In fact, about 3.6 percent of U.S. adults have walked in their sleep at least once in the previous year, researchers report Monday (May 14) in the journal Neurology. One percent experienced at least two episodes of sleepwalking per month.
Showing posts with label Sleep Apnea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sleep Apnea. Show all posts
Monday, 14 May 2012
More Than 8 Million Americans Sleepwalk, Surprising Scientists
By Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer | LiveScience.com
Adult sleepwalkers are more common than previously realized, with upward of 8 million American adults prone to nighttime ambulation, a new study finds.
In fact, about 3.6 percent of U.S. adults have walked in their sleep at least once in the previous year, researchers report Monday (May 14) in the journal Neurology. One percent experienced at least two episodes of sleepwalking per month.
In fact, about 3.6 percent of U.S. adults have walked in their sleep at least once in the previous year, researchers report Monday (May 14) in the journal Neurology. One percent experienced at least two episodes of sleepwalking per month.
Almost 1 in 3 in U.S. have sleepwalked: study
By Andrew M. Seaman | Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although only a handful of people in the United States sleepwalk every year, a new study suggests close to one-third may do it at some point in their lives.
The study, published Monday in the journal Neurology, also suggests that other sleep disorders, severe depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) -- among other things -- are linked to an increased chance of sleepwalking.
Past research on sleepwalking was mostly based on studies conducted in a lab, according to the study's lead author, who told Reuters Health he wanted to know what was actually happening in people's homes.
"We did not know what was the prevalence of sleepwalking -- as a disorder -- in the general population and that was a big problem," said Dr. Maurice Ohayon, director of the Stanford Sleep Epidemiology Research Center in California.
To find out how many people were sleepwalking -- also known as nocturnal wandering -- at home, Ohayon and his fellow researchers from around the U.S. called about 16,000 adults in 15 states.
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Sleep Aids Tied to Early Death
By Vanessa Evans | Yahoo! Contributor Network
A study published in the British medical journal BMJ has discovered that taking a sleeping pill might increase your risk of early death significantly, according to U.S. News. A link was found between people who took sleeping pills and what researchers labeled "excess deaths" throughout the country.
How do sleeping pills cause early death?
Researchers were unable to determine exactly how the pills affect a person this way, although they did find what appears to be a preliminary link between sleep aids and an increased risk of developing cancer, according to WebMD. Among those they studied, people who took sleeping pills had a 35 percent increase in their rate of cancer development.
There were other risks as well that researchers labeled "associated factors." These included depression, anxiety, sleep apnea, mixed drug overdoses and several others.
How was the study conducted?
Scientists working through the Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania studied 10,000 patients who took sleeping pills for at least 2 1/2 years, according to MSNBC. They built controls into the study to account for individual health, age, weight, preexisting conditions and a host of other factors so as to be able to evaluate everyone who participated on an equal basis.
What has been the response to the study?
The maker of Ambien, Sanofi-Aventis, were quick to defend its product. Sanofi said the product is safe but should always be prescribed according to packaging directions and taken as directed. The company also questioned the validity of the study, saying it had limitations and was therefore inaccurate, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Other critics, including Nancy Snyderman, who is the chief medical editor at NBC, pointed out the study was based on prescriptions. That doesn't mean the person who was prescribed the sleep aid actually took it. She also pointed out the relationship between sleep aids and an increased risk of death appears to be associative, not cause-and-effect.
What will researchers be looking at next?
Daniel F. Kripke, who co-authored the study, wants to expand it. He intends to look into the factors involved in taking sleep aids and the link to major health issues to try to figure out how sleep aids can influence a person's overall health.
What have the authors of the study said about the results?
Robert D. Langer, one of the co-authors of the study, said in a statement quoted by CBS News that the team was "shocked" when it discovered the correlation between the drugs and major health issues. He recommended trying to find alternate methods of treating sleep issues and to use sleep aids sparingly.
Vanessa Evans is a musician and freelance writer based in Michigan, with a lifelong interest in health and nutrition issues.
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Sex vs. Sleep
POSTED BY SIERRA
You can only spend so many hours a day in bed. Between work, kids, keeping house and managing our lives, the days of carefree afternoons to laze around between the sheets with your lover are probably long over.
You can only spend so many hours a day in bed. Between work, kids, keeping house and managing our lives, the days of carefree afternoons to laze around between the sheets with your lover are probably long over.
In fact, most of us spend too few hours in bed every night. At that point, what we do with those hours becomes a trade-off: sex vs. sleep. For one out of four Americans, sleep wins. At least according to a new study by the National Sleep Foundation, reported in the New York Times.The sleep foundation was looking for differences in the types of sleep problems different ethnic groups experience. They found some.
Whites are more likely than any other ethnic group to be diagnosed with insomnia, with in 1 in 10 receiving the diagnoses. Blacks have cornered the market on sleep apnea, a condition diagnosed in 1 in 7 African-Americans. Hispanics, according to this study, are more likely than their peers in other etnic groups to lose sleep to worry. 3 out of 8 said they stay up thinking about problems with money, health, relationships or work.
Asian-Americans are apparently sleeping better than everyone else, with 5 out of 6 saying they get at least a few good nights sleep each week.
But across the board, the numbers for choosing sleep over sex were about the same: a quarter of us frequently eschew sex for sleep at the end of the day. I’m surprised that number wasn’t higher.
I’ve been conducting my own sleep-deprivation experiments since having my first child six years ago, and like a lot of parents I know full well how sweet dreams can become. Even sweeter than some one-on-one time with your partner. Who, if yours is anything like mine, is probably snoring by the time your head hits the pillow anyway.
Sometimes, when my husband and I have been Way Too Tired For Sex, we have literally made a “dream date”. Let’s do it in our sleep, we say, as we drift off holding hands.
Do you value sleep more than sex these days? Do you see that changing as your kids grow, or is this just the new status quo? How do you keep the sparks alive?
http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2010/03/09/sex-vs-sleep/
Monday, 20 February 2012
Overall Benefits of Extreme Weight Loss
It is important to remember that the ultimate goal of bariatric surgery (or alternatives to bariatric surgery) is to improve your health and extend your life by reducing or eliminating the many obesity-related conditions by targeting the excess weight and consequent negative metabolic impact this has on your body. This means that overall, successful weight loss has a beneficial impact, both physically and mentally, on your whole body. The complications of obesity that generally improve or are eliminated altogether following weight loss include the following:
-Diabetes and blood sugar regulation
-Hypertension (high blood pressure)
-Stress incontinence
-Back pain
-Knee pain
-Heel spurs
-Gastric reflux disease
-Sleep apnea and other obstructive sleep disorders
-Congestive heart disease
-High blood cholesterol and triglycerides
So, you will have to weigh the benefits of bariatric surgery against the risks. When you do that, surgery may seem like a good choice. However, when you compare bariatric surgery to a non-surgival gastric bypass alternative, you will soon see that there is only one choice that makes any sense.
-Diabetes and blood sugar regulation
-Hypertension (high blood pressure)
-Stress incontinence
-Back pain
-Knee pain
-Heel spurs
-Gastric reflux disease
-Sleep apnea and other obstructive sleep disorders
-Congestive heart disease
-High blood cholesterol and triglycerides
So, you will have to weigh the benefits of bariatric surgery against the risks. When you do that, surgery may seem like a good choice. However, when you compare bariatric surgery to a non-surgival gastric bypass alternative, you will soon see that there is only one choice that makes any sense.
Gastric bypass surgery significantly changes the structure and function of your digestive system. You have to adapt the amounts and types of foods you eat following bypass surgery to account for this, not only while you heal following surgery, but in the longer term to take into account the small size of your stomach and your inability to digest certain nutrients if you’ve had bypass surgery.
Patients with extensive gastric bypasses of the normal digestive process require close monitoring and life-long use of special foods, supplements, and medications. This means major changes to your life and it’s important to remember that successful results following any bariatric operation depend on how well you adopt a long-term plan of healthy eating and regular physical activity.
There are safe and effective alternatives to gastric bypass surgery, and the same weight loss results can be achieved - without the long-term risks and detriments to quality of life.
Patients with extensive gastric bypasses of the normal digestive process require close monitoring and life-long use of special foods, supplements, and medications. This means major changes to your life and it’s important to remember that successful results following any bariatric operation depend on how well you adopt a long-term plan of healthy eating and regular physical activity.
There are safe and effective alternatives to gastric bypass surgery, and the same weight loss results can be achieved - without the long-term risks and detriments to quality of life.
Pros And Cons Of Gastric Bypass Surgery
What are the pros and cons of gastric bypass surgery?
As with any major life changing surgery there are many pros and cons and all should be thoroughly explored and discussed with your doctor and family before undergoing the procedure. None of these are an absolute. They may or may not happen -- both pro and con. Be prepared for these possibilities.
Cons:
As with any major life changing surgery there are many pros and cons and all should be thoroughly explored and discussed with your doctor and family before undergoing the procedure. None of these are an absolute. They may or may not happen -- both pro and con. Be prepared for these possibilities.
Cons:
- Urinary Tract Infection
- Bowel Obstruction
- Obstruction of the stomach outlet: the outlet post surgery is about the size of the tip of your pinky finger. You have to learn to chew everything you swallow to be less than that! You will not have stomach acid in the pouch; consequently, if you swallow anything bigger it’s stuck.
- Chronic nutritional problems
- Protein deficiency
- Vitamin deficiency
- Mineral deficiency
- Nausea
- Food Intolerances such as: Sugar, Milk and Milk Sugar, and Red Meats.
- Changed Bowel Habits
- Transient Hair Loss: During the rapid weight loss following the surgery you will probably lose much of your hair. It will grow back. My doctor told me to invest in some nice hats for the duration.
- Loss of muscle mass
- Loss of high blood pressure: 70% of patients are able to go off all blood pressure medications post-op.
- Loss of high blood cholesterol: 80% of patients develop normal cholesterol levels within 2-3 months after surgery.
- Reduced risk of heart disease
- Increased probability of reducing all need for medication in a diagnosed Type II Diabetes patient.
- Reversal of borderline diabetes
- Reduced asthma attacks, and in some cases a total discontinuation.
- Reduced Respiratory Insufficiency: Many patients find that within just months of the surgery they have almost no respiratory problems at all and can participate in normal activities they have missed out on for years.
- Relief of Sleep Apnea Syndrome
- Relief from Acid Reflux Disease
- allaboutlifechallenges.org
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