From A to ZZZZZ: Dr. Ash Visits TODAY to Launch Sleep Awareness Week

In honor of the National Sleep Foundation's annual Sleep Awareness Week, a seven-day celebration of sleep health kicking off for 2016 on March 6, Carol Ash, D.O., Director of Sleep Medicine for Meridian Health, dropped by TODAY to help answer the question, "What's keeping you awake?"

According to Dr. Ash, upwards of 60 to 80 percent of Americans aren't getting the essential seven hours of sleep per night - the minimum needed to avoid long-term health consequences.

So what is keeping us awake at night? According to Dr. Ash, the answer could be right outside your window.

"There was a study recently done at Stamford, which looked at 16,000 people over eight years," says Dr. Ash. "They found that those living in communities of 500,000 people or more found it much more difficult to get the sleep they need."

So... what's the solution? Watch Dr. Ash's TODAY segment below to find out.

Power of An Hour Event with Dr. Carol Ash

“Fall back” without falling back

It’s the gift that comes once a year—an extra hour of precious sleep.

You’ll hear few complaints when that biannual agrarian ritual known as daylight savings time comes to a close at 2 a.m., Sunday, November 1.

But if you are truly looking to wake up refreshed with more energy to face the day, you might want to rethink spending that extra hour in bed once the sun comes up.

"There is a clock in your brain. That clock keeps your internal environment in sync with your eternal environment, and the most important signal for that clock is the light," says Carol Ash, D.O., Director of Sleep Medicine for Meridian Health. “That internal clock isn't flexible enough to adjust quickly to the time jump,” she said.

If you truly want to maximize the benefits of that extra hour, the tried and true rules of healthy sleep still apply: Go to bed at a reasonable hour, get the best sleep you can, and get up when the sun comes up.

When it comes to "resetting" that internal clock, Dr. Ash recommends natural, cost effective alternatives to over-the-counter sleep medications, which she calls "short term solutions to recurring problems."

One potential remedy Dr. Ash lists is mindful breathing, an elegant solution for alleviating stress and achieving deep rest.

Dr. Ash adds that by making just a few changes to adapt the right sleep habits, you can create the feeling of having an extra hour not just once a year—but every day.  

On November 7 at The Oyster Point Hotel in Red Bank, Dr. Ash and a team of Meridian Health experts will present “The Power of an Hour,” a morning devoted to helping you sleep better, eat better, stress less, and develop lifelong habits to create a healthier, better-rested you!

Learn more and register for our Power of an Hour event here.

Dr. Ash on Steve Harvey Show: Biggest Mistake Made by People Seeking Sound Sleep

What is the NUMBER ONE mistake made by people in their efforts to get a better night's sleep? On a recent visit to The Steve Harvey Show, Meridian Health Director of Sleep Medicine Dr. Carol Ash answers this question - and helps a woman who hasn't had a full night's rest in more than five years!

Get Your New Year Off to a Healthy Start with Our Top Stories of 2014

Another year, another step toward a healthier you. Health and wellness topics were hotter than ever in 2014, a year of breakthroughs, outbreaks and trends that had people all over the world talking. So what did we learn in 2014? Read on for some of the year's top health advice from Meridian experts.

1. Sleep Disorders Are No Walk in the Park

   Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli's decision to undergo surgery to treat his sleep apnea was yet another call to action for public discourse on the seriousness of the ongoing struggle roughly 18 million Americans have with this potentially life threatening disorder, characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. Read the full article here.



2.  Do Our Kids Need More Sleep?

   Meridian Health Director of Sleep Medicine Dr. Carol Ash took on this hot-button issue during a visit to CBS This Morning. Hear what she had to say here.



3. What's Making Us So Tired?

   On a visit to the TODAY Show, Dr. Carol Ash joined Julie Bain, Health Director of the Ladies Home Journal to discuss answers to the commonly posed health question, "Why am I so tired?" Listing common causes that include diet and stress, both Ash and Bain agreed that most cases of daytime fatigue can be remedied with adjustments to both habit and lifestyle. Watch the full clip here.



4. Sleeping Apart Could Boost Mind, Body and Relationship

   He likes it cold; she likes it hot. She's a mover and a shaker; he's down for the count. Opposites may attract, but when it's time to call it a night, some differences come at a cost. It sounds extreme, but on an episode of "The Doctors," Dr. Carol Ash discussed how sleeping separately from your partner could provide a healthier night's sleep all around. Read all about it here.



5. Healthy Sleep Impacts School Performance

   According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), two-thirds of American children age 10 and younger have sleep problems. They noted 60 percent of children under the age of 18 complained of being tired during the day, and 15 percent fell asleep at school. So what can a parent do? Read on to find out.

Dr. Carol Ash on "CBS This Morning" discussing the effects of sleep issues on "brain drain"

For Tom Brady, the perfect 'night out' is a night in

When a Super Bowl MVP and star NFL quarterback has a night to himself, you might imagine him spending it out on the town, partying till dawn, and indulging in a few of the all star "perks" of being a celebrity baller.

(Photo by Stephan Savoia/Associated Press)

“I’m not doing anything like that. That time has come and gone in my life. I did a lot of charger work last night - sleeping," said Patriots QB Tom Brady during an interview on WEEI's "Dennis and Callahan Show."

"This is my first time away from my kids in a while, so I finally get some decent sleep," he added.

While teammates Rob Gronkowski, Jonas Gray, and Shane Vereen were attending a recent Clippers game, Brady had no qualms admitting his ideal "night out" is often a night in - catching up on some much needed sleep, according to Jordi Lippe of Yahoo Health.

Al Roker sets new Guinness World Record (With a Little Help From Dr. Carol Ash)

Friday, TODAY weatherman Al Roker set a new Guinness World Record by reporting on the weather for 34 consecutive hours. Dubbed "#Rokerthon," the feat kicked off at 10:05 p.m. Wednesday and concluded around 8 a.m. Friday morning with a TODAY studio celebration complete with confetti and balloons.

In preparation for the 34-hour weather weather-cast,  TODAY featured Meridian's own Director of Sleep Medicine Dr. Carol Ash, who offered up a few health tips for Roker on how to stay the course.