A Serious Health Issue

Harvey,

You posted good timely information. Thanks.
I was diagnosed with sleep apnea years ago. I have worn out 2 cpap machines (17,000 plus hours each) and am on the way with the 3rd one.
They have made my life much more pleasant and longer.

Jack
 
Well my friends, It has been almost a year since this thread has been up. National Sleep Awareness week is upon us again, (Mar1-8) and it is time for the sleep guy to remind us that 2/3rds of our day and a very significant portion of our health is dependant on the amount of good quality, healthy sleep that we obtain each night.

And yes there is a difference between healthy sleep and just spending the requisite time in bed. I suspicion that most of us are not spending 9, 10, 12 or more hours in bed, but in some cases, that is the "norm" and it is a sign in itself that the sleep is not healthy, because it is far more time in bed than our body requires. Our national average is about 6.25 hours, which means that as a nation we are not getting enough sleep, and so we are "on the average" running in a state of sleep debt, a result of sleep deprivation. So somewhere between 6.25 and 9 hours and up is a figure of about 7 to 7.5 hours that is, assuming healthy sleep, an adequate and appropriate amount for the average American adult. Obviously YMMV.

Somewhere between :star :moon and the :hot should be a good nights sleep. I'm off to mine now, and we will look at sleep more in depth when I'm a bit more awake :wink

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Harvey this is great stuff. For the last 10 or so years I've suffered from insomnia plus waking up just as tired as I did when I laid down. I'm currently having the urination problems you mentioned and on meds for it. Sure would be nice to find it was merely caused by a sleep disorder. I have found I sleep better if I use oxygen which I have prescribed as needed for my lung condition. Also it never occured to me that my sleep disorder of the last 10 or so years could be due to my decreased lung function. Readin your post has WOKE ME UP! Thanks.
 
I certainly agree with Harvey, but there are some people who live their entire healthy lives with far less sleep. I have only personally know two of these people--one was Michael DeBakey who only averaged 4 hours of sleep, and other was an engineer/executive who worked for S. Cal. Edison and Bechtel International--who averaged about 3 hours of sleep. I have known a number of physicians who averaged in the 5 hour or less sleep category. There are articles about very brilliant people--who get very little sleep.

When crossing oceans, or solo sailing, one has to learn to cat nap for short times, and get the longer sleep periods of a couple of hours when they can.
An interesting article is at:
http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywor ... ing_1.html

i find that the first 24 hours offshore is the most difficuilt and a time I get little sleep.It takes several days to get into the routine of passage making. We do 3 hours on on and 3 off rotations, and this allows at least 2 hours of un-interupted sleep. We also take cat naps--I find that I can be refreshed after 15 minutes sleep, and can awake to look around the horizon almost exactly on time when on watch if I get behind. But if I am sleep deprieved for 2 days, I have significant difficulty--and have to get my catch up sleep!
 
Agreed that there are exceptions to the norm. Shortened sleep times are possible, and any napping during the "Non night sleep time" does get included into the 24 hour sleep total. The 2 hour sleep on the 3 hour watch rotation allows for a full sleep cycle which "normally" takes about 90 minutes, and will include the sleep stages in normal rotation from 1-2 Delta-then REM. In fact, on a schedule like that it has been shown that persons running in a sleep deprived state will have an accelerated sleep cycle and will go into REM (Rapid Eye Movement sleep) earlier in the sleep session. This is important in that it allows for stress reduction, memory organization, and physical regeneration.

from an earlier post in this thread

I would submit that there are far more people whose sleep routines are outside the norm, that are that way because they have sleep disorders, (often to the extent of debilitation) than because they are experiencing superior behavior.
Click to expand...
My focus in this thread is to raise awareness, in this community, of what healthy sleep is, and of the signs to be aware of, and note what is not, so that we can look at an area that is often ignored, and increase our level of health.

Next weekend is time change to Daylight Savings Time, and during this week, prior, is National Sleep Awareness week. I will try to bring relevant, interesting information. I will be willing to answer on post, or PM, anything I can to help discover a new improved, healthy sleep, and secondarily a chance at secondary health benefits that will make it all worth while. And to validate that this is a boating forum, if we sleep better, have improved health as a result, we can boat more, boat more often and boat longer.

More on Signs of unhealthy sleep coming up. As for me and my house, we are off to bed, dreamland, and regeneration :smile :star :moon :star

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Harvey,

While this is not a shocking revelation, I sleep much better on days when I get some exercise and especially on days when I exercise in the afternoon. Given that there's a national trend towards obesity and lack of exercise AND a national sleep average that's too low, perhaps these are two sides of the same coin.
 
Also not a great revelation -

Those days, following some nice afternoon exercise, when the TV stays off and no evening newspapers are read, are also conducive to some delightful sleeping.

Our society seems obsessed with trivia (or at least, our media is). So often the trivia is sensationalized but it still remains trivia. A quiet evening playing parchesi with the grandkids, or with a good book and gentle music as background, and its off to a good night of sleep. Keeping life simple, separating those things that really affect us or are important in our lives from what is insignificant to us or we can do nothing about - this gives the peace of mind to us that fosters good sleep -- oh yes -- with some nice outdoor exercise, Roger.
 
Dr Bob, Thanks for the link to the interesting article. I have read some of of Dr Stampi articles, and he is definitely the guru of "Getting by on Less". He has no doubt saved many a solo sailors hide, and sanity, with his information on compressed sleep.

He and others do agree that for that average person, the 7-8 hours at night is probably the most healthy route. Here is a quote from the aforementioned article:

"How about the rest of us? Sleep researchers, including Stampi, agree that if you have the option of snoozing a solid seven or eight hours per night, then taking it is the best strategy for being a well-rested, efficient human being. But if you can't pull it off, a Stampian approach might help keep you upright with less than sufficient sleep."
Click to expand...

I spent many years, high school, college, military and early career doing about 4-5 hours a night, and many 24 hour shifts. There is research available that is showing chronic sleep deprivation in youth and early adult years has a detrimental effect on the longterm sleep patterns of life, and on the production of the metabolic hormones, leptin and gherlin. The resulting imbalance of these over the long term lead to a predisposition to overweight, obesity and diabetes.

Of course there are many things that take a body down that road, and many things that can be done to reverse that, but the physiologic selection is already in place.

A good reason to teach our younger generation the need for good sleep hygiene.
" The most important sleep hygiene measure is to maintain a regular sleep and wake pattern seven days a week. It is also important to spend an appropriate amount of time in bed, not too little, or too excessive. "
Click to expand...
From Ask the Sleep Expert, National Sleep Foundation site I goes on to talk about the 7-8 hours. For the rest of the article click on this link:
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/site/c.h ... ygiene.htm

OK, so I worked last night, most of the night, so to night I'm off to fight some feather. Have a great night, Always,

Harvey
SleepyC :moon ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz z z z z . .
 
Roger, and El and Bill,

You both have hit on a very important part of health and healthy sleep. Exercise, adequate and timely. Interestingly, for those who are used to strenuous exercise, the timing (as to how close to sleep time) does not seem to make a difference on the sleep quality. For those of us who are not used to that level of exercise, our exercise period should end sometime prior to about 4 hours from our go to sleep time.

A quieting routine is also a useful part of gaining healthy sleep. A period of winding down from the day, separating ourselves from the days stresses, and allowing our mind to relax, and quiet. Good music, (which varies according to the listener, but classical and quiet are representative), a good book, quiet conversation, meditation or mild relaxation activities are helpful in winding down the day, and transitioning to sleep readiness.

Now for my soap box. TV, right before bed, or even worse in the bedroom, or WORST on all night, are severely detrimental to our sleep. The light from the screen is bright, Bright enough to tell our brain that it is time to wake up. The brightness level produces a wake hormone called serotonin, that inhibits the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone, thus delaying our natural ability to fall asleep readily. Good reasons not to have it on close before bedtime. The audio level is boosted during commercials. If the TV is on during your sleep time tis will cause arousals, fragmented sleep, and daytime sleepiness. There is also the light level fluctuation, that again, is sending the signal (zietburgers) to the brain that it is time to wake up. All this going on during our "sleep time".

So, (Speaking to myself here), is the computer any better? Well maybe slightly, because I can turn down the light intensity of the monitor screen.
But that said, it is time to head off to dream land, and see what I've been missing these last few hours.

Good night all,

Harvey
SleepyC :moon ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz z z z z . .
 
I forgot to add, from last night.

Would you believe, 1 in 3 go to sleep with the TV on. That is our experience here in the lab too.

More later.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Hi C-Brats, Another episode in the Sleep Awareness column:

There is a consensus here in the pub that opinion is what we get. Well yes, and here too, I have presented my opinion. However, it is well backed by considerable scientific research. Sleep medicine is one of the newest medical specialties. A Sleep Specialist is Board Certified as a Diplomat of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. It so happens that the Sleep Doc I work for is boarded in Sleep, Pulmonology, Critical Care, and Internal Medicine. He has also been certified as a hyperbaric and undersea medicine specialist. Not only is he smart, he is really great to work for.

There is a plethora of sleep information that is becoming available. As with any subject, there are some excellent sources. For general sleep information, the National Sleep Foundation.org is a great place to go. Another site that has more advertising, but has considerable information is:
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/s/sleep_d ... /intro.htm
where you can find good information, but you have to be careful to not get into the advertising parts.

For those who need a more austere and formal presentation, here is one that discuses correlation between the degree of sleep-related breathing disorder and anthropometric measures of obesity, especially visceral fat accumulation and multiple colinearities between serum leptin concentrations and body fat composition, lipoprotein, and glucose metabolism. For the full meal deal
http://www.chestjournal.org/content/122/3/829.full.pdf

Then for those of you are dog lovers, here is one that came up in the news today, since it is National Sleep Awareness week, showing that our furry friends are often closely related to us. Here is a case of REM (Rapid Eye Movement or dreaming) behavior disorder, often called RBD. It is a classic case of absence of the normal nerve muscle disconnect that should be there when we are dreaming, not working. This is not uncommon in humans, generally, but not always, male in the 60-70 year old and up group. Take a little trip to uTube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwpV7Synl9g

It is my humble hope that somewhere in the information provided here, there will be a tidbit that will jog something to help improve someones health and well being. Learn, enjoy, and live.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
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