Archive for the 'Sleep Disorders' Category
A mild head injury can increase your chance of developing a sleep disorder, according to a study published in the April 3, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers say these findings highlight the need for improved diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders in mild traumatic brain injury patients who complain of insomnia.
“As many as 40 to 65 percent of people with mild traumatic brain injury complain of insomnia,” said study author Liat Ayalon, PhD, with the University of California, San Diego. “This is concerning since sleeping problems may exacerbate other brain injury symptoms such as headache, emotional distress, and cognitive impairment, making the rehabilitation process much harder.”
For the study, researchers assessed 42 people who reported to the Sheba Medical Center in Israel with complaints of insomnia after mild traumatic brain injury.
Those suspected of having a circadian rhythm sleep disorder (CRSD) (i.e. problems with the timing of sleep) underwent scans, sleep studies, and had their oral temperature and saliva melatonin measured.
The study found 15 of the 42 patients, or 36 percent, had a CRSD. Of those, eight people had a delayed sleep phase syndrome with problems falling asleep and waking up, and seven people had irregular sleep-wake patterns.
Sleep continuity disturbance impairs endogenous pain-inhibitory function and increases spontaneous pain in women. This supports a possible pathophysiologic role of sleep disturbance in chronic pain, according to a study published in the April 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.
The study, conducted by Michael T. Smith, PhD, and colleagues at John’s Hopkins University, focused on 32 healthy females, who were studied polysomnographically for seven nights.
On the first two nights, the subjects slept undisturbed for eight hours. Then, the women were assigned to one of three groups: “Control”, “Forced Awakening” (FA) and “Restricted Sleep Opportunity” (RSO).
From nights three-to-five, the “Control” group continued to sleep undisturbed, while the “Forced Awakening” group underwent eight forced awakenings, one per hour, and the “Restricted Sleep Opportunity” group received partial sleep deprivation by delayed bedtime. On night six, both the FA and RSO groups underwent 36 hours of total sleep deprivation, followed by 11-hour recovery sleep.
Health workers, parents taking care for infants alter natural sleep system that regulate and control pain which can lead to spontaneous painful symptoms.
Lack of sleep leads to serious health problems such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and depression [Depression Management]. If you think that you have sleep problem, consult a sleep specialist.
Older Americans are convinced that a good night’s sleep is necessary to maintaining their health. A survey by the Gallup Poll found that seventy-two percent of seniors have discussed poor sleep with their doctors.
The study also found no clear consensus on the safety of sleep medications such as Ambien and Lunesta - also known as hypnotics.
In another study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) titled “The Treatment of Sleep Disorders of Older People”, NIH estimates that disturbances of sleep affect more than half of people aged 65 and older.
They advise hypnotic medications should not be the mainstay treatment of insomnia as “they are overused and have habit forming potential”. Some of their recommendations include exercise, avoidance of alcohol and caffeine, and reduced fluid intake in the evening.
One important cause of sleep problems in older people is lack of nutrients and minerals. Lack of nutrients and magnesium disturbs your sleep.
Magnesium, calcium and other nutrients have health advantages which includes calmer nervous system, strong immune system and improved digestion.
Actigraphy, the use of a portable device that records movement over extended periods of time, and has been used extensively in the study of sleep and circadian rhythms, provides an acceptably accurate estimate of sleep patterns in normal, healthy adult populations and in-patients suspected of certain sleep disorders, according to practice parameters published in the April 1st issue of the journal SLEEP.
The practice parameters, authored by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s (AASM) Standards of Practice Committee, were developed as a guide to the appropriate use of actigraphy, both as a diagnostic tool in the evaluation of sleep disorders and as an outcome measure of treatment efficacy in clinical settings with appropriate patient populations.
Actigraphy is indicated to assist in the evaluation of patients with advanced sleep phase syndrome, delayed sleep phase syndrome, and shift work disorder.
Additionally, there is some evidence to support the use of actigraphy in the evaluation of patients suspected of jet lag disorder and non-24 hour sleep/wake syndrome.
Further, when polysomnography is not available, actigraphy is indicated to estimate total sleep time in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
Having difficulty to get a good night sleep? Spending several hours without sleep?
Improve sleep with good sleep habits. Lack of sleep can result in stress, lack of concentration, moodiness, memory loss, lower motivation and fatigue. It is important to get a good night sleep otherwise it may lead to different sleep disorders.
Here are 101 ways to get good night’s sleep for those who experience difficulty in getting sleep.
Sleep Routine:
- Maintain regular bedtime routine. Try to go to bed at the same time and get up in the morning at the same time. Keeping a regular schedule helps the body expect sleep at the same time every day.
- Maintain the sleep schedule even on weekends and holidays. Following the sleep schedule even on weekends does not disturb the internal clock of the body and helps to maintain circadian rhythm.
A bad night sleep can have an adverse affect on adult’s performance at work the next day.
In the same way, if there is a disturbed sleep for high school or middle school students, it affect’s their school performance.
According to the research published in the Journal of clinical sleep medicine, students who experience sleep problems are more likely to get bad grades in school.
It is examined that students of middle class and high class have sleep complaints frequently.
The students who got bad grades were more likely to have restless legs syndrome, difficulty concentrating during the day, difficulty waking up in the morning, excessive sleepiness during the day, snoring, and sleeping in the class.
According to the study, inadequate sleep, poor quality of sleep and irregular sleep patterns occur at high frequencies in students and significantly affect school performance. Difficulty in concentration and restless legs syndrome are the symptoms associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Parents should take care of their children and teen’s sleep related problems and should discuss the condition with the doctor.
During teenage, the body’s circadian rhythm is reset and tells the teen to fall asleep late in the night and wake up late in the morning.
Sudden infant death syndrome is the leading cause of death in infants under one year age.
It is a frightening prospect because it strikes without warning.
Parents and caretakers should give extra care during cold winter months which put your child in the risk of SIDS.
Over wrapping which leads to thermal stress, is one of the main risk factor of SIDS. Many parents are not aware of this condition. New parents do not know about the risk factors of SIDS and how to properly put their baby to sleep.
According to the recent studies, placing babies to sleep on their back is the safest position, but many of them continue to place their infants in side-sleep positions or face-down positions, both of which are risk factors of SIDS.
For unsafe sleeping position, if you add over-wrapping and viral or bacterial infections, it may increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Several studies have shown that infants sleep with too many blankets or wraps and in crowded bed with family members. Infants who are sick need to expel the heat from their fever, so over-wrapping the infant is the worst thing in that situation.
As you grow older, your sleep patterns change. You find difficult to sleep, wake more often and take long time to go back to sleep as you grow older.
You doze off easily while reading newspaper or while watching television. You easily wake up with slight noise and small disturbances.
Advanced sleep phase syndrome (ASPS) is a disorder in which the sleep episode is advanced in relation to the desired clock time which results in evening sleepiness. Due to the early sleep onset, the awakening is earlier than desired.
Symptoms of Advanced sleep phase syndrome:
The symptoms of advanced sleep phase syndrome (ASPS) are inability to stay awake until the desired bedtime, inability to remain asleep until the desired time of awakening, awaken spontaneously and the sleep episode phase will be advance in relation to the desired time for sleep.
Causes of Advanced sleep phase syndrome:
Advanced sleep phase syndrome (ASPS) occurs more common as people grow older. The other causes are medical illness, psychiatric illness, pain or depression.
As you grow older, you need less sleep. Actually, older people need same amount of sleep, but at a stretch they cannot sleep for that many hours.
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- Therapeutic "Snore Ring" For Sleep-Deprived Snorers
- How Snoozing Makes You Smarter?
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Measles
Before the advent of vaccines, epidemics of measles were known to occur every two to five years