S Drug Information

Tips for Getting a Good Sleep

Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up the same time each day. As creatures of habit, people have a hard time adjusting to altered sleep patterns. Sleeping later on weekends will not fully make up for the lack of sleep during the week and will make it harder to wake up early on Monday morning.
Exercise is great, but not too late in the day. Try to exercise at least 30 minutes on most days but not later than five or six hours before bedtime.
Avoid caffeine and nicotine. Coffee, colas, certain teas and chocolate contain the stimulant caffeine and its effects can take as long as eight hours to wear off fully. Therefore, a cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard to fall asleep at night. Nicotine is also a stimulant, often causing smokers to sleep only very lightly. In addition, smokers often wake up too early in the morning because of nicotine withdrawal.
Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed. Some people think having an alcoholic "nightcap" will help induce sleep, but alcohol robs the body of deep sleep and REM sleep, keeping sleep in the lighter stages. After drinking, people also tend to wake up in the middle of the night when the effects of the alcohol ware off.
Avoid large meals and beverages late at night. A light snack is okay, but a large meal can cause indigestion that interferes with sleep. Drinking too many fluids at night can cause frequent awakenings to urinate.
If possible, avoid medicines that delay or disrupt your sleep. Some commonly prescribed heart, blood pressure or asthma medications, as well as some over-the-counter and herbal remedies for coughs, colds or allergies, can disrupt sleep patterns.
Do not take naps after 3 PM. Naps can help make up for lost sleep, but late afternoon naps can make it harder to fall asleep at night.
Relax before bed. Do not over schedule the day so that no time to unwind. A relaxing activity, such as reading or listening to music, should be part of any bedtime ritual.
Take a hot bath before bed. The drop in body temperature after getting out of the bath may help induce sleepiness and the bath can help relax and slow down.
Have a good sleeping environment. Get rid of anything that might distract from sleep, such as noises, bright lights, an uncomfortable bed or warm temperatures. People sleep better if the temperature in the bedroom is on the cool side.

Have the right sunlight exposure. Daylight is key to regulating daily sleep patterns. Try to get outside in natural sunlight for at least 30 minutes each day. If possible, wake up with the sun or use very bright lights in the morning. Sleep experts recommend that an hour of exposure to morning sunlight helps people who are having trouble falling asleep.
Do not lie in bed awake. It is more helpful to get up and do some relaxing activity until the body feels sleepy. The anxiety of not being able to sleep can make it harder to fall asleep.
See a doctor if there is a serious problem sleeping.

Helping Overweight Children

Healthy Eating and Physical Activity

Healthy eating and physical activity habits are important to the well being of every child. Eating too much and exercising too little may lead to being overweight and related health problems that may follow children into adult years. Parents can take active roles to help kids and the whole family, learn healthy eating and physical activity habits that last a lifetime.
Children grow at different rates at different times, so it is not always easy to tell if a child is overweight. If a child is overweight, talk to a health care provider. The doctor can determine if the weight and height of the child are in a healthy range.
Involve the whole family in building healthy eating and physical activity habits. This benefits everyone and does not single out the overweight child.
Do not put a child on a weight loss diet unless a health care provider advises it. If children do not eat enough, they may not grow and learn as well as they should.
Remind the child that he or she is special. The feelings children have about themselves are a result of how they think their parents feel about them. Accept a child no matter what his or her weight. Children are more likely to accept and feel good about themselves when parents accept them. Listen concerns the child may have about his or her weight. Overweight children probably know better than anyone that they have a weight problem. Children need support, understanding and encouragement from parents.

Encourage Healthy Eating Habits

Buy and serve more fruits and vegetables fresh, frozen, canned or dried. Let the child choose them at the store. Buy fewer soft drinks and high fat or high calorie snack foods like chips, cookies and candy. These snacks may be okay occasionally, but always keep healthy snack foods on hand. Offer the healthy snacks more often at snack times. Make sure the child eats breakfast every day. Breakfast may provide the child with the energy he or she needs to listen and learn in school. Skipping breakfast can leave a child hungry, tired and looking for less healthy foods later in the day. Eat fast food less often. When visiting a fast food restaurant, encourage healthier options choices, such as salads with low-fat dressing or small sandwiches without cheese or mayonnaise. Offer a child water or low fat milk more often than fruit juice. Low fat milk and milk products are important for development of any child. One hundred percent fruit juice is a healthy choice but is high in calories. Limit the amount of saturated and trans fats in the family diet. Instead, most fat intake should come from sources such as fish, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds. Plan healthy meals and eat together as a family. Eating together at meal times helps children learn to enjoy a variety of foods. Do not get discouraged if a child will not eat a new food the first time. Some kids will need to have a new food served to them 10 times or more before they will eat it. Try not to use food as a reward when encouraging kids to eat. Promising dessert to a child for eating vegetables, for example, sends the message that vegetables are less valuable than dessert. Kids learn to dislike foods they think are less valuable.

Healthy Snack Ideas

A child might enjoy trying the following foods: fresh fruit; fruit canned in juice or light syrup; small amounts of dried fruits, such as raisins, apple rings or apricots; fresh vegetables, such as baby carrots, cucumber, zucchini or tomatoes; low sugar, whole grain cereal with low fat milk. Foods that are small, round, sticky or hard to chew, such as raisins, whole grapes, hard vegetables, hard chunks of cheese, nuts, seeds and popcorn, can cause choking in children under age 4. These foods are okay for young children with a little preparation, for example, by cutting grapes into small pieces and cooking and cutting up vegetables. Always watch a toddler during meals and snacks.

Serving Size

Start with small servings and let the child ask for more if he or she is still hungry. Children need adults to provide them with healthy meals and snacks, but a child should be allowed to choose how much food he or she will eat.
Be aware that some companies market some high fat or high sugar foods and beverages specifically to kids. Usually these products have cartoon characters, offer free toys and come in bright packages. Talk with kids about the importance of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other healthy foods, even if TV and stores do not advertise these foods.

Encourage Daily Physical Activity

Like adults, kids need daily physical activity. Here are some ways to help kids move every day:
Set a good example. If a child sees an adult that is physically active and that it is fun while doing, he or she is more likely to be active throughout life.
Encourage children to join a sports team or class, such as soccer, dance, basketball or gymnastics at school or at a local community or recreation center.

Sensitive to Needs

Be sensitive to the needs of the child. If a child feels uncomfortable participating in activities like sports, help him or her find physical activities that are fun and not embarrassing, such as playing tag with friends or siblings, jumping rope or dancing to his or her favorite music.
Be active together as a family. Assign active chores such as making the beds, washing the car or vacuuming. Plan active outings such as a trip to the zoo, a family bike ride or a walk through a local park.
The body of a pre-adolescent child is not ready for adult physical activity. Do not encourage children to participate in activities such as long jogs, using an exercise bike or treadmill or lifting heavy weights. Kids should do fun physical activities.
Kids need about 60 minutes of physical activity a day, but this does not have to happen all at once. Several short 10- or even 5-minute periods of activity throughout the day are just as good. If children are not used to being active, encourage them to start with what they can do and build up to 60 minutes a day.

Discourage Inactive Pastimes

Set limits on the amount of time spent watching TV, playing video games and being on the computer.
Help kids find fun things to do besides watching TV, like acting out favorite books or stories or doing a family art project. A child may find that creative play is more interesting than TV.
Children are good learners and they often mimic what they see. Choose healthy foods and active pastimes. Children will learn to follow healthy habits that last a lifetime.

Childhood Weight-Control Program

Think about a treatment program if: A change in eating and physical activity habits has not impacted the health of the child or if a health care provider advised that the health or emotional well being of the child is at risk because of his or her weight.
The overall goal of a treatment program should be to help the whole family adopt healthy eating and physical activity habits that will last a lifetime. A weight-control program should also: include a variety of health care professionals on staff, including doctors, registered dietitians, psychiatrists or psychologists and exercise physiologists. Staff should evaluate the weight, growth and health of the child before enrolling him or her in the program. The program should also monitor these factors while the child participates in the program. The program should adapt to the specific age and abilities of the child. Programs for 4-year-olds should be different from those for 12-year-olds.