3 Health Markers that Can Predict Your Risk for Heart Disease & Arthritis

How To Watch These Health Biomarkers To Improve Your Health

Solution 1: Proper Sleep

Sleep deprivation, chronic insomnia and other types of sleep disorders interfere with the normal working of the body. Sleeping for shorter hours than required especially affects the endocrine system.

Melatonin, the neurohormone that contributes to the sleep-wake cycle is only one of the hormones affected by sleep deprivation. More importantly, sleep deprivation affects the normal secretion of human growth hormone (HGH).

HGH is released from the pituitary gland during sleep and also sometimes while exercising.

Sleep deprivation reduces the amount of HGH released. Therefore, sleep disorders can affect growth especially in young people.

Other negative effects of sleep deprivation include:

• Weakened immune system
• Impaired memory, fatigue and loss of mental focus during the day

Sleep deprivation can also increase the consumption of sugary foods and stimulants such as coffee as people try to stay awake during working hours. Therefore, sleep disorders can cause weight gain, pre-diabetes and anxiety disorders.

As sleep disorders turn to chronic insomnia, the risks of serious diseases such as cancers and heart disease increase.

Instead of downing sedatives, some natural non-medication ways to sleep well include:

• Turning out the lights when going to bed; this include avoiding artificial light from computers and televisions an hour before going to bed
• Sleeping in a cool, quiet room; the ideal temperature range for sleeping is 60 – 68 degrees Fahrenheit
• Avoiding loud alarm clocks that pull you suddenly out of sleep; waking naturally allows your body to exit sleep at the right stage

Solution 2: Lifestyle Changes

Stress, sleep deprivation and even chronic inflammation can be reversed by lifestyle modifications.

For example, high intensity short exercises can lead to increased secretion of HGH and this can help your body heal itself.

High blood pressure and insulin resistance are the two increasingly common factors that contribute to chronic diseases as we age, and both of them are related. However, most people can lower their high blood pressures and increase insulin sensitivity simply by changing what they eat and exercising more.

[box type="note"]Besides avoiding high caloric foods, sugars and exercising regularly, increasing the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in your diet can help reverse chronic inflammation.[/box]

Solution 3: Fasting

Fasting represents an effective way to allow the body to consume any excess glucose and burn excess calories.

Instead of eating 3 square meals plus snacks followed by a sedentary life, regular, intermittent fasting can do about as much as exercise in normalizing insulin sensitivity and reducing the production of toxins and stress hormones in the body.

Skipping a meal during the day is a form of fasting. For those who cannot do this, eating less foods but more of fruits and vegetables instead of whole grains and carbohydrates can help the body burn fat and drive more blood glucose into the cells.

Different studies have shown the benefits of these short, regular fasts. These studies have identified that fasting slows down aging, prolongs lifespan and lowers the risks of chronic diseases.

[box type="note"]Fasting allows the body to use up the excess calories we give it. It also speeds up metabolism by affording the body more efficient ways to process the next meal.[/box]