A new study presented in November at the American College of Allergy, Asthma  and Immunology Annual Meeting found that obese adolescents have an increased risk of sleep apnea or abnormal breathing during sleep.

Previous research has shown that obese children and teenagers are at higher  risk of health-related problems, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood  pressure and asthma. Children who are overweight are nearly 2-1/2 times more  likely to have asthma than those who are not overweight. Now, this new study  highlights how obesity may interfere with a child’s ability to have restful  sleep.

“Quality nighttime sleep is a key component for advanced executive function  in children and teenagers,” says Sushmita Mikkilineni, M.D., Director Pediatric  Pulmonology for Children’s Hospital of New Jersey (CHoNJ) at Newark Beth Israel  Medical Center. “Untreated pediatric sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, can  exact a heavy toll on young people. Children suffering from sleep disorders may  be hyperactive, inattentive, and chronically tired.” Read the rest of this entry

Are you unable to fall asleep? Do you wake up often throughout the night? Do you feel well-rested when you awake in the morning? Do you want to improve your quality and quantity of your sleep? Symptoms of forgetfulness, headaches, lack of focus, itching, moodiness, cravings, headaches, and neck and backaches often disappear with a good night’s sleep.

Restful sleep is a must for health, vitality, longevity and fat loss. Researchers found that sleeping four hours a night interferes with your ability to secrete and regulate hormones, which in turn promote aging, increase appetite, add inches to your waistline and increases your risk of developing diabetes. Lack of sleep promotes an environment prime for inflammation and catabolism (muscle loss).

One loses ”one IQ point” for every hour of lost sleep one didn’t get the night before. Cognitive and mood problems develop, along with an increased risk of high blood pressure and heart disease are just a few consequences of too little sleep. Read the rest of this entry

Treatment with pregabalin significantly improved sleep and pain in patients with fibromyalgia, according to research presented at the 63rd annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, in Honolulu (S27.003).

A new study by researchers at Stanford University, using a technique that manipulates light to control brain cells, has shown that broken sleep causes memory impairment in mice.

Until recently scientists have been unable to separate the effects on the brain of different sleep patterns. But in the newest study, they were able to overcome that problem using the new method, known as optogenetics.

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study could help explain memory problems linked to conditions including Alzheimer’s and sleep apnea.

The new study looked at sleep that was fragmented, but not shorter or less intense than normal for the mice. They targeted a type of brain cell that plays a vital role in switching between the states of being asleep and being awake. Read the rest of this entry

A 2007 Sleep in America poll showed that 60% of women are tired during the day. Sleepiness can be divided into three problem areas: not getting enough sleep (quantity); not getting enough good sleep (quality); and shift-work disruptions in sleep (circadian rhythm abnormalities).

“Women are sleepy because we work very hard, and we work a lot,” Fadness explained. Women work an average of 41.7 hours per week (compared with 48.8 hours for men), but when you add in the work they do around the home the total comes to 65 to 85 hours per week.

Lifestyle causes

“We are getting so much less sleep than we were 100 years ago,” said Fadness. This can be attributed to snoring spouses, children, job stress and domesticated animals. Read the rest of this entry

Between 1960 and 2010, the average night’s sleep for adults in the United States dropped to six and a half hours from more than eight. Age can have a detrimental effect on sleep. In a 2005 national telephone survey of 1,003 adults ages 50 and older, the Gallup Organization found that a mere third of older adults got a good night’s sleep every day, fewer than half slept more than seven hours, and one-fifth slept less than six hours a night.

With advancing age, natural changes in sleep quality occur. Habits that ruin sleep often accompany aging: less physical activity, less time spent outdoors ,poorer attention to diet, taking medications that can disrupt sleep, caring for a chronically ill spouse, having a snoring partner who snores. Add to this list a host of sleep-robbing health issues, like painful arthritis, diabetes, depression, anxiety, sleep apnea, hot flashes in women and prostate enlargement in men. [  Read Complete Post By JANE E. BRODY At NewYork Times ...   ]

Older adults need about 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep, but for many reasons they may often be sleep deprived.  Sleep deprivation may be caused by day time napping, anxiety, sleep apnea, or movement disorders such as restless leg syndrome, medications, or dementia.

Risks of sleep deprivation include: a decreased ability to fight infection, heart disease (48% greater chance of developing or dying from heart disease), high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, an increase incidence of accidents, impairment of attention, judgment, and problem solving.  Lack of sleep contributes to depression, aging of the skin, anxiety, and weight gain. Sleep maybe the fountain of youth but unlike that elusive natural wonder, sleep can be found and embraced.

There are many ways to get better nights sleep.  Most important is to minimize sleep during the day. A short daytime nap may be beneficial but multiple naps or extended daytime sleeping affects the quality and quantity of the primary sleep period.  Developing habits around bedtime, the waking hour, regular exercise, and a relaxing bedtime routine, help to maximize sleep.  Caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and  large quantities of liquids and food should also be avoided close

Safe sleep is just as important and good sleep.  When getting up in the middle of the night from a sound sleep, disorientation, low blood pressure or generalized weakness may develop. Stay safe at night by keeping a phone with emergency phone numbers close to the bed, having a nightlight in the bathroom, removing area rugs and getting up slowly to make sure strength and balance are present before walking.  Falls are the leading cause of injury related visits to the emergency room, most of them happening at night.

In a recently concluded research study the researchers from Germany and Switzerland evidenced that hypoxia in the context of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) might be a trigger for migraine and can be improved by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).

Ulf Kallweit, MD, of University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland, and colleagues assessed 11 patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS ) and migraine headache before and 1 year after conventional CPAP therapy. Six patients had migraine, 4 had migraine with aura, and 1 had chronic migraine. Their mean BMI was 29.7 kg/m². Read the rest of this entry

SleepApneaDisorder/[ Press Release ]/ FRAZER, Pa./ May 6, 2011 / At the Society of General Internal Medicine’s 34th Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz. today, Cephalon, Inc.  presented positive results from a phase IV trial of nearly 400 people with excessive sleepiness associated with shift work disorder. In the trial, NUVIGIL® (armodafinil) Tablets [C-IV] improved shift-workers’ overall clinical condition late in their shifts (i.e., 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.), including the commute home, compared to placebo. The key secondary endpoint of the study was to assess global function, as measured by the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), and patients taking NUVIGIL experienced a greater improvement in GAF score compared to those patients taking placebo. Shift work disorder occurs when the body’s internal sleep-wake clock is out of sync with the individual’s work schedule – their bodies tell them to go to sleep when their work schedule needs them to stay awake. The primary symptoms of shift work disorder are excessive sleepiness and insomnia. Read the rest of this entry

Sleep apnea is the most common sleep disorder to present with a complaint of morning headache.  The International Classification of Headache Disorders now has a separate classification for sleep apnea headache.  By definition, the headache is present upon awakening and resolves on its own in 30 minutes or less, and is not better described by another headache disorder.

Unfortunately, the research on headache and sleep disorders has often yielded conflicting results with some research  even  failing to show an increase in headache among suffers of sleep disorders much less success with treatment.

One thing is sure, if you suffer from chronic headaches, it is important to rule out any underlying sleep disorders and to optimize the quality and quantity of your sleep.  Sleep problems may not cause the headache, but poor sleep is a powerful trigger. [ Read Complete Post By Lisa Shives, M.D.,  At CNN ...   ]

Snoring can be a symptom of a serious problem: sleep apnea. Thirty percent of adult males and 20 percent of adult females suffer from sleep apnea.

People with this problem, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports, characteristically make periodic gasping or “snorting” noises, during which their sleep is momentarily interrupted. This can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness and can pose serious health implications. The condition has been linked to obesity, heart disease and other illnesses.

More than 12 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, and an estimated 10 million more have it and don’t even know it.

One common cause is temporomandibular (jaw joint) disorder, or TMD, which can also cause headaches, including migraines; neck, back and shoulder pain; ringing in the ears; jaw popping; and tingling fingers. Read the rest of this entry

Is snoring keeping you or your significant other from getting a good night’s sleep?

It could be a serious issue that needs your attention, according to a sleep expert at Baylor College of Medicine.

“Loud snoring, daytime sleepiness and waking up with a sore throat in the morning are all symptoms of sleep apnea,” said Dr. Mary Rose, assistant professor of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at BCM.

Categories of Sleep Disorders

Sleep apnea is a respiratory sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep, said Rose.

Generally, these pauses are defined as apneas, complete cessation of breathing; hypopneas, a 30 percent reduction of breathing; or respiratory effort related arousals, awakenings due to disrupted breathing. When people have more than five of these events per hour of sleep, they are classified as having sleep apnea, said Rose. Read the rest of this entry

For some longtime headache sufferers, aging offers a benefit: milder headache symptoms and fewer headaches. The April issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter covers changes in headaches that adults may see as they reach their 50s and 60s.For older adults who have had migraines earlier in life, this type of headache often diminishes in number and intensity with age. The nature of migraines tends to change, too. Head pain may be more spread out rather than in one focused area. Nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light and sound tend to occur less frequently with age. Older adults may experience new symptoms such as dry mouth during a migraine. Some older adults experience an aura, a painless visual change, without a headache.

New types of Headaches

With age, any new type of headache is increasingly likely to be related to an underlying medical condition,    ranging from sleep apnea to a stroke or brain tumor. Immediate medical care is warranted when a headache:

– Is sudden or severe

– Is accompanied by a fever, stiff neck, rash, confusion, seizure, double vision, weakness, numbness or difficulty speaking

– Begins quickly after strenuous exercise

– Develops after a head injury, fall or bump

Generally, adults over 50 should talk with their doctor about new headache symptoms.

Neurologists  specialize in the treatment of diseases and disorders of the brain,  spinal cord and nervous systems. In many cases, says UC Health  neurologist Jennifer Rose Molano, MD, these problems are closely  associated with sleep issues.

“I think that the field of  neurology in general is becoming more cognizant of the interplay between  sleep and neurological issues,” says Molano, an assistant professor in  the University of Cincinnati (UC) Department of Neurology and a member  of the medical staff at UC Health Surgical Hospital’s Sleep Medicine  Center in West Chester.

“Insomnia, for example, is very common  and often can be seen in those with a neurological problem,” notes  Molano. “A lack of sleep can also trigger worsening of conditions that  neurologists frequently see, such as headaches and seizures.” Read the rest of this entry

Current research  indicates that almost 50 per cent of type-2 diabetics in India also suffer from the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) survey reveals that nearly 9.3 per cent of the adult population in urban and metro areas in India suffer from sleep apnea, says Aparajito Mukherjee, Country Head, ResMed India.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), also known as sleep apnea, is a breathing disorder during sleep when the upper airway partially or completely collapses, causing obstruction in breathing and restricts airflow. This causes the person to wake up and it can happen as many as hundreds of times per night.

Snoring is a common symptom of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Other common signs and symptoms include excessive daytime sleepiness, obesity, high blood pressure, morning headaches, inability to concentrate and depression.