10 Tips from the National Sleep Foundation to Help You Fall Asleep and Stay Asleep

Did you know the word “insomnia” means “no sleep” in Latin?

As a friend of the National Sleep Foundation on Facebook, I frequently view their posts on sleep-related education and research. Recently, a particular post caught my eye: Healthy Sleep Tips. I, for one, have no trouble falling asleep, but I have a very difficult time staying asleep and feeling refreshed when I wake up. Friends of JacuzziOfficial reported to get an average of 4-6 quality hours of sleep. I typically get four quality hours of sleep a night even though I am in bed for eight hours, my sleep is never deep and continuous. According to the National Sleep Foundation, “throughout adulthood, even as we get older, we need 7-9 hours of sleep.”

For you tired, sleep deprived individuals, I give you the National Sleep Foundation’s Healthy Sleep Tips:

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Hydrotherapy Helps Relieve Muscle and Joint Pain Common to Golfers

Are you aware that August is National Golf Month? I’d like to wish golfers and golf enthusiasts out there Happy National Golf Month!

My son has been home from college the past few weeks for summer break. When he is visiting, we usually make time for a few rounds of golf at a local course as an opportunity to catch up while playing a sport we both enjoy. Last week we played Strawberry Farms Golf Course in Orange County, California. We had a fantastic time on the course as usual, but later in the day and the following morning was different story – at least for my muscles! My back and legs were stiff and sore! I’m not sure when this started to happen (I turned 50 last month), but activities like golf affect me much more than they did in my younger years.

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Hot Tubs Promote Overall Wellness

We’ve all experienced the soothing effects of sitting in a hot tub, but do we understand what makes it feel so great? Just as the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians believed in the healing power of hydrotherapy, we know that the relaxing heat and jet-driven water does wonders to relieve physical burdens while decreasing stress levels, but how? Here, we will discuss the many benefits of hot tub hydrotherapy, and how they promote the body’s natural healing processes.

1.       Pain Relief: Hydrotherapy is the use of water to relieve physical discomfort, but the temperature of the water used plays an important role in the therapeutic properties of the treatment.  Hot water has long been sought after for its ability to relieve bodily discomfort, such as muscle soreness, arthritis, and back pain, and is often recommended to expedite recovery from injuries. Researchers conclude that hot tub hydrotherapy facilitates the removal of lactic acid, opens blood vessels for better circulation, aids the flow of endorphins, and relaxes the soft tissue surrounding arthritic joints. In combination with heat, factory-built hot tubs with their myriad jets can improve joint and muscular functions by directing hot jet-driven water to specific trouble points or pressure points in the hands and feet.

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Arthritis Sufferers Use Hot Tub Therapy for Pain Relief

Recently, I have been reading chatter on various social media networks regarding arthritis pain relief. So, I put out the following question to our Twitter and Facebook followers:

Have you used massage and/or hot water therapy for arthritis pain relief? Tell us your experience.

We received several replies from people suffering from arthritis of various forms and severity. Responses praised hot water therapy as a highly effective way to relieve joint pain, stiffness, swelling and inflammation from this chronic condition. Jacuzzi® Office Manager and IT Administrator, Nancy Powers, has suffered from osteoarthritis for several years, so I asked her to talk about it.

“Out of all the methods I have used including deep tissue massage, a heating pad around various parts of my body, etc., hot tub therapy works best, hands down. Chronic pain is exhausting. Warm water jets are reviving; they provide fast and relaxing arthritis pain relief. Being in massaging hot water is like heaven for my joints. My arthritis is not only in one part of my body, it’s all over, so being able to submerge my entire body in invigorating hot water is an extremely desirable method of arthritis pain relief for me.”

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