What causes sleep deprivation?

• Not sleeping on time because of socialising, watching television or reading. In this case, the person chooses to forego sleep to engage in tasks that are not necessarily important.
• Certain illnesses such as cold and cough tend to wake you up many times in the night, which affects sleep quality.
• People working in shifts have a disrupted sleep-wake cycle as is the case with frequent travellers and those working across time zones.
• Sleep problems such as sleep apnoea, snoring and periodic limb movement disorder.
• Some drugs used to treat disorders such as epilepsy or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] may cause insomnia.
• External factors such as temperature [too hot or cold], lighting, a snoring bed partner and noise.
• Drinking coffee or smoking cigarettes close to bedtime stimulates the nervous system and makes sleep less likely or robs one of sound sleep.
• Having a newborn in the house. Infants often make it difficult for parents and other members of the house to fall asleep as they themselves stay up crying or playing.

What are its symptoms?

• Constant yawning
• Increased chances of dozing off when not active for a while
• Waking with a groggy feeling that continues through the day
• Poor concentration and mood changes.

How does sleep deprivation affect a person?

The primary effect of sleep deprivation is excessive day-time sleepiness. Other effects include irritability, fatigue, lack of concentration, poor attention, lethargy, restlessness, digestive problems, increased appetite, hyperacidity, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. Severe sleep deprivation increases one’s risk of mortality.

What are the coping strategies?

There is no substitute for a good night’s sleep. Thus, the only way to overcome this lack is getting sufficient sleep at night. In addition, the following tips will help you recover from sleep debt faster.

• Follow a regular time for sleeping and waking up.
• Go to bed only when drowsy.
• Do not plan the next day while going to bed.
• Avoid things that trigger anxiety such as quarrels or arguments or watching a horror movie, close to bed time.
• Avoid watching television late at night as exposure to light postpones the sleep further. A dark, quiet room is conducive to sleep. Listening to light, soothing music before bed time makes drifting into sleep easier.
• Avoid consuming tea or coffee in the evening.
• Do not consume alcohol to induce sleep as it has the opposite effect. Alcohol dehydrates you and though you may not realise it, but it affects the quality of your sleep. That’s why, you seldom wake up refreshed the next day after a night of heavy drinking.

This was first published in the February 2012 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

Sleep deprivation

The post Sleepy all the time? appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

In the past, sleep paralysis was widely considered to be a work of the incubi [a demon] who was thought to be sitting on the chest of the sleeper or was commonly referred to as a witch riding your back. Recent research has revealed that sleep paralysis usually is a reversible condition but in some instances, it points to a serious sleep disorder.

What is sleep paralysis?

Sleep paralysis basically occurs when the brain awakes from a rapid eye movement [REM] state, but the body paralysis persists. This leaves the person fully conscious, but unable to move from several seconds to several minutes after which the individual may experience panic. Patients find a generalised inability to move their head, body and extremities. In most cases, movement of the eyes and respiratory muscles still occur. Sleep paralysis is most commonly experienced during the onset of sleep [hypnagogic] or immediately after waking up [hypnopompic].

Recurring episodes of sleep paralysis is uncommon in normal individuals. However, up to 40 – 50 per cent of the normal subjects report isolated sleep paralysis at least once in a life time.

Patients experiencing sleep paralysis can see and breathe normally, but are simply unable to move even to a slight extent. They do not realise what is happening to them and hence experience fear and anxiety. It has been reported that these patients even seem to have hallucinations, out-of-body experiences and other such psychiatric manifestations.

What are the causes?

The usual causes are of sleep paralysis are:

• Sleep deprivation
• Stress
• Sudden environment and/or lifestyle changes
• Narcolepsy [a chronic sleep disorder]
• Unknown ancestral pattern.

Sleep deprivation and stress are common consequences of modern lifestyle. Watching late-night television, coupled with getting up early for work is common in today’s life. These practices lead to sleep deprivation. A person who reaches home late from work can also create sleep deprivation in other members of the household [rebound sleep deprivation].

Sleep paralysis is common in narcoleptic subjects and it occurs repeatedly in about 40 per cent of these patients. Narcolepsy is characterised by excessive sleepiness, cataplexy [sudden transient loss or reduction of skeletal muscle tone], sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations. Evaluation of such patients is necessary and in most cases polysomnography [sleep study] is done for the diagnosis. [See box on polysomnography]

How to manage it?

Sleep paralysis lasts for a few seconds to few minutes and there is spontaneous resolution requiring no further treatment. It has been reported that sleep paralysis occurs in everyone once or twice in a lifetime. But the underlying cause needs to be attended to. Patients who are stressed and sleep deprived need to relax and fulfil their sleep demands. Practising sleep hygiene is of utmost importance in modern day life.

Episodes of sleep paralysis can resolve spontaneously or in response to external stimulation, such as the touch of another person. It is therefore advisable for such patients to sleep with somebody who can help in these situations. Patients of sleep paralysis in whom narcolepsy is suspected need further evaluation.

How is it different from a stroke?

Sleep paralysis needs to be differentiated from paralysis/stroke [for example paralysis of one half of the body or a limb] occurring in sleep or on awakening. Owing to some complex mechanisms the incidence of heart attacks and strokes are maximum during early morning hours. Strokes need careful evaluation and immediate attention. Strokes can also be caused by a sleep disorder called as sleep disordered breathing [SDB], which comprises of snoring, upper airway resistance syndrome and obstructive sleep apnoea [OSA]. SDB is a common disorder and is chiefly manifested by habitual snoring and daytime sleepiness and/or tiredness.

Recent evidence show that treatment of underlying SDB in patients of stroke and heart disease results in better outcomes.

The post Don’t let sleep paralyse you appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.