Vitamin Poisoning

You should know that as with everything, getting just the right amount of vitamins and minerals is important. Your body is capable of doing many great things for you, and producing much of what you need to get by in this life. However, there are certain things that your body does not produce, which is part of the reason that we need to eat foods. Some of the energy that is produced by the foods goes towards moving and reproducing cells. However, our bodies also glean much from the food that we eat – vitamins and minerals are just part of what we get.

Vitamins and minerals cannot be made by our bodies, but are very important for our bodies to continue to be running as successfully as they are. This means that if for some reason you aren’t getting the right kinds, or the right amounts, of vitamins and minerals in your diet, you might need to take vitamin or mineral supplements in order to make up for what you are not getting in your food. You should know that taking vitamin and mineral supplements can be very good for you, and can make you much more healthy. However, they can be dangerous, so it is very important that you follow directions and never take more than it is recommended to take of any vitamins or minerals.

One of the most important things is that you remember in the case of vitamins and minerals, there is such a thing as too much of something that is good. If you have too much vitamin D, you can be causing damage to your kidneys. If you have too much vitamin A, you can be causing damage to your liver. If you have too much niacin you can cause heart and liver problems. This is called vitamin poisoning.

One of the most important things to remember is that your body will tell you if you are getting too much of something, long before poisoning and damage will occur. Signs of vitamin poisoning when it comes to vitamin supplements would include nausea and vomiting as well as diarrhea. These will occur before your organs are damaged, and if you pay attention to your body you should be able to stop it right there and then and not create more damage or danger to yourself. Most of the signs of supplement overdose will simply fade away when you have gotten rid of the excess and haven’t overdosed again. Unlike drugs, vitamin overdose and poisoning are not likely to lead to permanent damage, but can if you are not careful.

Drink plenty of water if you take multi vitamins supplements daily. Never exceed the recommend dosage and to be on the safe side, do not take multivitamins each and every day, do not take the drug manufacturer advice for granted, instead try to decrease the dosage and intake frequency from daily to perhaps 3 or 4 times in a week. Pay attention to any change of your health and if you feel or suspect overdose, stop it immediately and wait for couple of days to see if the symptoms subsides. Consult the doctor if the symptoms persist.

Coping with anxiety and stress

Anxiety is our natural body and mind signaling response to danger. The danger may be physical or psychological in nature and may come from either internal or external sources. Constant anxiety may lead to severe stress and eventually result in depression if not deal with appropriately. Different people have individual tolerances for stress and anxiety.

If you’ve been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, it is crucial for you to seek medical treatment. This is the first step to recovery. Anxiety disorders include medical conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, agoraphobia, and panic disorder. When you talk to your doctor about your conditions, he or she will probably recommend certain talk therapies, in which you work with a therapist and cognitive-behavioral therapy to overcome your disorder. You may also be recommended to take specific medications. However, there are also a number of other therapies that you can consider to help you overcome your anxiety disorder.

If you are interested in oral medications, there are a number of supplements that may be able to help with your anxiety. Supplements are generally more naturally than the chemicals found in medications, so you body may be less likely to react to them in an adverse way. However, it is important to remember that supplements can still be dangerous if abuse. Common supplements that can be used to treat anxiety disorders include passion fruit, passionflower, kava, valerian root, St. John’s wort, hops, chamomile, magnesium, and glycine. Your doctor can instruct you taking these supplements in a safe way.

If you have very low anxiety symptoms, you can also work by yourself to combat the development of full-blown anxiety disorders. First, get a proper diet. This will include all the nutrients you body needs to stay active and healthy. Reduce the amounts of caffeine and sugar you ingest to help with anxiety. Also make sure that you are getting both sleep and exercise. This can help you manage stress more readily.

If you believe you may be developing an anxiety disorder, trying to use stress management skills is very important. Know your own limits, what you can and cannot change and learn to live with it. Be open to changes and take things in stride.
Learn to say ‘no’ if you have to and recognize the fact that at times you can’t do everything by yourself. No one is an island by him or herself so to speak.
Keeping pets may help to reduce stress and anxiety.
Manage your time properly and try to deal with problems before it accumulates and becomes overwhelming. Set achievable goals daily.

Many people also advocate that alcohol is a great tool for combating anxiety. Typically, patients with anxiety disorders feel stimulated, so alcohol, which is a depressant, can really help you to calm down. However, the disadvantage to this is that alcohol also can make you become intoxicated and anxiety is sometimes found in conjunction with depression, which alcohol will only cause to get worse. Therefore, this is usually not a good option, unless your doctor recommends it.

Techniques like hypnosis, virtual reality use, acupuncture, and meditation can also help patients deal with anxiety. While these alternative treatment options do not help everyone, they may be able to help you. Be sure to ask your doctor about all treatment options available so that you can make the best choices for your body.

Skin with acne

When you have acne, you have to give extra care to your skin for as you know, there are factors that changed your skin from those who have normal type. As recommended by the experts, you have to treat your skin affected with acne with more care and more caution. There are some helpful tips you must consider in order for you to gradually get that acne cured or if not at least, not let your condition turn even worse.

These are the things you must do and embrace as habits that you may be able to achieve better skin.

*The simplest way is by washing and cleaning your skin gently.

There are gentle soaps that would surely wash your skin mildly. You are of course not encourage to use soaps that are that strong for they may leave harsh effects on your skin. Toners and cleansers are not also recommended for they have active components that may worsen your skin’s condition. When you feel the need of a toner or a cleanser, see to it that it has an approval from your dermatologist or else you would just cry more and have even the worse acne condition.

Always see to it that you do not use skin products like skin scrubs for they would surely harm your skin. Be very careful in treating your skin, if you would not, you would definitely regret the outcomes. So, be disciplined and do not risk the health of your skin just for temporary things.

*For men, shave carefully

In order not to increase the possibility of harm that your skin might get due to the things you do or the products you use. Well, for men who shave off their skin hair, it is very advisable that they shave carefully and use cream or soap before doing so. The soap or cream would make the hair softer. Be sure to choose the right shaver as well.

Shaving is a really hygienic routine and sees to it that you do it properly without harming your skin. You have to remind yourself of this for it is really very important.

*Choose cosmetics carefully.

This is a special condition when you have acne. Cosmetics must be chosen well most especially, they are recommended by your dermatologist. When you have cosmetics that are needed to be changed, you need to switch to products that are oil free and are noncomedogenic. But, there are cases that the use of cosmetics is of no good at all. So, in this case, it would be best to leave your skin free of cosmetics.
Checkout the following for more on cosmetic advice.
Safe Cosmetic

These are just some of the things you need to consider as reminders for those who have acne. The right caution and care would surely give you the best results

Lack of resources

Sometimes it is pretty difficult to manage tight software project timeline with limited resources. With the current economic situations, it becomes extremely difficult for a software project manager to justify additional manpower and resources to deal with complicated and critical projects. It is fact of life whereby we are told to do with whatever manpower resources we have and to make it happen by hook or by crook. I guess that’s life and so long as you work for others it is something that you got to deal with, one way or another, in particular if you are involve with project management

Ask the doctor

Most of us tend to or rather prefer to keep quite when we are ill and undergoing medical checkout. We provide feedback and responds only when the doctor asks us specific questions and even so most of the answers from us are usually either a short yes or no.

With easy access to medical information via the Internet, it is high time that patients should engaged in more active dialogues with the doctor so as to enable both the doctor and us patient to better understand our medical condition and also to enable the doctor to provide the most appropriate medical treatment based on our conditions.

Don’t be shy or afraid to ask doctor so as to further understand your medical situation.
Of course some doctors has pride and do not like to be question by the patients. Some doctors deem it a waste of their time when patient ask too many questions. Regardless, who else better understand your body apart from yourself?

If you like to know more about health, go check out the following.
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home.html
The site contains lots of brief but good information that touches on various health topics and concerns.

Brocolli

Include more vegetables in your diet, in particular increase intake of cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower.Researches in Mt. Sinai School of Medicine of New York has collected and analyzed data of over 1,000 men of whom over 50% suffering from prostrate cancer. Based on the data, the researches discovered those who has higher intake of cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower has decreased prostrate cancer risk.

The exact root cause for such findings is not fully understood at this point of time. Researches believed that consistent and regular intake of broccoli enable our body to interact with specific gene that trigger alterations to signaling pathways associated with prostrate cancer and inflammation.

So there you go, increase vegetable intake to improve and reduce potential prostrate cancer risk and to a better healthier life. Sometimes it seems that human best chances of fighting diseases is by consuming the right amount of vegetables.

http://www.webmd.com/prostate-cancer/news/20030520/broccoli-blocks-prostate-cancer-cells
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6927359.stm
http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=452597&sid=env&ssid=28

It is metabolism that matters

Having a tough time jumping up just to let those jeans fit your thighs? Before your housemate complains about the mild earthquakes you create, think of doing your part of making an effort to commence a better and healthier life for your very self. What about a diet? It does not mean that you will starve to death but you just have to take efforts to lose weight.

Weight loss is as confusing as buying goods in a busy marketplace. Too crowded with methods that come with too many promises, it boggles up your mind. These promises come with the best advertisements and testimonials. But, did you know that you have the entire control of your weight? Did you know that it is all about how to know your metabolism and calculate your RMR or Resting Metabolic Rate?

What is RMR?

It is the total rate used up by the body in using fuel or burning calories but at times that we are just not doing anything or while resting.

There are factors that affect our RMR. One of these is age. As we become older, our muscles deteriorate and it leads to lower RMR. As a result, aging is accompanied with gaining of weight.

Dieting or any form of doing exercise is not at all an assurance that one could effectively lose weight. As a matter of fact, dieting is very effective but difficult to follow through consistently.

We have short-term effects only but what about the long-term ones? We know for a fact that the latter is more important than the former. Weight loss may mean losing your muscles instead of losing your fats. Muscles are essential for metabolism, so you may just get the other-way-around results. Choosing a more effective exercise really matters. Weight lifting is commendable.

As you take steps in increasing your RMR, you are pushing your self on your way to a lighter weight and healthier life as a whole.

Diet and Exercise

Nutrition and physical activity is going to go along together for our bodies. Exercise is going to give us fitness along with four major things: flexibility, strength, muscle endurance, and cardiovascular health. Diet on it’s own is not going to be able to give you this. You need to have the physical part as well. One thing to remember is that a bad diet can affect the way that your fitness training goes even if you follow the best type of exercise plan that you can. You need to put a healthy diet and a lot of exercise together to stay as healthy as you can.

It is going to be achievable to answer the question of how long you need to exercise to keep as healthy as you can. The average is at least 20 minutes of exercise at least three times a week. This will help to strengthen the cardiovascular health. Another idea is that 3500 calories must be used in a week by doing any sort of physical activity. This will benefit you and your heart as well. It is a good idea to speak to your doctor first to find out what exercise plan is going to be best for you and your body.

The energy nutrients that are stored like glucose and fatty acids with a few amino acids are let out into the blood during exercise in order to provide energy for what you are doing. This means that the body will respond to exercise by adjusting its fuel amounts.

There is a way to use diet to control high blood pressure and now they are finding out that exercise has a role in keeping blood pressure from increasing. With the reduction of sodium into your body, weight loss and limited alcohol use, along with the increased amount of physical activity and a low fat diet, you can control hypertension. Foods that are used for the purpose of lowering blood pressure without using medication can include sweets and many beverages that have sugar in them, red meat and fats.

To build muscle in the body, proteins are used and this is true when the body is at rest after exercise or any type of physical activity. There is research that has shown that athletes will retain more protein and use more of it as fuel for the body. The American Dietetic Association has said that one gram per kilogram of bodyweight is recommended for people that do not exercise at all. For the athletes, the protein amounts are going to be higher. It should be considered that athletes also need more carbohydrates as well. If they do not take in enough crabs, their protein will be used all up for fuel and there will not be anything left for muscle building after exercise is done.

There is increasing evidence that weight bearing exercises like walking, dancing, running, sports and so much more. Are very good at getting good bone health. Swimming has been a great use for bone health. Eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia have been said to damage bone strength. Exercise alone cannot make your body healthy. You need to have the proper calcium and other vitamins and minerals required for bones must go with the adequate amount of exercise to provide the best bone health. Along with exercise, diet can help keep your body working good and in the right mode for the rest of your life.

Robo dog

Give yourself a break from work and take a look at this. It is amazing isnt it?
I wonder what's next in the pipeline? We have RoboCop, now Robo Dog, next??

Cheers

Toilet hygiene

Has it ever occur to you that sometimes it makes no difference whether you wash or don’t wash your hand after relieving yourself in the toilet? With the exception of auto liquid soap dispenser and auto on off water tap detection system, the on and off knob of most conventional water taps and conventional soap dispensers are very dirty. We push the soap dispenser or the turn on the knob of the water tap with our hands, wash our hands with soap, rinse it and then turn off the water tap with our supposedly after clean hands. We are back to square one isn’t it? Furthermore, we may even have to touch the handle of toilet doors when go in and out. So what difference does it make whether we wash or don’t wash our hand isn’t it?

How do we get around such problem then? Nothing much though, perhaps you can try to push the liquid soap dispenser or the water tap with your elbow instead of your hand. Similarly, why not use your elbow to push the lift button instead of using your fingers. It was reported years way back whereby the entire residents of a flat in Hong Kong were infected with SARS. How on earth could that happen when over 90% of those infected don’t recall having close contact with the main SARS culprit? Investigation points to the apartment lift buttons contaminated with the SARS gems.
So now you have it, use your elbow if possible and keep a handy wet tissue pack with you when you are outdoors. Clean your hands and fingers if necessary with wet tissue paper after you visit the toilet or push the lift or public transport alight buttons and etc.

Too many choices

Sometimes we are spoilt with too many choices till we freeze and don’t know what to do. It took me quite awhile to decide the type of LCD 43 inch television to buy from the Best Denki. There are all sorts of competing brands from Korea such as Samsung, LG to Japanese such as Panasonic, Hitachi, Toshiba and etc. The pricing among these brands are very competitive and to be quite frank I felt kind of regret after I bought Philip LCD TV.

Below a link to tips on what to do when you are presented with too many choices.Check it out, and cheers!http://www.simpleology.com/blog/2008/07/what_to_do_when_picking_one_is.html

Valerian Root

Valeriana officinalis, otherwise known as "Valerian Root", is considered to be one of the most effective natural remedies available for insomnia. The see the benefits of valerian root, the herb must be taken regularly over a period of about one month to see results. After taking valerian root for about a month, you will find that it encourages relaxation and deep sleep.

Valerian root flowers late in the spring, and it is typically found in pastures and heath land in the wild. The rhizomes and roots are the parts of the plant that are used for most herbal remedies. Most often the valerian root is collected in September and dried to make widely available herbal products.

At Switzerland’s Nestle Research Laboratories, researchers P.D. Leatherwood, Ph.D., and F. Chauffard, Ph.D., determined that the efficacious dose of valerian as a sleep aid is 450 mg. Higher doses cause grogginess without being more effective. Leatherwood also found in a separate study that valerian root was not only effective as a relaxant, but also improved the quality of sleep.

It is understood that valerian root’s impact on the body is similar to that of benzodiazepine, an ingredient in Valium™. One of the advantages of valerian root over other sedatives is that there is not next day cloudiness or grogginess. It has been said that Valium’s name came from valerian root, but it’s important to note that they are medically completely different and should not be considered to be related.

Prescribed sleep aids can be toxic, however, valerian root is non-toxic and does not hinder the ability to drive nor does it negatively interact with alcohol. Valerian root is used to provide relief from anxiety disorders, and acts as a sedative to encourage restful sleep.

Herbalists sometime recommend taking fresh valerian root over the extract because of the possibility of a delayed stimulant effect on some people. Depending on your body chemistry, valerian root sometimes causes an initial sedative effect, then several hours later provides an energy surge, obviously not a desirable trait when taken as a sleep aid. The fresh valerian root is less likely cause a delayed stimulant effect.

Mobile phone harmful radiation

Mobile cell phones are getting more and more popular, feature rich, very affordable and increasing cheaper in terms of pricing. Mobile cell phones are well within the rich of the mass population. It is not unusual to find mobile cell phones fitted with 5 or more mega pixel camera, mp3 player, web browser, GPS support, wireless technology such as Bluetooth, WiFi and USB and host of other fanciful stuffs.

Apple just released its brand new 2nd generation mobile phone, the 3G iPhone. It is not just adults, even students and children alike owns mobile phones nowadays.
One health question associated with mobile cell phone is with regards to risk of prolong exposure to radiation when use frequently for extend amount of time and place closed to our ears.

Nowadays cell phone users are spending longer time chatting through the phone, many thanks due to the very affordable mobile phone subscription plans. Beneath the happy cell phone chatting hour is the potential danger of radiation exposure that may lead to brain tumors.
A survey done by Nokia a few years ago indicates no direct link between harmful electro magnetic radiations to mobile cell phone usage. Apparently the report is somewhat less honest than truthful since we now know there plenty of evidence to indicate the public health crisis posed by prolongs mobile phone usage.

One way to reduce exposure to electromagnetic radiation is just simply by using hands-free mobile cell phone kit to decrease direction radiation exposure to the head.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/06/21/are-you-allergic-to-wireless-internet.aspx?source=nlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/health/03well.html?_r=1&oref=sloginhttp://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/warning-using-a-mobile-phone-while-pregnant-can-seriously-damage-your-baby-830352.htmlhttp://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/mobile-phones-more-dangerous-than-smoking-802602.html

World class transport system?

Taxi fare scheduled to be increase from coming Thursday onwards. Passengers will have to pay for the 30% surcharge per journey. Public transport fare, in particular the bus fare will also be increased soon. It was reported in the press that the Government Parliamentary Committee or the GPC has decide that distance based fare is the way to go.
Each time when the government decides to implements a policy; it will cite examples from other countries for instance in this case Korea to justify its decision and case put forth. It is funny though those countries that do not implement distance based bus fares are not discussed with regards to the bus fare increased due to oil price hike

All in all, it seems the underlying decision is based on profitability. Public transport is meant to be a public service but it seems that since it is run by private entity, the shareholders interest comes first before anything else. To make matter worst, GPC recommend or I should say states that commuters who take direct bus services should pay more. The reason given is preposterous, that direct bus services plying fix direct routes will lead to a loss of revenue for public transport operators. Yes, you read it correctly; public transport operators must operate in the profitable range. Instead GPC recommend rebates for those who transfers or switches between buses or trains for the same distance as oppose to those taking direct routes. There is one fundamental big problem that those in the GPC seems to have forgotten or perhaps not even aware of, that switching between busses or trains to reach the same destination would involve longer time to reach destination. So now it seems that the bus operator profit or loss is more important than commuters time.

Well, the press also states that eventually direct routes and those taking the hub and spoke transport system, a term referring to transfer between bus and train to reach destination will pay the same fare. Pending the finalization and implementation of such system, those who take direct routes will have to pay more. There are also plans to re-route or redirect existing direct routes. I am the kind of guy who has no interest to dwell into any policies or anything that’s go to do with how the nation is run, but this so called reasons for increase in bus fare really put me off. GPC is really out of touch with reality. Here are some of the problems that the hub and spoke system will cause for public commuters.

1)The bus service frequency has been deteriorating. Some times it takes over 30 minutes to wait for the bus. For instance occasionally waiting time for fiddle bus service 911 plying between Woodlands Interchange to Woodlands Street 82 can take as long as 30 minutes or more. Does GPC realize that and with this kind of poor service, do we deserve to call our public transport system a world-class transport system? Does this justify bus fare increase?
Speaking of the long wait or queue for especially buses, may I suggest public commuters bring their PSP, IPOD or whatever gadgets to kill time otherwise they might go crazy over the ridiculous waiting time.

2) Bus or train is usually crowded and there are no seats in sight for you to enjoy what you pay for. Why should we pay more to get our-self sandwich like sardine in a full pack cabin?
3) Have GPC spare thoughts for the elderly and the disabled who are less mobile and would pose much difficulty to switch between trains for buses?
4) Where is the comfort if we have to constantly to switch bus or train to get to our destination?

Lastly what have I to say? I rest my case



.

Innovation and creativity

Some times all it takes is just some sense of humor and little bit of creativity to come out with eye catching or thought provoking advertisement to increase your sales

Attached are some interesting advertisements by Post-It Notes.
Cheers

Visualization And Weight Loss - See The Pounds Drop Away!

Do not underestimate the power of visualization. The surprising fact is that many conditions can be improved by visualization and weight loss is one of them. It works like this: you keep a vision in your mind of how you want your body to look, and subconsciously you will begin acting in a way that will go in that direction. You become much more positive about your body, more accepting of your diet or fitness regime, and you will reach your weight goals more quickly and easily.

Effecting change through visualizing desired outcomes has become more and more acceptable in recent years. Psychologists do not understand exactly how it works but clearly the mind and body are not as separate as we often believe. It seems that if you truly want something it is more likely to happen - provided of course that it is something that is possible, and within your control. Visualization helps us to truly want to lose weight by creating a clear and happy picture of our fitter bodies. Without this we can often put psychological traps in our own path.

Many people who are overweight believe they cannot lose weight. Sometimes you may say it out loud, or hear friends say it about themselves. For other people this belief stays in the subconscious. But it is sure that it influences our behavior. Someone who believes it is impossible for her to lose weight will be constantly battling her own negativity when she is trying to diet. Her mind will be constantly telling her there is no point dieting, she cannot lose weight so she should just go ahead and eat everything she wants. Visualization is the strongest technique that we can use to overcome these negative thoughts and impulses.

If you are plagued by negativity either from your own mind or from the reactions of friends and family to your diet, go ahead and visualize yourself at your desired weight as often as you can. It works on the same level as all those negative voices and can annihilate their influence like nothing else can.
It is important to practice every day - morning and evening if you can. You just need to take a few minutes in a quiet place and keep an image in your mind of your body at its ideal weight. Some people can do this easily, others need some help. If you have a photograph of yourself at your ideal weight in the past, you may find it easier to look at that. Or use a photo from a magazine but cut off the person's face. You need to visualize your own body, but thinner.

You can also visualize from the inside. Close your eyes and let your awareness focus on a part of your body - for example, your right thigh. Imagine it slowly becoming thinner in your mind's eye. Then move to the other thigh, and on through the body. It may help to start at the feet and move up towards the head, or vice versa.

As you go about your work or daily chores, think of yourself as already at your ideal weight. Create your own affirmations and repeat them often, always in the present tense ("I am glad to be flexible, fit and slim", not "I will ..."). Enjoy the feeling of having a positive self-image. Over time, this will help you to keep to your weight loss plan. You will find that fatty foods are less attractive and exercise is more enjoyable.

While your weight loss will of course be gradual, the wonderful thing about visualization is that it gives you a new body image right away. Use visualization and weight loss to make you happier right now, today!

Learn to say ‘no’ without having to actually say it.

What do you do if you have to say no to a request, in particular if it relates to a work assignment given to you by your immediate boss? As much as we’ve been advised to learn to say ‘no’ if necessary, the fact of the matter is that there are people out there who wouldn’t take no for an answer. How do you deal with difficult customers or superiors then under such difficult circumstances, requests that you are unable to commit to?

Throughout my working years, struggling with difficult and sometimes outright ridiculous and unreasonable demands has become part of parcel of life. I have learned an important lesson that there are many ways to say ‘no’ without actually having to say that word out loud. Sometime it is imperative for leader within any organization to try to meet customer request no matter how difficult the situation may be.

Instead of having to deal with saying an outright ‘no’, communicate to the requestor the amount of time that you think you need to get the job done. State a schedule and timeline to produce the required deliverable. Factored in other urgent tasks that needs to be completed or any other important tasks that needs to be reprioritized and impacts to other existing project deliverable timelines. Let your boss or customer decides if the request deliverable timeline is acceptable or not. Chances are that if the request is urgent and you state clearly the estimated timeline to deliver, customer would usually knows that it is a self-implied answer of a ‘no. That beats the hell out of having to say ‘no’ outright.

Melatonin

Most of us experience trouble sleeping once in a while. Lack of sleep may be inconvenient; it’s often temporary though. When occasional sleepless nights turn into a regular occurrence of many nights in a row with interrupted sleep, we might have a sleeping problem.

When we don’t get enough sleep for an extended period of time our tiredness impacts every part of our life. Physically, we might notice a decrease in our productivity and daily activities. Emotionally, we may experience relationship problems or a change in our personality. Mentally, a chronic sleep problem can
create stress and anxiety. There are increasing highway traffic fatal car and coach accidents due to drivers dozing off while on the wheels. Lack of sleep and the desired to earn more money by plying several trips per day puts the passengers and commuters life at risks.

Melatonin (chemically named 5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine) is a naturally occurring hormone in humans. The pineal gland, a tiny organ at the center of our brains, secretes melatonin at night to help our bodies maintain a sleep schedule.
The body’s internal clock that tells us when to sleep and when to wake up is the body’s circadian rhythm. This rhythm is regulated by melatonin. Darkness encourages the pineal gland to release melatonin, while light represses the release of melatonin.

Researchers have found that the pineal gland’s release of, and the production of, melatonin decreases, as we get older. This explains why young people typically have less sleep-related problems than older people.
Scientists have synthesized naturally occurring melatonin, and it is now available over-the-counter as a supplement. No prescription is needed, and the supplement is available in drug and health food stores around the world.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other government agencies do not regulate melatonin. Since it is naturally occurring in some foods, the U.S.
Dietary Supplement & Education Act of 1994 permits it to be available as a dietary supplement.

Melatonin is has proven to be successful when used to treat sleep problems.
Two of the sleep situations most helped by melatonin supplementation are insomnia related to jet lag and delayed sleep-phase disorders.

How much melatonin should you take? Each individual should begin with a small amount of melatonin (about 1 mg), and increase their dosage if needed.
Melatonin comes in pill form and range most commonly from 1 mg to 3 mg.
When should you take melatonin? For maximum effectiveness, take melatonin about a half an hour prior to bedtime.

If you regularly sleep during the nighttime, you should not take melatonin during the day because it can impact your circadian rhythm. The opposite is true if you sleep during the day and work at night. If you want to prevent jet lag when traveling across many time zones, take a dose prior to flying and a second dose 30 minutes before going to bed.
As with any supplement, there are several issues to consider. Although melatonin has been used for a long time without problems or side effects, it is not FDA-approved, and is unregulated by any regulatory agency.
Anything you ingest that is not FDA-approved does not have a seal of approval regarding the supplement’s safety or purity, and the effectiveness of the product cannot be guaranteed. Another concern is the lack of study and information regarding interactions with other medicines.Consult a doctor before taking melatonin if you have diabetes, a depressive disorder, an autoimmune disease, epilepsy, lymphoproliferative disorder, leukemia, or are taking an MAO inhibitor. Adults should use this product only and is not for use by children, teens, or pregnant or breast-feeding women.