Sleepless Nights

My friend Mary called one morning last week. At least, I think it was Mary. We were both a little fuzzy around the edges, not having slept well (i.e., at all). It could have been any one of a dozen women I know who haven't gotten a good night's sleep in years. We're like the walking dead. Chalk it up to age, I guess, and plummeting hormonal levels. We regularly discuss a common willingness to sell our souls for eight hours of uninterrupted shut-eye. (Listen up, Lucifer. The crossroads at midnight: Name your terms.)

"I'm considering acupuncture," said Mary. It seems somebody she knew took this route and thought it helped.

That's a drastic measure, in my estimation, but desperation drives us to extremes. So far, nothing has worked for me. I've tried a succession of herbal teas and supplements, over-the-counter sleep aids and prescription drugs. All had the curious effect of inducing varying degrees of grogginess, but not sleep. The next day I'd walk around in a stupor. It's like living in a twilight zone, never all the way awake or asleep.

"Do you think you're depressed?" asked my doctor.

To be honest, I'm just mostly tired - frazzled, sleep-deprived and ready to snap. So yeah, that's depressing.

It's interesting that it seems to be mostly women who, somewhere along the line, lose the ability to sleep on a regular basis. Most of us used to take it for granted that sleep would happen most nights. Now it seems like a gift.

Men, though, are another story. They can nod off at the drop of a hat, night or day, no problem.

"It's because we are pure of heart and have a clean conscience," my cousin Dennis says smugly. (Next time he falls asleep on the sofa I mean to beat him senseless.)

My friend Mike admits he's on my wavelength, sleeping at two-hour intervals, reading and calculating the remaining hours until daybreak. At his house, it's his wife who sleeps through the night without a glitch. Which leads me to put forward a theory about sleep patterns.

Rarely do both husband and wife get a dandy night's sleep or lie awake wide-eyed. It's as if for each household there's an appointed allotment of sleep hours. If one partner hogs all the sleep, then the other person might as well just forget about it. Get up and organize the sock drawer, brew a cup of chamomile and try not to wish evil upon your sleeping spouse.

If you're the lucky one in your house, well goody for you. If you're awake all night, know that you are not alone. There are legions of us out here, a veritable Insomniac Nation. Don't cross us. We're on the edge.

This article is from www.websterkirkwoodtimes.com

Can people die due to insomnia?

We've all suffered from a poor night's sleep. According to the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, vast numbers of Americans (30-40 percent) report suffering from one or more nights of insomnia during any given year. But can insomnia get so bad that you actually die from it? There's very little research on what happens to the human body when it goes for extended periods without sleep—after all, no lab in the country would sign off on such experiments. From what we do know, it's highly likely that one's body would eventually just shut down. But what's more common, and troubling, is chronic insomnia, bouts of brief, fitful sleep—an hour here, three hours there—lasting beyond three weeks into months or years at a time. About 10-15 percent of Americans suffer from chronic insomnia, and while this type of condition is not deadly in and of itself, it can lead to a whole host of other disturbing mental and physical effects.

 

The ill effects of insomnia can be immediate after just one sleepless night. (Even not getting enough sleep per night can be dangerous: studies show that mortality rates spike in those that sleep drastically less than seven hours a night.) According to recent research by Matthew Walker, director of the Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, the amygdala—the part of the brain that alerts the body to be prepared in times of danger—goes haywire when a full night's sleeplessness occurs. That in turn wreaks havoc on the prefrontal cortex, which controls our logical reasoning and "fight or flight" reflex, turning us, as Walker says, into "emotional Jell-O." Memory capacity and speech control diminish; irritability spikes. At the same time, some studies have shown that cortisol, a hormone related to stress and depression and linked to cardiovascular disease, is building up in the body instead of being moderated by a good night's rest. Concentration is kaput. The muscles ache. What's worse, the external, ordinary dangers of modern life become many times more deadly: according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are about 200,000 car accidents a year caused by sleepy drivers, killing more people than drunk driving. Essentially robbed of its power to encode or consolidate memories after just one day, the brain quickly instead begins to mimic the profile of people with acute psychiatric disorders.

Physiologically, the human body could survive without sleep for 11 to 18 days, based on research from experiments and various other stunt-based records. Taken to extremes, the results of sleeplessness get downright grim, which is why it's been both shunned as a form of unethical research and used as torture. When lawyers for former President George W. Bush argued, in a 2005 memo, that keeping detainees awake for 180 hours—seven and a half days—didn't constitute torture, the medical researchers cited in support howled with protest, calling it "deplorable" and "nonsense." "Prolonged stress with sleep deprivation will lead to a physiological exhaustion of the body's defense mechanisms, physical collapse, and with the potential for various ensuing illnesses," responded Professor James Horne of the Sleep Research Centre at England's Loughborough University and author of Why We Sleep. Horne says the effects of prolonged sleeplessness are painful indeed. Various brain and several bodily functions go completely gunnysack. Vision goes blurry or double; nausea sets in. By a week, hypertension and body temperature run amok; the brain may be overcome with hyperemotionality, paranoia, and hallucinations.

To continue reading the full article, click The Waking Dead

Over the Counter Sleep Aids - What you need to know

Are you suffering from insomnia? Or are you having trouble getting sleep, or staying asleep? If yes, read the article entitled Over-the-Counter Sleep Aids: Learn about OTC Sleep Aids - What you need to know to get your sleep cycle back on track by Edith Brent. Read the article below.

If you regularly find yourself having trouble getting to sleep, or staying asleep, then you may be suffering from a sleep disorder. These disorders are broadly covered under the term 'insomnia' but the truth is that every single one is different. Many people search for quick answers, but do over the counter sleep aids provide you with what you need?

Often, these sleep aids come in the form of sleeping pills. There are a number of different types available without prescription. They are very easy to take, cheap to buy, and you won't have to worry about seeing a doctor.

However, the main problem with these over the counter sleep aids is that they are drugs that can leave you feeling very groggy the next day. Although they do help you to get to sleep, you may still feel tired and find that your sleep patterns don't get back on track.

In fact, these sleeping pills come with a number of side effects. They use antihistamines, which have a number of side effects including a dry mouth, dizziness, drowsiness, constipation and more.

The great news is that not all over the counter sleep aids come in the form of sleeping pills. Why not try some herbal remedies? There are a number of options available in health food shops which can include teas and aromatherapy.

It's also important to remember that your sleeping condition may be a symptom of something more serious. This is why you should always see a doctor for advice.

Sleeping pills can be useful occasionally, but finding sleep aids that really work is crucial to maintaining the right cycle of sleep.

It's important to learn how to find the right treatment for insomnia, one that does not rely on drugs but that really gets your sleep cycle on track. Check out the top sleep aids for chronic insomnia and try using one that isn't based on medication.

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