March is Sleep Awareness Month, which is meant to educate and motivate you to sleep better. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report more than one third of American adults do not get enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep leads to a lower quality of life and not functioning properly on daily activities.Getting a good night’s sleep can help you perform better and live a healthier life. There are many sleep disorders, such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless legs syndrome, which are treatable once you have been diagnosed. When you don’t sleep enough for a few days, sleep deprivation takes place, which means your body will demand for those hours.

Suffering from sleep deprivation has many negative effects. The negative effects can be impaired judgement, slow reaction time, and an impairment to other functions. Sleep deprivation can also cause memory problems, depression, a weak immune system and it increases stress. If a good sleeping habit is not attained, later in life you could suffer from health issues, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and mental impairments. In order to have a good sleep, it is important to stay active during the day and avoid caffeine 6 hours before bedtime. At night, before bed it is important to sleep in a dark and quiet room, avoid large meals, and to not use electronics an hour before bed.

Having good sleeping habits is vital for a long and healthy life. An adult, 18-60 years of age should have at least seven hours of sleep every night. If you or anyone you know suffers from a sleeping disorder and would like a Second Opinion, visit SecondOpinions.com to help you live a restful, healthier, and happier life.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) affects over 2.5 million people worldwide, women being affected 2-3 times more than men. MS is a serious disease of the central nervous system, that disrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body. In MS the immune system attacks myelin, which is the protective sheath that covers the nerve fibers, which causes the communication problems from the brain to the body. Depending on the amount of nerve cells that have been affected, the symptoms will vary.

This disease follows four courses, clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting MS, Secondary-Progressive MS, and Primary progressive MS. It is important to detect any symptoms so that one can be checked to see if MS is present. The symptoms are many, some of them being:

• Numbness or weakness
• Tingling or pain
• Balance problems
• Double vision or blurred vision
• Slurred speech
• Bladder issues
• Walking difficulty

Unfortunately there is no cure for this disease yet, but there are treatments to help. The treatments available to help manage MS are medications and physical therapy. If you’d like a second opinion, visit SecondOpinions.com to help you and your loved ones have peace of mind.

A baby can be very vulnerable, especially one in the womb. If steps to prevent an infection are not taken, the baby can become seriously affected. There are many infections that can cause serious health problems to babies in the womb, some of them are cytomegalovirus (CMV), Group B Strep, zika, and listeriosis. Some of these infections can lead to miscarriages, life-threatening infections to the newborn, still-birth, and other serious problems such as hearing loss.

About 1 in 200 babies are born with CMV, which is usually passed from the carrier to others through body fluids, such as saliva and urine. The best way for a pregnant woman to prevent CMV is by not sharing food and utensils and avoid contact with infants and young children. Another infection that affects babies is Group B Strep. In the United States 1 in 4 women carry this bacteria. If you’re pregnant it is important to get tested to see if you have Group B Strep. Listeriosis is also a prenatal infection, which is caused by eating contaminated food with a bacteria called Listeria. You can prevent by not eating raw unpasteurized milk, raw or lightly cooked sprouts, among many other types of foods and the ways they are cooked. Zika is a virus that can be passed on to the baby during pregnancy or near time of birth. Zika can be prevented by avoiding mosquito bites, not traveling to where Zika is present, and protect self if you have a partner that has traveled or lives in an area where Zika is present.

If you have been diagnosed with an infection and would like help, visit SecondOpinions.com to see if you are taking the necessary steps to have a healthy baby.

In the United States one in four deaths is caused by heart disease, making it the leading cause of death for both men and women. Anyone, including children could be at risk of heart disease if the heart is not properly taken care of. February is American Heart Month in which the focus is to raise awareness to take care of your health and avoid heart disease.

If you suffer from conditions such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, or if you smoke you could be at risk of suffering from heart disease. In order to avoid heart disease it is important to have healthy habits, such as not smoking or to stop smoking, having a healthy diet, and staying active to keep the heart and blood vessels healthy.

Your heart is important, take care of it. If you or anyone you know suffers from heart disease or any of the conditions mentioned above and would like a Second Opinion to see if the treatment being taken is correct please visit SecondOpinions.com. A second opinion will provide you with further understanding of your diagnosis for your Peace of Mind.