Showing posts with label non-24. Show all posts
Showing posts with label non-24. Show all posts

09 October 2015

THIS WEEK'S SLEEP NEWS, Oct 2 - 8


 SPECIAL  || Recalls, special announcements, breaking news, events
  • For people who suffer from Non-24 Sleep-Wake Disorder with a consistent delay, check out this handy new calculator which can help you determine your ideal bedtimes and rise times, courtesy the Circadian Sleep Disorders Network.
  • Note: When you see this badge, , it indicates that the curator at SHC finds the link especially interesting and has added editorial comments below the link as food for thought in purple. 
**********
 TOP TEN  || Sleep news picks this week -- newest to oldest

1. OCT 8 || THE GUARDIAN
Sleep study finds ‘hotspot’ regions where Americans don't get enough rest
National

 2.  OCT 8  || STANFORD MEDICINE NEWS CENTER
Among teens, sleep deprivation an epidemic: Sleep deprivation increases the likelihood teens will suffer myriad negative consequences, including an inability to concentrate, poor grades, drowsy-driving incidents, anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide and even suicide attempts
Kids


3. OCT 7 || LEX18.com
Photo [of Macklemore] Sparks Conversation About Co-Sleeping Safety, SIDS
Curator's remarks: This is where America's focus lives... inside the lives of celebrities. Whether this is a good thing or not is besides the point; the point is, any time a celebrity's image, experience or comment sparks a conversation about sleep health, it's an opportunity for widespread public health education. Why we didn't hop on the drowsy driving bandwagon with Tracy Morgan's crippling accident (and Jimmy Mack's death) still defies explanation. Lost opportunity, that. 
Culture


4.  OCT 7 || TALK RADIO AM 640
STAFFORD – Should He Have Been Driving a Bus in The First Place?!?
Curator's remarks: Controversial. How do we decide who is competent to drive when sleep health questions linger? 
Public Health & Safety

5. OCT 6 || BRAIN DECODER
Scientists Get to the Root of Cataplexy, a Condition That Makes People Collapse When They Laugh
The Science of Sleep

6. OCT 6 || HUFFPOST POLITICS
The Surgeon General Wants You, America, To Sleep More
Public Health & Safety


7. OCT 6 || INFECTION CONTROL TODAY
Experts Say Malnutrition, Sleep Deprivation Should be Part of the Standard Safety Checklist
Curator's remarks: Not only in the ER but with every single visit at urgent care or with one's primary. Asking about sleep health should be part of the vitals collection at the beginning of every patient-physician encounter.
Public Health & Safety

8. OCT 5 || US NEWS & WORLD REPORT
Eating After Dark: A Bad Habit or Medical Condition? When sleep disorders meet eating disorders, the combination can be a nightmare
The Science of Sleep


9. OCT 2 || SCIENCE ALERT
Here's what happens to your body when you stay up all night
Curator's remarks: SHC cannot express this enough times: sleep is NOT optional.
Lifestyle & Hygiene
**********

 WORLD  || International sleep news

OCT 3 || TIMES OF INDIA [INDIA]
9% of Indians above 50 years suffer from sleep disorders

OCT 5 || THE KOREA HERALD [SOUTH KOREA]
More Korean women in 30s suffer sleep disorders

OCT 5 || THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS [INDIA]
Chronic drowsiness can be treated

OCT 8 || NZHERALD [NZ]
Insomnia's new cure: Talking about it

**********

 NATIONAL  || Sleep news across the U.S.

 OCT 3 || KTUL [OK]
Safe Sleep Group uses Green Straws to Educate Parents About Sleep Dangers

OCT 3 || PHILLY VOICE [PA]
'Nap pods' to pop up in Midtown Village

 OCT 3 || WBKB [MI]
OCT 5 || MADISON JOURNAL [GA]
Distracted driving leading to increased road deaths

OCT 5 || MY SAN ANTONIO [TX]
Secrets For A Successful Sleep Cycle


OCT 5 || UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY STATESMAN [UT]
#USU hacks napping; ... there are tons of hidden nooks and crannies all over campus that are prime for catching some Zs between classes...
Curator's remarks: Oh those crazy kids and their brilliant, simple problem-solving efforts. I like the idea that there are hidden nap locations in all sorts of safe places.

OCT 5 || WICHITA EAGLE [KS]
Kansas ranks high among infant mortality rate in some demographics


OCT 6 || TUSCON NEWS NOW [AZ]
UA and CFSD teaming up for sleep study: The University of Arizona is working with the Catalina Foothills School District in the largest-ever sleep study on elementary school students' sleep habits and STEM learning
Curator's remarks: I hope more studies like this pop up all over the country. Maybe as adults we are too far gone with our poor sleep habits and hygiene but maybe we can change this reality for our young people.
OCT 6 || WISC NEWS [WI]
Sleep walker scares woman
**********

 PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY  || Community health: epidemiology, transportation, industry, education

OCT 5 || CDC.org
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)--October is SIDS Awareness Month. Learn more about infant deaths from SIDS and other causes, and take action to reduce the risk. Start by always placing babies on their backs to sleep

**********
 BUSINESS & WORKPLACE  || Workplace safety, corporate news, the business of sleep


OCT 2 || FLEET OWNER
Deadly duo: Fighting fatigue and distracted driving
Curator's remarks: Very happy to see continued importance placed on sleep habits and health in publications that cater to our truck drivers. 
OCT 2 || MOTHERBOARD
I Took a Nap at Doze, a Very Real Startup for Overworked Adults
Curator's remarks: A perfect world = mandated naps at work + the elimination of smoking breaks (because everyone has quit smoking).

OCT 5 || THE WASHINGTON POST
Mercedes-Benz & Daimler Test Autonomous 18-Wheeler In Real Highway Traffic [technology designed to reduce drowsy driving]

**********

 THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP  || Scientific research, diagnostics, sleep disorders

OCT 3 || THE MIRROR
Why do we sometimes jolt as we're drifting off to sleep? Expert explains what's going on with our bodies

OCT 5 || AZ CENTRAL
Most everyone experiences some insomnia at times: Women and older people are more likely to suffer from insomnia
**********

 TECHNOLOGY  || Devices and tools for diagnosing and treating sleep health issues
 DRUGS & THERAPIES  || Pharmacology, therapeutics, alternative medicine

OCT 3 || CLINICAL ADVISOR
Surgery benefits patients with chronic sinus infection, sleep dysfunction
Surgery


OCT 5 || BRAIN DECODER
Scientists Asked the Stoners: What Type of Pot Helps You Sleep Better?
Curator's remarks: When people ask me what I think about using marijuana as a sleep aid, I can only shrug my shoulders. It's a serious question with very limited science to answer it. We need more studies, not only of heavy smokers of marijuana, but of casual users and those who rely on it for medical therapy.Drugs

OCT 6 || THE VANCOUVER SUN
Tongue exercises can dial down snoring: Technique works, says doctor, but it takes daily effort
Alternative therapies

OCT 7 || THE ISLAND
Beating insomnia with yoga
Alternative therapies

**********

 CULTURE  || Cultural and social expressions and discussions about sleep

OCT 2 || DNA
Shaandaar: A tale of two insomniacs
Film
**********

 LIFESTYLE & HYGIENE  || Helps for patients and clues for sleep self-improvement

OCT 6 || GOOD TIMES
Snooze blues: Night owls may be genetically predisposed, but changing our body clock is not impossible

**********

 FAMILY  || Sleep health through the lifespan: kids, womens health, family health, seniors

OCT 2 || NPR
When Baby Sleeps Near Mom, Guess Who Doesn't Sleep Well?
Womens Health

 OCT 4 || STARTS AT SIXTY
OCT 5 || VAN WINKLE'S
25 Most Popular Bedtime Stories of All Time
Kids


OCT 6 || US NEWS & WORLD REPORT
More parents are giving kids melatonin to sleep. Is it safe?
Curator's remarks: Just because it's over the counter doesn't mean it's safe or even useful for the developing brains of kids.
Kids

**********

 MULTIMEDIA || Sleep health education and issues captured in graphics, photos, audio, film

OCT 6 || PUB 
Sleep Deprivation amongst college students
Video

**********

 FIRST PERSON  || Individual accounts of living with sleep disorders

OCT 3 || WHARF 
Why you should ignore Benjamin Franklin and take a nap
Culture

OCT 7 || MASS LIVE 
Carrie Writes: Treating sleep apnea gives real energy boost
Drugs & Therapies

**********

 DREAM LIFE  || The art and science of dreaming

OCT 2 || CNET 
Real-time sleep data powers new website about dreamers
**********

Have a sleep-related news tip? Share it here!


Tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

02 September 2015

Today's #Sleeptember FACT --- Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder

Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder (or simply, Non-24) is a circadian rhythm disorder in which the body and brain fall out of alignment (or "entrainment") with the timing of the body's biological clock.
#SLEEPTEMBER

When this happens, people with Non-24 do not have neurological control over their sleeping and waking periods and may struggle to stay awake during the day or struggle to fall asleep at night.

Because the circadian rhythms are not stable, the biological clock is always "off," leading to ever-shifting cycles of sleepiness and wakefulness that may or may not coincide with the activities of daily living such as working, school, caregiving and other time-relevant activities. Special calculators have been developed to help these people adjust their days and nights to their sleep-wake schedules to maximize their functional time and to allow for quality sleep time.

No, this is not a fun fact. But it is a real fact for tens of thousands of people in the United States alone. 

Many blind people have non-24 (perhaps as many as 95,000, according to statistics published by the National Sleep Foundation).

The incidence of non-24 is less prevalent in sighted populations, but that does not mean that few sighted people suffer from it. Because the sighted population is considerably larger than that of the blind population, there are still untold numbers of sighted people who potentially suffer from this circadian rhythm disorder. Identifying, diagnosing and treating them has proven difficult, which makes non-24 a critical candidate for further research and awareness.

Learn more about Non-24 here:






Today's #Sleeptember FACT --- Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder


Tags , , , , , , ,

14 August 2015

THIS WEEK'S SLEEP NEWS, Aug 7 - 13


 SPECIAL  || BACK TO SCHOOL LINKS
SleepyHeadCENTRAL proudly supports the Start School Later movement, which has shown strong evidence that later school start times for our kids results in smarter, healthier, more well-adjusted kids. 

**********

 TOP TEN  || Sleep news picks this week -- newest to oldest

1. AUG 13 || GAWKER
Justice Dept.: Human Beings Need Sleep, So Stop Fining Them for Sleeping Outside
Culture

 2. AUG 13 || PSYCH CENTRAL
Exercise Reduces Depression-Related Sleep Problems
Lifestyle & Hygiene

3. AUG 12 || MD MAGAZINE
Q&A With Paul Doghramji: Shift Work Disorder and the Future of Sleep Medicine
Public Health & Safety

4. AUG 11 || NATIONAL TRAFFIC SAFETY BOARD
Fatigue and Excessive Speed Caused Multi-Vehicle Accident in New Jersey (referring to injured comedian Tracy Morgan and comedian Jimmy Mack, who perished in the accident)
Celebrities

5. AUG 11 || NEW SCIENTIST
Darting eyes in REM sleep are seeing objects in your dreams
The Science of Sleep
7. AUG 10 || NEWSER
Air Traffic Controllers Suffer Scary Sleep Deprivation: The AP has results of a study faulting grueling schedules 
  -- and --
AUG 11 || SLEEP REVIEW
FAA Responds to NASA Controller Fatigue Study Findings 
Public Health & Safety

8. AUG 10 || OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH
Worn-out warriors? ONR looks at importance of sleep to warfighters
Military

9. AUG 7 || FORBES
Are Line Haul Drivers Getting Enough Sleep?
Public Health & Safety

10. AUG 7 || SLEEP REVIEW
Don’t Miss Out on Shut-eye, Warns Man Who Was Most Sleep-deprived in UK
Video

**********

 WORLD  || International sleep news

AUG 8 || IRISH EXAMINER [IRELAND]
Hold back the years by sinking into sleep

AUG 10 || BURTON MAIL [UK]
A good night's sleep not a desirable – an essential

AUG 10 || HERALD SCOTLAND [SCOTLAND]
Colette Douglas Home: To sleep, perchance to become healthier of mind and body. [Editorial]

AUG 12 || CAYMAN REPORTER [CAYMAN ISLANDS]
Health City opens Cayman’s first sleep lab

AUG 12 || ZEE NEWS [INDIA]
Parliament deadlock: Rahul Gandhi caught napping during LS debate?

**********

 NATIONAL  || Sleep news across the U.S.

AUG 10 || WAKE UP NARCOLEPSY [MA]
Announcing ticket sales for the Third Annual Boston Comedy Night! All proceeds from this event will benefit Wake Up Narcolepsy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to raise narcolepsy awareness and fund medical research to speed diagnosis, improve treatment, and develop a cure for this debilitating sleep disorder

 AUG 11 || WRCB-TV [TN]
Video captures man stealing weighted therapy blanket 

 AUG 12 || KENTUCKY.com [KY]
Sleep deprived truckers, exit now 

AUG 12 || WTOP [DC]
Specialist sheds light on struggle of insomnia 

 AUG 13 || CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS [OH]

**********

 PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY  || Community health: epidemiology, transportation, industry, education

AUG 7 || DAILY BREW
 Death by sleepwalking a rare but real possibility, says expert

**********
 BUSINESS & WORKPLACE  || Workplace safety, corporate news, the business of sleep

AUG 10 || CHEAT SHEET
Why People Who Sleep Better Earn More Money

AUG 12 || WICHITA EAGLE
Small Business Spotlight: Sleeptopia filling a niche in sleep apnea testing

AUG 13 || PAYSCALE
11 Ways Sleep Deprivation Is Ruining Your Career (and What to Do About It)

**********

 THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP  || Scientific research and basic sleep health resources

AUG 8 || KMA LAND 
Seasonal Affective Disorder: Summertime Blues

AUG 10 || HEALIO PULMONARY
Respiratory resistance increases in patients with obesity, OSA
**********

 TECHNOLOGY  || Devices and tools for diagnosing and treating sleep health issues
 DRUGS & THERAPIES  || Pharmacology, therapeutics, alternative medicine

AUG 10 || STUFF.co.nz
Six yoga poses to help you sleep better
Alternative Therapies

 AUG 10 || VAN WINKLE'S
Insomnia, Suicide and the Redemptive Power of Ketamine
Drugs

AUG 11 || REUTERS
Hetlioz pill may ease sleep disorder for some blind people
Drugs

AUG 13 || XTRI.com
Can the Sleep Cocktail help you unleash a new PR?
Alternative Therapies

**********

 CULTURE & MEDIA  || Cultural and social expressions and discussions about sleep

AUG 7 || DALLAS MORNING NEWS 
Megan Cartwright: Why it’s time to ease up on bed-wetting
Culture

AUG 10 || ENSTARS 
'Dancing With the Stars' 2015 Cast: Witney Carson Reveals Why She Has 'Insomnia' While Competing In Season
Celebrities

**********

 LIFESTYLE & HYGIENE  || Helps for patients and clues for sleep self-improvement

AUG 9 || MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL
Dr Bill Elliott: Put down your iPad and go to sleep — really

 AUG 10 || GAZETTE REVIEW
Regular Bedtime Routine is Beneficial for Health

AUG 11 || GAZETTE REVIEW
Studies Show Napping Benefits Mental Health
**********

 FAMILY  || Sleep health through the lifespan: pediatrics, womens health, family health, eldercare

AUG 7 || INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL REVIEW 
She Was In So Much Pain From Pregnancy She Couldn’t Sleep. That’s When the Doctor Pulls Out Tape
Women

AUG 10 || GUELPH MERCURY
Adequate sleep crucial for the development of toddlers
Pediatrics
AUG 10 || QUARTZ
Study: Children who watch TV at night are more prone to nightmares and sleep talking
Pediatrics

AUG 11 || SLEEP REVIEW
Before Surgery, Help Identifying Sleep-disordered Breathing in Kids
Pediatrics

AUG 13 || DURHAMREGION.com
How safe are baby's sleep spaces?
Pediatrics
**********

 MULTIMEDIA  || Sleep health education and issues captured in film, photography, graphics, podcasts and audio

AUG 11 || CTV NEWS ATLANTIC
Lack of sleep may exacerbate chronic illnesses
Video

 AUG 13 || WJHG
Sleep Medical Center Breaks Down the Science of Sleep
Video

**********

 FIRST PERSON  || Individual accounts of living with sleep disorders

AUG 13 || WARWICK BEACON
Letters: Productive Insomnia
Lifestyle & Hygiene
**********

 DREAM LIFE  || The art and science of dreaming

AUG 10 || ABC
Am I myself when I sleep? A philosophical look at dreams
**********

Have a sleep-related news tip? Share it here!


Tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

17 June 2015

ABCs of SLEEP || E is for Entrainment


Entrainment is the word scientists use to explain how we all, as human beings, "set our clocks." Our human body clocks, to be specific. Our bodies have multiple "clocks" in specific organs as well as inside each and every blood cell, and like clockwork they help us to manage our daily rhythms, which inform the behaviors that make us functioning human beings.

Think about hunger, sleep, sex, digestion. These are all physiological processes that require some precise timing on the part of our personal clocks. This is what our circadian rhythms are all about. When our rhythms fall out of synchronicity, that is when we can experience disease, general malaise or other kinds of biological confusion. We really can't live healthy lives without adhering to circadian rhythms.

The most obvious way that we entrain ourselves to life's rhythms is through our perception of light. Light is what marks the day/night cycles; the sun rises, the sun sets. Sunlight, and its absence, also helps the body to detect seasonal shifts. These are primal communications we share with the earth. All living things require the light-dark cycles, as established by the rotations of our planet, to manage these critical life rhythms. 

Light is perceived by the eyes, of course, but also through the skin via melanopsin. Signals collected by these organs are sent to the body's main pacemaker, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which issues orders to all others parts of the body to function according to a preset pattern of rhythms that, by and large, most human beings are commonly entrained to using light.

For the vast majority of human beings, light is the key influence over when we sleep and when we wake up. For those with circadian rhythm disorders like Non-24 Sleep -Wake Disorder (also known as free-running disorder) or shift work disorder or even a temporary case of jet lag, light doesn't deliver the same influence over sleep-wake cycles. 

The person who suffers from these kinds of disorders struggles to maintain a normal life on an abnormal schedule. They have fallen out of entrainment and need to find a way to "reset" or else they are forced to adjust their schedule in ways that are not typical, even unorthodox, in order to simply get by. 

Imagine the person who can only feel awake and alert in the later afternoon; maybe they have a job working at the toll both during the morning commute. Or imagine the nurse who can only work night shifts but who has children to watch during the day at home. Or the musician who cannot stay awake long enough to attend the gigs he is scheduled to perform at nightclubs. 

Having pattern disruptions in one's rhythms can absolutely devastate the efforts of many to live normally (in this case, meaning "by society's schedule"), and that includes having the ability to earn a living, care for family or function at their maximum potential while on the job. Circadian rhythm disorders also seriously disrupt relationships and social lives.

Non-visual cues
Believe it or not, there are other cues besides light--in science, they call them zeitgebers, which translates as time markers, external or environmental cues that synchronize our biological rhythms--which have a powerful impact on our lives, including our time while sleeping. These are also ways we are entrained to healthy--or unhealthy--rhythms. 

Eating and digesting do not require light or even sight to take place. They require that the gastrointestinal system follow specific cues that dictate that you eat and digest while you are awake. While you sleep, the digestive system goes into sleep mode as well. This is why, generally speaking, most people do not get up in the middle of the night to have a bowel movement. The digestive system does not expect food to enter the alimentary canal at this time. Instead, the act of moving food through the system slows dramatically.

Large meals eaten right before bed, however, can create problems with sleep disruption; the digestive system is suddenly working overtime when it had fully expected to be in bed like the rest of you. Poor sleep can result, as can reflux disease and other health problems related to metabolism. There are lots of studies to suggest that eating out of synch with one's normal body rhythms (meaning, late at night) can lead to imbalanced secretions of certain hormones like melatonin, orexin, leptin and ghrelin, which can impact metabolism in negative ways. 

Finally, there is a circadian shift in metabolism that occurs in the morning as part of your biological rhythms. This is normal; it prompts hunger and stimulates the body to recommence digestion. Now you know why we almost always need to use the restroom first thing in the morning: wakefulness stimulates digestion and the elimination of wastes that have been in your "holding tanks" (meaning, the bladder and the bowel) overnight.

This illustration from the University of Zurich shows how the brain and digestive organs carry their own "pacemakers." The main pacemaker in the body is the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is located
deep inside the brain. Its companion pacemakers exist in the digestive system and are driven
by information related to internal cues relayed to them via messages sent by the SCN. 

Activity levels are other non-light time markers that can inform sleep-wake cycles and metabolism. If you exercise too late at night, this could mess with your ability to fall asleep. Physical activity (it could be running a mile or doing laundry) amps up adrenaline and other hormones which encourage wakefulness. 

Similarly, body temperature, which is influenced by how physically active you are, impacts your ability to entrain to patterns that allow for consistent sleep-wake patterns. If you do not get enough physical activity during the day, you may find it hard to fall asleep, as well--with no normal rise and fall in daytime body temperature, the body may not be able to read your activity markers clearly enough to signal sleep to occur. 

Also, the act of sleeping itself is marked by specific patterns of body temperature shifting that prepare the brain and body systems for specific kinds of sleep. If your body temperature is out of whack as you are heading off to bed, you might be missing out on sleep stages that are critical to your body and brain to function at maximum potential.

Temperature-related breaks in entrainment are experienced by people with major stress disorders like PTSD or severe depression: they may generate higher body temperatures at night while in stress response even as they are hoping to fall asleep. Women, because of their monthly cycles, can also experience temporary periods of sleep disruption due to normal alterations in body temperature caused by menstruation or other major changes in hormone balance like pregnancy or menopause.

Tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)