1. Increase daytime activity. Newborns often have erratic sleep schedules, causing them to be sleepy throughout the day and be alert at night. To switch their sleep pattern to a more normal one, try to keep them more awake during the day by playing and talking with them. Everyday household noises can also help encourage babies to stay alert during the day. When bedtime rolls around, avoid playtime and other stimulating activities before bed and dim the lights to signal to them that it’s time for bed. Soft, soothing lullabies may also help.
2. Keep an limit on nap times. Getting regular naps are good for your baby, but don’t let them sleep too long, or you will risk having them be wide awake at night. Shorter nap times will help them sleep through the night.
3. Create a bedtime routine.  A steady nighttime routine will help to get your baby’s sleep cycle on the right track. Relaxing activities just before bedtime such as reading, bathing, cuddling and listening to soft music with the lights dimmed, all help to let baby know that it is time to sleep. Constant repeating of these activities each night will help your baby associate this routine with sleep.
4. Put baby to bed while he or she is still awake. One step to creating a bedtime routine requires that you put baby to bed before they fall asleep. You want them to be drowsy, but still awake. Why is this? Well, it helps them link the crib with sleep. Try to avoid letting your baby sleep in your bed, because this will make it harder for them to fall asleep on their own. Most importantly, you will increase the risk for (SIDS) or sudden infant death syndrome if you let your baby sleep with you. Once you put them to bed in their crib, some fussing is to be expected, so allow some time to pass before you come in to check on them. Be as quiet as possible and by all means do not turn on the lights! If they continue to cry for several minutes, try using a pacifier or gently rubbing their back. Your baby’s sleep schedule will probably never match up to yours, so you will need to make adjustments to your schedule if possible. Don’t forget to take care of yourself during this sleep deprived time by grabbing a nap yourself when your little one nods off. Having a baby monitor nearby will reassure you that when the baby wakes up, you will be there to attend to their needs. Good luck!

Depression is a condition that many people feel uncomfortable talking about. Then there is constipation. Hardly anyone wants to even think about that. This said, many people suffer from each of these conditions.

Constipation can be a side effect from numerous antidepressants. Also, people who are not very active tend to experience constipation. Depression can cause one to be less active since it can be hard to get out of bed or off the couch when you are down.

So it seems that your digestive health is tied to your mental health; sort of a mind-body connection.

If you are experiencing digestive problems due to antidepressants it would be wise to talk to your doctor before trying laxatives, stool softeners or some other type of medication for constipation. Some people have found that changing their diet is the answer. Eating less dairy, avoiding gluten, consuming more legumes and drinking water are some things to try.

Treating depression is a job that mostly comes from within. Sometimes the humiliation involving depression and its undesirable side effects can leave you feeling like you yourself are your on your own with this problem. But with your doctor’s help, you should be able to find an answer.

A questionnaire called the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index is currently used to study drinking-related problems among teenagers. In this study, researchers looked at whether the scores predicted anything about a person’s future drinking behavior.

They evaluated 597 Finnish twins at age 18 using a questionnaire. The same people were interviewed when they reached age 25 to assess their alcohol abuse and dependence.

It was found that the people who had drinking-related problems at age 18, such as getting into fights or school problems from alcohol use, were more prone to be diagnosed with alcoholism at age 25. The study was published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Many have heard about the placebo effect, which is the healing power of positive belief. Well, being negative can cause the opposite, called the “nocebo” effect.

Even though negative thinking hasn’t been studied as much as the positive side, scientists believe it is overdue for doctors to begin looking more carefully at their patients outlook.

So, can a somber attitude really have negative effects? To find out, British and German researchers executed the most advanced study so far.

To perform the study, they attached a heat-beaming device to the legs of 22 healthy volunteers. Then they zapped it until the participants rated their pain at around 70 on a scale of 1 to 100.

Afterwards, the researchers gave them an IV of a strong morphine-like painkiller called remifentanil. It is usually used on patients undergoing surgery and it works quickly. It is also metabolized quickly. The researchers were able to switch it on and off as they alternated between administering the drug or plain fluid.

The brains of the volunteers were scanned while they described how much pain or pain relief they felt at various times.

While the researchers triggered the burn and secretly turned on the drug, the participants related that their pain improved quite a bit. Without expectations, the painkiller was working.

The real key was when the researchers told the volunteers that they were about to induce the painkiller even when they had never cut it off. These pain ratings decreased even more. So what does this mean? Expectations of feeling relief were actually doubled the drug’s painkilling effect.

Lastly, the volunteers were lied to again and told that the drug was going to stop and their pain would most likely increase.

As predicted, the volunteers’ pain levels surged up again to almost their pre-treated level as dreadful anticipation canceled out the painkiller’s effect.

Precancerous lesions of the cervix and cervical cancer are caused by the high risk strains of the virus. The low-risk strains can cause anogenital warts and juvenile respiratory papillomatosis.

There are currently two vaccines that protect against HPV. Gardisil protects agains four types of HPV and is approved for females ages 9-26. These four strains are the culprits behind 75 percent of all cervical cancer cases and 90 percent of genital warts cases. It is also approved for the prevention of genital warts in males.

Cervarix is the other vaccine and it protects against two strains of HPV. It is approved for the prevention of cervical cancer in female patients.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that girls get immunized for cervical caner around age 11 or 12. Even though this seems very young, studies have shown that HPV is a problem for 25 percent of girls ages 14-19 years old. Early vaccination is important to acquire the most protection.

HPV vaccines are safe according to the FDA. Gardasil has been linked to fainting within 15 minutes after an injection, but fainting has also occurred after blood is drawn or other injections have been given to this age group, so it may not be specific only to Gardasil. For more information you can go to www.cdc.gov or make an appointment to see your child’s healthcare provider.

Although the clinical trial is about to begin, the anti-viral drug, Peramivir, was given an emergency O.K. towards the end of October by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for hospitalized patients who are unable to take approved flu drugs like Tamiflu and Relenza.

Even if they don’t won’t to take part in the clinical trial, patients at UNC Hospitals will be able to get the new drug if they need it. Dr. Christopher Hurt, an infectious disease doctor and the site’s principal investigator, says that there will only be around six patients enrolled in the trial.

The drug, Peramivir, which was created by BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, is nearing government approval in Japan and has been through two sets of clinical trials in the United States.

Robert Bennett, executive director of business development and investor relations for BioCryst, says Peramivir works on the same principal as Tamiflu and Relenza by blocking an enzyme in flu viruses allowing it to multiply and spread. Because it is delivered in an intravenous drip, it is only being developed for hospital settings. Tamiflu comes as a pill and Relenza comes in the form of a nasal spray and both are available to patients through pharmacies as prescription drugs.

Dr. Christopher Hurt claims that the main advantage of Peramivir is when there are serious situations when the patient is too sick to swallow pills or is on a respirator and can’t inhale a drug. Also, he said, an intravenous method usually enters the bloodstream faster.

A rougher estimate claims that an astounding 90 percent of black children and 80 percent of Hispanic kids in that age range could be deficient in vitamin D. Lead author of the new analysis and a researcher at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital in Boston, Dr. Jonathan Mansbach, says these percentages are a definite call for action.

These current findings build on the already existing mountain of evidence concerning vitamin D deficiency in children, teens and adults. The latest studies indicate that vitamin D could even prevent dangerous diseases like diabetes and some cancers.

It is still not known if low levels of vitamin D can lead to disease or if higher levels can prevent it. This is still a developing sector of research. Doctors are different in their suggestions on this subject and most are anticipating guidance from the Institute of Medicine report on vitamin D that is due sometime next year. This institute is a government advisory group that sets dietary standards.

This new analysis is the earliest assessment of different vitamin D levels in children ranging in age from 1 to 11. It was released online October 26 by the journal of Pediatrics. Earlier studies in the journal this year discovered that low levels were widespread in U.S. teens and revealed that kids with scant levels had elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels and were often overweight. Data for this analysis was taken from a 2001-06 government health survey of almost 3,000 children who had blood tests which measured vitamin D levels.

Going by the American Academy of Pediatrics’ cutoff for healthy vitamin D levels, it was found that 64 million children – about 20 percent of kids that age – have blood levels of vitamin D that are too low. The most compelling evidence about the effects of low levels of vitamin D, taken from a Pediatrics editorial, reveals that rickets can occur. This is a bone disease that was common around 100 years ago and sometimes still happens. The good news, according to the editorial, is that rickets can be treated and prevented with 400 units each day of vitamin D.

Children can get 400 units of vitamin D daily by drinking four cups of fortified milk or eating plenty of fish. The problem is that most children don’t do this. Also, the body makes it’s own vitamin D by being outdoors, but we all know that too many children are not spending enough time outdoors. This is one explanation for why low vitamin D levels are found in children living in colder areas and also in children with darker skin, which does not absorb as much sunlight as lighter skin.

By mid-October, around 50 million doses of vaccine are predicted to be available. That will only begin the vaccination process for those who get their first doses right away. The whole process will take approximately five or more weeks.

Why is this? Well, health officials think that most people will need two shots, which will be spaced three weeks apart, and it will take a week or so after the second dose before the immunity will kick in. That makes five or six weeks for the whole course of action.

This said, massive amounts of Americans will not be completely immunized until Thanksgiving, claims the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

For the most part, the swine flu has ended up being not much more threatening than the seasonal flu. Government experts believe that it might soon develop into an additional variety of the flu, and even be added to the seasonal flu calendar – with vaccinations in the fall and suffered from in the winter.

When you exercise, your body sweats to keep you from overheating, but if the salts, fluids and electrolytes are not replaced, the body cannot cool itself. This can lead to cramps, dehydration or heat exhaustion. If this happens, your symptoms may include cool, moist skin, a fast but weak pulse, and quick, shallow breathing. If heat exhaustion is not treated, it can lead to heatstroke, which is a life-threatening condition that needs immediate medical care.

When you are working out, don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink water. According to experts, you should drink about 7 to 10 ounces of water every 10 to 20 minutes when you exercise for less than an hour. Consider drinking a sports drink if your workout lasts longer. Sports drinks are designed to not only keep you hydrated but to help you maintain your blood’s electrolyte balance and give your working muscles fuel. The Journal of Physiology has found that high-carb sports drinks might even make your workout better.

 Athletes performed better on stationary bikes after they rinsed with a high-carb drink than they did after they drank saccharin-flavored water according to  researchers at the University of Birmingham in England. Carbohydrates in the sport drinks are believed to be what made the difference. These carbohydrates make contact with the receptors in the mouth, which may send signals to the brain to improve exercise performance.

The researchers were able to identify the regions of the brain that the sports drinks activated by using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The scans indicate that the drinks trigger areas that help control pleasure and motor control. Our brain sees this exercise as less intense, so we can work harder. Artificially sweetened drinks not have the same positive effect.

Try different sport drinks to find the best one for you. Some people use water to weaken the taste or decrease the carbohydrate intake, which will help reduce calories. Remember to hydrate before, during and after your workout.