Wish you All, a Peaceful, Prosperous & Healthy 2014!!  Thank you for following my blog for a year.  Do share the blog with your friends and family members.

We’re starting this year by talking about sleep deprivation and body weight.  Never thought that the two would be connected, right?  More and more studies on sleep are telling us that the lack of it can cause a host of health problems including weight gain.

Lack of adequate sleep can disrupt the hunger hormones (ghrelin & leptin), increase food cravings, reduce energy expenditure and favour fat storage in the body.  This is a great formula for weight gain and associated problems. 

Lack of adequate sleep can also affect us mentally – increase irritability, reduce the ability to concentrate, affect mood, etc.

Ensure that you get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep at night.  If you cannot manage it at a stretch, take a short nap during the day to give your mind and body sufficient rest.

Do you find it difficult to concentrate on your work?  There are several reasons why we cannot concentrate.  Find out what’s behind your lack of concentration and rectify it.

1. Skipping meals.  If we don’t eat our meals on time and regularly, there is reduced blood glucose available for the body and brain which in turn reduces concentration power.
2. Constant interruptions by social media messages.  This can disrupt your flow of thought during work.
3. Email overload.  If your inbox is crowded with different kinds of emails, and is constantly receiving new emails, it can distract you from your work because the curiosity to know what’s in the email can turn your attention away from what you’re supposed to be doing.
4. Boredom.  If you’re bored of what you’re doing, concentration slips away after sometime.
5. Stress.  Too many things to handle, nagging thoughts, family worries, etc can cause stress and reduce concentration to a great extent.
6. Depression.  Lack of concentration is one of the symptoms of depression.
7. Lack of sleep.  If you’re sleep deprived, your concentration level dips.

To resolve the problem of concentration, eat healthy, eat regularly, divide your time between personal, family and professional work, disconnect / turn off your computer for a few hours in every 24 hours, switch off your cellphone for a few hours at night to sleep better, develop hobbies, take micro-breaks between your work, use deep breathing or meditation to relax.  If nothing works to improve your concentration, seek help from a qualified counsellor.