​A recent study by the University of California, Los Angeles found that just one night of sleep deprivation can activate genes related to biological aging.  The older adults in this study were kept awake and were only allowed to sleep between 3am and 7am.  After the partial night of rest, the study participant’s blood was analyzed, and it revealed deterioration in the cell’s growth and division cycles.  The authors suggest that insufficient sleep may increase the risk for chronic disease by “activating the molecular pathways that drive biological aging.”  Promote health and healing in your own adult body by securing 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night. Kids and teens need even more, up to 14 hours!

Improving your quality of sleep can be as easy as a few simple changes:
1. Try eliminating sources of ambient light in your bedroom.  
2. End screen time on phones, television and computers one hour before bedtime.  
3. Create a consistent schedule of going to sleep and rising at the same time each day.  
4. Avoid alcohol, which may make you feel sleepy, but can disrupt good R.E.M. sleep cycles.
5. Eliminate caffeinated beverages or make your last one before noontime!

Why not take a break? Do you think you could spend a few days without checking insta, facebook or X? It could do your health good. The Surgeon General, Viveck Murthy, called public attention to the “urgent public health” threat by teen social media use this past spring.  
•    95% of teens 13-17 use social media, and a third of them say they use it “constantly.”
•    Social media use of 3 hours or more per day doubles the risk of depression and anxiety.
•    It can over stimulate the reward center in the brain, triggering pathways comparable to addiction.
•    Excessive social media use can affect sleep duration and quality.
•    Social media can perpetuate body dissatisfaction, especially in girls, contributing to eating disorders.
Try a social media fast this week.  It's as easy as setting a timeframe when you'll abstain from social media.  Delete the apps from your phone, then stick to your fast, and don't cheat. Pay attention to how you feel and think.  Watch how you spend the time that you would have spent on social. When your fast is complete, decide how much time you want to spend on social in the future and consider using a time management app to keep yourself in on track.  Less social media could mean a happier you.