Are bad sleeping habits driving us mad?

[n2doc]

18 February 2009 by Emma Young

TAKE anyone with a psychiatric disorder and the chances are they don't sleep well. The result of their illness, you might think. Now this long-standing assumption is being turned on its head, with the radical suggestion that poor sleep might actually cause some psychiatric illnesses or lead people to behave in ways that doctors mistake for mental problems. The good news is that sleep treatments could help or even cure some of these patients. Shockingly, it also means that many people, including children, could be taking psychoactive drugs that cannot help them and might even be harmful.

No one knows how many people might fall into this category. "That is very frightening," says psychologist Matt Walker from the University of California, Berkeley. "Wouldn't you think that it would be important for us as a society to understand whether 3 per cent, 5 per cent or 50 per cent of people diagnosed with psychiatric problems are simply suffering from sleep abnormalities?"

First, we'd need to know how and to what extent sleep disorders could be responsible for psychiatric problems. In the few years since sleep researchers identified the problem, they have made big strides in doing just that.

Doctors studying psychiatric disorders noticed long ago that erratic sleep was somehow connected. Adults with depression, for instance, are five times as likely as the average person to have difficulty breathing when asleep, while between a quarter and a half of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) suffer from sleep complaints, compared with just 7 per cent of other children.

more:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126962.100-could-bad-sleeping-habits-be-driving-us-mad.html

[CrispyQ]

1. Thanks for the link. I love sleep studies!

Almost as much as I love to sleep! Sleep is the one thing I rarely cut back on when my schedule gets full. I get grumpy & irritable when I'm tired.

60 Minutes did a fascinating segment on sleep last year.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/14/60minutes/printable3939721.shtml

[kimmerspixelated]

3. Agreed! Sleep has EVERYTHING to do with health,

mental or otherwise... I have noticed a tremendous difference in premenopausal symptoms, eating habits(or low blood sugar due to less sleep) ..it's all related.

[Sequoia]

2. I never have a solid night's sleep.

Nature calls and then the neighbor's reve up their trucks starting at 3am, 4am and 5am on most days. Then I worry about stuff inbetween those hours and wish like hell I could sleep.

[kimmerspixelated]

5. Have you tried melatonin?

Just a tiny pinch usually does it for me. Also, what about caffeine and alcohol intake? I don't drink much at all anymore, but sometimes a half glass of wine will throw me off. Usually any caffeine past 4 pm and it effects me. Earplugs for the neighbors?

[Sequoia]

7. Sometimes I take one tablet of melatonin.

Don't want to make a habit of it. Yes, the wine thing is a sure thrower-offer. Earplugs sound good but then I wouldn't hear the alarm. I don't like things in my ears...hench I never took dictation in past jobs, never wanted a Walkman or even an Ipod. At any rate, things that make me want to fall asleep like rain, crickets/frogs, and a train in the distance aren't always available. In the summer a fan cuts out the sound of the neighbors' trucks.

[CrispyQ]

8. They have white noise machines.

There are also clock radios that offer nature noises for falling asleep & waking.

My favorite sleep aid is a dawn simulator lamp. I guess that would be a wakening aid. ;) The lamp slowly lights up over a period of time that you can set - I set mine to 30 minutes. By the time the clock goes off, the room is light. For winter mornings it's fantastic! I'm usually awake before the clock goes off & I'm not groggy like I am without the light.

I'm very, very picky about my sleep environment, can you tell? :o

I use melatonin sometimes. It's a good anti-oxidant.

[Sequoia]

12. That lamp sounds like a good idea if you live way up north in the winter.

I hate that clique: You can sleep when you're dead.

Thing is, if you don't sleep you will be dead, and quickly!!!

[varkam]

14. You really shouldn't drink before you go to sleep.

A lot of people that I know will drink alcohol before they go to bed and, while it helps to get to sleep, it makes your sleep suck. After a few hours it metabolizes into sugar and causes micro-awakenings during the night. In addition, if you have sleep apnea then alcohol exacerbates the problem as it is also a muscle relaxant and can cause the airway to collapse more readily

[tabatha]

4. I have read in many sources that

an adequate amount of VitD is important for good sleep - which ties into another observation that people who go for a walk in the morning/noon (with adequate sunlight) sleep better at night.

For a long time, when I was not sleeping well, I relied on foods that made one sleepy - cereal and milk, etc (seratonin->melatonin). But they are bad for the waistline. Melatonin pills (from Trader Joes) were also tried, and always work when getting out into the sun has not been possible.

Eye masks are very good for getting the brain to start making melatonin.

[kimmerspixelated]

6. Good point about the VitD.

Come to think of it, I have upped my D, and haven't had many sleep issues at all!

[Why Syzygy]

11. Thanks..

Good to know :thumbsup:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

9. I think most people are chronically sleep deprived anyway.

I have been sick all my life of these so called "experts" who pronounce that "everyone needs EIGHT HOURS OF SLEEP a night" like it's handed down from God.

People vary. I used to sleep twelve hours a night, very solidly. Now I get up a lot and sometimes have to eat in the early morning, but I need at least ten hours a night to be truly functional. Seven or eight won't cut it.

Some people would think I am lazy.

I've seen ads for memory foam mattresses with the slogan "Make it a great six". I did not understand this until they assume that everybody only gets six hours a night, instead of eight or even ten, so they want you to buy a good mattress.

Our society is messed up. People are tired, stressed, laid off, wondering about the car payments, the rent, the screaming crazy boss, the backstabbing co-workers, yada yada.....

[varkam]

15. Very true - people vary.

Not everyone needs the same amount of sleep. My ex needed at least ten to function - I can do with six (though prefer eight). People are kind of all over the spectrum.

[OhioChick]

10. I've been driven mad from sleeplessness for years....

I average about 4 hours a night and consider myself to be an insomniac.

[kimmerspixelated]

13. No,No,No!

We must make you a nice chammomile tea immediately and draw you a warm lavender bath!

[OhioChick]

16. Funny you mentioned that...

Someone yesterday told me to try Chamomile tea. I think that I'm going to pick up some this weekend. :thumbsup:

[trotsky]

17. How much caffeine do you consume and when?

My mom had the worst problems sleeping, but she also drank a Diet Coke with most meals - including supper.

[Why Syzygy]

18. My mom had insomnia.

And, I discovered she was watching Jerry Springer at 11 PM :eyes:

[OhioChick]

20. I got rid of all caffeine years ago....

I now only drink water all day long. (It gets old...trust me) I stay away from sugar as well.....don't want to be all hyped up before bed....so there's nothing really left to drink.

I think that most of my insomnia is due to stress.

[strawwoman]

21. That explains a lot...

:rofl:

[trotsky]

22. You're back again?

Just can't get enough of that pizza, can you?

[HuckleB]

19. Yes.

I see it in the office, every day of the week. It's just not insomnia, which is a very big concern. It's people choosing or absentmindedly ending up with bad sleep habits that lead to increased stress, anxiety and depression.