Sports

Enhance performance

30. April 2018 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

Performance ability is a person’s potential to cope with a mental or physical task for a certain amount of time. Everyday life of many people is dictated by high physical and mental demands in profession and personal life. Here, the performance potential decides whether we are capable to meet these demands or not. When we are healthy, we are able to reach our goals, we feel well and are able to structure our lives according to our own wishes. Therefore, the goal is to be and stay physically and mentally efficient. This is the basic for successfully meeting stressful situations without overstraining the organism.

Influence factors

The personal performance depends on different factors. Of course, gender, age and genetics play a role. In addition to that, the

hormonal balance,
cardio-vascular system,
breathing,
immune system,
metabolism,
electrolyte balance,
locomotor system (muscles, bones, joints and ligaments),
regenerative capacity,
nervous system,
and motivation

have an impact on the performance of each one of us. The right amount of exercise, a healthy eating- and drinking-behavior as well as sufficient recovery phases incl. high-quality sleep, all these might positively influence the factors above mentioned.

Right amount of exercise

Basically, it is important to minimize sedentary work. The human body is designed for standing and movement. Permanent sitting harms our locomotor system. Furthermore, the human being is fitted with four motoric skills: coordination, endurance, power and speed. For the physical performance potential, it is important that these skills are equally trained.

Varied and natural nutrition

Our performance highly depends on a natural and balanced nutrition as well on a balanced water intake. Variety means, not to waive particular groups of food. Natural means, that the food is not industrially processed. This ensures that our organism is provided with all important macro- and micronutrients. Furthermore, our drinking behavior is influencing our performance. Our body as well as our mind need sufficient water for optimal functioning.

Regeneration with sufficient rest and healthy sleep

Stressful daily situations as well as physically and/or mentally demanding jobs exhaust many people. Often, the stress level is very high and people become physically and mentally overloaded. If you want to permanently keep your full ability to perform, you should provide your body and mind with sufficient time for regeneration. Especially healthy sleep provides the chance for being healthy and full of energy. This truly is a power source, that leads to more performance and vitality.

Imagesource: @istock

Good sleep during pregnancy

20. April 2017 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

Pregnant women often get the advice to get a lot of sleep and rest during pregnancy. Because, once the baby is born the time of blessed night’s rest is over for some time. But sometimes that’s not that easy. On the one hand, falling asleep with a constantly growing baby-tummy gets harder every week. Furthermore, possible worries about the baby’s health and about the forthcoming birth might make sleeping through hard. And, not to forget about physical challenges like cramps in the calf, back pain, swollen legs, or bladder weakness might be side effects of a pregnancy. And surely disturb sleep. Especially during the last third of pregnancy phases of deep sleep decrease and waking at night increases.

Prevent troubles in the back and the intervertebral discs

There is no patent solution for a symptom-free pregnancy and a regenerative sleep. But, Prof. Dr. med. h.c. Günther W. Amann-Jennson has some supporting tips for mothers-to-be to prevent back pain. With an appropriate bedding-system most back pain can be easily avoided. The interaction of mattress and slat-frame has an essential role. Here it is especially important, that the mattress-slat-frame-system cares for the support resp. relief needed. Especially heavy positions like the pelvis and hip should have the possibility to sink in. A specially designed nursing pillow cares for relief, especially when lying in lateral position.

Tipps and tricks for good sleep during pregnancy

If you can arrange it with your job and your time schedule, take a power nap in early afternoon. Here, pregnant women will find relief and rest.
During pregnancy, too, movement in fresh air is important. Soak up sufficient day- resp. sunlight and stimulate serotonin
Drink sufficiently during the day, preferably unsweetened herbal teas and water. Avoid any kind of caffeine during pregnancy.
At night, care for sufficient darkness in your bedroom.
Instead of lying awake at night it is advisable to get up or to read a book. But, care for dim light.
During the first third of your pregnancy you can get used to sleep on your left side. This sleeping position supports the supply of the baby and the womb. And, for the kidneys it is easier to remove waste products.
Magnesium prevents from cramps. Ask your doctor for the appropriate dose.
Light evening meals relief digestion and support sleep.
Are you suffering under heartburn? Best wait one or two hours after eating before lying down. Position your head slightly higher.
A fragrant bath or contrast shower helps you to relax and is perfectly preparing for sleep.
Don’t let vivacious and bizarre dreams unsettle you. Especially during the last third of a pregnancy the occurrence of such dreams can be concentrated. In these dreams, you are dealing with your thoughts, sorrows, fears and feelings connected with your pregnancy.

It is advisable, to stick to your relaxation rituals after birth. Once your baby is born you surely want to catch up lost night sleep during the day.

Imagesource: @fotolia

Losing weight made easy

6. February 2017 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

The holidays are long gone. But the extra weight much likely stays. So there is time for asking the question: “Should I have eaten some cookies less?” But, instead of having a guilty conscience it is better to care for your health again. Besides a balanced diet and sufficient exercise sufficient sleep is important. But, how does sleeping support losing weight?

It’s unknown to many that a regular sleep-wake-cycle is important for losing weight. Only during sleep we are absorbing the energy out of our food. Digestion is only the beginning of a process that is terminated during sleep. The one who has too few sleep per night (less than six hours) constantly is hungry during the day. Also, short sleepers tend to have a late dinner. This, too, supports weight gain. Ideally, the last meal is two to three hours before going to bed. During this period of time the body is able to produce sufficient sleeping hormones which enhance regenerative deep sleep. The food is playing an essential role; tryptophan-containing food supports building of the happy hormone serotonin. And serotonin is pre-cursor to melatonin, the sleeping hormone. So, better enjoy an extensive breakfast than a dinner rich in calories.

Lack of sleep and its negative consequences

Lack of sleep is not only disturbing our hormonal balance but also our sugar- and fat-metabolism. Studies proved that sleep duration is influencing our weight; short sleepers easer gained weight. Furthermore, short sleeper with a chronical lack of sleep burn 20 % less calories than long sleepers. The effects of lack of sleep on children are more serious; the risk of overweight and obesity rapidly increases when having too few sleep, especially when too few exercise and wrong diet are added.

Conclusion

So, present yourself with sufficient sleep. Care for a regular sleep-wake-rhythm; the SAMINA healthy sleep concept is supporting you! Also watch your diet and do some exercise – three hours per week are advisable, for children even 60 minutes per day! Even though sleep is positively supporting losing weight – without sports and a balanced diet you won’t succeed.

Healthy sleep snack

Instead of eating junk food or chocolate it is advisable to eat some cherries. Here, too, timing is everything. Cherries and crudités should not be eaten right before going to bed; the two to three hours rule applies here as well. By the way: cherries belong to the fruits with the lowest sugar content, they are anti-inflammatory and are full of vitamins and the sleeping hormone melatonin.

Receive further information in our sleep-healthy-guidebook “sleep yourself young, fit and successful”, free of cost.

Imagesource: @fotolia

Pain in the back

25. November 2016 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

Is your bed too soft or too hard?

Sink into your bed, relax your tense back, let go and fall asleep – and then, wake up the next morning fresh and pain-free! Too many only dream about this, especially people suffering under back pain. Overstrain and incorrect loading during the day, overweight as well as lack of movement lead to a constantly increasing number of people suffering under back pain. More and correct exercise, correct lifting and carrying are a requirement for an improvement. But – don’t underestimate the power of a proper sleeping underlay! This is the decisive factor for an improvement may occur overnight.

Sink into a soft bed?

Embedding yourself on top of a soft underlay has little value. Are slat frame and mattress too soft the body weight will simply press it downwards; you end up lying in a “hammock”. Independent from the sleeping position chosen the spine will constantly be brought into an unnatural “hanging” position. Tensions and pains won’t get better like this, on the contrary, they are going to be increased.

Better supported with a hard bed?

But, simply putting a hard board into the bed surely is the wrong way. Once your bed is too hard your musculature is constantly busy with supporting your body resp. your spine. A hard bed makes it impossible that your shoulder and hip can sink deeper into the bed when lying in the lateral position. And this would be important for your spine. The pressure arising due to the body weight massively disturbs blood circulation, especially in the capillary.

Solution: an orthopedic sleeping system working independent from weight

The proper sleeping underlay leads to a restful night and enables your spine to remain in its natural-double-S-shape and supports it at the same time. And this independent from body weight and whenever you are turning, without any delay. An orthopedic sleeping underlay is supporting where necessary and gives way where it should. Due to a natural latex mattress no pressure points arise, on overlay made of natural sheep wool is perfect for a comfortable sleeping temperature – taken these things together, the urge to toss and turn minimizes and the sleep in total becomes much more restful. The ideal sleeping underlay is perfected by an individual orthopedic pillow.

Receive further information in our sleep-healthy-guidebook “sleep yourself young, fit and successful”, free of cost.

Imagesource: @SAMINA

Reactions of the body on weather changes and how to prevent them

22. September 2016 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

Weather sensitivity is influencing the general well-being. Weak spots often become visible in times of weather changes.

Weather change and physical reaction

Air pressure fluctuations in the atmosphere especially concern the circulatory. Dizziness, disturbances of blood pressure or drowsiness might be the consequence. People with a low blood pressure often are especially sensitive to weather changes. Often, this is expressed by nervousness and tiredness.

During foehn, the adrenal cortex produces more adrenalin which leads to a rise of the blood pressure and the pulse. This might lead to disturbances of concentration, stress, head ache and irritability. When suffering under depressions, foehn often does the opposite: depressive people often feel better then.
Humid-warm weather often leads to more head ache and exhaustion.
Humid-hot weather can lead to water deposits (edemas) in feet, legs, hands and face. Edemas lead to swellings and pain in the concerned body regions.
Wet-cold weather: Especially for people suffering under fibromyalgia, disturbances of blood pressure or joint pains, cool and rainy days care for physical strains.
Heat by itself is no indicator for a weather sensitivity. Decisive is the personally experienced temperature which also is influenced by the clothing and the actual activity.
Cold is especially risky for people with a high blood pressure. Due to the contraction of the blood vessels the risk of suffering a stroke, infarction or a thrombosis increases.
Temperature fluctuations: generally, it is easier to adapt to cold than to heat. A significant change of warm to cold might lead to heart problems resp. to an increase of already existing heart diseases.

How to prevent

Strong weather changes are very stressful for the organism. Keep a diary to find out which weather is stressful for you. To train your organism, go for a blow, even in for you bad weather conditions. Thus, your organism will adapt easier to changes of temperature. Largely, a good physical condition is positively influencing a stress-free change of the weather. Vascular- and circulatory-training in form of contrast showers, Kneipp-baths or sauna too might contribute in counteracting weather sensitivity. And – no matter what weather conditions there are, there are perfect materials like sheep wool that care for a perfect bedding climate and a restful sleep, in which you can relax from any stressor.

Receive further information in our sleep-healthy-guidebook “sleep yourself young, fit and successful”, free of cost.

Imagesource: @shutterstock

The sleeping drawbacks of a modern lifestyle

23. August 2016 von Redaktion 1 Comment

Health, sleep, nutrition and movement go hand in hand. A dream of a healthy, happy and long life can only come true when all these issues are taken into consideration. Our modern way of life, daily stress and hectic as well as the consistent feeling of being available all the time have unbalanced the rhythm of our lives.

Of course, this clearly has an effect on healthy sleep, too. Irregular sleeping times, late working hours, problems to fall asleep or to sleep through have an unbalancing impact on our sleeping behavior. Often people are unaware of the consequences of an unbalanced sleeping rhythm, sleep disturbances and daytime tiredness are not really taken serious, as Prof. Dr. Jürgen Zulley, German Academy of Health and Sleep (DAGS), states. People only start to think about sleep, its importance for our health and wellbeing when health issues arise, when sleep disturbances become chronical or when suffering under depressions or burnout.

Besides a balanced nutrition and sufficient exercise you should care for sufficient and healthy sleep. Sleep is essential for our health! On an average, in a year every human being spends 120 days sleeping! The more important it is to know the difference between “sleeping” and “sleeping healthy” – and what to do for a healthy sleep. “You are jeopardizing your health, wellbeing, performance and your joie de vivre when you are having a bad or too short sleep”, so sleeping expert Prof. Dr. med. h.c. Günther W. Amann-Jennson. The development of many civilization diseases like Alzheimer’s, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases is in the forefront.

Find here some useful hints of sleeping expert Prof. Dr. med. h.c. Günther W. Amann-Jennson for your healthy sleep.

Receive further information in our sleep-healthy-guidebook “sleep yourself young, fit and successful”, free of cost.