The Effects Of Sleep Paralysis

You suddenly find it difficult waking up, you try to open your mouth and call for help but no sound is coming out. Its as if someone is pressing you down with some evil power. Eventually you succeed in waking up with terror and fear spread across your face. You spend the next minutes "binding" and "casting" the devil. But, is it really the devil? more often than not, it is not a spiritual issue but a medical condition called sleep paralysis. Researchers conclude that, in most cases, sleep paralysis is simply a sign that your body is not moving smoothly through the stages of sleep. Rarely is sleep paralysis linked to deep underlying psychiatric problems.
Over the centuries, symptoms of sleep paralysis have been described in many ways and often attributed to an "evil" presence: unseen night demons in ancient times, the old hag in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and alien abductors. Almost every culture throughout history has had stories of shadowy evil creatures that terrify helpless humans at night. People have long sought explanations for this mysterious sleep-time paralysis and the accompanying feelings of terror.

Sleep paralysis is a feeling of being conscious but unable to move. It occurs when a person passes between stages of wakefulness and sleep. During these transitions, you may be unable to move or speak for a few seconds up to a few minutes. Some people may also feel pressure or a sense of choking. Sleep paralysis may accompany other sleep disorders such as narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is an over powering need to sleep caused by a problem with the brain's ability to regulate sleep.

Sleep paralysis usually occurs at one of two times. If it occurs while you are falling asleep, it's called hypnagogic or predormital sleep paralysis. If it happens as you are waking up, it's called hypnopompic or postdormital sleep paralysis.

As you fall asleep, your body slowly relaxes. Usually you become less aware, so you do not notice the change. However, if you remain or become aware while falling asleep, you may notice that you cannot move or speak.

During sleep, your body alternates between REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. One cycle of REM and NREM sleep lasts about 90 minutes. NREM sleep occurs first and takes up to 75% of your overall sleep time. During NREM sleep, your body relaxes and restores itself. At the end of NREM, your sleep shifts to REM. Your eyes move quickly and dreams occur, but the rest of your body remains very relaxed. Your muscles are "turned off" during REM sleep. If you become aware before the REM cycle has finished, you may notice that you cannot move or speak.

Up to as many as four out of every 10 people may have sleep paralysis. This common condition is often first noticed in the teen years. But men and women of any age can have it. Sleep paralysis may run in families. Other factors that may be linked to sleep paralysis include:

• Lack of sleep
• Sleep schedule that changes
• Mental conditions such as stress or bipolar disorder
• Sleeping on the back
• Other sleep problems such as narcolepsy or nighttime leg cramps
• Use of certain medications, such as those for ADHD
• Substance abuse

So, when next you try to wake up and it looks as if someone is pressing you down, it is not witches or any other demons but sleep paralysis. So instead of "binding" and "casting", it is time to see your health provider.

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Painkillers Kill More Than Cocaine

A scientist has raised the alarm about the danger prescription painkillers pose to consumers’ health, saying they are killing more people than heroin and cocaine.
According to the State Pathologist for Northern Ireland, Professor Jack Crane, who raised the alarm, Tramadol is ‘claiming more lives than any other drug’ and should be upgraded to the Class A category. Tramadol is currently classified as a Class C drug – among the least harmful.
Although, Tramadol, an opioid pain medication, is used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain, Crane warned that they could be deadly when mixed with other medication or alcohol. Serious side effects may include seizures, increased risk of serotonin syndrome, decreased alertness, and drug addiction while common side effects include constipation, itchiness and nausea, among others. A change in dosage may be recommended in those with kidney or liver problems.
It is not recommended in those who are at risk of suicide.
While not recommended in women who are breastfeeding, Tramadol’s use in pregnancy is generally avoided as it may cause some reversible withdrawal effects in the newborn.
A small prospective study in France found that, while there was an increased risk of miscarriages, there were no major malformations reported in the newborn.
Its use during lactation is also generally advised against but a small trial found that infants breastfed by mothers taking Tramadol were exposed to about 2.88 per cent of the dose the mothers were taking.
There was no evidence of this dose having a harmful effect on the newborn.
The pathologist said although, they are taken by thousands of people each day to rid them of pain, Tramadol can be deadly when mixed with other medication or alcohol. But experts said the painkiller doesn’t cause any harm so long as it is taken correctly.
However, Crane said : ‘I don’t think that people realise how potentially risky taking Tramadol is'.
Even though the use of  Tramadol is not as widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, compared to its competitions like Panadol and Paracetamol, There is fear that these other pain killers could as well be deadly. But, there is no confirmation for these.

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The Difference Between Pure And Adulterated Honey

If you want to enjoy most of the benefits derived from honey, its purity is what you should consider before buying. Most of the honey in the grocery stores isn’t exactly what the bees produce but fake and impure honey. Without distinguishing the difference between pure and fake honey, you will end up buying bad products. There are a lot of adulteration of honey, which makes it not real yet sold as the real thing. Because of the high demand for pure honey resulting from its medicinal and nutrient value individuals and companies have taken advantage of this (high demand) in a move to make an extra buck by selling fake honey.
As you would expect, real honey should not come from a factory but from bees. The most common references to real and pure honey are organic and natural honey. By just looking at packaged honey on the shelves, it is almost impossible to tell whether the honey is fake or real. 
If you want to enjoy most of the benefits derived from honey, its purity is what you should consider before buying. There are some simple tests and experiments that can be performed at home, to verify the purity of honey.
Before carrying out any of tests, one basic and extremely simple “how to check the purity of honey” method is to read the label on the jar of honey, prior to its purchase. Manufacturers are required to mention the additives and additional substances that have been added to the produced honey. So you can make out, if it is organic or extra sweet or artificial flavorings have been added, simply by scrutinizing the label. If you are buying honey straight from a beekeeper, then the honey is of a raw and unprocessed quality as you are purchasing it straight from the source. We recommend you to learn the difference between fake and pure honey before doing tests.

In order to check the purity of honey at home, here’s what to do:
Thumb Test
Here’s the procedure to do a thumb test:

• Put a small drop of the honey you have on your thumb
• Check to see if it spills or spreads around
• If it does, it is not pure
• Pure honey will stay intact on your thumb

The Water Test to Spot Fake Honey
Here’s how to do the water test:

• Fill a glass with water
• Add one tablespoon of honey into the glass
• Adulterated or artificial honey will dissolve in water and you will see it around the glass
• Pure honey on the other hand will settle right at the bottom of your glass

The Flame Test to Know Pure Honey
Did you know that organic honey is flammable? Here’s a test to know 100% pure organic honey.

• Take a dry matchstick
• Dip its tip right into the honey
• Strike the stick on the matchbox as if to light it
• If the honey is pure, the matchstick will light with ease
• The flame will also keep burning off the honey
• However, if it is with impurities, it will not light because fake honey contains moisture as one of the impurities

These are some of the simple and common ways to test pure honey at home. Another common method to tell the difference is as follows: add some water and 2-3 drops of vinegar essence into the honey and mix well. If the solution becomes foamy, that is definitely adulterated honey.
Drop honey on blotting paper or a paper towel
If honey has been diluted with water, it may be absorbed or leave a wet mark on an absorbent material such as blotting paper. Pure honey should not be absorbed, but unfortunately neither will honey diluted with most sugar syrups.
There are also other ways to test for honey's purity but they have raised  debates. One major  test  that is controversial is the “ant test”. A group of individuals argues that ants are attracted to fake honey due to its sugar content but not attracted to pure honey due to a component that is a natural pest repellent. Not a lot of information exists to support this test and in addition there is no known reason why the little creatures (ants) would favor processed sugar over real honey not forgetting  the ants may not always be “available” at all places for a honey assessment. The reason why a sweet liquid is more attractive than another for the ants could also be due to other factors such as liquid density, flavors which vary depending on the floral types.
To get pure natural honey straight from the farm to your door-step, call +2347031040178.

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IVF Babies Can Inherit Father's Infertility

Researchers have found that boys born using a common In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) fertility technique could be inheriting their father’s infertility.
The results, published yesterday in the journal Human Reproduction, showed that male children conceived via Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) had half the sperm count and half the number of well-moving sperm, compared with those conceived naturally.
ICSI involves injecting the sperm directly into the egg. A normal cycle of IVF follows, with embryos being transferred to the womb.
ICSI is used in more than half of all fertility treatments in Nigeria with over 10,000 babies born as a result.
Tests on the first group of men born using ICSI have now shown that they too suffer from low sperm counts and poor-moving sperm.
Researchers said a ‘degree of sub-fertility’ had been passed on to them from fathers unable to conceive naturally.
The study was conducted by the Belgian pioneers of ICSI, on 54 men who had been born in the first years of the technique between 1992 and 1996.
The participants, aged between 18 and 22, agreed to have their sperm tested.
The samples were compared with those of 57 men of a similar age, who had been conceived naturally.
The study, led by the Centre for Reproductive Medicine at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels, also showed that male children born from ICSI were almost three times more likely to have sperm concentrations below 15 million per millilitre of semen, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) definition of healthy semen.
Study leader Prof. Andre Van Steirteghem said his team had always known that their sons might inherit the problems that had caused the father’s infertility, usually genetic factors.
He said: “These findings are not unexpected. Before ICSI was carried out, prospective parents were informed that it may well be that their sons may have impaired sperm and semen like their fathers.
“For all the parents this information was not a reason to abstain from ICSI because, as they said, “If this happens, ICSI can then also be a solution for our sons.”

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How I Enrich My Skin Naturally - Omotola

Using natural means to achieve a beautiful look is one that most Nigerian celebrities are now adopting. Nollywood leading diva, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde recently took to her social media pages to reveal the secrets on how she keeps her skin to glow. The actress is known as one of the beautiful faces in Nollywood. In 1996, Omotola married Captain Matthew Ekeinde. The couple later held a white ceremony on board a Dash 7 aircraft while flying from Lagos to Benin in 2001, with close family and friends present. Omotola gave birth to her first daughter on 30 March 1997. Together, they have four children, Princess, M.J, Merairah and Michael.Despite having these children, the star actress has continued to look younger and younger every day. In apparent response to frequent inquires by fans on how she is able to keep her skin glowing, Omotola revealed her secrets. 

“Many asking how I keep my skin glow. 1. I drink a lot of water 2. When I fall asleep , I really sleep 3. I drink a lot of fresh fruit juice 4. I only use baby lotions and moisturizers ( my mum’s secret) 5. Peace of mind … hope at least one tip helps…” she said.

Omotola's recipe is a fundamental aspect of healthy living. Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature.
"Through the posterior pituitary gland, your brain communicates with your kidneys and tells it how much water to excrete as urine or hold onto for reserves," says Guest, an adjunct professor of medicine at Stanford University.
When you're low on fluids, the brain triggers the body's thirst mechanism. And unless you are taking medications that make you thirsty, Guest says, you should listen to those cues and get yourself a drink of water, juice, milk, coffee -- anything but alcohol.
Sleeping is also a very health therapy. Most experts recommend that one should have atleast eight hours sleep everyday.
The issue of fruits and vegetables is also note-worthy as these contain  anti-oxidants that help to fight against diseases. And even though Omotola says she takes fruits juice instead of the real fruits itself, the nutrients present in those juice also contribute toward a healthy well being.

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Marijuana Can Lead To Lower IQ

People who were exposed to marijuana from a young age can have highly abnormal brain functioning and lower intelligent quotient, IQ. This is the findings in a study published in the journal ‘Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica’.
The research was conducted by scientists in London and Ontario in Canada. Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal substance in the world.
Previous studies have suggested that frequent marijuana users, especially those who begin at a young age, are at a higher risk for cognitive dysfunction and psychiatric illness, including depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The use of marijuana did not correct the brain function deficits of depression, and in some regions made them worse.
“The study suggest that using marijuana does not correct the brain abnormalities or symptoms of depression and using it from an early age may have an abnormal effect not only on brain function, but also on IQ,” said Elizabeth Osuch from Lawson Health Research Institute, in Ontario, Canada.
“Many youth in our program use marijuana heavily and, despite past research, believe it improves their psychiatric conditions because it makes them feel better momentarily,” added Osuch, who is also the Medical Director of the First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program (FEMAP) at London Health Sciences Centre.
“For this reason, we decided to study the effects of marijuana and depression on psychiatric symptoms, brain function and cognitive function.”
Dr. Osuch and her team recruited youth in four groups: those with depression who were not marijuana users; those with depression who were frequent marijuana users; frequent marijuana users without depression; and healthy individuals who were not marijuana users.
In addition, participants were later divided into youth who started using marijuana before the age of 17 and those who began using it later or not at all. Participants underwent psychiatric, cognitive and IQ testing as well as brain scanning.
The study found no evidence that marijuana use improved depressive symptoms; there was no difference in psychiatric symptoms between those with depression who used marijuana and those with depression who did not use marijuana.
With past research suggesting a genetic role between marijuana use and depression, Dr. Osuch and her collaborators at Western University’s Robarts Research Institute also conducted genetic testing on participants.

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