternoon. Napping may help you during the day, but it can interfere with your ability to sleep at night
Avoid drinking any caffeinated beverages at least five to six hours before bed.
Exercise daily. Vigorous exercise is best, but even light exercise is better than no activity.
Evaluate your sleep environment. Remove any noisy distractions, eliminate bright lights, and set a comfortable temperature to optimize your sleep.
Sleep on a comfortable mattress and Make sure your mattress is supportive.

If you still have trouble falling asleep or getting a restful night’s sleep, you should speak with your doctor as there may be an underlining medical issue. Jamaica Hospital operates a state-of-the-art sleep center that can help diagnose and treat a variety of sleep disorders. For more information, or to make an appointment, please call 718-206-5916.

How Does Blue Light Affect Sleep?

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Xavia Malcolm

Devices such as smartphones, laptops, and smart televisions emit blue light, which is a color on the light spectrum that’s visible to the human eye. Blue light also contains the highest level of energy on the light spectrum.

While blue light may offer benefits when utilized during the day, such as helping to boost attention and mood, it can cause several problems when used at night. The most common is interfering with our sleep cycles.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exposure to blue light emitted from devices used at night can make it difficult for us to fall asleep or can wake us up too early.

Blue light has this effect because light plays an essential role in aligning circadian rhythms, which is the body’s internal clock that helps to regulate sleep and wake cycles. The CDC explains that the “body’s circadian clock responds to light, as a signal to be awake, and dark, as a signal to fall asleep.”

Blue light stimulates the part of our brain that makes us alert and it suppresses the body’s secretion of melatonin; the hormone that makes us feel sleepy. Exposure can trick our brains into thinking it’s daytime even when using devices such as smartphones, tablets, or laptops at night.

To prevent this problem, and reduce the risk of blue light exposure, the Sleep Foundation recommends:
• Turning off electronics two to three hours before bedtime
• Dimming the lights on electronics or using night mode
• Using smartphone or computer applications designed to reduce the emission of blue light
• Using an eye mask to sleep if you are unable to turn off or dim certain light sources

Creating a healthy sleep environment can help us to achieve the rest our bodies need to reenergize and heal. This involves making sure that lights do not interfere with our sleep.

To learn more about creating a healthy sleep environment, or to speak with a specialist about sleep-related health problems you may be experiencing, please schedule an appointment with Jamaica Hospital’s Sleep Center by calling 718-206-7001.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month

Posted on October 5, 2022 by Jacob Lobosco

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the leading cause of sudden unexpected infant death, typically affecting babies between one month and one year of age. The cause of SIDS is unknown, but it occurs most frequently in children aged between one and four months, typically while they’re sleeping.

It can be difficult to properly diagnose SIDS as a cause of death in many cases due to the fact that it’s often only determined once other potential causes of death have been ruled out. Although its frequency has drastically decreased in recent years, it still remains a serious threat to newborn children.

Most SIDS deaths occur in boys during the fall, winter, and early spring seasons. Babies that are most often affected are also premature or underweight, have a sibling that died due to SIDS, live in a household with people who smoke, and often sleep on their stomach or side on a sleeping surface that’s too soft. Many of these babies may also overheat during sleep.

Additionally, certain risk factors are linked to a child’s mother, including childbirth at under 20 years of age, smoking while pregnant, and receiving minimal prenatal care.

The best way to prevent SIDS is to eliminate as many of these risk factors as possible. You can:

Make sure the baby sleeps on their back
Remove soft surfaces, such as fluffy blankets and toys, from sleeping areas
Prevent smoking in the presence of the baby and the household in general
Breastfeed your baby or provide the closest possible alternative, such as donated milk or formula

If your baby becomes unresponsive during sleep, please dial 9-1-1 to get emergency medical assistance immediately.

Melatonin Sleep Aids: Risks and Benefits

Posted on February 15, 2022 by Xavia Malcolm

The use of melatonin sleep aids has grown in popularity. Although taking these supplements for short-term use and in accordance with a doctor’s guidance is generally safe- misusing them can lead to harmful health effects.

Melatonin is a hormone that is naturally produced by our bodies to help regulate our sleep-wake cycles. However, some people may choose to take lab-made melatonin as supplements because their bodies do not produce enough of the hormone, or they are having difficulty falling asleep or staying awake.

When taken safely, melatonin can offer multiple health benefits. Research suggests that melatonin supplements may help provide relief from several sleep problems such as insomnia, jet lag or shift work sleep disorder.

Melatonin supplements are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); therefore, there is not much information available on safe or best dosages. This is why it is highly advised to consult a physician before using melatonin due to the risk of developing potential side effects such as:

Dizziness
Headaches
Nausea
Drowsiness or sleepiness
Mild tremors
Disorientation or confusion
Low blood pressure

Certain medications are known to interact with melatonin and pose health complications. Interactions can occur with the following types of drugs:

Blood pressure medications
Immunosuppressants
Contraceptive drugs
Epilepsy medications
Diabetes medications

Before taking melatonin as a sleep aid, please speak with your doctor. If you are experiencing problems sleeping such as insomnia or other disorders, a sleep specialist can help you to explore the best treatments for your health. To schedule an appointment with a sleep specialist at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, call 718-206-5916.