Friday, August 31, 2012

Sleep deprivation can affect visual search performance

This article discusses research showing that the longer you stay awake, the slower you may be at completing tasks requiring vision. The results are particularly important for those occupations such as air traffic controllers, etc. The results showed a slowing down, but the accuracy was apparently the same.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Sleep may improve exposure therapy in phobias

This article discusses research showing that sleep may improve the effect of exposure therapy. This was done in patients who fear spiders. Results showed that fear was reduced when participants were shown videos of spiders and then allowed to sleep. This makes sense, as sleep is thought to be involved in memory and may allow the participants to remember the video better, and become better desensitized to seeing spiders.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Teenagers worry about lost sleep

This article discusses research showing that some teenagers are worried about not getting enough sleep. This is not new, but is of concern. Children and adolescents need sleep to be maximize academic potential and health. At the end of the article, it discusses how increased screen time (such as TV, computer, and smart phone use) contribute to lost sleep.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Neuroscientist advises NASA about importance of proper lighting to sleep

This article features a neuroscientist who is advising NASA about replacing its outdated lighting on spacecraft with high tech adjustable lights. This may improve astronauts sleep quality, since light affects sleep and other aspects of our daily functioning.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Herbal remedies and insomnia

There is a review of the efficacy of herbal remedies in treating insomnia. The aim of the study was to review the published literature on treating insomnia with herbal remedies.

Valerian root was shown to probably be safe, but the studies regarding efficacy were inconclusive. Kava-kava was shown in one study to be effective, but safety concerns including skin reactions, neurological complications, and liver damage have prompted the FDA to issue an advisory statement about its use. Chamomile and St. John's wort have very few articles supporting their use in treating insomnia. Lemon balm, passionflower, and lavender have no published articles on their efficacy in insomnia.

While the temptation to try these herbal remedies is understandable, just because a compound seems "natural" does not mean it is safe and/or effective in managing insomnia. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be safe and effective for insomnia, and does not involve ingesting any substances. With CBT, you learn skills that will help you sleep for the rest of your life.

Friday, August 24, 2012

CPAP improves sleepiness in mild and moderate obstructive sleep apnea

This article discusses research by Dr. Weaver showing how CPAP benefits patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), not just severe OSA. This has been my clinical experience - I find that the OSA severity does not often match how sleepy patients feel. I've had some patients who barely meet criteria for OSA be extremely sleepy, and improve significantly with regular CPAP use.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Light at night may increase depression

This article discusses research showing a link between nighttime light and depression. Low light levels from night lights and televisions were enough to increase the risk of depression.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Broken up sleep in elderly can lead to nursing home placement

This article discusses research showing that women with fragmented sleep were 3 times more likely to end up in nursing homes when followed over five years. This is what we see in clinical practice as well. Often patients who are older and with dementia, begin to sleep in the day and stay up all night. Caregivers are unable to reverse this sleep timing, and they are left with no choice but to place their loved one in a nursing home.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Sperm whales sleep in a vertical position.

This article discusses findings that some sperm wales apparently drift and a vertical position while asleep for short periods of time. I am not sure what this has to do with human sleep but it's still interesting (to me).

Monday, August 20, 2012

This article discusses research findings in rats. Researchers sleep deprived some rats after they were exposed to a traumatic event. The results showed that those sleep deprived rats exhibited less behavior problems from the post-traumatic event, compared to rats who were allowed to sleep normally after the event. These results are similar to what I wrote about in a similar blogpost.

It makes sense that not allowing the rats to sleep right after the event may interfere with the rats' ability to encode memories of the event. More studies are needed in humans to see if the same effect occurs.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Shift work and police officers

This article discusses research out of the Univeristy of Iowa regarding shift work and police officers. The results showed that shift workers on the police force that slept fewer than six hours per night were more susceptible to chronic fatigue and health problems, such as being overweight, and developing diabetes or heart disease. The article discusses some ways to help, which include allowing officers to get 7-8 hours of sleep between duties.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Obese rats have more broken up sleep and daytime sleepiness

Here is an article about a study presented at annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior. Researchers fattened rats with high fat diets and measured their sleep behavior. They found that the obese rats slept more in the daytime, indicating they were sleepier than normal rats. Also, the obese rates had more sleep fragmentation. Researchers think that obesity can reduce Orexin levels, which may increase sleepiness. This research supports other research showing that obesity alone increases daytime sleepiness.

Monday, August 13, 2012

New recommendations for pediatric snoring and sleep apnea

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently release new guidelines for children who snore. This is helpful information, as we are seeing more children with sleep-disordered breathing. I limit my practice just to adults, but I am very fortunate to have Dr. James Roy as one of my partners. He is a pediatrician and board certified sleep specialist, one of the few in the country.

Depression and insomnia

This article discusses insomnia and depression, two problems that often exist together. Research has already shown that chronic insomnia can increase the risk of developing depression. The study in this article showed that if someone has residual insomnia after depression begins to improve, they are at increased risk of relapsing into depression again.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Sleep quality and cell phones

This article discusses research about the affects of late night texting on sleep quality. Obviously, getting texts all night will disrupt sleep. But also, the light from the little screen is enough to suppress secretion of melatonin, which can also reduce sleep quality. The article mentioned Dr. Breus, who is an insomnia expert, and he gives some tips on improving sleep in kids with cell phones. Limiting screen time in the evening and certainly at night can help.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Zeo app for iPhone may help you sleep better

This article discusses a new, free iPhone app from the company that makes the Zeo. This app can help improve sleep quality. Of course, it won't replace a sleep physician, but it may be helpful as an adjunct.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Sleep and dementia

This article reviews 4 studies presented at the 2012 Alzheimer's Association International Conference®. They showed that sleep quality and sleep duration can affect risk of cognitive decline in the elderly. However, researchers do not know if improving sleep quality will reduce or prevent cognitive decline. Another study showed that sleep disordered breathing is related to dementia, which makes clinical sense.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Compression stockings may improve obstructive sleep apnea

This article reviews a recent study showing that compression stockings may improve obstructive sleep apnea. I discussed this more during a previous post.

This is the theory behind why the stockings may help. Fluid can accumulate in the lower legs during the day because for much of the day, the legs are lower than the heart, and gravity pulls the fluid down into the legs. This fluid usually gets resorbed back into the blood stream when the patient lays down at night, as the legs are at the level of the heart. But this fluid expands the blood volume and it can leak out at other locations, such as the back of the throat. This causes swelling and worsens the narrowing seen in OSA. The stockings can prevent the fluid accumulation in the legs to begin with, thus limiting swelling in the back of the throat when the patient lays down.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Caffeine associated sleep disturbance

This month's Sleep Journal has an article about genetic influences on caffeine's ability to produce sleep disturbances. Dr. Byrne and others surveyed over two thousand individuals for caffeine's propensity to cause sleep disturbance. The study authors then analyzed millions of gene fragments from the study participants and discovered that several genes are thought to influence caffeine induced insomnia. This is interesting because it could help in our assessment of the etiology of insomnia and may improve our treatments.