Poor sleep rests with habits of lifestyle If you don't snooze, you lose healthwise
By Chris Jones and Paula Burkes Erickson
Published: December 4, 2006
In the 18 months since she had wrist surgery, Patsy Denison of Norman has had few nights of uninterrupted deep sleep. Most every day, she wakes in the wee hours and can't fall back asleep.
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"When I was in pain, I had trouble getting comfortable," Denison said. "The pain is gone now, but my problems sleeping aren't."
Denison is far from alone. About 30 percent of Americans, experts say, have trouble nodding off, staying asleep or waking too early. Most can solve their insomnia by changing their routines, alcohol and caffeine intake, or simply the way they think about sleep.
About 10 percent suffer from a frequently undiagnosed and potentially life-threatening condition called apnea, which causes them to stop breathing for up to 90 seconds, dozens of times a night.
Sleep medicine specialists recommend getting seven to eight hours' sleep every night. The people who believe they can get by on less are in denial, said Dr. Maroun Tawk, medical director for the sleep program at OU Medical Center.
"We live in a society that doesn't sleep anymore," Tawk said.
"People go to work early and, to enjoy some time after work, go to bed late," he said.
Even getting one or two hours' less sleep a night can impair function, a University of Wisconsin study showed. Researchers found that five to six hours' sleep for 12 to 14 days has the same effect as 48 hours with no sleep. Aside from fatigue, participants suffered from attention problems, memory losses and moodiness.
But can't we just grow accustomed to less sleep?
Nope. Studies show we can't, and the adverse effects only worsen over time.
The biggest problem rests with people not making opportunities to get a good night's sleep, said Dr. Jonathan Schwartz, a board-certified sleep specialist and medical director of the Integris Sleep Disorders Center of Oklahoma.
"If you have disturbed sleep, don't read or watch TV in bed," he said. "The bedroom should be only for sleep or intimacy."
Also, avoid alcohol before bedtime, Schwartz said. Though it can help induce sleep, it causes shallow, fragmented sleep the second half of the night. Alcohol also may worsen snoring and sleep apnea.
"Snoring is hazardous to your health," Schwartz said.
Studies show snoring and sleep apnea increase the risk for car wrecks and other accidents, depression, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attacks, diabetes and even sudden death.
"I tell people to sleep well because their life depends on it," Schwartz said.
Busy minds keep people from getting a good night's sleep, said Dr. R. Murali Krishna, president, chief operating officer and medical director of Integris Mental Health. He is co-founder and president of the Integris James L. Hall Jr. Center for Mind, Body and Spirit.
"We dread the bed because it represents a struggle, and we wake up early because we didn't sleep the night before," Krishna said.
Some sleep disorders that cause insomnia can be treated with supervised use of sleeping medicines, in conjunction with improved sleep hygiene and cognitive behavioral therapy that teach relaxation and other techniques, doctors say.
However, patients with apnea need to sleep with a nose mask or dental mouthpiece to open airways. The former, which costs $600 to $1,000, uses continuous positive air pressure fed through a hose. The latter, which can cost $1,200 or more, is a custom-fitted soft plastic retainer that opens airways.
Robert Talley, a Norman dentist and specialist in dental sleep medicine, prescribes the Full Breath Sleep Solution mouthpiece recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It fits over the upper teeth only, with a strip that keeps the tongue from falling backward.
"The masks can be 100 percent effective, but as many as half of apnea patients don't use them properly, are uncooperative or unconsciously pull them off in their sleep," Talley said. His patients find the mouthpieces effective, less bulky than nose masks and more socially acceptable, he said.
Eighty percent of people with apnea are overweight, causing their airways to narrow, studies show.
Apnea also can lead to weight gain, said Dr. Lawrence Epstein of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and past president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Studies show the disorder can inhibit a hormone that promotes the feeling of fullness and increase the secretion of another hormone that promotes the deposit of fat.
"Like good nutrition, a good night's sleep is a basic pillar of good health," Epstein said.
"No one would think of not eating for four days," he said.
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More Info
“I tell people to sleep well because their life depends on it.” Dr. Jonathan Schwartz, a board-certified sleep specialist and medical director of the Integris Sleep Disorders Center of Oklahoma
Information
Sleep Web sites:• www.aasmnet.org.
• www.integris-health.com .
• www.sleepcenters.org.
Newsletter:
To request a free Harmony newsletter from the Integris James L. Hall Jr. Center for Mind, Body and Spirit, call 943-3921.
Get some sleep
A new nationwide survey found that 52 percent of America ’s moms feel that more sleep would make them better parents and 65 percent feel they would be happier.
Nighttime feedings, tending to children and other concerns interfere with a mom’s sleep. But even when given the opportunity, many still lie awake at night. Moms are often kept up thinking about the next day’s “to-dos” (36 percent), stressing about the family ’s finances (25 percent), or worrying about family issues (24 percent), the survey shows.
Full-time working moms suffer the most (59 percent versus 48 percent of stay-at-home moms), with 50 percent getting six or fewer hours of sleep per night.
For more information, go online to www.sleeplessmoms.com National Sleep Foundation
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