Sleep and Its Increasing Importance in Our Mental Health
Our society does not have an adequate understanding of sleep and the many aspects of our life which are affected by a lack of sleep. Many years ago, I had the pleasure of working with some of the best-known sleep researchers in the world and I learned, first-hand, how important sleep was. I even met one of the truly outstanding researchers in the sleep field, Dr. William C. Dement of Stanford University. Dr. Dement is now the Chairman of the National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research. Dr. Dement, in fact, was one of the first people to talk about "sleep debt" and how it hurts us.
We know that sleepy drivers probably cause more traffic accidents and deaths than any other drivers on the road. While there are a few devices meant to keep these drivers alert, nothing beats a good night's sleep and this has been tested out in studies done with over-the-road truck drivers and airline pilots. I'm sure they've even done work with air traffic control personnel. But does lack of sleep affect us in ways other than our ability to perform complex tasks? It seems it does.
In a study which began in 1984 with 25,000 Norwegian adults, researchers found that chronic insomnia or lack of sleep led to an increased likelihood of suffering from both depression and anxiety and developing a disorder of either one or both.
We know that insomnia is associated with depression, normally, and that chronic anxiety can also lead to sleep problems, but here we have something that is pointing to the reverse; sleep disorders resulting in anxiety and depression.
You can read the report for yourself in the journal, Sleep.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: sleep, depression, anxiety, insomnia, health and wellness
We know that sleepy drivers probably cause more traffic accidents and deaths than any other drivers on the road. While there are a few devices meant to keep these drivers alert, nothing beats a good night's sleep and this has been tested out in studies done with over-the-road truck drivers and airline pilots. I'm sure they've even done work with air traffic control personnel. But does lack of sleep affect us in ways other than our ability to perform complex tasks? It seems it does.
In a study which began in 1984 with 25,000 Norwegian adults, researchers found that chronic insomnia or lack of sleep led to an increased likelihood of suffering from both depression and anxiety and developing a disorder of either one or both.
We know that insomnia is associated with depression, normally, and that chronic anxiety can also lead to sleep problems, but here we have something that is pointing to the reverse; sleep disorders resulting in anxiety and depression.
You can read the report for yourself in the journal, Sleep.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: sleep, depression, anxiety, insomnia, health and wellness
8 Comments:
Yes, sleep is vital to health. If you are not sleeping you are not healing. The body's cleaning crew comes out at night and does it's job. The nervous system re-calibrates...on and on.
Sleeping medication alters the natural systems. Insomnia is a cause of stress that needs to be found and fixed.
Peter Lind
my sleep isALWAYS disturbed by my night full of dreams, all of them bad, i get to the point when i wake up from them i don't want to fall back asleep in fear of them continueing- which they always do... this has been going on now for about a year straight. Any help??
I have started menopause and am depressed as well. I have problems staying asleep. And often don't get enough. Or I end up sleeping in the afternoons which dosn't help of course.gifwl
ive had sleep problems since i was 21,its been 17 yrs now....staring 5 yrs ago it was horrible these last 4 yrs i tried too get and i cudnt .just exactly 1 year and 8 monthits was ......out of hand it feels like my thoughts is consuming me ,i feel every now and then a warm feeling on my head it feels like warm water ....then comes the smell of metal evven the taaste of it tooo......the tenssion in my forhead gets sooo intense then comes the thouughts its like having a tv on in my head all the .i went too the er all they did was relax me ..but the thoghts continue on on they told me too get pro help and like always mi insurance is not good enough ........does any one else no what i feel..i hope and pray too that pl for no else too feel like this.pl forgive for going on an on......i dont cant handle this.god bless all......good nite sleep well i will prey 4 it...
my insomnia is sooo bad that feel like warm ater streaming down my head and a smell and taaste of metal ............then comes theconstant thought and memories that play on an on.how do i no if its depression or a tumor intead i need to b4 it gets worse.....does anyone no how i feel............
I have been an insomniac forever. It got worse as I got older. Thank goodness for Lunesta!. Without it I go to sleep at 11pm and wake up at 3am never to return to sleep until 11pm when it starts all over again. I'm not depressed and get regular exercise, Kids are in college and there isn't any 'money problems' hanging over my head. Talk to your doctor and tell him/her your not sleeping. It took me many years to mention this to mine and now I wonder why I waited.
We at SleepASAP applaud Dr. Dement and his devotion to bringing awareness to sleep deprivation and the effects it can have. We have developed a very through sleep assessment that you can take at SleepASAP and with the results you can better equip your doctor to get you the help you need for optimal sleep.
my problem is falling asleep, i use lunesta now but the problem is the cost and prescribed amounts allowed, its 150 dollars w/o insur. and not much better with. also, they give you 20 pills for a 30 day period, what about the other 10 days ? anybody have suggestions
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