July 2006 Archives

I found this product really interesting - Pillow Phonic's stereo pillow speakers, that connect to different audio devices like tape, CD, MP3 players, radio or TV. The speakers then play the sound through the pillow.

The pillow-speaker system can be ordered from the Pillow Phonic website and prices start at $ 25.95.

Some of the user testimonials on the site said "... I put in one of your tapes and in minutes I'm out. I can't even listen to the end of the tape because I'm sleeping way before it ends...." and another said "...I had taken pills to help me sleep for the past two years. Since the first
night I slept on my Pillow-Phonic I did not need the pills any more..."

I plan to get one immediately, then will remember not to play one of my heavy metal CDs to blast my sleep away!

Yaron Dagan, M.D., Ph.D., is the director of the Institute for Fatigue and Sleep Medicine at Chaim Sheba Medical Center in Israel, and has worked with over 600 patients who have sleep/ wake schedule disorders.

Dr Dagan reports that most of these patients have been treated successfully with melatonin.

"We found melatonin to be a very good treatment for these patients. In Israel, [melatonin] is a pharmaceutical substance that needs a physician's prescription and is prepared in pharmacies. The usual dosage...is 5 mg taken daily at a fixed time [usually 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.]. Melatonin treatment is well established in our treatment protocol," he said. "It has to be emphasized, however, that this treatment is only effective for biological rhythm disorders [sleep/wake schedule disturbances and jet lag], but it is not a miracle sleeping pill for psychophysiological insomnia."

Dagan added that he has not confronted any major side effect.

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The religiously inclined among us find a special peace by praying at bedtime. And a prayer is just what you need to calm the mind, which can aid sleep so much.

Here is an interesting site, I saw some charming variations on the traditional "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer here.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
And in the morning when I awake,
help me Lord, the path of love to take.

Contributed by Betty-Jo Tilley & Richard Kuhlenschmidt

Also, seen on a poster, one more variation, author unknown:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
See me safely through the night,
And wake me with the morning light.

You can also find many other beautiful bedtime prayers on the same site.

17 year old Peter Polansky who was ranked no. 1 on Canada's junior tennis circuit, almost died when he jumped out of his hotel room window in his sleep.

A violent dream caused Peter to kick the glass of the window and fall three storeys.

"Uh, well, I saw like a black figure, with like a knife just standing by my bed, towards where the door was. I said to myself, 'I need to get away,'" he said.

It was all a dream that drove him out a three story window. It turns out, Polansky nearly sleep-walked to his death.

From Holistic Living Online site.

Relaxation achieved through Yoga, using breathing and visualization techniques, can help to overcome insomnia and improve the quality of sleep.

Yoga exercises for insomnia are organized into a three-part sequence. They are designed to help you unwind mentally and physically and prepare you to sleep.

1. Use breathing techniques to relax for five minutes to unwind from daily activities.
2. Do gentle stretches for ten minutes. When doing the exercises listen to your body and be guided by it. Stretch only as far and as often as is comfortable. Do only those asanas or postures you can achieve comfortably.
3. Use breathing relaxation or yoga nidra for ten minutes.

Yoga Nidra Relaxation

In Sanskrit, nidra means sleep.

1. Breathe deeply and evenly through both nostrils for several seconds. Feel the breath flow right down into your abdomen. As you exhale, let any remaining tension in your body flow out with it.
2. Visualize a relaxing scene. Focus on your feet. Tense and release your toes, then flex your feet hard. As you relax them, feel all the tension drain from your feet, ankles, calves, knees, thighs, buttocks, and abdomen and breathe it out.
3. Focus on your hands. Tense the muscles in your arms and hands by clenching your hands into a tight fist, release and let the tension flow from your fingertips up your arms to your shoulders. Breathe it out.
4. Focus on your shoulders. Tense your shoulder blades and relax them three times.
5. Turn your head to right and left to free any tension in the neck muscles and let your neck relax. Finally tense your facial muscles and as you release them be aware of all the tension draining out of the areas of tension, around your jaw and mouth, the eyes, and away from the forehead.

Standing stretches

Stand with your legs hip width apart, feet parallel, and spine Lifted up with head and neck in a straight Line. Push your heels and toes into the floor. Inhale and exhale deeply a few times.

Whole body stretch

Inhaling deeply, raise your arms above your head with hands clasped, and come up on to your toes. Stretch the whole body upward. Exhale and bring your arms to your side, and lower your heels to the floor. Repeat once more.

Gentle swings

Stand with feet slightly apart and knees slightly bent. Gently swing both arms first to the right, turning your head to the right. Then swing to the Left, turning your head to the Left. Repeat several times in a continuous movement. Relax with your Legs together and arms by your sides.

www.sleep-aid-tips.com is a very interesting site with lots of natural sleep aid tips and home remedies.

The site includes a section on instant fixes for insomnia:

If all else fails and you are still awake in the dead of night, try some or all, of these quick insomnia cures:

• Lie on your back with your knees propped up on a small pillow.
• Sleep with your head pointing in the direction North.
• Get up the same time every morning and go to bed at the same time every night for a week.
• Visualize yourself in a peaceful place, such as a field full of wildflowers with a gentle breeze blowing, or near a gently flowing stream where you can see fish swimming past you.
• Visualize a boring scenario, such as a lecture you have no interest in.
• Read out loud the names and numbers from the phone book.
• Reserve your bedroom and the bed as a place for sleep only.
• Wiggle your toes gently until you fall asleep.
• Rub your stomach lightly.
• Cut up a mild onion, place in a jar by the bed and sniff before retiring.
• Think of ten wonderful things that have happened to you today.
• Squeeze all your muscles together tightly for a few minutes and then relax.
• Threaten yourself that “If I am not asleep within the next 10 minutes, I will get up and…” clean the oven, or clean the fridge….whatever you really hate doing… When your brain knows you really mean it - this will scare you to sleep to avoid a nasty chore!

The www.emedicinehealth.com site has a section devoted to sleep disorders among women.

Women are twice as likely as men to have difficulties falling asleep or staying asleep. Although younger women usually have sounder sleep with fewer disturbances, some women are prone to sleep problems throughout their reproductive years. Only recently has the medical community begun to focus on women's sleep disorders.   

A number of factors may affect women’s sleep. Changes in hormonal levels, stress, illness, lifestyle, and sleep environment may impact sleep. Pregnancy- and menstrual-related hormonal fluctuations may affect sleep patterns, mood, and reaction to stress. Many women have premenstrual sleep disturbances like difficulty falling asleep, nighttime waking, difficulty waking up, and daytime sleepiness.

Psychosocial stress may threaten sleep more than hormonal changes. Many young women reduce sleep to cope with work and their roles as mothers and wives. They ignore fatigue and other effects of inadequate sleep. About 30% of employed women report sleep problems. Sleep problems are more common in women older than 40 years. Pregnancy may also disturb sleep.

Getting enough sleep improves job performance, concentration, social interaction, and general sense of well-being.    
   
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Sleep disorders and depression are  linked and while insomnia is often seen as one of the symptoms of depression, about 15% of depressed people sleep too much.

Lack of sleep alone does not cause depression, but it does play a role. Sleep deprivation caused by another medical illness or by personal problems can make depression worse. An inability to sleep that lasts over a long period of time is also an important clue that someone might be depressed.

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Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc. has launched an ad campaign for its new sleeping pill, Rozerem. Rozerem was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last year as the first sleeping medication not designated as a controlled substance, therefore lacking potential for abuse.

The company and studies indicate the drug lacks the risk of chemical abuse or dependency that other prescription sleeping aids pose. Rozerem will compete against drugs like Ambien and Lunesta, both of which list the potential for dependency in their labels.

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A dental appliance now offers an alternative to apnea sufferers who need to use a CPAP system (continuous positive airway pressure). While the CPAP is effective, many people find it too cumbersome.

Dr. Kenneth Hilsen says, "One of the techniques for treating the most common sleep disorder, which is sleep apnea, is the use of an oral appliance.”

Though it looks like a sports mouth-guard, the top and bottom are joined together. The device holds the bottom jaw forward, preventing the tongue from relaxing into the airway during sleep.

Dr. Hilsen says, "If we just move the jaw forward, the tongue moves with it and the airway just becomes more open.”  The process to make the appliance is similar to other orthodontic work.

“We take impressions. We take special bites too so we know where the jaw should be placed, and we send that off to the laboratory.”

And since it's less bulky, patients are more apt to use it.  “Compliance is very high," Dr. Hilsen says. "People wear them for years.”

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has published guidelines on the use of oral appliances for sleep apnea. The sleep specialists say that the devices are appropriate for mild to moderate sleep obstructive sleep apnea patients, and can even be used in patients with more serious cases if they aren’t using their CPAP machine.

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A new Austrian research study has found that men who sleep with a partner are at risk of damaging their brains - at least in the short term. The studies lead researcher, Gehard Kloesch says that even without sex, sharing a bed can disturb sleep quality and cause a decline in cognitive ability the next day.

The team monitored eight unmarried, childless couples for 10 nights together and 10 nights apart.

They found that men and women reacted differently. While men who thought they would sleep better with a partner, didn’t. Women thought they would sleep better without someone else, actually did sleep better.

The study found that the lack of sleep for men increased their stress hormone levels, which reduced their ability to perform cognitive tests the following day.

Women apparently slept more deeply and did not react the same when sleep was disturbed.

Kloesch presented his work at a meeting of the Forum of European Neurosciences in Vienna last week.

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Although jet lag afflicts all travelers who are traversing different time zones, it was not considered a medical condition until recently. Now, it is recognized as one of the 84 known sleep disorders.

A person suffering from jet lag has a biological clock which is out of sync with local time. When traveling to a new time zone, our bodies are slow to adjust and remain on their original biological schedule for several days. The result is that we feel excessively sleepy during the day or wide awake at night.

The severity of the jet lag symptoms is usually directly related to the number of time zones crossed by a flight. Jet lag symptoms typically last longer following eastward flights. Flying east usually results in difficulty initiating sleep, where as flying west results in early morning awakenings. All age groups are susceptible, but individuals over the age of 50 are more likely to develop jet lag.

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Picture courtesy www.flickr.com

Norwegian study has found cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) better at treating long-term insomnia than the sleep medication zopiclone, which is very similar to the widely advertised drug Lunesta.

The findings showed that CBT was superior to sleep medications for older individuals suffering from chronic insomnia. In fact, zopiclone did not perform better than placebo pills," said the study's lead author, Dr. Borge Sivertsen, an associate researcher at the Norwegian Competence Center for Sleep Disorders.

Additionally, "CBT increased the patients' slow-wave sleep (deep sleep) compared to a significant decrease caused by zopiclone. This finding is especially important, as a lack of slow wave sleep may be responsible for impaired daytime functioning and next-day sleepiness," he said.

Results of the study appear in the June 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), almost six of 10 Americans report having insomnia at least a few nights weekly. As many as 25 percent of people in the United States use medications to help them sleep at least once every year, according to the NSF. The use of prescription sleep medications, such as Ambien, Lunesta and Sonata, has been increasing, and while these drugs are effective for short-term sleeping problems, users can build up a tolerance to them and they lose their effectiveness, according to Susan Zafarlotfi, clinical director for the Institute for Sleep-Wake Disorders at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.

In the study, eighteen participants received cognitive behavioral therapy, which included six weekly individual treatment sessions in which they were given information on relaxation techniques, how to control their sleeping environment to reduce stimuli, and how to restrict sleeping hours so it's easier to fall asleep at bedtime. Sixteen people were given 7.5 milligrams of zopiclone nightly for six weeks. The remaining 12 volunteers received a placebo.
Study results were measured at six weeks and then again at six months for the medication and cognitive behavioral therapy group.

Those receiving CBT improved their "sleep efficiency" from 81.4 percent to 90.1 percent by the end of the 6-month study, while the zopiclone group decreased from 82.3 percent to 81.9 percent. While total sleep time was similar for all three groups at six months, people who received CBT spent more time in slow-wave sleep and woke up less during the night than people in the other two groups, according to the study.

Sivertsen said if you're having trouble sleeping, don't stay in bed. He said this can inhibit your body's sleep drive. Get up and do something non-stimulating until you feel as if you can sleep. He said it's very important to get up at the same time everyday, including on the weekends and to avoid taking daytime naps.

Other things that can help you sleep are avoiding alcohol, caffeine and nicotine in the hours before bedtime.

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Doctors don't completely understand the causes of bruxism. In some adults, abnormal alignment of upper and lower teeth (malocclusion) may contribute to the problem.

More often, psychological factors cause bruxism, including:

• Anxiety, stress or tension
• Suppressed anger or frustration
• Aggressive, competitive or hyperactive personality type

In children, bruxism may be related to growth and development. Some researchers think children brux because their top and bottom teeth don't fit together comfortably. Others believe that children grind their teeth because of tension, anger, allergy problems, or as a response to pain from an earache or teething. Bruxism occurs in up to 30 percent of children, often around the ages of 5 and 6. It's particularly common in children with cerebral palsy or severe mental retardation. But most children outgrow bruxism before they get their adult teeth.

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Financial debt is not the only problem for students in college, most of them are in a sleep debt, according to William Dement, chief of the division of sleep medicine at Stanford University.

When students sleep less and less hours, the lost hours will accumulate into a sleep debt that progressively becomes harder to pay back. Too much sleep debt will result in the person becoming overly tired.

Dement also said that most students don't get the sleep they need, and mistakenly attribute their tiredness to stress or virus or boredom.

Sleep loss can also affect memory. Sheila Osterman, supervisor of the Sleep Disorder Center in Lafayette, says, "One process of Rapid Eye Movement sleep takes short term memory and turns it into long term memory. So getting a good night's sleep before a test will help you recall things better."

Sleep deprivation can also cause mood changes and bring on pessimism, stress and anger. If not contained in time, these can lead to anxiety disorders or depression. Sleep deprivation is also associated with weight gain.

Driving becomes risky for sleep deprived persons, and is reckoned to be as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.

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'The Science of Sleep', a movie by Michel Gondry, of the music videos and  'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' fame, is set for a theatrical release in US this August.

The plot revolves around the shy and insecure Stephane (Gael Garcia Bernal) an artist who lives in Paris. When Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg) moves in next door, Stephane develops feelings of affection for the girl. Struggling to control his emotions in real life, he escapes into a dream world during his sleep. With a little time and some practice, he begins to learn how to manipulate the events within his dreams, but simultaneously becomes trapped inside his fantasy world by the characters he creates.

The film moves between dreams and waking life, with each one spilling into the other. This film has most critics raving and mixed reactions from viewers. One of those you need to see for yourself and decide.

A list of habits that help to boost immunity and avoid infections reaffirms the importance of sleep.  Getting at least 8 hours of sleep can help you to avoid infections; being tired and rundown makes you more susceptible to illness.

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A new study has found that the sleep drug Ambien is safe to use long term.

The study -- released Wednesday at the Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum 25th Biennial Congress in Chicago -- showed Ambien Controlled-Release is "well-tolerated and effective in improving sleep onset and maintenance for up to six months in patients with chronic primary insomnia when taken as needed for up to seven nights per week," Ambien maker Sanofi-Aventis said in a statement.

The data also showed patients in the study had no "rebound insomnia" following discontinuation of the drug.  The company said it studied Ambien CR in 1,018 adults for 25 weeks.

"These data are important for patients who experience chronic insomnia because they demonstrate there is a treatment option in Ambien CR that can be taken safely and effectively as needed long-term to help them both fall asleep and maintain sleep through the night," Tom Roth, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, said in a statement issued by the company.

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While some people suffering from sleep deprivation can benefit from just a few lifestyle changes, in others it may be necessary to diagnose the problem through medical sleep studies.

At centers that are designed to do this, such as the Baylor Grapevine Sleep Lab, patients stay overnight in a suite with all the comforts of home, including hardwood floors, private restrooms, a full-size bed, and a TV with a DVD player and VCR. During a seven-to eight-hour period, their brain activity, sleep states, heart rate, breathing and oxygen levels, and leg and eye movements are electronically recorded, monitored and studied by a specially trained sleep technician. Then qualified sleep specialists interpret the results. If a problem is diagnosed, one of several treatment options is recommended.

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Advanced sleep phase syndrome (ASPS) is a disorder in which a person’s sleep time is early in relation to the time of day. This syndrome results in symptoms of evening sleepiness, an early sleep onset, and an awakening time that is earlier than desired.

What causes ASPS?
The disorder is related to circadian rhythms, which regulate the internal biological clock and influence functions such as sleep-wake patterns. While the causes are not exactly known, it is believed to an inherited condition. ASPS is more likely to appear in the elderly.

What are the symptoms of ASPS?
People with advanced sleep phase syndrome have:

• An inability to stay awake until the desired bedtime and/or an inability to remain asleep until the desired time of awakening.
• A habitual sleep period that is of normal quality and duration, with a sleep onset earlier than desired.
• The tendency to awaken spontaneously earlier than desired.

In people who have ASPS, daytime school or work activities are not affected by sleepiness. However, evening activities are cut short by the need to retire early. Typical sleep onset times are between 6 and 8 p.m., and no later than 9 p.m., and wake times between 1 and 3 a.m., and no later than 5 a.m. These sleep-onset and wake times occur despite a person’s best efforts to delay sleep to later hours.

How is ASPS treated?
Advanced sleep phase syndrome is treated with chronotherapy--a behavioral technique in which bedtime is systematically delayed--or with bright light therapy. Bright-light therapy is designed to reset a person’s circadian rhythm to a later hour.

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A new research study conducted at the Harvard Medical School has found new evidence that sleep improves the brain's ability to remember information.

Memory is possibly a person's most distinctive characteristic and defines who we are, and acts as a guide to our present and future. Memories endure and the loss of memory, because of diseases such as Alzheimer's or as a result of accidental brain damage, is particularly devastating and distressing.

Psychologists have defined normal human memory into procedural and declarative memory. Procedural memory is used for skills such as how to do something such as riding a bike; while declarative memory is more concerned with knowing that a bicycle is called a bicycle.

Lead researcher Jeffrey Ellenbogen says sleep appears to strengthen memories and makes them resistant to interfering information. Ellenbogen and colleagues studied the influence of sleep on declarative memory in 60 healthy, college-aged adults who did not use prescription drugs and did not have known sleep disorders or abnormal sleep patterns.

The researchers say the finding may be particularly important for people with mentally demanding lifestyles, such as doctors, medical residents and college students, who often do not get enough sleep.

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Delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) is a disorder of sleep timing. People with DSPS tend to fall asleep at very late times, and will subsequently sleep later in the day having difficulty waking up in time for normal work, school, or social needs.

What causes DSPS?

The exact cause of DSPS is not known, but the disorder is related to circadian rhythms, which regulate the internal biological clock and influence functions such as sleep-wake patterns. DSPS can occur in people who have experienced head trauma or serious illnesses. In these cases, the body's natural healing process might disrupt normal circadian rhythm and leave the biological clock unable to reset itself. Many teenagers tend to have delayed sleep phase but often grow out of it.

What are the symptoms of DSPS?

DSPS is characterized by the inability to fall asleep before early morning (for example, midnight to 3 a.m.) and difficulty waking in the morning. Usually, people who have DSPS can fall asleep when the body signals that it is time. Sleepiness does not usually occur before this delayed period. If a person tries to force the body into a particular phase, symptoms such as excessive daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and altered eating habits might develop.

How is DSPS treated?

DSPS treatments are meant to adjust a person’s circadian rhythm and sleep pattern. The goal of treatment is to fit a person’s sleep pattern into a schedule that can allow the person to meet the demands of a desired lifestyle. Treatment is meant to allow the person with DSPS to wake up at a given time feeling refreshed and functional. People receiving treatment gradually adjust to an earlier bedtime with sleep therapy. This therapy usually combines proper sleep hygiene practice and external stimulus therapy such as bright light therapy and chronotherapy. Chronotherapy is a behavioral technique in which bedtime is systematically adjusted. Bright-light therapy is designed to reset a person’s circadian rhythm to the desired pattern. When combined, these therapies might produce significant results in people with DSPS. Patients can also be treated with one medicine that puts them to sleep earlier in the evening and another medicine that helps wake them up in the morning, but this form of treatment is usually used only in extreme cases.

Exposure to excessively loud noise that is common to homes near airports can cause changes in blood pressure and sleep and digestive patterns — all signs of stress on the human body.

On a 1997 questionnaire distributed to two groups — one living near a major airport, and the other in a quiet neighborhood — two-thirds of those living near the airport indicated they were bothered by aircraft noise, and most said that it interfered with their daily activities. The same two-thirds complained more than the other group of sleep difficulties, and also perceived themselves as being in poorer health.

The European Commission, which governs the European Union, considers living near an airport to be a risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke, as increased blood pressure from noise pollution can trigger these more serious maladies. Airport noise can also have negative effects on children's health and development.

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This lullaby by Johannes Brahms is a classic made famous by Celine Dion – a soothing melody that is sure to work on some tired adults as well as it does on babies.

The traditional words sung to this piece (different from Celine’s) are:

Lullaby and goodnight,
with roses bedight,
With lilies bedecked is baby's wee bed;
Lay thee down now and rest,
may thy slumber be blest,
Lay thee down now and rest,
may thy slumber be blest.

Lullaby and goodnight,
thy Mother's delight,
Bright angels around
my darling shall stand;
They will guard thee from harms,
thou shalt wake in my arms,
They will guard thee from harms,
thou shalt wake in my arms.

You can also hear the piece arranged as a duo for clarinet and piano and print the score.

Bruxism is the medical term for grinding, gnashing or clenching your teeth. This condition affects both kids and adults.

Most kids who have bruxism — and some adults with the condition — grind or gnash their teeth during sleep, usually in the early part of the night. This is called sleep bruxism. In most cases, bruxism is mild and may not even require treatment. However, it can be frequent and violent and can lead to jaw disorders, headaches, damaged teeth and other problems.

Unfortunately, people with sleep bruxism usually aren't aware of the habit, so they aren't diagnosed with the condition until complications occur. That's why it's important to know the signs and symptoms of bruxism and to seek regular dental care.

• Teeth grinding or clenching, which may be loud enough to wake your sleep partner
• Teeth that are worn down, flattened or chipped
• Worn tooth enamel, exposing the inside of your tooth
• Increased tooth sensitivity
• Jaw pain or tightness in your jaw muscles
• Earache — because of violent jaw muscle contractions, not a problem with your ear
• Dull morning headache
• Chronic facial pain
• Chewed tissue on the inside of your cheek

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A research report published in the International Journal of Obesity says that a number of aspects of modern living – such as lack of sleep, exposure to environmental chemicals and living with air conditioning -- may be contributing to obesity in America.

Among the other factors, lack of sleep is one. Research in animals and humans suggests that chronic sleep deprivation boosts appetite and eating. In recent decades, adults have gone from sleeping for an average of 9 hours to about 7 hours, the researchers point out.

There is also evidence that industrial chemicals that act as endocrine disruptors may increase body fat. 

Another factor contributing to obesity among Americans  is air conditioning. The body burns calories when forced to regulate its own temperature and people tend to eat less in hot, humid weather. 

The report argues that obesity research needs to look beyond the obvious culprits to more insidiuous reasons and cites 10 potential obesity risk factors in all, including: increased rates of older mothers, whose children may be more prone to excess weight gain; a range of medications, such as antidepressants, which can promote weight gain; and a decrease in smoking rates, because people often gain weight when they quit and the absence of nicotine, an appetite suppressant.

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Melatonin is a hormone made by the pineal gland of the brain. It is believed that melatonin helps our brains to know when it is time to sleep. Melatonin supplements in pill form can also be taken and may be made from natural or synthetic melatonin. As natural melatonin is made from animals, it may be contaminated with a virus and should be avoided.

Melatonin can be used to treat insomnia and to prevent jet lag. There is still little scientific evidence to prove its role in preventing disease or promoting health.

Melatonin is sold without a prescription in the United States. However, melatonin products are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

It may be better not to take melatonin until we know more about it. If you decide to try it, talk to your doctor first.

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In a study of the sleep characteristics of 669 adults in Chicago, Dr. Diane S. Lauderdale of the University of Chicago and her colleagues have found that sleep seems to be related to social differences, race and sex.

The study shows that blacks get less sleep than whites, and men less than women. The wealthier you are, the more sleep you’re likely to get.

People with very demanding jobs in terms of high status, high income may be expected to be getting less sleep, but that was not found. The findings could help explain why blacks suffer from more health problems than whites, she added.

The study  monitored sleep in a group of men and women, most in their 40s, who were participating in a large study of heart disease risk. Fifty-eight percent were female and 44 percent were black.

Participants told the researchers how much sleep they thought they were getting, and then kept track of the time spent in bed and asleep using sleep logs. Researchers also fitted them with wristwatch-like devices known as actigraphs that recorded their activity for three days, including two weeknights and one weekend night.

While people thought they were getting about seven hours of sleep nightly, they were really getting only about six hours.. On average, white women slept 6.7 hours a night, white men slept 6.1 hours, black women slept 5.9 hours, and black men slept 5.1 hours nightly. The racial and sex differences remained even after the researchers factored in the effects of socioeconomic factors such as employment and lifestyle. 

The amount of sleep people got increased with their income, and this effect was stronger for the black participants than the whites.

There are a number of potential explanations for the findings, Lauderdale noted. People who make less money may have more worries that prevent them from sleeping well. They could be living in noisier, less comfortable environments, and they may have more health problems.

The racial and economic sleep differences detected in this study could help explain the well-known disparities in health that exist between blacks and whites, she added.

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A newly discovered clue to the workings of a protein, PER, that helps regulate sleep and sets the body’s biological clock may aid the treatment of sleep disorders.

The discovery relates to the way in which a mutation in the CK1 gene, called the tau mutation, affects the gene’s activity. This change triggers changes in the body clock in ways that are different from what had been formerly believed, which were found when researchers studied how fast PER degraded in cells.

“The key to developing treatments for problems like depression and insomnia — disorders influenced by circadian rhythm — is being able to predict how the body’s internal clock can be controlled,” Dr. David Virshup of the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute said in a statement.

Virshup and Daniel Forger of the University of Michigan were co-lead authors of the report.  The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Huntsman Cancer Institute and the Sloan Foundation.

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Here's wishing all of you a great Independence Day, and freedom from sleep worries!

We at Rejuvenighted will keep working hard to bring you the latest in medical research, alternative therapies and simple habits that you can follow to reclaim your restful nights.

Cheers!

Sleepwalking, formally known as somnambulism, is a behavior disorder that results in walking or performing other complex behaviors while in deep sleep. It is much more common in children than adults and is more likely to occur if a person is sleep deprived. A sleepwalker is often difficult to awaken and will probably not remember the sleepwalking incident.

Sleepwalking usually involves a series of complex behaviors, the most obvious of which is walking. These may include simply sitting up in bed and looking around, walking around the room or house, leaving the house and even driving long distances. It is a common misconception that a sleepwalker should not be awakened. In fact, it can be quite dangerous not to wake a sleepwalker.

The prevalence of sleepwalking in the general population is estimated to be between 1% and 15%. The onset or persistence of sleepwalking in adulthood is common, and is usually not associated with any significant underlying psychiatric or psychological problems. Triggers for sleepwalking may include sleep deprivation, sedative agents (including alcohol), febrile illnesses, and certain medications.

Sleepwalking is more common among children, especially those between the ages of three and seven, and occurs more often in children with obstructive sleep apnea. There is also a higher instance of sleepwalking among children who wet the bed. Sleep terrors are a related disorder and both tend to run in families.

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Picture courtesy flickr.com