A stubborn cough tends to get worse at night — just when you’re trying to get a good sleep you need to feel better. It feels like a catch-22 situation: You need sleep to get over a cough, but your cough keeps waking you up.

【小题1】 Health experts suggest plenty of water, medicine, and lots of rest. These are the few relatively simple steps you can take.

Rest is one of the most important ways your body fights off infections. But getting the rest you need to feel better is easier said than done if your cough is keeping you up all night. 【小题2】 You lie down after a long day of feeling uncomfortable, only to find that you can’t stop coughing. Just when you need sleep the most, your cough symptoms get worse. You feel like having more mucus (黏液).

Drink plenty of water before bed. 【小题3】 So be sure to drink enough water throughout the evening. You can also add honey to warm liquids like water or tea, which has been shown to have modest benefits in reducing coughs.

Try cough medicine. Cough medicine typically contains something that makes you feel sleepy. 【小题4】 Because of these risks, be cautious when using cough medicine.

Here is another way to help get over your nighttime coughs. The number one factor that makes your cough worse at night is gravity. When we lie down, mucus automatically begins to pool. So another way to fight with coughs is to use a pillow to support your head a little. 【小题5】

Want to protect against the effects of Alzheimer's? Alzheimer's disease is a condition in which a person's thinking ability and memory gradually declines. Recent brain research shows that bilingual people's brains function better and for longer after developing the disease.

Psychologist Ellen Bialystok and her colleagues at York University in Toronto recently tested about 450 patients who had suffered from Alzheimer's and had similar levels of cognitive impairment. Half of these patients were bilingual and half spoke only one language. The researchers found that those who were bilingual had suffered from Alzheimer's about four years later, on average, than those who spoke just one language. And the bilingual people reported their symptoms had begun about five years later than those who spoke only one language.

"What we've been able to show is that the bilinguals have been able to deal with the disease," Bialystok said. Then she asked the Alzheimer's patients to have brain scans.

As was expected, brain scans of the Alzheimer's patients showed that, among patients who were functioning at the same level, those who were bilingual had more advanced brain deterioration than those who spoke just one language. But this difference wasn't apparent from the patients' behaviors, or their abilities to function. The bilingual people acted like monolingual patients whose disease was less advanced.

The researchers think bilingual people exercise a brain network more. It includes the fontal regions of the brain tied to memory, language and learning. "Once the disease begins to compromise the regions of the brain, bilinguals can continue to function and the brain becomes more resistant to the damage caused by aging, "Bialystok said. Also, frequently exercising this brain network can help the frontal regions communicate better with one another. As a result, bilingual people are able to think more clearly than the average person with Alzheimer's.

Moreover, other research suggests that these benefits of bilingualism apply not only to those who are raised from birth speaking a second language, but also to people who take up a foreign tongue later in life.

Anxiety Disorders

Everybody worries or feels nervous from time to time. 【小题1】 But for people with anxiety disorders, those fears and worries aren’t temporary. Their anxiety persists, and can even get worse over time.

Anxiety disorders can severely impair a person’s ability to function at work, school and in social situations. 【小题2】 Fortunately, though, there are effective treatments for anxiety.

In some cases, medications have a role in treating anxiety disorders. Yet research shows behavioral treatment, alone or in combination with medication, is a highly effective treatment for most people with an anxiety disorder.

Understanding Anxiety

Anxiety disorders are common in both adults and children. About 18 percent of U.S. adults and 25 percent of adolescents age 13 to 18 will experience anxiety, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. 【小题3】

There are several major types of anxiety disorders: generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc.

Seeing a Psychologist About Anxiety Disorders

Though many types of anxiety disorders exist, research suggests that most are driven by similar underlying processes. People with anxiety disorders tend to become easily overwhelmed by their emotions, and they tend to have particularly negative reactions to those unpleasant feelings and situations.

【小题4】 Unfortunately, avoidance can backfire and actually feed the anxiety.

Psychologists are trained in diagnosing anxiety disorders and teaching patients healthier, more effective ways to cope. A form of psychotherapy known as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is highly effective at treating anxiety disorders. Through CBT, psychologists help patients learn to identify and manage the factors that contribute to their anxiety.

Psychotherapy for Anxiety Disorders: What to Expect

Psychotherapy is a collaborative process, where psychologists and patients work together to identify specific concerns and develop concrete skills and techniques for coping with anxiety.【小题5】 However, psychologists won't push patients into such scenarios until they’re sure they have the skills they need to effectively confront their fears. Psychologists sometimes use other approaches to treat anxiety disorders in addition to CBT, among which group psychotherapy and family therapy are two effective ways.