There’s nothing like having a short break during the day were you can put on some daytime television, get cozy and take a short nap. Not only does it give you a nice energy boost but can also make you smarter.

Biphasic sleeping, sleeping in two spurts during a 24 hour day, can refresh your brain making you ready to learn new things and help cognition. Historic artists, musicians and politicians would take naps on a regular basis. For example Leonardo Da Vinci would sleep every 4 hours, also known as polyphasic sleep. Did this help his innovations and ideas?

A study done by the University of California found that naps can dramtically increase brain power;

-Pulling an all nighter can decreasethe ability to cram new facts by 40 percent.

-Sleep is needed to clear the brains short term memory storage.

Some tips from the Sleep Doctor’s Guide to Napping included being awake for at least 8 hours before napping and making ure it is not after 3:30 because then it may affect your ability to go to sleep at night. Get comfortable and of course nap somewhere safe. (I really don’t think anyone would be napping in some shady alley.)                                                                                                          

So just try to find some time to nap. It’d be worth those couple of minutes you have to spare in your busy day.

New reasearch has shown that drinking tea and/or coffee in moderation can lower your risk for heart disease. The study was conducted in the Netherlands and lasted 13 years.

They found that:

• People who drank three to six cups of tea per day had a 45% lower risk of death from heart disease than people who drank less than one cup of tea a day.
• Drinking more than six cups of tea a day was associated with a 36% lower risk of heart disease, compared to drinking less than one cup.
• People who drank more than two, but no more than four, cups of coffee a day had about a 20% lower risk of heart disease than people who drank more or less coffee or no coffee at all.
• Moderate coffee consumption was associated with a slight, but not statistically significant, reduction in death from heart disease, but neither coffee nor tea affected stroke risk.

In another study published the same year, drinking green tea was associated with improved blood vessel function and lower heart disease risk. Daily cups of coffee have been linked to a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease, liver cancer, gallstones and type 2 diabetes. In addition, green tea and white tea have been touted for their health benefits. The maximum recommended amount of coffee is four 8-ounce cups a day, although it depends on the individual in terms of body size, among other factors. Because caffeine has been shown to raise blood pressure, you should limit your intake if you have any blood pressure abnormalities. There is the strong suggestion that the antioxidants in tea — whether it’s black, green or white — have health benefits. Antioxidants can prevent inflammation of the blood vessels, and it has been linked to reduced risk for cancer. In terms of antioxidants, white tea has the most, followed by green tea, black tea and coffee.

Because the health benefits of tea has become more recognized by the public, some manufacturers are putting a small amount of it in a product, then adding ingredients that are bad for you, such as sugar. For instance, a Snapple Green Tea has 46 grams of sugar in it — the equivalent of about 11 sugar cubes. That’s more than twice as much sugar as you get in a Hershey chocolate bar, which as 22 grams of sugar. Just because the label says white tea doesn’t make it a healthy drink.

Scientists are finding that lead poisoning may be the reason to some health problems. About 40 percent of people have toxic amounts of lead in thier bodies and are completely unaware of it. Headaches, insomnia, irritability, constipation and even a low sex drive are just some problems that can occur.

Since lead was removed from house paint and gasoline, levels went down significantly, but there is still lead in our drinking waterand soil. Human bones will also store lead the minute it is introduced into the body. 50 years ago the average blood levels of lead were about 40 micrograms per decileter. The government feels that 10 micrograms and under is safe and not toxic to the body.

A longitudinal study was conducted on about 14,000 adults, whome were part of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Researchers found that a blood level of 2 mircrograms or more increase your chance of heart attack and stroke. In this experiment all other risk factors were controlled such as cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking. Risk of death also increased by 25 percent. High lead may also cause kidney failure.

Lead also has an effect on children that suffer from ADHD, a learning disability, or autism. The greatest dropoff in IQ scores happens to children with levels of lead from 1 to 10 micrograms.

TIPS TO TAKE OUT THE LEAD

1. Find out if you are lead toxic. Go take a blood test that can measure low levels of lead.

2. Leave your shoes outside. Shoes bring in soil and dust, which can carry lead. So just leave them outside.

3. Test your water for lead. You can find a home testing kit at any pharmacy.

4. Get a water filter.

5. Take vitamin C daily. It helps remove the toxins from your body.

6. Take vitamin D3 daily. It stop your bones from releasing toxins into your bloodstream.

Keep these tips in mind and you should have a pretty healthy summer.