Sound Sleep Guide

Archive for October, 2006

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has proven through studies that chronic sleep problems affect 40 million Americans every year and an average of 20 million to 30 million individuals will lose sleep on an occasional basis. Compound this with the knowledge that 22 million American citizens work night shifts or swing shifts which causes many disruptions with the body’s normal cycles in terms of sleep considerations. If allowed to worsen, these sleep disorders can evolve into full blown sleep deprivation which can cause problems with a person’s ability to function on the job; their ability to learn, remember and concentrate; their driving skills and personal relationships.

Research has proven that a consistent lack of sleep can affect a person’s cognitive functions including impaired memory, a slower reaction time, an inability to concentrate, a shorter attention span and a reduced ability to learn and process new information. Being too tired to learn can result in a lack of adequate performance at school or work for an individual. The brain has a difficult time when processing new information, when it is deprived of sleep, and research into this has yielded the result that the brain is the organ of the body that requires the greatest amount of sleep. Studies have shown that learning spatial tasks (such as remembering a set of instructions) greatly increases the production of new cells in the part of the brain known as the hippocampus. The brain cells in the hippocampus rely on the benefits of sleep to survive, and indeed thrive. The hippocampus consistently goes through a process called “neurogenesis” whereby it creates new brain cells throughout the life of an individual. When the hippocampus is involved in the learning of a new skill or task, neurogenesis takes place even quicker. It is adequate sleep that aids greatly in this process.

Researchers at Boston’s Harvard Medical School conducted a study in 2000 which added fuel to the argument that getting a good night’s sleep and learning are linked. They found that those who stay up late cramming the night before an exam and then lose sleep actually do worse on their marks than those who got a good night’s sleep the night before. The students’ ability to both learn and retain the information they had learned was thwarted because of missed zzz’s.

It appears that sleep plays a major role in learning and academic performance. This study also showed that trying to quickly catch up on missed sleep doesn’t work as the lack thereof has a negative impact upon performance even three days after the fact. In other words even if the students had had a restful night’s sleep before their exam they would still suffer performance problems because they had tried to catch up on missed sleep from the previous few nights before.

Another study looked at how sequences of patterns can be learned over a period of four days by a group of select students. The group was broken into two with half of the group being allowed a restful night’s sleep on the first night of the study while the second group was not allowed to sleep restfully. The conclusion reached after the study was that there was a connection between losing sleep on night number one and a lack of performance on tests dealing with memory a number of days later.

The results deemed from this study showed that sleep definitely plays a role in how students learn in school and indeed how people learn in general, regardless of the learning material. The process of sleep plays a significant role in encouraging information to remain intact in the brain and to, in other words “stick.”

For those with sleeping problems that disrupt learning they should look closely at what they eat. It is important to eat foods that consist of tryptophan which prompts the production of the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is beneficial in helping an individual get to sleep. Tryptophan can be found in egg whites, honey, milk, tuna and turkey. There are certain foods that should be avoided close to bedtime and these include bacon, cheese, ham, tomatoes and sugar because they are composed of an amino acid called tyramine. Tyramine prompts a stimulating effect on the brain and encourages wakefulness and alertness, not sleepiness. Sleep patterns can be easily improved upon by simply altering one’s eating habits for the better.

Sleepwalking can be very disconcerting. Imagine going to sleep at night, burrowing under the covers, but waking up in a totally different place? Or, perhaps you wake up in your own bed, but family members tell tales of you walking and talking to them, sometimes even completing different tasks and you have no recollection of the events. Sounds spooky, doesn’t it? Approximately ten percent of the population has bouts of sleepwalking, many of them children. Also known as somnambulism, sleepwalking often occurs during the deep sleep phase. The common belief that you should not wake sleepwalkers is dangerous. In fact, if you do not wake them, they have a great potential of hurting themselves or the people around them.

Some people are unsure about the symptoms of sleepwalking and whether they or a loved one could be suffering from it. Sleepwalkers often appear awake. If you are unsure if a loved one is actually sleepwalking, look into their eyes. If they stare absently and don’t see you or track your movements with their eyes, chances are that they are indeed sleepwalking. Another symptom of sleepwalking is weird or uncharacteristic behaviors.

Talking or mumbling is common in sleepwalkers as is disorientation or confusion if awakened suddenly. Aggressive behavior toward a person trying to waken a sleepwalker is another symptom and also plays into that myth about it being dangerous to awaken sleepwalkers. It is especially important to wake up a sleepwalker if they are showing signs of wanting to go outside or even perform certain tasks that can prove harmful if asleep like cooking or using power tools.

We all have had various notions about what sleepwalking is, but what causes it? The biggest factor is usually lack of sleep. When deprived of sleep, a person’s consciousness is affected. Extreme fatigue can also play a factor in the cause. Stress, anxiety and worrying about something can kick off episodes of sleepwalking. Various medications and even imbibing alcohol are issues that play into a sleepwalking event. Sleeping disorders and other health conditions can contribute to this event. For instance, kids with asthma and sleep apnea are more prone to sleepwalking than others because their conditions are not always conducive to a good night’s sleep and rest.

Diagnosis can be fairly simple for sleepwalking, especially if other people witness this behavior. Other family members are usually the ones corroborating stories to the fact that sleepwalking is happening. If you live alone, diagnosis is harder to determine, so sometimes a sleep study is performed. In addition, your doctor may perform some tests to find if any medical conditions may be contributing to your little unconscious nighttime forays.

Treatment for sleepwalking comes in many forms and depends on what is determined as the primary cause. One action you can take is to get more rest and sleep. Another thing you can do is clear harmful obstacles from the sleepwalker’s path in order to avoid injury. Door chains placed higher than their head is recommended to avoid wandering off outside, especially if a child is the sleepwalker. Removing stove knobs, putting sharp objects like scissors and knives away and childproofing the stairway with a baby gate might help keep your sleepwalking child out of harm’s way.

For some people, sleepwalking can be draining over the course of time. When sleepwalking interferes in your daily, “awake” life, a doctor might prescribe tranquilizers to keep you from getting up in your sleep. Hypnosis is also another option that works on some people. With the tranquilizer and hypnosis treatments, your doctor must have ruled out other biological causes before resorting to those measures.

Keeping the same routine every night helps your body relax, degree by degree. Indulging in a little aromatherapy or a leisurely bath helps with relaxation too. Going to bed at the same time every night, nixing stimulants like cigarettes and caffeine and even reading a book or story to your child all play a part in a harmonious bed time ritual. Since sleepwalking is the end result of not getting enough sleep or rest, finding a bed time routine that is consistent just might be helpful in avoiding another late night, unknowing reconnaissance mission. Sleepwalking, for the most part, is not serious and usually goes away on its own. If it doesn’t however, it is important that you see a medical professional about your sleepwalking problem.

If you find yourself counting shadows on the ceiling or watching the numbers tick by on your alarm clock, then you are definitely not alone. Millions of people all over the world have problems sleeping. With some, it is a recurring problem called insomnia and with others, it might be the occasional night or two, every so often. Regardless of how your sleep problems came to be, you have a plethora of options in regards to sleep aids. However, if you are reluctant to ask your doctor for prescription sleep drugs or other medical alternatives, there are some natural sleep aids that can guide you to dreamland.

Natural sleep aids through the use of herbs have been around for a long time. The Chinese, most notably, have been big proponents of herbal remedies for centuries and stand by their effectiveness. It is just in the past decade or two that herbs have been scrutinized more closely for their beneficial properties in treating everything from stomach aches to colds and to, of course, sleep problems. If you decide to try one or more of herbal remedies please note that you should discuss them with your doctor first. Other medications you are taking might adversely react to the herbal remedies. In addition, you should also know that these herbs are not sleep cures and will not always work the first time you take them. It may take a few times before you might notice the effects.

One of the oldest and commonly tried and true methods of falling asleep is the cup of herbal tea before bedtime. Chamomile is known for its soothing properties. Ginseng and catnip are other herbs that make for a great, soothing cup of tea with light sedative properties. Valerian is also another herb that is popular as a sleep aid. It comes in various forms, including tea. However, if you are not a tea person, valerian is also available in supplement form. Research studies into valerian show that for the most part, it does not have any side effects for the general population. It is important to note that valerian is one of the herbs that might take a few weeks for it to really take full effect in your body, so patience would definitely be a virtue in this instance.

Melatonin supplements also help with guiding you to dreamland. It is a naturally occurring hormone in the brain that is produced at night to help you feel drowsy enough to sleep. Now, you can receive melatonin naturally through consuming foods loaded with tryptophan. Tryptophan is an amino acid found in such foods as turkey, soy and milk products. That is why you always hear about a glass of warm milk inducing sleep sometimes. It seems that this amino acid tryptophan kicks off the production of melatonin, which helps you sleep. If you don’t eat enough of the foods that have tryptophan, then chances are that you would need boost in the form of melatonin supplements.

There are other herbal remedies that many people tout for their sleep enhancing properties. Teas made from passion flower, red clover, peppermint or lemon balms are sometimes consumed before bedtime. In addition, supplements of St. John’s Wort, kava kava and hops have some firm believers in their properties too. Or course, natural sleep aids do not necessarily mean herbal remedies. They could also mean non-traditional methods like acupuncture, self-hypnosis, meditation and acupressure. Changing lifestyle habits and routines are a non-medical, natural way to help engage a more restful sleep too.

Missing out on a restful night’s sleep brings people to a number of various measures to try and help them deal with the sleep deficit. It could be something as simple as incorporating exercise into your daily routine or rearranging your furniture to follow feng shui practices of harmony. Perhaps practicing deep breathing exercises might help your body and mind relax enough to fall asleep. Visual imagery and muscle relaxation techniques are also other natural alternative sleep aids.

You really need to sit down and determine what factors may be causing your sleepless nights. Depending on what your problem might be, you would then be able to base your choice on the best alternative natural sleep aid that would suit your needs.