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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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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The US Food and Drug Administration has ordered drug manufacturers to post stronger warning labels on 13 popular sleep medications, including Ambien and Lunesta.  Widespread reports of severe allergic reactions, as well as bizarre behaviors including hallucinations, sleep driving and binge eating by sleepwalking patients who had taken the drugs before bedtime prompted the new labeling requirements.  It appears that the risk of these behaviors may be increased by drinking alcohol (such as a glass of wine) before or after taking the pills.  Despite the strengthened warnings, the FDA is not ordering the drugs off the shelves at this time.

F.D.A. Warns of Odd Effects of Sleep Pills

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