Archive for the 'Insomnia' Category

Research has found that men who suffer sleepless nights run double the risk of contracting diabetes.

The link with Type 2 diabetes, the most common form, held firm even when factors such as weight, smoking and exercise were taken into account.

Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden tracked the health of more than 5,000 middle-aged men and women for up to ten years.

The volunteers, none of whom had diabetes at the start, filled in questionnaires about levels of stress. They were told symptoms included insomnia, apathy, anxiety and fatigue.

Analysis showed that the most stressed-out men were more than twice as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes.

It is thought stress may raise the risk of diabetes by disrupting the production of hormones. People worn out by lack of sleep may also be less likely to exercise.

The link applied only to men, the journal Diabetic Medicine reports, possibly because they bottle up their feelings more than women.

Going for a stroll can help keep Type 2 diabetes under control, a Newcastle University study found. Walking an extra 45 minutes a day helps stabilize blood sugar levels, the Diabetes UK-funded research showed.

An acute session of moderate aerobic exercise, but not heavy aerobic or moderate strength exercises, can reduce the anxiety state and improve the sleep quality of insomnia patients.

The study, authored by Giselle S. Passos, of Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, focused on 36 patients (eight men and 28 women) with primary chronic insomnia, who were divided into three experimental groups (moderate aerobic exercise, heavy aerobic exercise, and moderate strength exercise) and a control group.

According to the results, after the exercise session, reductions were shown in sleep onset latency (54 percent) and wake time (36 percent) in the moderate aerobic exercise group, while increases were shown in total sleep time (21 percent) and in sleep efficiency (18 percent).

A significant increase in the total sleep time (37 percent) and reduction in the sleep onset latency (40 percent) were observed in the sleep log of volunteers of the moderate aerobic exercise group. Finally, a significant reduction (seven percent) in the anxiety state was also observed after moderate aerobic exercise session.

These findings indicate that there is a way to diminish the symptoms of insomnia without using medication

Source: ScienceDaily

GPs can now offer a melatonin on prescription to treat older adult patients diagnosed with primary insomnia.Primary insomnia disrupts daily life, resulting in clinically significant distress and impairment of social, occupational and daily functioning.

Circadin, the first pharmaceutical grade licensed melatonin, is a prolonged-release formulation of synthesized melatonin that is released over several hours, in order to provide the body with melatonin at an adequate physiological level during the normal hours of resting.

The key to managing primary insomnia is to restore the quality of sleep, rather than the quantity of sleep. Changes occur in the full sleep cycle with age and part of this could be due to a correlation between increasing age and declining levels of melatonin.

Treatment with Circadin may replenish that deficiency and restore the normal sleep cycle for restful, restorative sleep and normal next-day functioning.

Treatment with Circadin has been shown to significantly improve quality of sleep (QOS) and behavior following wakening (BFW), also referred to as next day-functioning, and both contribute to improved quality of life.

Circadin is effective within three weeks of dosing, and helps to induce and maintain sleep.
Source: Medical News Today

According to the Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, it has been proved that adolescents who are suffering with chronic insomnia not only lose their sleep, but also their health.

There are several types of health problems which affect the adolescents if they are prone to chronic insomnia.

Insomnia is common and chronic among the adolescents.

It has negative impact on the adolescents who are aged between 11 to 17 years.

The research has also found that out of 100 percent, 70 percent of adolescents who are aged between 11 to 17 years have this problem of chronic insomnia. Therefore, it is the most common problem among the adolescents.

The studies also showed that adolescents who have this chronic insomnia are affected with some psychiatric disorders like anxiety, mood, substance abuse and disruptive disorders. Other than this psychiatric health, normal health of your adolescent will also be affected.

The impact of the chronic insomnia in the future health cannot be determined at that adolescence stage itself because in some cases it will have severe impact, where as in some other cases it will have much less impact.

The latest research has proved that the single dose of zolpidem extended the placebo from 3 to 7 nights per week. More benefits are also obtained with the zolpidem group than the placebo group regarding the improvement of person from the sleep apnea.

The patient’s global rating regarding the improvement from insomnia is more for the zolpidem group when compared to the placebo group.

In order to prove that zolpidem is effective, the experts conducted a study on the patients who are suffering with the sleep apnea.

Insomnia is one type of sleep disorder which occurs in people who are suffering with destructive sleep at night times. The people who are suffering with this chronic insomnia will feel sleepiness in the morning time; due to this they will not be able to perform their tasks in attentive manner.

Most of the people who are suffering with this chronic insomnia disease will have less concentration levels and they will be frustrated easily for simple and silly things.

According to the latest research, it has been proved that out of 100%, 10% of the people are suffering with this chronic insomnia. There is no particular treatment to treat insomnia, but it can be treated commonly with some medications and clinical practice.

Having hard time to fall asleep at night? Then incorporate yoga into your daily routine.

Yes, it’s true! Incorporating yoga into your life can greatly help you, particularly if you have stress-related insomnia.

Up to 10 percent of the US population is suffering with insomnia.

Acute insomnia is characterized as a common sleep disorder and is due to the hormonal changes, stress or emotional problems.

Yoga is a recognized exercise technique with established healing effects. It has natural balancing, calming and stress reducing effects. Daily practice of yoga will help you to get a deeper and more restful night’s sleep. Yoga is a perfect remedy for mild and acute insomnia.

How beneficial is yoga in controlling insomnia?

• Your sleep quality will improve by incorporating yoga into your life.
• The stimulatory effect of yoga will greatly influence your nervous system, particularly your brain.
• Blood circulation will be improved to the sleep center in your brain with proper yoga practice.
• You will fall asleep early by practicing yoga and it improves your sleep quality.
• You can get a more restful sleep as yoga relieves all your stress, fatigue and tension.

You can suffer from chronic or intermittent insomnia during pregnancy.

There are many reasons you can have trouble sleeping during pregnancy.

Some of the common problems of insomnia include frequent urination, stress, disturbed mind, leg cramps, and the inability to get a comfortable position.

Pregnancy is a time when massive physiological, hormonal and emotional adjustments can happen. Insomnia during pregnancy can make everything worse at the start of your day.

Tips to reduce pregnancy insomnia

• First and foremost step to reduce pregnancy insomnia is relaxation. Too much anxiety, too much stress, concerns over your labor and delivery can affect your quality of sleep.
• You can relax yourself with many techniques. Yoga and meditation techniques are the best ways to relieve from stress and insomnia during pregnancy. You can also take a warm bath before going to bed.
• Adjust the temperature of your room so that your room can be quiet, warm and comfortable. Proper room temperature helps in inducing the sleep.
• Pregnancy insomnia can be due to your internal timing mechanism. Pregnancy can upset the sleep cycle and therefore your body clock and schedule becomes out of sync resulting in insomnia. You have to maintain proper sleep schedules daily, which means going to bed at the same time and getting up in the same time.