Make Sure Happy Holidays Include Healthy Sleep

The holiday season means shopping marathons, gift giving, reunions, holiday parties... and sleep deprivation. Sleep always suffers during the holidays. There is so much to do that it's easy to say "Oh, I'll catch up on sleep later." But there can be a high price to pay.

There are so many car wrecks during the holidays, and alcohol alone is not always the problem. Sleep deprivation and alcohol make a lethal mix. Having a designated driver who doesn't drink is the most important safety measure. If you drink, moderation is always best year round, but it is especially important during the holidays when people go to so many parties and everybody is exhausted. 

Children Who Snore Need to Be Evaluated for Sleep Apnea

Based on a review of over 3,000 research studies, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently published new guidelines recommending that children should be screened for snoring every time they visit their pediatrician.

This is a groundbreaking step for pediatric sleep medicine. It's a big change. It's important, because it tells pediatricians that sleep disorders in children are serious. It tells parents that snoring isn't just a cute thing where a child is doing something adults do.

Working Sleepy Means Working Slow

By Anuj Chandra, M.D., D.ABSM

When you work late at night, you probably know you're feeling more and more tired. But researchers have found that your actions may get slower and slower, even if you don't realize what's happening.

Researchers in Brigham and Women's  Hospital in Boston have found that lack of sleep can affect how you perform certain tasks, regardless of how tired you think you are. The findings were published last week in the online Journal of Vision.

Narcolopesy Drug is Being Abused

By Anuj Chandra, M.D., D.ABSM

Perhaps it is inevitable in this day and time that some people will find a way to abuse any prescription drug. But it feels more like a personal affront when it's a drug whose proper use is so effective against certain sleep disorders.

Provigil is the trade name for modafinil, a stimulant that was approved by the FDA in 1998 for the treatment of narcolepsy and some other sleep disorders that compromise daytime alertness. It is a carefully regulated drug because it's a stimulant. But a small number of people are obtaining it over the Internet and using is for alertness and cognitive enhancement.

Researchers Have Found Chemical Controllers of Sleep Paralysis

By Anuj Chandra, M.D., D.ABSM

Earlier this month, I shared new research about risk factors for REM Sleep Behavior Disorder, in which people kick or punch during sleep. Now there is more research that points – eventually – toward new treatments for REM Sleep Behavior Disorder.

Sleep Deprivation Affects the Body Just Like Physical Stress

By Anuj Chandra, M.D., D.ABSM

According to new research from the Netherlands, severe sleep loss causes physical effects on the immune system that are very similar to the body's response to stress.

In a study reported in the journal SLEEP, scientists from Erasmus MC University Medical Center in the Netherlands and the University of Surrey in Great Britain had 15 healthy young men get plenty of sleep and abstain from caffeine, alcohol and medications for a week. Then they made them stay awake for 29 hours and compared how their immune systems were acting when they had plenty of rest and when they were sleep deprived.

New Research Shows Risk Factors for REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

By Anuj Chandra, M.D., D.ABSM

A new research study has shown a connection between smoking, head injury and pesticide use and a rare sleep disorder called REM Sleep Behavior Disorder, in which people kick or punch during sleep.

Normally, when we go into rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and start dreaming, we lose muscle tone and remain literally paralyzed for as long as we are dreaming. People with REM Sleep Behavior Disorder do not lose the ability to move, however. Instead, their dreams actually cause them to move. In mild cases, they may kick or punch during sleep. In more severe cases, they may get out of bed and act out their dreams. Whether the condition is mild or severe, people with this disorder may be a danger to themselves and to their bed partner because their movements can sometimes become violent.