The Mended Hearts, Inc.
Hearts of Jersey Chapter #179

April 2009

Message from the President

One of the most important lessons I have learned in my long academic career is “do not depend on me for a weather prediction.” You may recall last month I opened my president message applauding the marvelous late February weather. I was even ready to put the snow blower back in the shed for summer. It was a good thing I didn’t. Twelve inches of March snow is not my idea of preparations for spring. Having lived in Buffalo, NY and in the Adirondack Mountains I find snow to be a nuisance but tolerable, except in New Jersey. I don’t expect to have a white Easter but don’t hold me to it.

By now, I expect most of you have adjusted your sleeping habits to daylight savings time. The first couple of weeks are often difficult. It seems that our biological clocks are hard to reset. If you’re among those at that doesn’t sleep well, I want to pass along some good information I found in a USA Weekend article (March 20-22, page 15) entitled “5 THINGS you don’t know about Getting a good night sleep.” I will condense the article to keep our editor happy.

• It is important that you stay reasonably close to your normal weekday schedule on the weekends. If you normally get up at seven o’clock during the week try not to sleep past eight o’clock on Sunday.

• Avoid having that cup of coffee with dinner and try to keep your post dinner and late evening conversation light, try to schedule things like exercising and your income tax in the morning.

• If you have an early dinner and find you like a snack before going to bed, keep it light, a glass of milk, some fruit, or a small dish of Jell-O.

• Don’t be tempted by the displays of over-the-counter drugs to help you sleep. This is particularly important when you already are taking several prescription drugs. Discuss sleep problems with your primary care physician. Very often, the O. C. drugs are not compatible with prescription meds.

• Keep the bedroom dark, quiet and cool, around 64°. If you’re still having problems follow the advice in step four.

I mentioned the prescription drugs that we are all so acquainted with and the side effects go with them. The AARP Magazine for March & April 2009 (page 14) has a very good article on comparing several fiber producing products. This article deals specifically with over-the-counter items and has a very good pro and con chart that also lists the approximate cost per day of each item. I’m on the Metamucil team personally but if your meds are causing you to have severe constipation talk to your doctor.