suns

caffeinesuchaschocolatesand coladrinks. Youandyourchild shouldfinishdinnerat least3 hoursbefore youwanttogo to sleep.

Othertipstohelpyousleep better Have a sleep routine in hospital You andyourchildcouldsti!Jtryandkeepa sleep routine inhospital.Pickany three activitiessuchas reading,massage, meditation,listeningtosoothing music using headphones etcconsistentlybefore bedtime.

Make yourbedsleep-friendlyTurnoff a!Jelectronic devices(phones, laptops and iPads) atleastanhourbefore bedtime.Ifyouor yourchildcan'tfall asleep,tryashort activity suchas reading abookfor 30 minutes.Someadults andchildrenmay finddeep breathing exercisesbefore bedtime relaxing Keep yourroom darkClosethe curtains. Usean eye mask.

Theright temperature Make sureyour roomisnottoocoldor hot. Nursingstaff canprovide or removeextra blankets if needed.

There's no denyingthatitcan betricky togetgoodsleep inhospital,butworking withyour treating teamandimplen1enting theabovetipswillgive youthebestpossible chance atmuch needed sleep.

RHEAL NATH on how to work on your Vitamin D levels

swe continueto workfrom hon1e,n1anyofus 111ay find ourselvesgoing dayswithout steppingoutdoors.Whileit's in1portanttokeep upthissocialdistancing, there'sagoodchance it,neans we're not gettingall thesunlightweneed. Whenwas thelasttimeyou tooka good, longstro!Jand soaked insome rays?

WithVitamin D deficienciesrampant in ourcon1n1unity,it'sn1ore importantthan evertolearn what we can,andshould, do to stay healthy. Thevitaminplaysabiggerrole in ourimmunesyste1n thanwethink!

The benefitsofVitamin D

Theso-called"sunshine vitamin"is producednaturallybyourbodywith exposureto sunlight.Itplaysacrucial roleintheabsorptionofcalciumandin moderatingourinm1unesysten1.

Vita1uinD isalso believedto helpkeep away other healthissueslike diabetes, bacterialinfections, heart diseases,andeven regulating ourbody weight.

Ironically,Vita1ninD deficiencyprevails inthe Indiansubcontinent, withso1ne studiessuggesting that 70%-90°/oofIndians havethedeficiencywithoutknowingit.This is oftenlinkedtoourdarkerskin-thehigher the melaninlevels, thelesservitaminDthe skinabsorbs. Surprising, right?

Additionalfactors thataffectVitamin

D levels

Otherthan the melaninlevelsofourskin, thereareotherfactorsthatcanaffect how wellour bodyabsorbsVitamin D. LocationThefurtherawaywelivefromthe equator,theless UVBlight (whichproduces VitaminD) reachesus.

WeightSomestudiessuggestthatpeople withmorebodyweight1uightactually observelowervita1uinD levels.Thisis attributedtothe factthatthevitaminis storedin fatty tissues,sopeople with more bodyfatmayneedgreateramountsof

VitaminD tomaintain thenecessarylevels intheirbloodstream.

AgeOlderpeoplemayseelowerlevelsof the vitaminastheirbody'sabilitytoprocess thevitaminslowsdownwithtime.

SymptomsofVitamin Ddeficiency

Unlikeothervitamin deficiencies, this one can beparticularlyhardto noticebecause it doesn'texhibitoutwardsymptoms.

Instead, thethings tokeepaneyeoutfor includefatigue,difficultysleeping,muscle cramps,andstressfractures (particularlyin thehips, legs, andpelvis).

HowtogetyourdoseofVitamin D Ofcourse,thebest wayto meetyour daily requirementof Vitamin D is bysimplygoing outfora walk.It's suggestedthatyouspend atleast20minutesinthesuneveryday.

However, therearewaystoincludethe vitamininyourdietapartfromsupple1nents. Focus onnecessaryoilslike codliver oilandoilyfishlikesalmon,tuna, and mackerel

Increaseyou1·doseof fortified foodslike yoghurt,cheese, egg yolks,andbreakfast cereals

Turntoseasoningsliketurmeric,garlic, black mustards seeds, andcoriander

Includemoremushrooms inyourdishes

Ifyou suspectthat you,nighthavea VitaminD deficiency,getintouchwithyour GPforpossible testsand/orsupplementsto includeinyourdiet. Ifyoudecideto turnto supplements, keepin nundthattoo many supplements mightcauseissueslikenausea, dehydration,andpoorappetite.Luckily,you can'trea!Jygettoo muchvitaminDfromthe mostnaturalsource ofall,thesun.

So whileyou workawayonyourlaptops andkeepup withsocialrestrictions, take sometime outofyourdayto walkinthe sun. It'llhelpyour moodandit'lldefinitely helpyourhealth!