Sleep is one important part of our daily activity to give our body rest and rejuvenate for further action. Our body needs definite hours of rest in form of sleep for healthy functioning. The metabolism and hormone regulation of our body are integrally correlated. Any change in physical activity or habit results in change in the whole body mechanism. This article gives an idea how inadequate sleep can cause an imbalance in the insulin activity and in turn can affect the glucose metabolism. There have been ongoing researches and studies to understand various processes in the body and those researches have revealed interesting facts. Now researchers opine sleeplessness bears potential risk of developing resistance towards insulin metabolism in the body and makes prone to type 2 Diabetes.

To support the hypothesis a study was performed by selecting 9 healthy subjects. The subjects were tested for the insulin activity in their body and the outcome was recorded. This measurement was done in two stages. First the subjects were tested for the insulin sensitivity one after a normal eight hours sleep and then the same test was performed after a four hours of short  sleep in the same subjects. He results were recorded and compared subsequently. The findings and data indicated the sensitivity of insulin was found to be dependent on duration of sleep in the previous night quoted Dr. Esther Donga of Leiden University medical Centre in the Netherlands. In a news Release from the Endocrine Society Dr. Donga said that speculation of the adverse effects sleepless nights over insulin activity is quite appealing. He added multiple sleepless nights can have considerable bad outcome over the glucose tolerance. Even one sleepless night can also product effects on metabolism of insulin in a person.

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology published this piece of work in the June issue.

It is observed in the past decade that western societies that people have shortened sleep duration resulting in insulin resistance as pr Dr. Donga. She said simultaneous occurrence of sleeplessness and diabetes may not be just by chance. She also added short duration of sleep has considerable effect on metabolic activity of insulin than comprehended earlier.

She stressed on the provision of further research to establish link between enhanced sleep by medication and balance of glucose levels in diabetic population. No doubt if this has been established, further research can open doors for prevention of complex health issues arising from diabetes by controlling the disease.

HIV /AIDS have evolved as a serious threat to human kind in a form of epidemic worldwide. Be it a developing or developed nation this has become a serious concern for the government and nongovernment agencies to control the spread of AIDS as there is no vaccine available for this syndrome. In this context research and statistics show that HPV affected men are at greater risk to get infected with HIV.

A study was performed on 2,168 men who do not have circumcision and in the age range of 18 to 24 was performed in Kenya. At the beginning of the men were examined for HPV. The men were sexually active without AIDS and were monitored for 24 months. Majority of them were under supervision for next 42 months.

The study revealed around 50 % of the population had developed HPV infection on their penis skin counting to 1,089.  About 5.8 % of these HPV infected men were found to be HIV positive at the end of 42 months in comparison to 3.7 percent of population who were not HPV infected.
The Journal of Infectious diseases published the outcomes of this study in the June 1 print issue and prior to this the results were out on internet on April 23.

A news released quoted the lead  author of this study Jennifer S Smith expressing  that though the controlled study was carried for several factors like circumcision and other infected cases like herpes including the consideration for social and demographic factors, those with HPV infection were found to be at maximum risk of acquiring HIV. Jennifer worked as a research associate professor of epidemiology in the Gillings school of Global Public Health at University of North Carolina. Adding to this she said if this finding is supported by other studies then the outcome would prove to be instrumental in prevention and control of HIV.

Smith told, though the absence of a vaccination for HIV is the major hurdle in the path to control AIDS, if the link between HPV infection and acquiring HIV infection could be established, then it would be another step towards taking a preventive measure for this pandemic as a vaccine for specific types of HPV is available. Making a provision for vaccinating young population before they active in sexual life could be one potential step for control of HPV and in turn a control measure for AIDS by preventing the spread of HIV.

There are so many moms who do not get time to go to the gym and work out. They tend to grow bulky even after giving birth to a child. While giving birth moms gain weight and instead of losing that weight, they gain more weight for the lack of exercise. They do not get time for exercising as they remain so busy taking care of the babies. But it is also a fact that regular exercise can give them more energy and make them livelier.

If moms cannot go out of home to exercise then you should try at home workouts. It will save you the time and energy of going to gym and coming back and all that. Stay at home. Just spend a few minutes and do the exercise.

The exercises that busy moms choose must be quick and effective enough to burn the calories. You will have to choose an exercise that will last for 10 minutes and that will burn enough calories for you to stay fit. There are a few effective 10 minute work outs that you might try and trust me when I say that you will love those. These exercises focus on every single part of the body and give you a full workout. You could find that 10 minutes slot while your baby is asleep or taking a nap. You could also ask your spouse to look after the kids for 10 minutes and do it. Buy the DVD and play it. Follow the instructions and complete the exercise.

If you can spare yourself for 30 minutes then go for a treadmill machine and sprint for 20 minutes. You might also take your children for a walk. This is helpful because, your baby will have fresh air and you get to do the exercise. If you walk, make it a 45 minutes session. And walk at a pace that elevates your heart rate.

No matter how busy a mom you are, you can manage 10 minutes to exercise. Continue with the exercise and once you see it’s effective, on ahead and add a few more minutes to your exercising time.

Diabetes, a very common disease in our urban lifestyle. Day by day its intensity is getting higher. So it’s various types also. Today I am going to discuss about the Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) or the diabetes occurring during pregnancy. No previous history of diabetes; identified for the first time during pregnancy (may be she was suffering before silently) – these situations of diabetes may be defined as diabetes during pregnancy or GDM. This can happen any pregnant mother. But the following cases are very liable to GDM:

- Genetical involvement: strong family history of diabetes mellitus involving parents, siblings or any other first line relatives.

- Excessive body weight: you know, weight gain is universally the mother of all diseases.

- Previous history of giving birth to a baby weighing 4kg or more.

- Previous history of fetal death in the uterus or death of current fetus inside the uterus.

- Previous history of  repeated abortions.

- Previous history of GDM.

Every pregnant mother should undergo screening test. What is this?-it is the testing procedure to identify who are going to be a sufferer of GDM. Every mother is advised to undergo a test at the pregnancy age of 24-28 weeks. She is given 50gms of glucose diluted with water orally.

Then after 1 hour blood glucose level is tested. If the level is found 7.8mmol/litre or more, then it is suspected that this mother has a chance to be attacked by GDM. To confirm, whether she is now a diagnosed patient of GDM or not, Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) is advised; it is a developed method to identify GDM patients.

It is very important to diagnose GDM early. Because the late diagnosis and treatment can cause a massive harm to mother and the baby inside the uterus. If any how mother is safe, but the baby cannot escape its various sufferings very often- Multiple congenital anomalies, abortion of the fetus, delivery of excess weight baby, death of the baby inside the uterus, respiratory distress just after birth, decrease of blood glucose level of the body, very high jaundice just after birth etc. are the common examples.

Again if a mother is diagnosed patient of GDM and she never controls it properly, may suffer repeated abortions, high blood pressure, convulsion, fluid accumulation around the abdomen, delivery of the baby before the Expected Date of Delivery (EDD) which causes the birth of a “low birth weight baby”.

That’s why every expecting mother should undergo GDM screening test. If diabetes is diagnosed then go to a diabetic specialist to control it. Thus the mother will be able to bypass the complications and simultaneously she can save her coming baby also from any danger.