We all have those moments when we turn and shift in bed at two or three a.m. and wonder why we cannot get a good night's rest. And despite our excellent efforts, it just remains elusive. I, too, have always remained a victim of the bad quality of sleep. Here's a simple formula for sleep which I recently found: 10-3-2-1-0. It not only changes your sleep but also energizes you throughout the day and fixes your mind to work more productively.

Sleep does not come as a luxury, but as part of health. Poor sleep has been linked to severe health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and cognitive decline, which contributes to weakening the immunity system. According to professionals, seven to nine hours of good quality sleep at night provide healthy living.

Therefore, the 10-3-2-1-0 formula provides the practical approach towards good sleeping quality, whereby your body and mind prepare you to achieve comfortable and restful sleep.

Simple Sleep Guide Using the '10-3-2-1-0' Formula

10 Hours Before Bedtime

No, that late-afternoon cup of coffee is definitely tempting, but don't do it. Eliminate caffeine entirely 10 hours before bedtime. Caffeine is thought to have a half-life between 1.5 to 9.5 hours, so the caffeine in your body will persist long after you've finished your cup. Caffeine stops adenosine-the natural neurotransmitter that brings on sleep-anyway, making it harder to fall asleep. So, switch to herbal teas or decaf if you have problems sleeping at night.

3 hours before Bedtime

Alcohol is a poor sleeping aid after all. It distrurbs the sleep cycle of a person. Though it helps sleepers fall asleep quickly, it promotes fragmented sleep and will prevent the person entering deeper, restorative stages of sleep. Three hours before bedtime, experts advise people to quit alcohol. Avoid heavy meals during this time too. Foods that are fried, spicy, or rich in fat and sugar can lead to heartburn and a blood sugar crash, which are bad news for getting a good night's sleep.

2 Hours Before Bedtime

Your mind should also be prepared for sleep. This can be achieved with the hard stop on work not more than two hours before you intend to sleep. This will give your brain an indication that is the time to relax. If this is challenging, then you may do some form of meditation, deep breathing exercise, or reading some light, just to calibrate your mind. These activities make your pulse go down, and you clear all your thoughts, hence making it relatively easy for you to sleep.

1 hour before Bedtime

One of the major sleep disruptors is the screen. The blue light emitted from phones, tablets, and computers blocks the production of melatonin that triggers your body to go into sleep mode. Research shows that screen exposure causes delay in sleep and affects quality too. Aim to turn off all devices an hour before bed, so your body will be ready for a sleep engagement with deep, restful sleep.

0 Snooze Hits

We've all been there, when we click the snooze button, feeling guilty afterwards, but it is sabotaging your sleep. Researchers have found that the act of hitting the snooze button causes fragmented low-quality sleep that may even make you more drowsy. The secret to waking fresh and renewed lies in getting out of bed when that alarm goes off. By not hitting that snooze button, you're avoiding a much more regular sleep cycle and waking fresher.

Tips to Sleep Peacefully at Night

In addition to the formula, here are some more tips that can be used to help promote better sleep quality:

- Blackout Curtain: A curtain designed to block light from passing through it will make the dark so that it may help contribute to better sleep.

- Air Purifier: This air purifier can improve the quality and correctness of air associated with a lower amount of allergens, making the sleeper sleep better.

- Magnesium Glycinate Supplement: This might be used to relax your muscles and sleep better, especially in cases of bed-wind-down .

- Light Exercises at Night: Doing some light exercises such as yoga or stretching can prepare the body to sleep better.

Put the 10-3-2-1-0 formula into your schedule in the evening. This makes all the difference about how much you sleep right. Simply setting apart work and rest time and shutting down those electricity points, you are better to look forward to a night of rest and a refreshing slumber. You wake fresh, healthy, and ready to take on the day.

In breast cancer research, the search for effective treatments is constant. At times, the most promising candidates are not newly developed drugs but existing medications whose potential benefits have remained hidden in plain sight. A recent study suggests that a pill usually prescribed to calm queasy stomachs could also be helping women live longer, particularly those battling one of the most aggressive forms of the disease.

The medication in question is aprepitant, a drug doctors have been doling out for years to keep chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in check. But according to researchers from Monash University in Australia and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, this humble anti-nausea capsule could be pulling off an unexpected encore performance by lowering the risk of breast cancer returning and even cutting the risk of death.

How the discovery unfolded

When the numbers were crunched, aprepitant stood out. Women who took it had an 11 per cent lower chance of their cancer making an unwelcome comeback and a 17 per cent lower chance of dying from breast cancer over a decade. Other anti-nausea meds did not show the same life-saving magic.

The triple negative twist

Dr Aeson Chang from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, a senior author on the study, explains why this matters so much. Triple negative breast cancer does not give many treatment tools to work with. That is why finding new uses for safe, existing drugs could be a fast-track way to help patients.

A drug repurposing opportunity

Repurposing medications is not new; after all, sildenafil was once meant for chest pain before its other, more famous use took off. In this case, aprepitant has already cleared safety hurdles and been in use for years. That makes it an appealing candidate for rapid integration into cancer care, provided future research confirms its benefits.

However, more work needs to be done before prescribing rules changes. Triple negative breast cancer is notoriously tough to treat. With around 3,000 new cases diagnosed annually in Australia alone, every potential new pathway matters. Researchers would like to see more studies to confirm if aprepitant really can prevent relapse and if so, we may need to rethink anti-nausea prescribing guidelines altogether.

Beyond the guidelines

Currently, aprepitant is only recommended for patients whose chemotherapy carries a high risk of causing nausea and vomiting. But nausea is a common visitor for most people going through systemic treatment; up to 60 per cent experience it. The study hints that more patients could benefit from aprepitant’s unexpected bonus effect.

Dr Chang believes this opens the door to testing whether a wider rollout could improve survival rates. Aprepitant is usually taken during the first three days of chemotherapy. Now they are wondering, what if longer-term use made the benefits even bigger?

The data detectives

Where next?

Before you rush to the pharmacy, here is the reality check. This study shows an association, not absolute proof of cause and effect. More clinical trials will be needed to see if aprepitant directly influences cancer biology or if the benefit comes from another, related factor.

Still, the idea that a simple anti-nausea pill could be doing double duty is an enticing one. It is a reminder that in medicine, sometimes the best discoveries do not come from flashy new drugs but from looking again at what is already in our medicine cabinets.

If future research backs it up, doctors might start prescribing it not just to soothe stomachs but also to boost survival odds, especially for those facing the toughest breast cancer battles.

During a heatwave, adequate hydration becomes a health priority rather than a casual choice. High temperatures increase the body’s fluid loss through sweat, and without sufficient water intake, the risk of dehydration and heat-related illnesses rises significantly.

The Heatwave Hydration Rule

According to Dr Sonali Ruder, who works as an emergency doctor, a good general rule is to drink about half your body weight in ounces of water. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds (around 68 kg), that is roughly 75 ounces (just over 2 litres) spread throughout the day. But if you are jogging in the park, hauling shopping in the midday sun, or simply existing in a non-air-conditioned flat, you will need to top that up.

Pregnant or breastfeeding? Your body’s running on extra hydration demands, so keep the bottle handy.

Tips to Keep the Water Flowing

Invest in a large, insulated bottle that keeps your drink icy cold, and take it everywhere. You are more likely to sip without thinking if it is right there on your desk, in your bag, or even next to the kettle.

The Dark Side of Dehydration

Signs you might be running on empty include:

• Thirst (obvious, but often ignored)
• Dark yellow or strong-smelling urine
• Headaches and dizziness
• Fatigue or confusion
• Dry mouth, lips, and eyes

Left unchecked, dehydration can lead to heat exhaustion or heatstroke, which is a fast-track ticket to the hospital.

Can You Overdo It?

Surprisingly, yes. While staying hydrated is crucial, overhydrating can also cause problems. Drinking far too much water in a short space of time can dilute the sodium in your blood, leading to a condition called hyponatraemia. Symptoms include nausea, headaches, confusion, and, in extreme cases, seizures.

This is rare, but it is worth knowing that balance is key. Your goal is steady hydration, not winning a personal best in “litres consumed in an hour”. In the British heatwave, your best defence is a smart hydration plan. Sip water consistently, up your intake if you are sweating, and pay attention to your body’s signals. Keep your urine pale, your energy steady, and your insulated bottle close by.

From glossy Instagram reels to glossy foreheads, vitamin therapy has become the darling of beauty trends. It promises “instant glow” and “Rapunzel hair”, often in the form of IV drips or colourful capsules. But is it really a miracle elixir or just a very expensive placebo with better marketing? Dermatologists say it is a bit of both.

Vitamin therapy acts as a protective shield for your cells. According to Dr Pravin Banodkar, Co-Founder and Lead Dermatologist at Skin Beyond Borders, our skin and hair face daily assaults from pollution and dust to stress and hormonal changes. Over time, these factors wear down cell health, slow growth, and accelerate signs of ageing. For skin, that means hyperpigmentation and dullness. For hair, it often means thinning and increased shedding.

Vitamin therapy works by giving cells a protective boost through antioxidants, which fight off damage and keep things running smoothly. “It helps reverse some of the impact by preventing damage to hair cells and boosting repair processes,” Dr Banodkar explains.

When Life Gets in the Way of Nutrition

If your diet often looks like coffee for breakfast, desk snacks for lunch, and “something quick” for dinner, your skin and hair may already be paying the price. Dr Banodkar says that people with hectic routines often develop deficiencies in vitamins A, C, D, and essential micronutrients. Left unchecked, these gaps can shorten the hair growth cycle and weaken the skin’s barrier function.

For such cases, vitamin therapy – oral, topical, or even targeted IV – can help fill the gaps. But if you already eat a balanced diet and nourish yourself consistently, “high-dose supplementation and IV drips offer no extra benefit,” he adds. Meaning, if your body is not missing it, megadoses will not suddenly help.

Micronutrients

One of the buzzier developments in dermatology is the “micronutrient concept”, feeding the hair bulb with targeted nutrients to prolong the growth phase (known as the anagen phase). Examples include:

• Vitamin A: Promotes skin cell turnover, reduces acne
• Vitamin C: Boosts collagen production, brightens skin
• Vitamin E: Antioxidant that aids repair
• Biotin (B7): Supports hair and nail strength
• Vitamin D: Crucial for follicle health and immune function
• Niacin (B3): Improves skin texture and barrier

Used strategically, these can improve skin repair and help hair grow longer before shedding. But more is not always better.

The Hype vs The Hard Truth

Dr Aseem Sharma, Director and Chief Dermatologist at Skin Saga Centre for Dermatology, points out that vitamin therapy has its place but not as a monthly beauty ritual for those without a medical need. “If you are genuinely deficient in D, B12, or iron, correcting that can transform skin and hair. But topping up levels that are already normal rarely produces dramatic results,” he says.

Biotin, for example, is often marketed as the holy grail for hair growth. In reality, unless you are deficient, which is rare in healthy adults, it won’t magically transform thin hair into thick locks. Hair growth depends on protein intake, hormones, follicle health, and micronutrients working together.

Antioxidants

Vitami and glutathione can protect skin and hair from oxidative stress, the kind that speeds up ageing and damages follicles. But their benefits plateau once the body has enough. Overuse can even cause side effects, especially with fat-soluble vitamins that linger in the system. In other words, popping a week’s worth of supplements in one sitting won’t give you a week’s worth of glow; it might just give you an upset stomach.

Should You Book That Vitamin Drip?

Both Dr Banodkar and Dr Sharma agree: start with your diet. Focus on whole foods, adequate protein, and a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. Address specific deficiencies through tests, not guesswork. Save the IV drips for genuine medical needs, not pre-party touch-ups.

Vitamin therapy can be a useful support act, especially for people with nutritional gaps, malabsorption issues, or recovery needs. But it is not the headliner. Your real glow comes from a healthy lifestyle, consistent skincare, and, yes, the occasional salad that is not just for show.