Sleep hygiene refers to healthy habits that can improve your sleep quality. By following these 10 tips, you can create a conducive environment for better sleep and improve your overall well-being. These tips address various factors that can affect sleep, such as your sleep environment, daily routine, and stress management. By incorporating these sleep hygiene practices into your lifestyle, you can promote restful sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

Tips to Help You Sleep Better

There can be many reasons as to why you may not be sleeping properly, whether it is your eating habits or exercise routine. Reach out to a healthcare professional if you are unable to sleep for extended periods of time.

Stick to a Consistent Sleep Schedule

One of the most important factors in improving sleep quality is maintaining a consistent sleep schedule. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This helps regulate your body's internal clock, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up at the right times.

Create a Relaxing Bedroom Environment

Your bedroom should be a peaceful and inviting space that promotes relaxation. Ensure your bedroom is dark, quiet, and cool. Invest in comfortable bedding and avoid electronic devices in bed, as the blue light emitted from screens can interfere with sleep.

Limit Screen Time Before Bed

The blue light emitted from electronic devices can suppress the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep. Avoid using screens for at least an hour before bed. If you must use electronic devices, consider using blue light filtering glasses or apps.

Establish a Relaxing Bedtime Routine

Developing a relaxing bedtime routine can help signal to your body that it's time to wind down and prepare for sleep. Engage in calming activities before bed, such as reading a book, taking a warm bath, or practicing relaxation techniques like deep breathing or meditation.

Avoid Heavy Meals and Caffeine Before Bed

Eating a heavy meal close to bedtime can disrupt sleep as your body focuses on digestion. Avoid consuming caffeine (found in coffee, tea, and soda) several hours before bed, as caffeine can interfere with sleep.

Manage Stress Effectively

Unresolved stress can make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Practice stress management techniques like meditation, deep breathing, or yoga to reduce anxiety and promote better sleep.

Limit Alcohol and Nicotine

Excessive alcohol or nicotine consumption can disrupt sleep patterns and lead to poor sleep quality. If you smoke, try to quit or reduce your intake.

Avoid Naps During the Day

While short naps can be beneficial, long naps can interfere with nighttime sleep, especially if taken late in the afternoon or evening. If you need to nap, limit it to 30 minutes or less.

Get Regular Exercise

Regular physical activity can improve sleep quality, but avoid intense workouts close to bedtime. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week.

Consult a Doctor if Needed

If you're still struggling with sleep despite following these tips, consult a healthcare professional to rule out any underlying medical conditions that may be affecting your sleep.

Dementia is more common than you think. According to the Alzheimer’s Disease International, there were over 55 million people in the world living with dementia in 2020. According to the organization, this number is said to double every year for 20 years, and this number is said to reach 78 million in 2030.

There are many different types of dementia, one of which is Alzheimer’s disease. It is the most common form of dementia. While there is no cure for dementia, catching it early can help people manage the condition. But with the vague symptoms of Alzheimer’s, early diagnosis is difficult.

Researchers have found a possible new sign of Alzheimer's disease that could show up incredibly early, which is poor spatial navigation. Think of spatial navigation as your brain's ability to figure out where you are and how to get where you're going, your internal GPS.

This difficulty could appear up to 25 years before the more commonly known symptoms, like losing your memory. Finding a warning sign this early is a huge step because getting a diagnosis sooner is vital for beginning treatment and for scientists working to find ways to prevent the disease.

What Does Knowing Your Surrounding Mean?

A team of scientists from the University College London (UCL) conducted a study to look for these early signs. They worked with around 100 people between the ages of 43 and 66. These people were chosen because they had a higher risk of getting Alzheimer's later in life. This risk was due to things like having a family member with the disease, carrying a specific gene (called the APOE-ε4 allele) linked to higher risk, or having risk factors in their lifestyle.

An important point to note was that every single person in the study showed no signs of Alzheimer's, they were perfectly healthy and were about 25 years younger than the age doctors would typically expect dementia to start for them.

To test their navigation skills, the participants put on virtual reality (VR) headsets and were asked to find their way around a computer-generated environment. The results showed that the people who were at higher risk for Alzheimer's had a much harder time completing the VR navigation task. They essentially got lost or struggled more to find their way.

Early Sign Of Alzheimer’s Disease

Importantly, these same people did just fine on other types of tests, including those that check memory. This suggests that having trouble with spatial navigation could be one of the very first things to go wrong in the brain, years or even decades before you start forgetting things.

The experts said that this change might be the earliest possible signal that someone is starting to move from being healthy to showing the first signs of the disease. The researchers are now planning to turn this VR test into a tool that doctors could use to help diagnose the disease earlier.

explained that these findings are exciting for two main reasons. First, they allow doctors to spot the start of Alzheimer's much sooner, which is critical for making treatments work better. Second, the VR test is based on how special cells in the brain in an area called the temporal lobe handle space and location.

This means the test helps connect the dots between tiny changes in the brain's cells and the actual symptoms people experience. This connection is a huge barrier in current Alzheimer's research.

The study also noticed that men showed a bigger drop in their spatial navigation skills than women did. This suggests that more research is needed to understand why men and women might be affected differently by Alzheimer's.

The Alzheimer's Society agreed, emphasizing that early and accurate diagnosis is essential, and this study clearly shows that problems with navigation could be one of the very first signs to watch out for.

So far, we know the 6-6-6 rule for walking, but there is something new for eye health too. It is called the 20-20-20 rule. In our day to day lives, our screen time has increased, in fact, screens have become an integral part of our life, which means we must take extra care of our eye health and this 20-20-20 rule will help you.

What Is 20-20-20 Rule?

This rule says that for every 20 minute that you spend on looking at the screen, you must take a 20 second break to look at something 20 feet away.

While you won't know how far is 20 feet from your desk, the key is not to actually stand 20 feet apart, but to take a break from your screen and be far from it, especially if you have a smaller work space and don't have the time to roam around.

You can set an alarm every 20 minutes to remind yourself for a well deserving break that you deserve.

Is the 20-20-20 Rule Supported By Research?

The American Academy of Ophthalmology says that looking at digital devices won't necessarily damage your eyesight, but it can cause strain and unpleasant symptoms. Humans usually blink around 15 times each minute, and when we stare at our screens, the frequency decreases half or a third. This is why our eyes feel dry, irritated, and we feel that our eyes are getting tired.

What Happens When You Strain Your Eye?

If you have an eyestrain, you may experience pain, tiredness, itching, burning of your eyes. Furthermore, you may experience these following symptoms:

• dry eyes
• watery eyes
• blurred vision
• double vision
• headaches
• soreness in the neck, shoulders, or back
• sensitivity to light
• difficulty concentrating
• difficulty keeping eyes open

What Can You Do To Avoid Straining Your Eyes?

Maintain proper distance: Sit about 25 inches (roughly an arm’s length) away from your screen and position it slightly below eye level.

Cut the glare: Use a matte screen filter or adjust your lighting to reduce reflections.

Take regular breaks: Follow the 20-20-20 rule — every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.

Keep your eyes moist: Use over-the-counter lubricating eye drops and consider a humidifier if the air feels dry.

Blink more often: Frequent blinking helps keep your eyes naturally lubricated.

Adjust brightness: Match your screen’s brightness to the surrounding light to minimize strain.

Clean your screens: Dust and fingerprints can make it harder to see and increase eye fatigue — wipe them regularly.

Give contacts a rest: Alternate between contact lenses and glasses to reduce dryness and irritation.

Follow lens hygiene: Always wash your hands before handling contacts and avoid sleeping in them to prevent infections.

A video is making rounds on Instagram, where a Norwegian cardiologist is being quoted who says that cold morning showers could lead to brain stroke. The explanation is that majority of people who had brain strokes, took cold morning showers.

The post explained: "cold water causes instant vascular constriction in 2 seconds, and the blood pressure surges to 200/130. The heart races at 180 beats per minute, struggling to pump through narrowed arteries. Then the weakest brain vessels ruptures."

When this claim was contradicted by stating that most research mention that cold water is good for you, the "Cardiologist" explained: “Those studies tested healthy athletes at 4 p.m., when pressure is steady. Marketers then pushed the findings for all times, all conditions.”

However, the video did not actually feature a cardiologist, neither did mention any name or place of practicing of the cardiologist. All that was mentioned was 'Volkov' as the cardiologist. Furthermore, the post description that claimed studies have shown the correlation between cold waters and brain stroke did not cite any studies, thus the Health and Me team ran a fact check on the claim.

Here's What We Found

Similar claim was made by a UiTM Professor, who said that because the 'body takes time to adjust its temperature too quickly because we are warm-blooded' thus sudden cold water on head, suggesting the sequence of showering, could lead to a stroke.

However, this claim was also debunked by Thanh Phan, head of neuroscience research at Monash Health, who said that majority of stroke happens due to clot obstructing blood flow in brain. He said that it does not mention anything about showering sequence.

Again, in 2024, in an Instagram reel, shared by @vedantsir_, the claim was made that brain hemorrhages happen because of the way of bathing. This is because we put our head under the cold water immediately, as opposed to how our ancestors did, when they would take a bath in the river.

However, plenty scientific evidence suggest that cold baths can in fact, offer health benefits, including enhanced immune function, improved stress resilience, cardiovascular support, better insulin sensitivity, and positive effects on mental health.

While earlier studies and fact checks do point that the claim of cold shower causing brain strokes, Dr Sahil Kohli, Associate Director, Neurology, Neurosciences at Max Hospital Gurugram in a video says that cold shower could in fact cause peripheral vasoconstrictions, and may increase stroke risk. This claim however, is opposite to what Dr Rahul Chawla, Neurologist at IBS Hospital, Delhi says.

Dr Chawla says, and as reported by Medical Dialogues, that there is no 'correct' way to bathe. "For instance, some people believe that stepping directly under a shower or pouring water straight onto the head causes a sudden temperature change that leads to stroke, paralysis, or brain hemorrhage. However, these claims are completely unfounded and have no scientific support."

Watch The Video Shared On Instagram Here: