National Sleep Foundation Poll Finds Exercise Key to Good Sleep
Arlington, typically results when the soft tissue at the back of the mouth (such as the tongue or soft palate) “collapses” during sleep, blocking the airway. When breathing is interrupted, so is sleep, as the sleeper awakens repeatedly throughout the night to begin breathing again. In most cases, this occurs without the sleeper even being aware of it. However, the disruption to sleep can be significant, and over time acute sleep deprivation can result from apnea. There are several treatments for apnea, including medications, special devices that help keep the airway open during sleep, and surgery.
National Sleep Foundation Poll Finds Exercise Key to Good Sleep Photo Gallery
Social Support
Sharing fears, frustrations, and joys makes life richer and seems to contribute to the well-being of body and mind. One study of college students living in overcrowded apartments, for example, found that those with a strong social support system were less distressed by their cramped quarters than were the loners who navigated life’s challenges on their own. Other studies have shown that married people live longer than single people and have lower death rates from a wide range of conditions, although some studies suggest that marriage benefits men more than women. And people infected with HIV remain symptom-free longer if they have a strong social support network. For more on developing and maintaining your social network, see the box “Building Social Support.”
Communication
Good communication skills can help everyone form and maintain healthy relationships. Communicating in an assertive way that respects the rights of others as well as your own can prevent potentially stressful situations from getting out of control. When friends or partners communicate effectively, they can reduce the stresses in their relationship and spend more time focusing on the positive aspects of being together.
Three keys to good communication in relationships are self-disclosure, listening, and feedback.
• Self-disclosure involves revealing personal information that we ordinarily wouldn’t reveal because of the risk involved. It usually increases feelings of closeness and moves the relationship to a deeper level of intimacy.
• Listening is a rare skill. Good listening skills require that we spend more time and energy trying to fully understand another person’s “story” and less time judging, evaluating, blaming, advising, analyzing,
