Once again, the Chicago Tribune has run a piece on sleep. The Sunday health columnist, Julie Deardorff, (jdeardorff@tribune.com) devoted her column in yesterday’s Sunday paper to reinforcing what we sleep doctors know so well: That sleep is essential to good health and that Americans underestimate its importance.
The National Sleep Foundation has gathered information for years that shows that more and more Americans report getting fewer than 7 hours of sleep (the minimum recommended to maintain optimal health and cognitive performance). I often start my sleep lectures with the following statement: The number one sleep disorder in the US seems to be intentional sleep restriction in order to squeeze more time out of the day. What people don’t realize is that their performance probably won’t be the best and their mood might not be the most cheerful. All in all, sleep deprivation, whether willful or secondary to a sleep disorder, can take its toll on work performance and on personal relationships.
Ms Deardorff’s column has many good tips for people who suffer the occasional bout of insomnia. Insomnia is defined as a difficulty falling asleep (more than 30 minutes with lights out) or a difficulty staying asleep (with the caveat that 4-5 awakenings per night is considered “normal” as long as the person can fall back to sleep within a few minutes). Keep in mind that insomnia can be a symptom of another sleep disorder, or other medical or psychiatric problems. I urge patients and other doctors not to treat the symptom with sleeping pills before they have ruled out other possibilities. And I advise them to not use sleeping pills until they are sure that are treating a primary insomnia disorder.
I can’t stress enough to my patients how important it is to get out of bed if they are tossing and turning and not falling asleep. However, I tell them it is essential that they not turn on bright lights or sit in front of the computer or TV because it signals to the brain that it is time to be awake and go plow the fields. I agree with the suggestion that, if you can’t get to sleep, you should get out of bed, preferably leave the bedroom, sit in a comfortable chair, keep lights very low, and listen to music or an audiotape. Another helpful tip that Julie relates is to consult with your doctor about how your medications might be interfering with your sleep. Many times, just shifting the stimulating medications to the morning and moving the sedating ones to bedtime can make a big difference in how you sleep and how well you function in the daytime.
Hey, have you seen this news article?
New details about Michael Jackson’s Death Emerge
I was wondering if you were going to blog about this…
sleep disorders can also lead to other health issues like cardiovascular disorders”;”
sleep disorders should be treated as soon as possible coz it has a long term health effects”~.
sleep disorders shoudl be given a timely solution to prevent further bad health side effects .
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