the Good Night, Insomnia! Blog

Yep, this research from UCal Berkley confirms what we already knew about insomnia, and explains why. When you’re sleep deprived the prefrontal lobe of the brain, which regulates our emotions, effectively shuts down.  This in turn causes a person to become emotionally irrational, overreacting to negative or threatening images or situations.

Many psychiatric disorders, “particularly ones involving emotions, seem to be linked with abnormal sleep,” [researcher Matthew Walker] added. “Traditionally people mostly thought the psychiatric disorders were contributing to the sleep abnormalities, but of course it could be the other way around. If we can find out which parts of sleep are most key to emotional stability, we already have a good range of drugs that can push and pull at these kinds of sleep and maybe help treat certain kinds of psychiatric conditions.”

Emotions Run Amok in Sleep-Deprived Brains - Yahoo! News

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No, this article isn’t exactly about insomnia, but I trust you’ll see the link.  A recent study by the University of Vienna and published in the journal Sleep and Biological Rhythms found that women sleep less soundly when they share a bed with a romantic partner, such as their husband.  It seems that women’s sleep was more fragmented - they woke up more - during the night when sleeping with a partner than when sleeping alone.  Women tend to be more sensitive to their partner’s movement and noises (such as snoring) and this disrupts sleep.  This appears to be another reason over 60% of women report sleep problems.  Conversely, men slept better next to their mates than alone.  Though the researchers stop short of recommending separate beds, they do encourage couples facing this issue to throughly explore all possible remedies to improve women’s sleep.

Men Sleep Better Next to their Mates; Women Worse - MSNBC

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No, I’m not telling you that your personal physical hygiene is lacking.  I’m not rude!  “Sleep hygiene” is the term given to a series of recommendations for diet, physical activity and your sleeping environment to encourage natural, restful sleep.   Because of the hormonal changes that occur during menopause, insomnia is a frequent complaint of women going through “the change.”  Many of the drugs taken to alleviate menopause actually aggravate insomnia.  This article outlines the issues faced by women when dealing with menopause and insomnia; and recommends some solutions.  See if they work for you.

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In a study published in the medical journal Sleep, insomnia is said to create a “significant economic burden” because sufferers tend to miss work more often.  Insomnia patients also ran up higher medical expenditures.  The study cites lack of awareness about sleep and health and urges improved national public education.Insomnia May Cost Less to Treat Than to Ignore

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