Nightware’s app uses a proprietary algorithm to generate a personalized sleep profile for each user to detect a nightmare by recording when the biometric data breaks from the norm. (Getty Images)
The FDA has cleared an app for the Apple Watch to help people suffering from nightmares or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) get a better night’s sleep.
Dubbed Nightware, the prescription app monitors the wearer’s heart rate and movement while they sleep—and, if they’re having a nightmare, gently prods them out of the dream without aiming to wake them up completely, using the smartwatch’s vibrations.
The agency designated the app a breakthrough device in May 2019 for its promise to help adults with PTSD, and it has now granted the program a de novo clearance.
A randomized clinical trial showed that the ability to intervene in a nightmare led to improvements in sleep scores after 30 days, when compared to a sham device that provided no vibrations, according to the FDA.
“Sleep is an essential part of a person’s daily routine. However, certain adults who have a nightmare disorder or who experience nightmares from PTSD are not able to get the rest they need,” said Carlos Pena, director of the FDA’s Office of Neurological and Physical Medicine Devices. “Today’s authorization offers a new, low-risk treatment option that uses digital technology in an effort to provide temporary relief from sleep disturbance related to nightmares.”
The program uses a proprietary algorithm to generate a personalized sleep profile for each user to detect when they are having a nightmare by recording when the biometric data breaks from the norm.
Nightware estimates that nearly 5 million people in the U.S. suffer from nightmare disorders related to PTSD. The app is not meant to act as a standalone therapy for PTSD, and it should be used alongside any prescribed medications and other therapies.
From about eight weeks old, Angie Kent couldn’t have breast milk. As she grew older, she realised lactose products were “ruining her whole day”, so she listened to her body and made adjustments.
There are so many lactose-free dairy options out there now. But when Angie Kent was growing up, not so much. There wasn’t even much information about lactose intolerance, which she now realises was the reason she couldn’t take breast milk after about the age of eight weeks and why, after noticing how eating regular dairy products brought on discomfort and pain, she made a “conscious effort” to research her symptoms and seek medical advice.
Body+Soul: You’ve spoken often about your journey with being a coeliac, but not of your lactose intolerance – why is that?
Angie Kent: Coeliac disease can be a life-threatening disease for many people and I felt it was important to bring attention to how serious this intolerance is. By comparison, for most people, lactose intolerance symptoms can often be managed.
How does drinking/eating lactose make you feel? What are the major symptoms for you?
Eating and drinking lactose gives me overall discomfort. I feel as if my digestive issues have the power to ruin my whole day. I don’t feel my best, and I don’t feel like I can be relaxed or active due to my physical pain from bloating, toilet troubles, and skin breakouts.
When did you first learn of your intolerance, and how did you get diagnosed?
I was a colicky baby and was not able to have breast milk from eight weeks old. As a child, there wasn’t much education around being lactose intolerant and as I got older I could no longer deal with the pain and needed to do something about it.
I started noticing a pattern after eating dairy and experiencing consistent symptoms, so I made a conscious effort to listen to my body, researched my symptoms, and learnt more about lactose intolerance, and then sought medical professional advice.
How did avoiding lactose affect your social life/general diet/ability to eat what you wanted/mood?
I find catering to my dietary restrictions these days is much easier with the increased number of alternative milk and lactose-free options, as well as the amazing vegan products that are now on the market.
Being lactose intolerant has just made me more conscious of what I am putting in my body, but I don’t feel like I have to make major sacrifices in my life.
How has knowing about your intolerance improved or changed your general wellbeing?
My overall well-being improved when I got a handle on my symptoms and felt more myself again. I certainly know when something my body doesn’t agree with has snuck into my food, because all hell breaks loose with all different types of symptoms. I’m a sensitive soul.
What is the worst thing possible for you to eat/drink for your lactose intolerance?
I don’t consume any dairy milk, yoghurts or creams because of my intolerances but I am a sucker for cheeses! With so many lactose-free dairy products out there, I can now enjoy lactose-free cheese without all the stress on my body physically and mentally. If you’re feeding your gut something it can’t process or handle, your mental health suffers too. It’s important to know your gut is your second brain. Why do you think people say ‘trust your gut’ so often?!
What non-dairy and dairy alternatives are you able to eat with your lactose intolerance?
So many dairy products have lactose free options nowadays that I don’t necessarily have to seek dairy alternatives, my favourite brand is Liddells. But knowing that most coffee shops always have a range of reliable dairy-free alternatives always makes things really easy for me.
What does your average day on a plate look like now?
I am mainly veggie-based so I will make myself a smoothie in the morning with my herbs, supplements powders, dairy-free yoghurt, bananas, blueberries, and almond milk.
For lunch I try to have a salad with lots of greens and maybe some kind of seafood. Dinner I love to make myself a veggie dish or fish curry! The options are endless.
For snacks, I can now snack on some lactose-free cheese singles, avocado, and tomato with rice crackers. I am mad about it! Plus lots and lots of herbal teas.
Native American Heritage Day dates back to 2008 when President George W. Bush signed the day of observance into law. The Native American Heritage Day Bill encourages Americans of all backgrounds to observe the Friday after Thanksgiving as Native American Heritage Day, through appropriate ceremonies and activities. It also encourages public elementary and secondary schools to enhance student understanding of Native Americans by providing classroom instructions focusing on their history, achievements, and contributions.
I am proud of my Cherokee Indian heritage and know my ancestors paid a heavy price for my freedoms today.
Photo by Gabriela Custu00f3dio da Silva on Pexels.com
It’s the weekend!!!!!! I’m so glad you’ve joined me. I’m going with Rock music icon, Steve Winwood this weekend. I have great memories of seeing him in concert at an outdoor arena. My girlfriend and I danced down to the front row to get a good look at Steve, we had a blast.
What is your favorite music?
In health,
Melinda
Welcome back to Weekend Music Share; the place where everyone can share their favorite music.
Feel free to use the ‘Weekend Music Share‘ banner in your post, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #WeekendMusicShare on social media so other participants can find your post.
Hi Everyone, It’s Friday! So glad you stopped by today. I hope you have a great weekend. Stay safe. It’s hard right now but we have to live in our family bubbles so we can get past this virus.
Today is Thanksgiving in America which is the celebration of a harvest festival by the Pilgrims in 1621. It’s an annual holiday marked by religious observances and a traditional meal that includes turkey. Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in November.
Growing up my granny would make a huge meal of ham, no turkey, potato salad, sweet potatoes, green beans, salads, rolls, and several desserts which always included a pecan pie and homemade chocolate fudge.
When I was younger I had friends who didn’t have family nearby and she would let me invite them over for dinner. It became my thing, always bringing someone along for the Thanksgiving meal. What better way to give thanks for our friends.
I would say grace and then we would start passing the food around the table. Like all families, we had our differences but most holidays we could put this aside and focus on the reason we were getting together.
This year it will be just the two of us and that is fine. What’s most important is taking care of our health and those around us. I’m not making a large meal but we are having ham and sweet potatoes, rolls, and an assortment of desserts. We’re not big on turkey unless fried.
I have so much to be thankful for and now more than ever I work hard to keep those blessings on the front of my mind.
I’m thankful for the support you have given me over the years. I enjoy our communications and appreciate your feedback. We’ve learned a lot this year and we have so much to be thankful for.
Choosing between repairing and replacing a car can be a challenge. Without the skills to assess your car like a mechanic, many people feel as though they can’t figure out whether or not they’ll end up paying more to repair or replace their motor. Some car issues are big, while others are small, but it can be very hard to tell exactly how much a repair will cost until you have it done. To help you out with this, this post will be exploring some of the considerations you need to make as you go through this process. This should make it much easier to figure out if your car needs to be repaired for replacement.
What’s The Problem?
Before going too deeply into this, it’s always worth figuring out what the problem your facing actually is. This can be tricky when you don’t know much about cars, but you can usually use sound and the resources found on the web to give you a good idea. If your car is making a strange noise, you can search for this on Google, looking for potential causes of the issue.
Once you’ve done this, you can begin to look at the potential costs to get the issue fixed. There are loads of garages around the web that will happily discuss their pricing openly, giving you valuable insight into the price that you will have to pay. This isn’t always a sure way to find out how much something will cost, though, as each car job is different, and it can be hard for a garage to say what the issue might be when they first look at your car.
Alongside this, you could also consider the option of talking to people on sites like Reddit. Message boards like this are packed with users who are willing to spend their time to help others, even if they don’t get anything out of it. Describing your issue in detail with photos and videos will be essential, but this can give you a clear idea of the price of your repairs without having to go to a garage.
Potential Future Issues
Along with looking at the current issue with your car, it can also be worth thinking about future issues that could come about as a result. For example, replacing brake pads will fix issues with stopping, but you may still need to change your disks after a couple more months of driving. It can be hard to predict issues like this, making it worth asking those who are in the know to make sure that you aren’t going down the wrong path.
If an issue is likely to develop in the future no matter what repairs you make, it could be worth looking at replacing your car. Vehicles can get into a state where they hardly leave the garage, giving you loads of issues to deal with while also costing a small fortune. If this is the case, you will almost always save money by looking for a new motor.
Can You Fix It Yourself?
Being able to fix a car problem for yourself can drastically reduce the costs, with the fees that garages charge consisting largely of labor costs. This often makes it worth DIYing your car problems, but you have to make sure that you can both get your hands on the parts and handle the repair before you choose this option.
Finding the parts you need will be the most challenging part of this. eBay and Amazon can be a good place to start, though you may need to look for specialized stores to get your hands on things like wheel and tyre packages that will work for your car. Alongside this, it can also be a good idea to watch some YouTube videos of the repair you need to make before buying anything. This will give you a good idea as to whether or not you can do it, while also showing you the tools and parts you will need for it.
Choosing the DIY route can be a good idea when you are trying to save money, but it can also be very difficult. You need to make sure that you are confident in your ability to handle the repair before you get started, or you could easily find yourself without a car until you can get professional help. Tools can be expensive, making any job that requires specialist tools one for the garage.
The Value of Your Car
Finally, as the last area to think about, it’s time to consider the value of your car. If a repair is going to cost more than this, there will be little reason to look much further, and you may as well start hunting for a new car. But how exactly can you figure out the value of your car without having to get expert help? Thankfully, there are loads of different resources that can help you with this.
Car sales websites should always be the first place you look, as this will give you an accurate idea of what your car would sell for in good condition today. Look for your make and model, followed by searching for examples in similar conditions. This will give you an idea of the price range you can expect to get for your car.
Alongside car sales websites, you can also look for directories that list the value of different types of cars. While this might be a little faster, it won’t be as accurate as simply looking at prices, but it can still be worth the effort if you can’t find your car listed on any website. Using the lower estimates you find is a good way to avoid disappointment.
There will be some cases where it’s almost always best to repair your car instead of replacing it. For example, you might own a super-rare vehicle or one that just always increases in value.
In those cases, you should consider doing some restorative upgrades like fitting Wiseco pistons kits (or having an auto shop install them for you) – especially if your engine has done more than 100,000 miles.
You may also wish to consider a top-end rebuild to provide many more years of trouble-free motoring if you’ve got a highly desirable and valuable car. Of course, it’s not something everyone can afford to do, but it’s worth considering in some situations.
With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to take on the challenge of choosing whether to repair or replace your car. It can be hard when you find yourself stuck in a position like this, though most people have the resources to get themselves out of it when they put the work into it.
Hi, it’s Wednesday! I’m thrilled you’re here! These two beauties are chowing down on the dill I planted for them. Their appetite is voracious, mowing thru a plant in a day. This year there were about 25-30 of these beautiful caterpillars who will turn into magnificent butterflies.
It’s really important to be self-aware; and it can also be fun to get to know yourself better. The following questions can help you with this: 1. If you could change one aspect of your life or personality, what would it be? 2. Are you ‘your own person’ or are you defined, and pushed around, […]
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