Is Snoring Normal?

 

Snoring may be a minor annoyance or it may indicate a more serious medical problem.

Does your partner complain that you keep them up at night due to your snoring? While many people snore on occasion, which may be harmless, chronic snoring may be a sign of a more serious health issue.

Want to know more about snoring? Read on!

Do most people snore?

It is estimated that about 45 percent of adults snore occasionally, with about 25 percent snoring regularly. You’re more likely to snore if you are overweight and you’re also more likely to snore the older you get. Middle aged and older men, as well as post-menopausal women, are the most likely to snore. People are more likely to snore if they sleep on their back or after they have consumed alcohol.

What causes the sound you hear when you snore?

The sound you hear when someone snores is the sound of obstructed breathing. When air flows past the tissue in your throat, the tissue may vibrate and this causes the sound. Poor muscle tone, bulky throat tissue or structural issues related to your soft palate or uvula may be to blame. You may also snore if you have nasal congestion or a deviated septum. One of the most serious causes of snoring is sleep apnea. This sleep disorder can cause serious health problems if left untreated.

Should you talk to a doctor about your snoring?

If you snore regularly, especially if your sleep partner has noticed that you snort or gasp for breath on occasion, it’s a good idea to discuss your snoring with your doctor. You should also talk to your doctor if you find that you wake up tired no matter how long you sleep. These signs should not be ignored because they may indicate you have sleep apnea. The condition can be diagnosed by undergoing a sleep study.

What happens if you have sleep apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) causes your breathing to be briefly interrupted throughout your sleep. When this happens, blood oxygen levels fall and a surge of adrenaline jolts you out of a deep sleep so you can take a breath. These breathing disruptions may happen a few times an hour or even as often as every minute.

If left untreated, sleep apnea raises your risk of serious health issues. It can also increase your risk of dying prematurely. That’s because sleep apnea may cause cardiovascular issues, such as high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. It may increase your risk of obesity and diabetes. It may also make it more likely that you’ll experience a car accident or other mishap due to daytime sleepiness. The sleep deprivation caused by sleep apnea may increase your risk of experiencing anxiety and depression and may make it harder to do tasks involving memory and learning.

How do you treat sleep apnea?

If it is determined that you have sleep apnea, a CPAP device may help. This device gently blows air into your throat to keep your airway open while you sleep so you don’t experience the episodes of interrupted breathing that sleep apnea causes. Using a CPAP device can help you lower the health risks associated with sleep apnea.

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Food Expiration Dates You Can Ignore

 

Should you keep or toss food after its expiration date? Here’s how to decide.

Almost every food these days has some type of expiration date listed on the packaging. But do you know how these dates are determined? What the different expiration dates mean? And whether you really need to follow them? Here are answers to those questions.

How are expiration dates determined?

There are no standardized methods or regulations in the U.S. for determining expiration dates for foods. Some states require some type of date on perishable foods but do not regulate how those dates are calculated. The dates are determined by the food manufacturers. In many cases, you can eat a food after the date on the package.

What do different expiration dates mean?

Here is a rundown of dates you may see on packaging and what they really mean:

• Use By: This has nothing to do with the safety of the food. It is a suggested date indicating when food should be eaten by. If the date has passed, it doesn’t mean you will get sick from it. Just evaluate the quality of the food before deciding whether to eat it or throw it away.
• Best If Used By: This is also not a safety date. It is a suggestion of when the quality and taste of food is at its best. You can usually eat food well past this date.
• Freeze By: This is also a date referring to the peak quality of a food. It’s a recommendation that if you’re not going to eat the food by this date, you should freeze it to maintain quality.
• Sell By: This date is related to when stores should take food off the shelves for purchase. You can still store the food in your own home after this date.

How do you know if you can ignore an expiration date?

According to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), many foods can be consumed past their expiration dates unless you see signs that the food has spoiled. They recommend that you let your senses be your guide to determine if a food is no longer okay to eat. Does it smell funny? Taste off? Look odd? Have a strange texture? These are questions to ask yourself before deciding whether to eat or throw food away. The one exception to this rule is infant formula, which should always be thrown away if the expiration date has passed.

So, when should you throw food out?

Often the decision to throw food out is based more on quality and taste than safety. According to the USDA, bacteria that causes food poisoning doesn’t grow in the freezer, so frozen foods are typically safe to eat. They may not taste as good after a while, but won’t make you sick. The organization also suggests that most canned and packaged foods will stay safe past the dates on the package, although taste and quality will start to deteriorate.

If perishable food is past its expiration date, let your senses be your guide to determine if food is still safe to eat. But if perishable foods that should be refrigerated have been at room temperature for more than two hours (or less if the temperature is over 90^oF), they should be thrown out because bacteria may have a chance to grow that can make you sick.

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How Many Steps Do You Really Need to Take Each Day?

 

You may think you need to walk 10,000 steps a day for health benefits, but here’s the truth.

Walking is one of the best things you can do for your body. Almost everyone can do it and researchers far and wide agree that it improves many aspects of your health. From keeping your heart stronger to helping you maintain weight, it’s hard to deny the benefits of walking. But when it comes to how much people should walk, there’s not nearly as much consensus among health experts.

You may be under the belief that the magic number you need to hit when it comes to walking is 10,000 steps a day. But while that number sounds like it was set by experts or is based on research, it actually came about from a 1965 marketing strategy, when a Japanese company created a pedometer and named it Manpo-kei, which translates to 10,000 steps meter.

So how many steps do you really need to take a day?

What the Research Says

According to a research review published in the Lancet Public Health in 2022, the risk of death was lowest in people who walked 6,000 to 8,000 steps a day if they were over the age of 60 and 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day if they were under age 60. These findings suggest there are health benefits for people who walk less than 10,000 steps a day.

How to Determine Your Ideal Step Count

If you want to set a step goal for yourself, it’s best to consider where you currently are and to gradually increase that number a little at a time. Everyone will have a different starting point, so it’s not realistic for everyone to have the same goal. The key is to make gradual progress and be consistent, so aim to add 500 steps or increase how much time you walk each day or every few days. Keep in mind that if you do other activities, such as swimming or biking, you may be getting adequate physical activity even if your steps don’t reach a certain number.

How to Get Your Steps In

Don’t think you have to get all your steps in at once for it to count. If you walk in small increments throughout the day, you’ll not only add to your step count as much as if you walked all at once, but you’ll also break up the times during the day that you’re sitting. This is also good for your health. Keep in mind that making those steps count, by taking a brisk walk, rather than just shuffling through your day to increase your step count, will make a bigger difference to your health. So consider the quality of your steps, not just the quantity.

How Much Is 10,000 Steps Anyway?

It takes approximately 2,000 steps for the average person to walk a mile, so walking 10,000 steps would mean you walked about five miles. According to the National Institutes of Health, the average American walks 4,000 – 5,000 steps a day.

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4 Easy Ways to Stay Hydrated This Summer

 

How much water do you need? What if you don’t like water? Here are tips to help you hydrate.

Over 60 percent of the human body is made up of water. Water helps our bodies do miraculous things and is essential to human life. It aids in regulating body temperature, flushing out waste, lubricating joints and metabolizing food. But we constantly lose water, through sweat, urine and even when we breathe. That’s why it’s so important to stay hydrated.

During the summer, when temperatures are warmer and many people are more active, it’s more important than ever to up our fluid intake. Although some health advice suggests that people should drink 6 – 8 glasses of water every day, that isn’t a hard and fast rule. Some people need more fluid than that and some can get by with less. The amount of water you need is based on a variety of individual factors, including your activity level, gender, health status, environment and more.

No matter what your ideal fluid amount is each day, here are some tips to help you stay hydrated:

• Drink water first thing in the morning. Before you grab that coffee cup, drink a glass of water. This will give you an energy boost and helps to get your metabolism revving. It’s also a good reminder for the day that you need to make drinking water a priority.
• Drink water before each meal. Get in the habit of drinking a glass of water before each meal. It will help you feel full faster and digest your food better. It will also make it easier to get a few glasses of water in without thinking about it.
• Get a fun water bottle. Find a water bottle that will encourage you to drink water throughout the day. Whether you prefer one with measurements for tracking intake or just an inspirational saying or fun image that makes you happy, a favorite bottle may just get you to drink more.
• Choose your drinks carefully. Plain water is best for keeping you hydrated, but it’s not the only thing that does the trick. Unflavored carbonated water or seltzer is an option if you want some fizz. Adding natural fruit, veggies or herbs to water or seltzer adds some pizzazz if you don’t like the taste of plain water. There are many drinks on the market that make all types of health claims, but when it comes to hydration, it’s best to stick to drinks without sugar, caffeine, alcohol or lots of calories. Drinks with added electrolytes usually aren’t needed unless you have done a lot of exercise or it is extremely hot.

Best and Worst Drinks for Hydration

BAD

• Soda (regular or diet)
• Lemonade or sweet tea
• Energy drinks
• Caffeinated coffee or tea
• Beer, wine, hard liquor or any canned or bottled drinks made with alcohol

BETTER

• Sports drinks (watch sugar content)
• Coconut water
• Fruit juice (watch sugar content)
• Milk (dairy or non-dairy)
• Decaffeinated coffee or tea

BEST

• Water (plain or fruit-infused)
• Seltzer (plain or fruit-infused)

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Fireworks Safety 101

Here are 15 tips to help you celebrate with fireworks more safely.

Enjoying fireworks seems to be synonymous with summer fun. Of course, the Fourth of July holiday is one of the most common days for fireworks, but more and more people are using fireworks during celebrations throughout the summer, and even throughout the year.

Along with the upward tick in fireworks usage in recent years has been an upward trend in fireworks-related injuries. In fact, injuries related to fireworks increased 25 percent in the U.S. between 2006 and 2021, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In addition to bodily injury, fireworks start over 19,000 fires a year, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

The safest way to enjoy fireworks is to watch professional displays. But if you are going to set off your own fireworks, these tips can help keep you, and everyone around you, safer.

15 Fireworks Safety Tips

1. Light fireworks one at a time.
2. Quickly move away from fireworks as soon as they are lit.
3. Never point or throw fireworks at anyone.
4. Never hold lit fireworks in your hand.
5. Don’t light fireworks near any flammable structures or materials, such as bushes or houses.
6. Keep a bucket of water or a hose nearby in case of fire.
7. Wear protective eyewear when using fireworks.
8. Never light fireworks in a container or indoors.
9. Make sure spectators are far away from the area where fireworks will be lit.
10. If any fireworks don’t work, don’t try to relight them. Douse them with water before picking them up and throwing them in the trash, just to be safe.
11. Never allow children to use any type of fireworks.
12. Keep young children away from sparklers. They may seem harmless, but they can burn at temperatures as high as 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which can cause serious burns.
13. Once fireworks are out, soak them in water before throwing them in the trash.
14. Never use fireworks while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
15. Only use legal fireworks that are labeled for consumer use.

Looking for safer ways to enjoy summer celebrations? Let the professionals wow you with their fireworks display and just sit back and enjoy the show. If you want some hands-on fun, consider giving out glow sticks or battery-operated light-up twirlers instead of sparklers. This way, you won’t have to worry about a trip to the emergency room ending your festivities.

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