Insomnia,Unhealthy Sleep Habits and Prescription Medication

Are you one of the 30% of adults who have symptoms of insomnia?  The symptoms include: 1. Trouble falling asleep.  2.  Trouble staying asleep.  3.  Waking up too early.  4.  Overall poor quality of sleep.

 Woman and older people have more difficulty achieving adequate amounts of good sleep quality.  Detecting and alleviating chronic insomnia may help reduce the risk of developing depression and anxiety. Are you one of those that can fall asleep more easily (being on the couch watching TV) when you are not trying to sleep? Does any of this sound familiar?

 Do you have any of the following 10 habits?  If you do, remember these unhealthy habits may undermine your sleep:

1.       Inactivity-physical activity helps relieve stress, reduces cortisol production, and helps normalize sleep architecture.

2.      Overeating and indigestion-weight loss often improves sleep quality.

3.      Over stimulation- the areas of the brain that regulate sleep do not turn on and off like a switch.

4.      Excessive worry-activation of frontal cortices, limbic system, amygdalae, autonomic nervous system, and adrenal glands severely compromise sleep as result of the spike of adrenaline and cortisol.

5.      Erratic schedules- instead cooperate with the rhythms of nature.

6.      Over extension-combining number three, four, and five.

7.      Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol-avoid caffeine within seven hours of bedtime; nicotine withdrawal could begin within a few hours of last cigarette; alcohol is a chemical process, but it can suppress dream sleep early in the night then provoke REM rebound later on.

8.      Bedroom blunders A.  Temperature- avoid being too hot or too cold. B. Light-luminescent light on an alarm clock can stimulate the reticular activating system in the brain stem. C. Noise-keep it quiet.  D. Clutter-remove it. E. pets-may disrupt sleep levels. F. Bed –get a new mattress every 8 to 10 years; new pillows every two years or so.  G. space –avoid restrictive heavy bedding.  H. Spouse- few people can sleep well if the person next to them is thrashing, snoring, coughing or getting up and down to go to the bathroom.

9.      Napping-avoid napping more than 45 minutes and keep naps before 3 PM.

10.  Pill popping-Meds can interfere with normal sleep patterns.

If changing your habits does not work, other options may have to be considered. This information was based on a continuing education class put on by the Institute for Natural Resources.

However, prescription meds such as Ambien, Restoril, Sonata or Lunesta may or may not be the solution to insomnia. For example, Dr. Daniel Kripke of the Scripps clinic in La Jolla, California conducted a study comparing 10,529 people using prescription sleeping pills.  The findings, of this research, suggested that there was a 35% increased risk for cancer with people using prescription sleeping pills compared to people not taking sleeping pills.  And the risk of developing lymphoma, lung, colon, or prostate cancer was greater than the risk for smokers. This information was found in the March/April 2012 edition of The National Psychologist.

 Hopefully, you will change your habits, as a first step, before considering medication. Sweet dreams.  As Secretariat said today “I like sleeping.”

Overdose, Prescription Painkillers,Nobel Winner Kahneman,and Rational Choices

 In the November 21, 2011 issue of Time was an article that stated within the last 10 years, more Americans died from an overdose of prescription painkillers than from heroin and cocaine use combined.  In the article, it is believed that most of the deaths were related to achieve a narcotic high as supposed to treating pain.  For example, recreational abuse has increased by 300% in sales for drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone.  Once the users get hooked on these drugs, the more they crave.

So what may start out as a legitimate use to relieve pain can result in the misuse of these medications?  And apparently these individuals who are misusing medication are clever enough to keep themselves supplied.  How many years have we had a war on “illegal drugs?” That war has been an apparent failure.  Perhaps it might be more beneficial to legalize these drugs and establish some mechanism to deal with all drugs-prescription and nonprescription.

We know there are other treatments other than medication to treat pain.  I have an insurance plan that deals with only prescription medication.  The other techniques such as yoga, hypnosis, progressive relaxation, and fitness are generally not covered by medical insurance. It would seem to me that before ingesting a pill, some of these other treatments would be considered.  In order to do that, one would have to deal with the drug and insurance industries. Another possibility for change is by educating the public about the other treatments available.  I know taking a pill is easy and quick so that changing attitudes is a difficult challenge.

Yesterday during my run, I experienced some discomfort.  I did take Advil and iced for 30 minutes three times.  Today, I have no discomfort.   In thinking back, I have run about two consecutive weeks without a day off.  Now is my chance to take a day off.  I want to be ready to run again since Secretariat returns from Southern California today.

In the Time issue dated November 28, 2011, there was a question presented to psychologist and Nobel winning economist Daniel Kahneman on why people do not make rational choices “what is your favorite experiment that demonstrates our blindness to our own blindness?”  His response: it is one someone else did.  During the 90s, when there was terrorist activity in Thailand, people were asked how much they’d pay for a travel insurance policy that pays $100,000, in case of death for any reason.  Others were asked how much they’d pay for a policy that pays $100,000 for death in a terrorist act.  And people will pay more for the second even though it is less likely. Dr. Kahneman stated “we are normally blind about our own blindness.  We are generally overconfident in our own opinions and our impressions and judgments.  We exaggerate how knowledgeable the world is.”

Make sure to have your eyes checked, and to wear the proper sunglasses when you are in the sun in order to reduce blindness? "Pain is a part of being alive, and we need to learn that. Pain does not last forever, nor is it necessarily unbeatable, and we need to be taught that."– Harold Kushner