Rest Easy: Tips for a Better Night's Sleep

Getting enough sleep is important for your health, mood, and overall brain function. Sleep is also the time that our brains use to repair our bodies systems. Everything from blood vessels to the immune system uses sleep as a time for repair.

While many of us have heard that we all need 8 hours of sleep, the amount actually varies depending on your age. School-age children should strive to get around 9 hours of sleep, teens should aim for 8-10 while most adults should try to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night. It is also a common myth that we can “catch up” on sleep. While staying up late once in a while is fine, but making it a habit to try and fit a weeks’ worth of sleep into your weekend isn’t healthy.

Want to get a better night’s sleep? Try the some of the following:

• Stick to a sleep schedule

  • Go to bed and wake up at the same time, even on weekends or days off

• Get some exercise during the day

  • Exercise can help burn off extra energy and help tire you out at night but exercising close to bedtime can make you feel too energized. Try first thing in the morning or in the afternoon.

• Get outside

  • Try and get at least 30 minutes of natural sunlight a day. This can help you regulate your sleep/wake cycle

• Avoid nicotine and caffeine

  • Both nicotine and caffeine are stimulants that keep you awake. Caffeine can take 6-8 hours to wear off. If you are going to drink a caffeinated beverage, try to only have it in the morning.

• Don’t take naps mid-afternoon

  • Naps too close to bedtime or too long during the day can interrupt your sleeping at night.

• Avoid alcohol and large meals before bedtime

  • These items can both prevent deep restorative sleep

• Limit electronics before bedtime

  • The blue light from electronic devices like your phone can actually make you feel more awake. Try listening to music or reading a book before heading to bed instead.

• Create a good sleeping environment

  • Keep the room cool, dark and free from sounds. Try using blackout curtains, silencing your phone, or getting a white noise machine to help block out noises from neighbors or people in other rooms.

• See your healthcare provider if nothing you try helps

  • Falling asleep and staying asleep should be natural. If you are struggling even after trying some of these tips it may be a good idea to talk to your doctor. They may be able to determine the cause or determine if you need testing for things like insomnia or sleep apnea.

Megan Winkelmann has been a Community Health Educator with the Jefferson County Health Department for just over two years. She attended Truman State University earning a bachelor’s degree in Health Science with a minor in Biology. While working for JCHD she attended A.T. Still University to earn her master’s degree in Public Health. Megan was born and raised in Jefferson County and enjoys creating programs that encourage healthy habits in the place she was raised. Megan likes to spend her free in time in the presence of family and friends.

MCH Publicity Statement: This project is/was funded in part by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Maternal and Child Health Services Contract #AOC18380095, and is/was supported by the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant #B04MC30623, Maternal and Child Health Services for $12,107,084, of which $0 is from non-governmental sources.  This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government

World Tuberculosis Day: March 24th

World Tuberculosis Day is observed on March 24th each year to commemorate the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes Tuberculosis (TB). Back then, TB killed one out of every seven people living in the United States and Europe. And while diagnosis and treatment have come a long way since the 1800’s, TB is still very much an issue in today’s world. World TB Day is all about bringing awareness to the devastating disease and promoting efforts to end the worldwide TB epidemic.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States reported 7,882 TB cases and an incidence rate of 2.4 cases per 100,000 persons in 2021. Around the world, TB incidence is much higher, and in many developing countries, TB is much deadlier as well. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that a total of 1.6 million people died from TB in 2021.

TB bacteria usually attacks the lungs, but it can also attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. Symptoms of TB disease depend on where in the body the TB bacteria are growing.

When TB bacteria grow in the lungs (pulmonary TB) symptoms may include:

• A bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer

• Pain in the chest

• Coughing up blood or sputum (phlegm from deep inside the lungs)

• Other flu-like symptoms such as chills, fever, night sweats, appetite loss

Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease. Latent TB infection occurs when the TB bacteria lives in the body without making a person sick. People with latent TB infection may have a positive TB skin test reaction or a positive TB blood test but cannot spread the TB bacteria to others. Though one may not necessarily feel sick, treatment for LTBI is still extremely important in order to prevent LTBI from progressing to TB disease.

People with TB disease are sick from TB germs that are active, meaning that they are multiplying and destroying tissue in their body. TB bacteria become active if the immune system can’t stop them from growing. Some people develop TB disease soon after becoming infected (within weeks) before their immune system can fight the TB bacteria. Other people may get sick years later, when their immune system becomes weak for another reason. People with TB disease of the lungs or throat can spread germs to others. Thankfully, TB is a treatable and curable disease, but it may be fatal if not treated properly.

There are two types of tests for TB infection: the TB skin test and the TB blood test. Do you think you may have had contact with a person diagnosed with active TB disease? Call your local health department to schedule either type of TB test. Testing should occur as soon as possible after exposure. JCHD can also answer any questions you may have about TB, TB testing, or possible TB disease exposure.

JCHD works with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to coordinate case management for those diagnosed with Active TB disease and LTBI.

Help us spread awareness this March 24th and join the fight to end TB!

Eat More and Move More for Heart Health

Often times when we think about improving our eating habits we immediately focus on the choices we know we should be cutting back on. Instead, I encourage you to focus on the positive choices you are making and how to build upon these. Below are a few things we can include more of to benefit our heart health.

• Try a new source of unsaturated fats

  • Fat is a necessary component of our diet- it is a source of energy and helps in the absorption of vitamins and minerals. Sources of the unsaturated fats that we want to focus on consuming include nuts and nut butters, seeds, vegetable oils such as canola or olive oil and certain types of fish such as salmon, trout, oysters and sardines. If you have a good routine of including fish in your meals, challenge yourself to try a new variety (sardines are supposed to go great on pizza!). If you find yourself grabbing for pretzels or chips as an evening snack, swap these out for some pistachios or any other nut variety a couple days per week.

• Aim for 150 minutes of movement per week

  • Guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate activity such as brisk walking per week as well as two days of strength training. These 150 minutes of moderate activity can be swapped for 75 minutes of vigorous activity such as jogging weekly. Do these numbers sound overwhelming? Start with a small goal and once you are confident in achieving that, slowly add in more activity working towards those bigger numbers. Start with 10 minutes at a time at whatever capacity you are able- some exercises from a chair could include seated marching, leg extensions, or overhead presses with light objects around your home.

• Eat more of your favorite high fiber foods

  • Most of us should be aiming for somewhere around 25-35g of fiber per day. This can be tough to reach; keeping a journal to identify your starting point can be useful information. One of the best sources of fiber is dried beans such as black beans or garbanzo beans (also knows as chickpeas and what hummus is made out of). Try sprinkling some beans into your salad or replacing some of the meat in a recipe with beans to up the fiber content. Fruits that contain seeds or a peel tend to be the options highest in fiber (raspberries have about 8g per cup) so be sure to eat the skin or peel on your produce after washing! If cereal is a go-to breakfast option in your house, spend a few minutes the next time you are grocery shopping to compare labels and choose an option that contains more fiber such as a shredded wheat.

If you are interested in discussing your specific nutrition concerns, please reach out to our Registered Dietitian at: 636-797-3737 x 124