So many of us don’t get enough sleep. And we need it. Research shows that sleep helps boost immunity, maintain weight, and even contributes to heart health. Just an additional hour tremendously.

But how much do you need? It varies as we age. MSN Health offers from recomendations:
• Toddlers 12-14 hrs
• Preschoolers 11-13 hrs
• School-age children 10-11 hrs
• Adolescents 9-10 hrs
• Adults 7-9 hrs
With busy lives, it seems that the first thing that falls by the wayside is sleep. We cut into our nightly zzz’s just to get more done. Where do you rate on this scale?

Image: sxc.hu.

It’s long been thought that the reason most people take a big, long nap after Thanksgiving dinner is because of the tryptophan in turkey. Low and behold, however, scientists are now claiming that turkey doesn’t have enough tryptophan in it to put you to sleep.

So if you are having troubles sleeping at night, they advice eating something that is “light but high-carbohydrate snacks” because they increase your natural level of serotonin. Snacks like:
• Half of a whole-wheat English muffin or raisin bagel drizzled with honey
• Two cups of air-popped popcorn
• A small slice of angel …read more