Sleep Foundation Says 30% Lost Sleep Because Of Economy

One-third of Americans are losing sleep over the state of the U.S. economy and other personal financial concerns, according to a new poll released today by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). The poll suggests that inadequate sleep is associated with unhealthy lifestyles and negatively impacts health and safety.

NSF’s Sleep in AmericaTM poll reveals striking disparities in the sleep patterns, health habits and quality of life between healthy and unhealthy Americans. Those in good health are two-times more likely than those in poor health to work efficiently, exercise or eat healthy because they are getting enough sleep.

The number of people reporting sleep problems has increased 13% since 2001. In the past eight years, the number of Americans who sleep less than six hours a night jumped from 13% to 20%, and those who reported sleeping eight hours or more dropped from 38% to 28%.

“It’s easy to understand why so many people are concerned over the economy and jobs, but sacrificing sleep is the wrong solution,” says David Cloud, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation. “Sleep is essential for productivity and alertness and is a vital sign for one’s overall health.”

About 40% of Americans agree that sleep is as important as diet and exercise to overall health and well-being; yet, only 32% of Americans who report sleep problems discuss them with their doctor.

“Getting enough sleep everyday is as important to your health as eating healthy and being physical active. Physicians should regularly ask all patients about sleep, diet, and physical activity habits,” says Woodie Kessel, MD, MPH, Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS (ret.) who was a member of the 2009 Sleep in AmericaTM poll taskforce. “Sleep is as vital as eating right and exercising to our health.”

Lack of sleep is creating a major public safety problem as well—drowsy driving. The 2009 poll finds that more than one-half of adults (54%) – potentially 110 million licensed drivers– have driven when drowsy at least once in the past year. Nearly one-third of drivers polled (28%) say that they have nodded off or fallen asleep while driving a vehicle.

Two out of every ten Americans sleep less than six hours a night. People sleeping too few hours report being too tired to work efficiently, to exercise or to eat healthy. Nearly 40% of these Americans sleeping too few hours have driven when drowsy at least once a month in the past year and nearly 90% report symptoms of insomnia at least a few nights a week in the past month.

“With the economy worsening, we are seeing patients in our clinic who have told as that they would not be returning for treatment because they or other family members have lost their jobs, and they are concerned about costs,” says Meir Kryger, MD, Director of Research and Education at Gaylord Sleep Services. “Some patients have elected not to be treated for sleep apnea because they could not afford the co-pay for the equipment. These patients may wind up far sicker. Sleep disorders are often associated with other chronic diseases, like diabetes and hypertension, and they can add complexity and even accelerate each other if untreated.”

As experts predict that the U.S. economic situation may get worse in 2009, the National Sleep Foundation encourages Americans to maintain good sleep, exercise and diet routines to help combat anxiety and improve health and productivity. People should speak with their doctor if they are experiencing sleep problems.

2011
02/08
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Sleep
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Brief counseling sessions treat insomnia up to six months

Older adults with insomnia could improve sleep quality with individualized, brief counseling.

In a randomized controlled study that included 79 older adults with insomnia, researchers from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine compared the impact of face-to-face and phone counseling to printed educational information about insomnia. They found counseling was effective for helping older adults obtain needed sleep, potentially reducing the need for medications that could cause harm.

The group who received counseling received two sessions from a nurse clinician, followed by two telephone calls that included behavioral instructions for curbing insomnia. The average age of the participants was 71.7 years. In the group, 39 participants received nurse clinician instructions and the other 40 were given printed materials about insomnia and sleep habits.

The groups answered questions about sleep habits, kept diaries, provided demographic information, underwent sleep assessment studies using polysomnography in addition to actigraphy that involves wearing a wrist and ankle monitor.

According to the results, more older adults who received behavioral treatment for insomnia responded favorably – 67 percent versus 25 percent in the control group, after four weeks, reported by the study group. The benefits were noted six months later.

The researchers estimated that for every 2.4 patients counseled, one would no longer meet criteria for insomnia. The study results could ensure safety for older adults who have trouble falling or staying asleep. According to background information from the study, medications are equally as effective, but increase the risk for falls and other adverse events, especially in older populations.

Background information from the study states 15 to 35 percent of older adults in the US suffer from insomnia. Daytime fatigue from poor sleep increases the risk of falls and hip fractures that can lead to disability and hospitalization.

The authors note counseling is an “attractive” option for treating insomnia because it reduces the stigma of behavioral psychological treatments. The authors suggest training could be provided to nurses and other health care professionals who could counsel older patients experiencing insomnia, who were shown in the study to respond favorably.

2011
02/04
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Insomnia treatment
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Melatonin Most Effective For Sleep When Taken For Off-Hour Sleeping

Melatonin Sleep Medication

Researchers from the Divisions of Sleep Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School have found in a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical study, that melatonin, taken orally during non-typical sleep times, significantly improves an individual’s ability to sleep.

This finding is particularly important for rotating or night-shift workers, travelers with jet lag and individuals with advanced or delayed sleep phase syndrome.

The findings appear in the May 1, 2006 issue of the journal Sleep.

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the body at night in darkness, which helps the brain determine day and night to help regulate sleep cycles and circadian timing. Retinal light exposure inhibits the release of the hormone.

Millions of Americans take melatonin supplements to improve their sleep, yet the results of prior studies on the efficacy of melatonin as a sleep-promoting agent have been mixed, according to the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality, which carried out an extensive review of this topic two years ago. The present study, conducted at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, sought to address this question.

Thirty-six participants (21 men and 15 women), between the ages of 18 and 30 with no significant past or current medical disorders, sleep disorders, or psychological disorders were chosen for the study from a pool of applicants.

The participants refrained from alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, illicit substances and prescription and non-prescription medications for three weeks prior to the start of the study. They were studied in sound-proof suites free of time clues. Participants were first studied for three days and nights in the lab on their traditional sleep schedules to measure their normal sleep structure and melatonin production.

“Participants were then kept on a 20-hour sleep-wake schedule, simulating a traveler crossing four time zones eastward every day,” explained Dr. Charles Czeisler, Chief of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and senior author of the study. “For the next three weeks, thirty minutes before each sleep episode, participants ingested either a placebo, 0.3milligrams (mg), or 5.0mg of pharmaceutical grade melatonin.”

The researchers found that sleep efficiency during the six hour, 40 minute episodes was significantly higher in the groups that took melatonin during times when the body was not producing melatonin. At those times, participants taking 5.0mg of melatonin had a sleep efficiency of 83 percent and those taking 0.3mg melatonin had a sleep efficiency of 84 percent.

Sleep efficiency in both of these groups was significantly greater than that in participants taking placebo, who had a sleep efficiency of 77 percent. There was no significant difference in sleep efficiency among all participants during times when melatonin was being produced in the body.

James K. Wyatt, Ph.D., lead author of the study, Diplomate, American Board of Sleep Medicine and now acting Co-Director of the Sleep Disorders Service and Research Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago stated, “A landmark feature of this comprehensive research was the study of 24 successive sleep episodes in the same participants, including over 1,000 sleep recordings, across a full range if circadian phases ” the body’s internal 24-hour timing system. We were able to definitively show in these healthy young adults that the use of melatonin as a sleep-aid was only beneficial for sleeping when the body wasn’t already releasing its own supply of melatonin.”

“These data leave little doubt about the effectiveness of melatonin in alleviating sleep disturbances when attempting to sleep at the wrong time of day, at least under laboratory conditions,” continued co-author Derk-Jan Dijk, now Director of the Surrey Sleep Research Centre, Surrey, England.

Czeisler concluded: “Melatonin enabled these participants to obtain an extra half hour of sleep when they attempted to do so during the day, at a time when they were not producing melatonin themselves. Melatonin did not help these young adults sleep at night, when their body was already producing melatonin. These finding have implications for millions of people who attempt to sleep at a time that is out of synch with the brain’s internal clock.”

2011
01/19
CATEGORY
Melatonin Sleep Medication
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Sleepwalking Easily Spotted After Sleep Deprivation

Keeping those with somnambulism awake for a whole day makes sleepwalking episodes occur more frequently as soon as they get asleep.

A team of researchers from University of Montreal conducted a study of somnambulistic behavior between August 2003 and March 2007. Study examined 30 people suspected in sleepwalking, who were diagnosed to have a condition not a result of trauma or medication. Some 10 patients with mild sleep apnea and leg movement were added to the group.

All participants were monitored in a laboratory during a night for baseline sleepwalking behavior. On the next day they were not allowed to sleep for 25 hours. The nigh after sleep deprivation was also monitored in a laboratory. This night showed significantly more somnambulism episodes: 90% of participants had at least one sleepwalking episode, compared to 50% of participants during the baseline night.

Sleepwalking episodes were rated in a 3 level scale: level 1 includes simple confusing behavior, such as playing with bed sheets, level 2 includes any attempt to get out of the bed, such as sitting up in the bed, level 3 includes all episodes with patients leaving bed.

During the night after sleep deprivation the number of sleepwalking episodes were 69, compared to 24 baseline episodes. The 10 participants with other sleep disorders reported even greater increase than those with no additional sleep problems. They increased the frequency of episodes from 8 to 23. Men also reported more sleepwalking episodes than women.

The study comes to ease monitoring for somnambulism behavior in laboratories. Current sleepwalking episodes are not frequent enough to be monitored and patients have not clear diagnosis. In addition the research confirms the need in regular sleep for patients to cut frequency of sleepwalking episodes and to ensure deep sleep for patients.

2011
01/12
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Sleep Deprivation a Serious Problem

Sleep Disorder and Sleep Mask

Many people are not getting the sleep they need in today’s “open 24 hours” society. Between work and family there just does not seem to be enough time in the day to get everything done so, many of us just make the day longer. Instead of getting the seven to eight hours that our bodies require we are doing it on 4-6 hours. We are literally “running on empty.”

The hazards of sleep deprivation are many, increased irritability, loss of appetite, lethargy, slowing of reflexes and depression to name a few.

One of the causes of a bad nights sleep is the interruption of our body’s natural rhythms caused by changing light levels in our sleeping environment. One of the worst offenders is the television. Many people lie in bed and watch TV until falling asleep leaving the TV to play all night.

One of the queues that our body uses to know when to sleep is the rising and setting of the sun. Researchers have learned that our bodies use light to synchronize our natural circadian rhythms and any interruption can cause our bodies to be “out of sync” with the natural world.

One of the ways that we can combat this interruption to our body’s natural rhythms is through the use of a sleep mask, according to Howard Cloud, owner of Dispos-A-Mask (www.disposamask.com) a maker of lightweight disposable sleeping masks. The use of a sleep mask is an easy way to block out the changes in light levels that can prevent us from sleeping. Sleeping masks can used anywhere and anytime the need for sleep arises.

Sleeping masks have also proved to be beneficial in preventing and lessening the severity of jet lag for the frequent traveler. They are also good for shift workers who must sleep during the day. Many people only require the use of a sleep mask for a short period of time to “re-sync” their bodies or for use on a long plane or car trip. Many even find sleeping masks beneficial when they have to have a long diagnostic procedure such as a MRI or CAT scan. People who suffer from migraines also find that blocking out light during a headache helps to lessen the attack.

“We wanted to make a lightweight, affordable and disposable solution to the “lights in your eyes” problem and we have done that with Dispos-A-Mask” said Mr. Cloud. “Why spend $20 to $40 for an item that you will only use for a short period of time?” “Because our sleep mask/blindfold is so affordable the uses are endless, they can be used in day spas, party games, taste tests or anywhere else that you might need to block out light or prevent someone from seeing.”

2011
01/08
CATEGORY
Sleep Disorder and Sleep Mask
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2011
01/08
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