New Advances in Sleeping Sickness

Now there are times, especially on Saturday mornings when the kids are up at the crack of dawn, that my wife tells me she wants me to "deal" because she must have contracted African sleeping sickness over the course of the evening and just cannot get out of bed. (By the way, I get up with the kids every morning, just thought I would throw that in.)

But there is some recent news on this disease. African trypanosomiasis, aka sleeping sickness, is a serious disease spread by the bite of tsetse flies. It's found only in Africa and it is fatal.

The symptoms include: fever, headache, and extreme tiredness. The disease progresses to attack the central nervous system, and, ultimately, results in death several months or years after infection.

The chances of my wife having contracted this overnight are in fact quite slim (thank goodness). A new study appears in the Public Library of Science's journal PloS Clinical Trials shows some promise. They think that a particular drug combination may work on those infected with the disease, but there does not seem to be any inoculation for it as of yet.

Related Topics:

• Malaria Overview
• WebMD Video: Bug Bites

Technorati Tags: Sleep Doctor, sleeping sickness, insect bites, rare disease, trypanosomiasis

Melatonin and New Moms

I read this article about sleep and postpartum depression and found it fascinating -- but it makes sense.

A team of scientists from Ohio-based John Carroll University says new mothers who want to reduce their chances of postpartum blues need to block out the blue rays of light that cause melatonin suppression. The group of physicists has developed special light bulbs for the nursery as well as special glasses, which they say can help new mothers avoid sleep deprivation and perhaps depression, too.

Waking in the middle of the night for new moms is a constant occurence. That being said, they will have light exposure when walking down the hall to get their baby (if it is not in the room with them), thus there could very well be an effect on their melatonin production. (This is the hormone that helps you fall asleep.)

This new research suggests that post-partum depression could, in part, be caused by sleep deprivation, which we all know is going to happen with a new baby, but it could be made worse with this excess light. Light exposure for moms may happen only a few times a night, but if you add it together over a few weeks, it could spell big trouble.

We know that melatonin production is interrupted when light appears. This is one of the reasons why I recommend night lights in bathrooms, for middle of the night excursions. But I never thought of MOMS specifically until now.

In 2001 it was discovered that not all light suppresses melatonin, only the blue rays. Experiments at the University of Toronto demonstrated that by blocking the blue rays, the pineal gland can continue making melatonin. The study inspired the John Carroll physicists to develop both eyeglasses that block blue light as well as nursery light bulbs with filters to remove the blue light.

The nursery lights and glasses are sold at www.sleepglasses.com.

Related Topics:

• First-Time Mom: Higher Depression Risk
• Dads Get Postpartum Depression, Too

Technorati Tags: Sleep Doctor, postpartum depression

Jennifer Aniston: Sleepwalking Again

We have heard it before, and now we are hearing about it again -- Friends star Jennifer Aniston is out on the prowl -- in her sleep. 

Aniston is a sleepwalker. Back in 2006 she reportedly made it out of the house she shared with Brad Pitt.

She is quoted as saying:

"I sleepwalk. I set off our alarm once. I was outside. The alarm scared the **** out of me and I woke up, and I was out by the pool equipment in the back. I don't know what I was doing. I heard this yelling because he's terrified, he hears the alarm and I'm not there!"

Aniston's recent ventures into the world of somnambulism are thought to be brought on by stress from her break-up with actor and all around Swinger Vince Vaughn.

In truth, stress can bring about sleepwalking. It is not uncommon to have patients explain to me that they were sleepwalkers as children, and then, during times of sleep deprivation and stress, it comes back.

The treatment? Get more sleep and it should subside. If this is not the case and you sleepwalk all the time, then there are a few things to do:

1. Safety first:  make sure there are gates on the stairs.


2. Put a door alarm on the bedroom door.


3. Move furniture with sharp corners, and key lock the door and hide the key.


4. Consider seeing a sleep specialist and ask about the medication Klonopin.

Related Topics:

• Better Sleep Naturally
• Sleep Cycle Struggles

Technorati Tags: Jennifer Aniston, sleepwalking, sleep disorders, sleep doctor

Call Center Employees and Insomnia

Sleep deprivation isn't limited to workers in the US. A recent article in the The Hindu, the online edition of India's National Newspaper, caught my eye in that it mentions sleep -- specifically, sleep deprivation and insomnia. Those working in IT call centers and BPO's can suffer from these sleep problems for the following reasons:

• They keep odd hours to be able to service the US. (They are often better from a health perspective when working with companies from the UK, based on time zone differences.)
  

  When they deprive themselves of sleep, we see several things happen -- everything from cognitive dysfunction (They answer questions poorly, and do not come up with creative solutions.) to health problems (Mainly, immunosuppression -- they get sick more easily since they cannot fight disease -- and this means higher absenteeism.)



• They drink caffeine throughout the night to stay awake. This causes several problems, from autonomic nervous system side effects (the jitters) to not being able to relax once they are off of work.



In the past year, N. Ramakrishnan, director of the Nithra Institute of Sleep Sciences, claims to have treated over 200 people in the IT/BPO sector of India for sleeplessness.

So the next time you are speaking to a customer service rep and you think they may be talking to you from another country, consider the possibility that they could also be giving you a sleep deprived answer to your problem!

Related Topics:

• What to Do About Insomnia
• Sleep Problems Common in School Kids

Technorati Tags: sleep doctor, call centers, insomnia, sleep deprivation