Why Women—More Than Men—Can't Sleep

From courant.com

Millions of Americans will have a hard time falling or staying asleep tonight, and research says most of them will be women.
"Insomnia is definitely more common in females, and it seems to begin fairly early on," said Dr. Meir Kryger, a professor at the Yale School of Medicine who studies sleep. Sleep problems can appear in women as early as their teens or 20s, he said.

Various research shows women are more likely than men to experience the sleep disorder. Women are about 1.5 times more likely to have insomnia, said Kryger, who has written several books on the topic, including "The Mystery of Sleep," which was published in March.
A 2006 Canadian study found women are 1.3 to 1.8 times more likely than men to have insomnia, and a 2007 National Sleep Foundation poll of Americans found 60 percent of women ages 18-64 get a good night's sleep just a few times a week, compared with 52 percent of men.
Amy Nix, 46, of Bethany, has struggled with insomnia since her second child was born 14 years ago. She usually wakes up around 3 or 4 a.m. and can't get back to sleep, she said.
"I envy those people who can lay down and sleep," she said.

Women's greater likelihood of insomnia, Kryger said, is largely due to "tremendous changes in hormonal levels" they experience from the time they begin menstruating through menopause.
"Each one of these is associated with sleep difficulties," Kryger said. "We know these hormones have an impact on sleep.
Pregnant women may have trouble sleeping due to increased urination, restless leg syndrome, acid reflux, leg cramps and other discomforts. Women going through menopause often find sleep disturbed by hot flashes and night sweats that can last for years, he said.
Non-hormonal factors can also keep women up at night, said Dr. Daniel McNally, director of the Sleep Disorders Centre at UConn Health and a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.
"More men snore, so more women have to listen to snoring," he said, which can make falling asleep difficult.
Also, men are more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that causes breathing to repeatedly stop and start in sleep. Patients with apnea typically, most of whom are men, have an easier time falling asleep because they are more tired.
Sleep apnea, like insomnia, is a sleep disorder.
More than 18 million adults nationwide have sleep apnea, according to the non-profit National Sleep Foundation. In people who have it, sleep is briefly and repeatedly interrupted by breathing pauses that last at least 10 seconds, according to the group. It occurs in all age groups and both genders, but is more common in men, particularly men who are middle aged and overweight.
Women, on the other hand, are more likely to have certain ailments or take certain medications that can cause insomnia, Kryger said. Hypothyroidism and depression, for instance, are known to disrupt sleep and are more common among women than men, he added.
"The reasons for the insomnia need to be explored," he said, and sleep-aid medications should not be the first remedy tried. In many cases, cognitive behavioural therapy, in which patients essentially relearn how to fall asleep, is effective, he added.
Often, people with insomnia come to associate being in bed with being awake, McNally said. Cognitive behavioural therapy trains them to associate bed with sleeping. He encourages patients to get in bed only when they are sleepy and to avoid stimulating activities, like watching an intense television show or reading a book, before bed.
"Lots of people self-medicate with alcohol," he added. While having a couple of drinks before bed may help people fall asleep faster, it typically leads to poor sleep quality later in the night, he said.
Prescription sleep aids are more likely to be used by women than men, according to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 5 percent of adult women use medications, compared with 3.1 percent of men, according to the CDC.
Nix has tried various medications but to no avail.
"The older I have gotten, the worse it is," she said. "I have a very difficult time shutting down at night and my mind races. I have been on pretty much every sleep medication on the market from over-the-counter to prescription."
The National Sleep Foundation's 2007 study found stay-at-home mothers were the most likely to experience insomnia, with 74 percent saying they had symptoms at least a few nights a week. Also, 72 percent of working mothers and 68 percent of single working women report having insomnia several times a week.
About 6 percent of the overall U.S. population—tens of millions of people—suffer from insomnia, according to the National Institutes of Health.
"This is an extraordinarily common disorder," McNally said. "Lots of people complain of difficulty getting to sleep and difficulty staying asleep."

http://www.courant.com/health/hc-no-sleep-20170928-story.html

Here’s what smoking weed is actually doing to your sleep

From metro.co.uk

Should insomniacs ditch the sleeping pills and just have a massive bong hit every night instead?

Plenty of weed users already do it: a study by a consumer group, Cannabiz, found that 88% of weed users in American states that have legalised the drug said that it worked better than pills.

But does it actually work? And is it a good idea to rely on it every night?

Researchers at the University of Michigan set out to find out – asking 98 dope users to wear Fitbit-style wristbands, keep sleep diaries, and smoke weed as they normally would.
What they found was that weed seems to make people sleep more deeply – but it might depend on your mental state.

Also, smoking it every day really isn’t a good idea, according to Deirdre Conroy of the University of Michigan.

Conroy says in an essay for The Conversation, ‘Our results show that the frequency of use seems to be an important factor as it relates to the effects on sleep. Thirty-nine percent of daily users complained of clinically significant insomnia. Meanwhile, only 10 percent of occasional users had insomnia complaints.’

‘Interestingly, when controlling for the presence of anxiety and depression, the differences disappeared. This suggests that cannabis’s effect on sleep may differ depending on whether you have depression or anxiety.

http://metro.co.uk/2017/09/18/heres-what-smoking-weed-is-actually-doing-to-your-sleep-according-to-science-6936144/

Are You Binge-Watching Your Way to Insomnia?

From thealdennetwork.com

We know that spending hour after hour of couch potato time watching TV is bad for our health. Prolonged sitting raises the risk of obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke and even dementia. Whether you’re watching on a big-screen TV or your tablet computer, you need to take a break now and again and walk around. Or rig up a TV in front of your treadmill and get some exercise while viewing your favourites.

If watching too much TV is bad for us, does what we watch factor in as well? An intriguing new study from University of Michigan suggests that “binge watching”—viewing multiple episodes of a TV series without a break—may have a detrimental effect on sleep quality.
Not so long ago, binge watching wasn’t even an option. Networks doled out one episode per week of a program, and that was that. But now, with streaming services, on-demand cable and whole seasons of TV series ready to check out from the library, it’s possible to watch episode after episode, one after another.
The University of Michigan team studied the TV watching habits and sleep patterns of a group of college-aged people, and found that those who binge watched reported more tossing and turning at night, and more daytime fatigue than did the viewers who watched a variety of programming. For one thing, the ability to watch “just one more episode” tempts us to postpone going to bed, so we might not be getting the recommended amount of sleep.
And even if we do go to bed at a reasonable hour, said the study’s lead author Liese Exelmans, binge watching can lead to poor-quality sleep. We have trouble settling down, our heart beats harder, and we have heightened mental alertness. Exelmans explains, “Bingeable TV shows have plots that keep the viewer tied to the screen. They become intensely involved with the content, and may keep thinking about it when they want to go to sleep.”
Poor-quality sleep is linked with a host of health conditions—just about the same list that’s linked with prolonged sitting. So, though it might be tempting to have your own Game of Thrones marathon so you’ll be able to join the conversation when the final season starts, it’s best to dole out the episodes more slowly. Do some channel surfing. Switch over to I Love Lucy reruns to wind down. Or better yet, read a book before bedtime.

http://www.thealdennetwork.com/binge-watching-way-insomnia/

Treating Insomnia Can Ease Anxiety, Depression Study Says

From ebony.com

Treating young people who suffer from insomnia may reduce anxiety and depression, according to researchers at Oxford University’s Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute.

The Huffington Post reports that using online cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) could be the key to treating such debilitating mental health problems.
Researchers at the institution also found that successfully treating sleep disruption eased psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and paranoia.

“Sleep problems are very common in people with mental health disorders, but for too long insomnia has been trivialized as merely a symptom, rather than a cause, of psychological difficulties,” said Daniel Freeman, a professor of clinical psychology who led the work. “This study turns that old idea on its head, showing that insomnia may actually be a contributory cause of mental health problems.”
The research is based on data collected from 3,755 university students from across Britain who were randomly placed into two groups. One group had six 20-minute sessions of online CBT that was delivered via a digital program called Sleepio. The others were exposed to standard treatments but not CBT.

The researchers found that those who had the CBT sleep treatment reduced their insomnia significantly. They also showed small but sustained reductions in paranoia and hallucinatory experiences.

The CBT led to improvements in depression, anxiety, nightmares, psychological well-being, and daytime work and home functioning, the researchers said.

“A good night’s sleep really can make a difference to people’s psychological health,” Daniel Freeman, a professor of clinical psychology. “Helping people get better sleep could be an important first step in tackling many psychological and emotional problems.”

http://www.ebony.com/wellness-empowerment/black-mental-health-insomnia#axzz4sIXucix3

The 7 Worst Things You Do When You Just Can’t Sleep

From menshealth.com

Some guys are lucky to fall asleep within minutes after their heads hit the pillow. But if you’re not one of them, sleep can feel more elusive than that 300-pound bench press you’ve been hoping for.
And if you’ve struggled to nod off, chances are you’ve tried every “sleep fast” remedy in the book to get snoozing faster. Problem is, some common advice and habits thought to boost sleep might actually have the opposite effect, says W. Christopher Winter, M.D., president of Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and Men’s Health sleep advisor.
That’s right—the same things you’re doing to help your sleep might actually be keeping you up.
We’re talking pretty everyday stuff, too. So if you’ve ever struggled to get to sleep, give this list a read: Chances are, you’re doing some stuff on here that could be sabotaging your shuteye.

Sleep Saboteur: Taking sleeping pills

It’s the ultimate irony: The same drugs marketed to help you sleep better might actually be hindering your nightly recharge. That’s because sleeping pills haven’t been proven to increase quality of sleep to any large degree, says Dr. Winter.
And that’s important, since quality of sleep is vital to helping you wake up feeling refreshed. If your quality of sleep is poor—say, waking up often or failing to reach truly deep sleep—you won’t fully tap into the restorative processes that your brain and body need.
Plus, they also might not help as much as you think with quantity of sleep, either. Some studies have found that sleeping meds like Ambien help you fall asleep only a few minutes earlier than you would without the meds, he notes. And those extra minutes may not equate to much relief, especially when you consider that many meds cause side effects like morning grogginess or sleepwalking.
The only potential upside, says Dr. Winter, is if you perceive that you’re getting better sleep, even if that’s not technically true. That can help you feel more refreshed the next day, or have an easier time waking up. But even then, you may be risking side effects or even dependency, just for a placebo effect.

Sleep Saboteur: Messing with your melatonin

Around sunset time, your brain secretes more of a hormone called melatonin, which is designed as a trigger to help us wind down to sleep.
So lots of guys pop melatonin supplements to help the process along. But you might not be getting as much help from them as you think: A meta-analysis of 19 studies on 1,683 people from Yale concluded that while melatonin can help you get to sleep faster and snooze longer, the effects were pretty small - people nodded off just seven minutes faster and slept just eight minutes longer. Those are much smaller benefits than you’d see with other sleep aids, the researchers write.
Plus, frequently using the supplement can mess with your body’s own production of the hormone, says Dr. Winter. As a result, your brain can secrete less of it—making it harder to sleep without the supplement.
And many guys take it way too late for it to help, anyway, he says. Melatonin naturally kicks in about three to four hours before sleep. So if you take it when you’re getting ready for bed—say, around 10 p.m.—it won’t affect you until around 2 a.m.

Sleep Saboteur: Going to bed only when you’re tired

Although it sounds like logical advice, similar to “eat only when you’re hungry,” varying your bedtime can cause sleep disruption over time, according to Mia Finkelston, M.D., family practice physician who sees patients virtually through telehealth app LiveHealth Online, and often counsels patients on sleep issues.
This is a big problem for those ages 20 to 40, she says, because their bodies seem to be able to handle lack of routine. Think of it: Summer comes and you stay out super late on weeknights at barbecues and concerts, but still manage to be ready for that 8 am meeting the next day.
But, actually, your body craves structure. Setting a regular bedtime, waking up at the same time each day—yes, even on the weekends—and having the same rituals nightly can make it easier to fall asleep.
That’s because your recognizes the routine, and so it powers down on cue, reducing adrenaline and cortisol and increasing sleep-inducing melatonin around the time it expects you to start winding down, Dr. Finkelston explains.
“We can handle spontaneous changes to our sleep routine, but most days should be consistent,” she says, suggesting that you aim for five nights out of seven on a predictable schedule.

Sleep Saboteur: Getting out of bed if you can’t sleep

It’s become common advice to give yourself 15 minutes to fall asleep, and if you can’t, to get up and do something else, like read or listen to music.
But Dr. Winter disagrees. The time spent resting—even if you’re not sleeping—can be hugely beneficial to the body, he says.
“As long as you’re not upset about the fact that you’re not sleeping, then seeing that time as rest is great,” he notes. “It’s not wasted time.” That’s because “resting” helps your body even if you’re not actually asleep, by lowering stress-hormone cortisol levels.

Also, he adds, people tend to get up and do something that wakes them up even more—like reading social media feeds or doing work tasks—and that can make it harder to fall asleep later.

Sleep Saboteur: Having a nightcap

According to the National Sleep Foundation, about 20 percent of Americans use alcohol to help them fall asleep. Many claim that it helps them wind down or fall asleep faster. While both of those assertions might be true in the short-term, it can do a number on sleep quality overall, Dr. Winter says.
“Alcohol will harm your sleep, there’s simply no question about that,” he says.
While you might fall asleep faster than you would sober, you’ll pay for it in a bunch of disadvantages—interrupted circadian rhythms and less REM sleep, but also increased need to urinate and potential breathing problems through over-relaxation of throat muscles. All these disrupt your sleep, so that you feel lacklustre the next morning.
Dr. Winter suggests that if you want to imbibe in the evening, have one to two drinks with dinner, but then stop after that. Alcohol can continue to affect your sleep even four or five hours after you’ve had your last drink, he says.

Sleep Saboteur: Counting sheep

If visualizing a bunch of fluffy, white sheep leaping over a fence works for you to fall asleep, that’s great, says Dr. Winter. But for many people, counting becomes a source of anxiety. Once they get up high in the double digits, those sheep aren’t so adorable anymore. Instead, they just serve as a reminder that you’re double-digit sheep away from when you should have conked out.

Instead, he advises using visualization that’s distracting, but not overly stimulating. For example, one of his patients envisions the perfect golf course. He imagines himself climbing out of the cart, selecting a driver, taking out the tee, setting up the ball, and lining up his shot. Sometimes, he’s awake long enough for a swing, but usually not.

“He never makes it past the first tee-off,” Dr. Winter says. Another patient imagines baking banana bread, with every step involved, but she never manages to get the loaf in the oven.

That’s because the brain becomes efficient at recognizing these images as pre-sleep visualizations, he notes. Having the same mental routine every night makes it easier to get into a dream state faster.

These visual images are less anxiety-producing than counting, Dr. Winter says, because they’re not quantitative. For example, if it takes you 30 sheep to get to bed tonight, but only 10 last night, you might feel anxious about that uptick.

Sleep Saboteur: Looking at the clock

Six hours until you have to get up. Now five and a half. Now five. Glancing at the clock may make you feel like you’re tracking the situation and you’re on top of it, but it’s actually a bad habit, says Dr. Finkelston. That’s because as the time you have for sleep decreases, your worry increases that you won’t be able to fall asleep. Cue the cortisol and adrenaline spike.
She advises setting an alarm and placing it away from the bed, where you can’t see the clock.
This can be particularly good advice if your phone is your alarm, adds Dr. Winter. Getting even a small flash of blue light from the screen can wake you up more than you want, he says, not to mention all the notifications that might be scrolling by.
“Make your bedroom as distraction-free as possible,” he says. “That means no TV, put your phone in an other room, get rid of everything that beeps and flashes.”

http://www.menshealth.com/health/worst-things-to-do-for-sleep/slide/7

Can't Sleep? Your Insomnia May Be More Serious Than You Think

From menshealth.com

A poor night’s sleep isn’t just draining your energy—it might be messing with your ticker, too: People with problems sleeping may be at greater risk of heart attack, a new study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress suggests.
In the study, researchers recruited nearly 13,000 adults and quizzed them about their sleep habits. Then, they asked how many had ischemic heart disease—either heart attack or angina, a type of chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart—or stroke.

All in all, “poor sleep”—which was defined as low ratings on a variety of measures, including subjective sleep quality, a long time falling asleep, a short sleep duration, sleep efficiency, waking up frequently, using sleeping pills, or feeling sleepy during the day—was linked to a 71 percent increased risk of ischemic heart disease and a 45 percent increased risk of stroke compared to those who slept better.
Then, the researchers analysed each sleep factor separately. They found that people who took 30 minutes or more to fall asleep at night were 52 percent more likely to have ischemic heart disease and 48 percent more likely to have suffered a stroke than those who nodded off sooner. What’s more, people who woke up frequently at night were nearly twice as likely to have ischemic heart disease.

“Disturbed or poor-quality sleep can lead to increased heart rate, blood pressure and the release of chemicals linked to inflammation of the heart—all of which put it under strain,” Metin Avkiran, Ph.D., associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation told The Telegraph. “Although the odd restless night is not harmful to our health, it could be a sign of something more serious if this becomes the norm."

If you find yourself struggling to get shuteye on the regular, it may be time to loop in your doctor. But if you’re just having occasional issues, try to clean up your nighttime routine by avoiding the 7 worst things you do when you just can’t sleep.

http://www.menshealth.com/health/sleep-problems-heart-attack