Research suggests, though, that lack of sleep can lead to memory problems, depression, cardiovascular concerns, cancer and increased risk of accidents.

“In the last couple of years, I’ve seen more overworked patients taking on extra shifts or second jobs,” Dr. Raman Malhotra, an assistant professor of neurology and director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Saint Louis University, said in a university news release. “For someone who is suffering from work-related sleep issues, changing jobs isn’t always an option. Instead, we’ve got to offer solutions to make the best of the current situation.”

Malhotra offered some suggestions for people who have sleep problems because of irregular work schedules.

For instance, if you work the night shift and sleep during the day, make sure your blinds are closed and reduce other sources of light in the bedroom. Being exposed to sunlight after a night shift can confuse the brain so you should find ways to reduce sunlight exposure before you go to bed.

“Wear sunglasses on the way home from work,” Malhotra said. “And, conversely, before work, spend time in a well-lit room.”

Among the other tips:

• Avoid vigorous activity before you go to bed and stay busy before you go to work. Your activity level can tell your body whether it’s time for work or sleep.
• Let your family and friends know about your sleep schedule and ask them not to phone or otherwise disturb you while you’re sleeping.
• Consider seeing a sleep specialist if you notice that sleep deprivation is affecting your life. Perhaps you’re less productive at work or getting complaints on the job, losing your temper with your family or having difficulty staying awake at your child’s recital.

For some people, Malhotra said, medication can help with sleep difficulties.

These interim results from the FREEDOM study compared patients’ responses to the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Sleep Survey and the International RLS Study Group Rating Scale (IRLS) at baseline and four months. Specifically, significant improvements identified in this planned interim analysis included:

• Overall sleep quality (as measure by the MOS Sleep Problems Indices I and II) significantly improved from baseline to month four. (Index I: P=<0.001; Index II: P<0.0001)
• Four of the 5 individual sleep scale s- sleep adequacy, daytime somnolence (or “drowsiness”), sleep initiation and maintenance, and respiratory disturbances displayed significant improvement.
• There was a significant reduction in the number of patients reporting RLS at 4 months compared to baseline. (P=0.02)
• Of those patients who experienced RLS at baseline (n=58), 36% no longer experienced RLS at month four.

Dr. Brigitte Schiller, MD, Acting Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Scientific Affairs for Satellite Healthcare headquartered in Mountain View, CA, is one of the presenters of FREEDOM study data during the 30th Annual Dialysis Conference in Seattle.

“Various studies suggest a high prevalence of sleep-related disorders and RLS, among End-stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients. These interim results from the ongoing FREEDOM study demonstrate the positive impact of daily home hemodialysis on these disorders, which can have a significant impact on patients’ quality of life,” says Dr. Schiller. “Quality sleep is essential, and to ESRD patients in particular, as it has been proven to affect other areas of patients’ overall health. Although these findings are only at four months, longer-term follow up is underway to determine whether the positive impact of daily home dialysis on sleep patterns and RLS persists at one year.”

“NxStage continues to invest in proving the wide range of clinical and quality of life benefits possible with more frequent hemodialysis,” says Jeff Burbank, CEO of NxStage Medical, Inc. “These results add to the growing evidence supporting daily home hemodialysis with our System One versus conventional, thrice-weekly in-center therapy.”

The ongoing FREEDOM study is the largest study of its kind to measure the clinical and economic benefits of daily home hemodialysis treatment, as compared to conventional, thrice-weekly in-center hemodialysis treatment for patients requiring dialysis therapy. All daily home hemodialysis patients in the FREEDOM study use the NxStage System One as their treatment delivery system, and all have Medicare as their primary insurance payer.

About NxStage Medical

NxStage Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTM) is a medical device company, headquartered in Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA, that develops, manufactures and markets innovative products for the treatment of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) and acute kidney failure.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this release that are not clearly historical in nature are forward-looking, and the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan,” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including those that are discussed in NxStage’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2009. NxStage is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Source: NxStage Medical, Inc

The 2010 Sleep in America poll released today by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) reveals significant differences in the sleep habits and attitudes of Asians, Blacks/African-Americans, Hispanics and Whites. It is the first poll to examine sleep among these four ethnic groups.

NSF’s Sleep in America poll found that more than three-fourths of respondents from each ethnic group agree that poor sleep is associated with health problems (76-83%). These new findings echo lessons learned by former President Bill Clinton who recently admitted that he has adopted a new lifestyle regimen to sleep seven or more hours on the advice of his doctors.

The poll also shows that all groups report disturbingly similar experiences missing work or family functions because they were too sleepy (19-24%). Among married people or couples living together, all ethnic groups report being too tired for sex frequently (21- 26% of the time).

“As the leading voice of sleep health, we are committed to better understanding people’s sleep needs,” says David Cloud, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation. “By exploring ethnic and family sleep practices we have gained new insight into why we sleep the way we do.”

Blacks/African-Americans report the busiest bedtime routines.

Blacks/African-Americans are the most likely to report performing activities in the hour before going to bed every night or almost every night, specifically watching TV (75%) and/or praying or doing another religious practice (71%). Whether on weekdays/workdays or non-workdays/weekends, Blacks/African-Americans spend much more time in bed without sleeping than the other ethnic groups (54 minutes on weekdays/workdays and 71 minutes on non-workdays/weekends).

• Blacks/African-Americans and Hispanics (10% each) are ten times more likely to report having sex every night than Asians (1%) and 2.5 times more likely than Whites (4%).
• Most Blacks/African-Americans report praying every night (71%); more than four times the reported frequency of Asians (18%), twice the rate of Whites (32%) and 1.5 times the rate of Hispanics (45%).
• Blacks/African-Americans (17%) and Asians (16%) are more likely than Whites (9%) and Hispanics (13%) to report doing job-related work in the hour before bed, among those employed.
• Blacks/African-Americans report losing sleep every night over personal financial concerns (12%) and employment concerns (10%) at a higher rate than Whites (6% and 7%) or Asians (1% and 4%). Hispanics are almost equally concerned each night about these two issues (11% and 9%, respectively).

“The hour before bed is an important time to relax and wind-down before going to sleep,” says Thomas J. Balkin, Ph.D., Chairman of the National Sleep Foundation. “For those who are having problems sleeping, it’s a good idea to consider whether your bedtime routines may be too alerting.”

Asians report getting the best sleep, report the least amount of sleep problems and infrequent use of sleep aids.

Asians are the most likely ethnic group (84%) to say that they had a good night’s sleep at least a few nights or more a week. In addition, Asians are about half as likely (14%) to discuss their sleep issues with a healthcare professional, and are half as likely (10%) to report having been diagnosed with a sleep disorder. Asians are the least likely to report using sleep medication at least a few nights a week (5% versus 13% Whites, 9% Blacks/African-Americans and 8% Hispanics).

• Asians are the least likely (9%) to say that they “rarely” or “never” have a good night’s sleep, compared with 20% of Whites, 18% of Blacks/African-Americans and 14% of Hispanics.
• The poll shows that Asians are more than twice as likely to use the Internet every night in comparison to any other group (51% versus 22% Whites, 20% Blacks/African-Americans, 20% Hispanics). They are also the least likely to watch TV an hour before sleep (52% versus 64% Whites, 72% Hispanics and 75% Blacks/African-Americans).
• Asians report the use of herbal and alternative therapies at rates similar to Hispanics (2% each), but less than Whites (4%).
• Asians report the lowest rates of losing sleep due to personal financial concerns at least a few nights a week (9% versus 22% Hispanics, 20% Whites and 19% Blacks/African-Americans).

While Blacks/African-Americans report the least amount of sleep, they also say they need less sleep. Blacks/African-Americans report getting the least amount of sleep on workdays/weekdays (6 hours and 14 minutes). Interestingly, they also say that they need only 7 hours and 5 minutes of sleep each night to perform at their best during the day, which is significantly less sleep than Asians and Hispanics (7 hours and 29 minutes each).

• Blacks/African-Americans report getting an average of 34 minutes less sleep on a work night/weeknight than Asians and 38 minutes less than Whites.

“The finding that Blacks/African-Americans say they need less sleep and get less sleep is instructive for public health professionals,” says Jose S. Loredo, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. “Their total sleep time and attitudes regarding sleep may be associated with Blacks/African-Americans’ higher rates of sleep apnea, hypertension and diabetes and provide sleep-related insight into how to improve awareness and education programs and, very importantly, how to improve therapy compliance rates.”

Hispanics are the most likely to say they are kept awake by financial, employment, personal relationship and/or health-related concerns.

Overall, at least one-third of Hispanics (38%) and Blacks/African-Americans (33%) report that any of these concerns disturb their sleep at least a few nights a week, compared to about one-fourth of Whites (28%) and/or Asians (25%).

• Moreover, about two in ten Hispanics (19%) and Blacks/African-Americans (19%) say their sleep is disturbed every night or almost every night by at least one of these concerns.
• Hispanics (16%) are more likely than Blacks/African-Americans (12%), Asians (9%) and Whites (7%) to say that health-related concerns have disturbed their sleep at least a few nights a week.

“So many people are suffering because of economic uncertainty,” says Martica Hall, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. “If you find yourself lying awake worrying, write a note to yourself to work on these issues the next day so you can dismiss those ideas at bed time. Consider using relaxation techniques and focus on calming activities and thoughts. If your problems persist, you may want to seek out a sleep professional.”

Whites are the most likely to report sleeping with their pets and/or their significant other/spouse. Among those married or partnered, Whites are much more likely (14%) than the other ethnic groups (2% each) to say they usually sleep with a pet.

• Among those married or partnered, 90% of Whites report that they sleep with their significant other compared to 84% of Blacks/African-Americans, 76% of Hispanics and 67% of Asians.
• Interestingly, among all respondents, Whites are the least likely to say they sleep alone (21% versus 41% Blacks/African-Americans, 37% Asians and 31% Hispanics.)

Among those married or partnered respondents with children, Asians (28%) and Hispanics (22%) are the most likely to report that they sleep in the same room with their children (compared to 15% of Blacks/African-Americans and 8% of Whites).*

“Other studies support the findings that co-sleeping with children is prevalent with Asians,” says Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Ph.D., chair of the National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep in America Poll Task Force. “If you are having trouble sleeping, and you sleep with your spouse, your child, your pet or all three, remember that may be contributing to sleep disturbances that prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep.”

• Bed sharing/co-sleeping is a complex and controversial practice. This study did not specifically examine the issue of sleeping with infants, nor does the National Sleep Foundation wish to have these results misconstrued to suggest a position on the practice. Parental counseling about infant sleep environments is strongly suggested.

Sleep disorder diagnosis is uneven among the four ethnic groups.

The 2010 poll found that sleep disorders continue to be very common among the adults surveyed, with specific disorders occurring at different frequency among the four groups.

• Whites report the highest rate of diagnosis for insomnia (10%), and Blacks/African-Americans have the highest rate of diagnosed sleep apnea (14%) among the four groups.
• Among those experiencing sleep problems, Whites are the most likely to report using over-the-counter sleep aids at least a few nights a week (7%). Blacks/African-Americans are almost twice as likely to report taking medications prescribed by a doctor (7%) rather than over-the-counter sleep aids (3%). Asians are the least likely to report using any form of sleep medication (5%).

“If you are experiencing problems sleeping,” says Balkin, “Take charge of your own sleep. You should critically examine your bedtime routines and pre-sleep activities and make time to ensure your bedroom is conducive to your sleep comfort. You will spend approximately a third of your life in bed, so it’s worth it to take time to make sure your bed and bedtime routine are right for you. If you continue having problems sleeping for more than a few weeks, it’s advisable to speak with your healthcare professional.”

Ethnic groups seek help for sleep problems differently.

When experiencing a specific sleep problem, Blacks/African-Americans say they are more likely to speak with their doctor (16%) or research online (10%) than to get recommendations from friends or family (4%).

• Asians (15%) are the most likely to say they get advice from family and friends.
• Respondents were also asked if their healthcare professional or doctor had ever asked them about their sleep during a routine visit. At least four in ten Whites (48%), Blacks/African-Americans (42%) and Hispanics (40%) say yes; however, only 28% of Asians had been asked about sleep by their doctor.

“We are making progress with physicians and patients discussing sleep issues in regular office visits,” says Cloud. “But we still have a lot of work to do to make sleep a routine part of every physician-patient interaction.”

Adds David G. Davila, MD, Medical Director of the Baptist Health Sleep Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, “Sleep is a vital sign for overall health, therefore, discussing sleep problems should be an important part of health check ups for doctors and patients, especially since sleep disorders can affect many other medical conditions.”

For the most comprehensive source of information on sleep health, visit the National Sleep Foundation’s website, www.sleepfoundation.org. The website also provides a directory of sleep professionals and sleep centers in your community. You can also read the complete Summary of Findings and highlights from this year’s Sleep in America poll and polls from prior years.

Healthy Sleep Advice

The National Sleep Foundation suggests the following to improve your sleep:

• Go to sleep and wake at the same time every day, and avoid spending more time in bed than needed.
• Use bright light to help manage your “body clock.”Avoid bright light in the evening and expose yourself to sunlight in the morning.
• Use your bedroom only for sleep to strengthen the association between your bed and sleep. It may help to remove work materials, computers and televisions from your bedroom.
• Select a relaxing bedtime ritual, like a warm bath or listening to calming music.
• Create an environment that is conducive to sleep that is quiet, dark and cool with a comfortable mattress and pillows.
• Reduce or eliminate your intake of caffeine, nicotine and alcohol.
• Save your worries for the daytime. If concerns come to mind, write them in a “worry book” so you can address those issues the next day.
  If you can’t sleep, go into another room and do something relaxing until you feel tired.

• Exercise regularly, but avoid vigorous workouts close to bedtime.

Poll Methodology and Definitions

The National Sleep Foundation began surveying American sleep health and behaviors in 1991. The 2010 Sleep in America annual poll was conducted for the National Sleep Foundation by WB&A Market Research, using a random sample of 1,007 adults between the ages of 25-60 and identifying themselves as White, Black/African-American, Asian or Hispanic. This poll has adopted the group definition used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Census Bureau, and related public health groups; while NSF also acknowledges that this is an imperfect description of race and ethnic groups. No effort was made to verify the accuracy of the respondent’s self-identification. Individuals from other ethnic groups were excluded from participating. The Sleep in America Poll Task Force did consider economic factors in analyzing the data. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Source: Jennifer Cowher Williams, National Sleep Foundation

A bit of parental wisdom known to most moms and dads: If you want to get a good night’s sleep yourself, just keep your kids running all day long. An early night and undisturbed sleep are almost guaranteed. But is it true?

New research says it is. A study in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood came to the following conclusion: Active children fall asleep faster and sleep longer than children who get less exercise.

The researchers followed nearly 600 New Zealand 7-year-olds. They had the parents answer a questionnaire on their children’s sleeping habits. They also had the kids wear monitors around their waists over one 24-hour period to measure their activity levels each minute of the day.

7 steps to better sleep

Here’s what the study found: It took an average of 26 minutes for a child to fall asleep. But for every hour a youngster was inactive during the day, it took three minutes longer. For active children, it worked the other way: The more activity, the less time it took to fall asleep.

Obviously, a child’s sleep pattern affects the parents too. A child who wakes up often during the night can wreak havoc on grown-ups’ need for rest. But there is also a significant impact on the child. Poor sleep habits have been associated with behavioral problems, low grades in school, and even an increased risk of being overweight.

According to the article, some 16% of parents of school-age children report that their kids have trouble falling asleep. The study, the authors noted, “emphasizes the importance of physical activity for children, not only for fitness, cardiovascular health, and weight control, but also for sleep.”

5 ways you can get a better night’s sleep

It seems logical that kids who run around all day are more tired and therefore sleep better. But consider: Perhaps it’s the other way around. Maybe children who get a lot of sleep have more energy to run around all the time. In fact, researchers are not sure what causes what in this chicken-egg scenario.

Still, we know exercise is good for kids, so encourage your children to be active-to run, play soccer, swim, hit a tennis ball, whatever will keep them moving. Even if it doesn’t knock them out at bedtime, they’ll be healthier, and that should let everyone in the household sleep easier.

Source: Dr. Ranit Mishori, PARADE

In a study of young children, researchers showed that insomnia symptoms were consistently associated with impaired heart variability measures. They also found a significant but less consistent pattern with shortened sleep duration and decreased heart rate variability.

Heart rate variability is the beat-to-beat variations of heart rate. In a healthy person, beat-to-beat intervals change slightly in response to automatic functions like breathing.

The study included 612 elementary school children in the first to fifth grades. The children were average age 9, and 25 percent were non-white and 49 percent were boys. All were generally in good health. Their parents completed the Pediatric Behavior Scale, including two questions that focused on symptoms of insomnia.

Researchers examined the children overnight in a sleep laboratory with polysomnography (PSG), a standardized method for measuring sleep disorders. The researchers measured sleep duration, trouble falling asleep, the number of wake-ups and problems going back to sleep if awakened. They also measured cardiac autonomic modulation (CAM), the balance of the sympathetic and the parasympathetic control of the heart rate rhythm.

A balance is needed between the sympathetic modulation that “excites” the heart and the parasympathetic modulation that “calms” the heart, said Mr. Fan He, the lead-author of the study and a graduate student at Penn State University College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa. “The balance between the sympathetic and the parasympathetic provides a favorable profile for the heart.”

The study showed:

• Children with reported insomnia had impaired CAM with a shift towards more sympathetic or excitable activation of the heart rhythm. There was a 3 percent to 5 percent reduction in the parasympathetic modulation of heart rhythm in children with insomnia.
• Children with longer sleep duration had a slower heart rate indicative of a balance of heart rhythm, with a shift towards more parasympathetic modulation. The heart rate of children who slept eight hours was two beats per minute slower than that of kids who slept only seven hours.
• Insomnia and short sleep duration, even in young children, resulted in a physiological activation of the sympathetic modulation.

“Kids who sleep a longer duration have a healthier heart regulation profile compared to kids who sleep shorter durations,” said Duanping Liao, M.D., Ph.D., co-author of the study and professor of epidemiology at Penn State University College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa. “Their hearts are more excitable if they have insomnia. If the heart is too excited, that means it is beating too fast and usually that isn’t good. These data indicate that among young children with insomnia symptoms reported by their parents, there already is an impairment of cardiovascular autonomic regulation, long before they reach the traditional high-risk period for cardiovascular disease.”

Parents should encourage their children to have healthy bedtime habits that encourage sleep, Liao said. “Watching television before going to bed and waking up to return text messages are examples of activities that could have a harmful affect on healthy sleep patterns in children.”

Liao called for further studies in children to determine the impact of sleep deprivation and stress and the possible long-term risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity. “Previous studies have shown a strong association of heart rhythm regulation and heart risk in adults. It’s quite possible that this kind of stress can have a long-term impact even at a young age.”

The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Other co-authors are: Xian Li, M.D., M.S.; Sol Rodriguez-Colon, M.S.; Alexandros N. Vgontzas, M.D.; Chuntao Wu, M.D., Ph.D.; and Edward O. Bixler, Ph.D. Author disclosures are on the abstract.

Source: Karen Astle, American Heart Association

Maria Giraki, from Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany, worked with a team of researchers to study the condition in 69 people, of whom 48 were ‘bruxers’. She said, “Bruxing can lead to abrasive tooth wear, looseness and sensitivity of teeth, and growth and pain in the muscles responsible for chewing. Its causes are still relatively unknown, but stress has been implicated. We aimed to investigate whether different stress-factors, and different coping strategies, were more or less associated with these bruxism symptoms”.

Tooth grinding was measured by thin plates that were placed in trial participants mouths’ overnight, while stress and coping techniques were assessed by three questionnaires. Bruxing was not associated with age, sex or education level, but was more common in people who claimed to experience daily stress and trouble at work. Giraki adds, “Our data support the assumption that people with the most problematic grinding do not seem to be able to deal with stress in an adequate way. They seem to prefer negative coping strategies like ‘escape’. This, in general, increases the feeling of stress, instead of looking at the stressor in a positive way”.

Source: Graeme Baldwin, BioMed Central, viaEurekAlert.

A study in the March 1 issue of the journal SLEEP shows that African–American and Hispanic young adults with short or long sleep durations had greater increases in belly fat over a five-year period compared with those who reported sleeping six to seven hours a night.

Results show that in participants younger than 40 years of age, both short and long sleep durations were associated with significant increases in body mass index (BMI), as well as in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) fat accumulation. Compared with people who reported a nightly sleep duration of six to seven hours, those with a self-reported sleep duration of five hours or less per night had an average BMI increase over a five-year period that was 1.8 kg/m2 higher, and greater accumulations of SAT (42 cm2) and VAT (13 cm2); and those who reported sleeping eight hours or more had a BMI increase that was 0.8 kg/m2 higher, as well as greater accumulations of SAT (20cm2) and VAT (6 cm2). No significant relationship existed between sleep duration and abdominal fat change in participants older than 40 years of age.

Lead author Kristen G. Hairston, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., said that obtaining a sufficient amount of sleep is important for people of all races and ethnicities. However, ethnic minorities disproportionately report extremes in sleep duration, putting them at risk for negative metabolic outcomes such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

“Appropriate amounts of sleep are important for maintenance of healthy weight,” said Hairston. “In a group of African-American and Hispanic participants, those who slept less than this had greater increases in belly fat over a five-year period.”

Information was obtained from 1,107 people in the IRAS Family Study, an extension of the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS). Data were collected from 332 African-Americans and 775 Hispanics with a mean age of 41.7 years at baseline and an age range from 18 to 81 years. Sixty-two percent of participants were female. Mean sleep duration at baseline was 6.7 hours in response to the question, “On average, about how many hours of sleep do you get a night?” Seventeen percent of the sample reported sleeping five hours or less per night, 55 percent slept six to seven hours per night and 28 percent averaged eight or more hours of sleep per night.

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Abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans and BMI were obtained at a five-year interval. Dietary intake was assessed using a short, retrospective, one-year, semi-quantitative food-frequency interview. An estimate of usual frequency of participation in vigorous activities also was obtained. Generalized estimating equations using linear regression models assessed the association between sleep duration and five-year fat accumulation with adjustment for age, race, gender, study site, baseline fat measure, physical activity, total calorie intake, smoking status and education.

In those younger than 40 years old, a short sleep duration of five hours or less was most frequently reported by Hispanic men (30 percent), and a long sleep duration of eight or more hours was most frequently reported by Hispanic women (53 percent). Participants reporting five hours of sleep or less consumed more total calories (2,224 kcal) than those reporting six to seven hours (1,920 kcal) or eight or more hours (2,199 kcal).

The authors proposed that short sleep may impact fat accumulation by promoting increased caloric intake via increased hunger, or by reducing energy expenditure via altered thermoregulation and increased fatigue. Both increased caloric intake and decreased vigorous activity were observed in the short sleep group.

The authors also suggested that it is just as important for doctors to encourage patients to get adequate sleep as it is for them to promote a healthy diet and physical activity. This is particularly relevant when young adults make transitions involving college, marriage and childbearing, because these life stages often are associated with sleep deprivation.

Source: Kelly Wagner, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, EurekAlert

Results show that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes was 36 percent higher (adjusted odds ratio = 1.36) in participants who reported napping four to six times a week and 28 percent higher (OR = 1.28) in those who napped daily. Similar associations were found between napping and impaired fasting glucose. The observed associations were unaltered in statistical analyses that removed participants with potential ill health and daytime sleepiness, suggesting it is less likely that diabetes leads to daytime sleepiness and raising the possibility that napping may increase the risk of diabetes.

According to the authors, napping in China is a social norm, which is practiced by all ages primarily as a habit started in childhood. In Western countries, napping is less common and is often unplanned and prompted by sleepiness likely caused by aging, deteriorating health status or nighttime complaints.

Lead author Neil Thomas, PhD, reader in epidemiology at the University of Birmingham, U.K., said that additional research is needed to determine if napping itself plays a causative role in the development of type 2 diabetes, or if other factors are involved.

“In many non-Mediterranean, Western countries a large proportion of those that nap are generally older or have other conditions that cause tiredness and create an urge to nap,” said Thomas. “The napping can therefore be a marker of disease.”

This cross-sectional study analyzed baseline data from the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study, a collaboration between the Guangzhou Number 12 People’s Hospital and the Universities of Birmingham and Hong Kong. The community-based study took place in Guangzhou, China, where 19,567 participants between the ages of 50 and 93 years were recruited from 2003 to 2004 and 2005 to 2006. The sample comprised 13,972 women with a mean age of 61.4 years and 5,595 men with an average age of 64.2 years.

Participants underwent a half-day assessment, which included a structured interview on lifestyle and medical history, and a physical examination. Self-reported frequency of napping was obtained by questionnaire, and type 2 diabetes was assessed by a fasting blood glucose sample and/or self-reports of physician diagnosis or treatment. Participants were asked to describe their napping habits and daytime sleepiness.

Type 2 diabetes was identified in 13.5 percent of the sample and was more prevalent in people who reported napping daily (15.1 percent) and in those who napped four to six times per week (14.7 percent). Logistic regression models were constructed to assess the relationship between napping and diabetes and impaired fasting glucose, adjusting for demographics, lifestyle, sleep habits, health status, body fat and metabolic markers.

At least one nap per week was reported by 67.2 percent of participants, more commonly in males (76.4 percent) than in females (63.6 percent). About 59.4 percent of these people reported napping daily. Total sleep duration was longer and daytime sleepiness was reported less often in more frequent nappers than in people who never napped.

In a sub-sample of 3,822 participants who were re-contacted for additional information about sleep habits, there was a statistically significant trend of increasing risk of diabetes with longer nap duration. Compared with people who never took naps, the risk of diabetes was 41 percent higher (OR = 1.41) for people who took naps that lasted longer than 30 minutes and 35 percent higher (OR = 1.35) for people whose naps lasted 30 minutes or less.

The authors noted that the association between napping and diabetes was observed despite the fact that nappers had higher levels of physical activity, which has been shown to reduce the risk of diabetes. This suggests that the relationship between napping and diabetes might have been stronger had it not been offset by the protective effects of physical activity. The authors added that there will be profound public health implications in China if the relationship between napping and increased risk of type 2 diabetes is confirmed in longitudinal studies, as the nation is currently affected by an emerging diabetes epidemic.

Source: Kelly Wagner, American Academy of Sleep Medicine via EurekAlert

Learn more about common alternative and complementary methods, vitamins, minerals, herbs and foods used to treat sleep disorders, including insomnia. Most of the treatments help your body make serotonin (an important substance for normal nerve and brain function), relax, reduce anxiety and become calm or sedated.

5-HTP

5-HTP is used by the human body to make serotonin, which appears to play significant roles in sleep, emotional moods, pain control, inflammation, intestinal peristalsis, and other body functions.

Avena sativa (oats)

Oat alkaloids are believed to account for the relaxing action of oats, but it should be noted this continues to be debated in Europe.

Catnip

The volatile oil in catnip contains the monoterpene, nepetalactone, which is similar to the valepotriates found in valerian, a more commonly used herbal sedative. Human trials are lacking to prove the effectiveness of catnip for treating insomnia.

Chamomile

Chamomile is an herb commonly drunk as tea, and it is often used to treat sleeping problems because of its relaxing effects.

Hops (Humulus Lupulus)

Hops have been shown to have mild sedative properties, although the mechanism is unclear. Some herbal preparations for insomnia combine hops with more potent sedative herbs, such as valerian.

Kava

The kava-lactones, sometimes referred to as kava-pyrones, are the most important active constituents in kava extracts. High-quality kava rhizome contains 5.5 to 8.3 percent kava-lactones. Medicinal extracts used in Europe contain 30 to 70 percent kava-lactones. Kava-lactones are thought to have anti-anxiety, mild analgesic (pain-relieving), muscle-relaxing, and anti-convulsant effects. *Beware of potential liver toxicity.

Lavender

The essential oil of lavender contains many constituents, including perillyl alcohol and linalool. The oil is thought to be calming and thus can be helpful in some cases of insomnia. One study of elderly people with sleeping troubles found that inhaling lavender oil was as effective as some commonly prescribed sleep medications. Similar results were seen in another trial that included young and middle-aged people with insomnia.

Lemon balm

The terpenes, part of the pleasant smelling volatile oil from lemon balm, are thought to produce this herb’s relaxing and gas-relieving effects. One small preliminary trial studying sleep quality compared the effect of a combination product containing an extract of lemon balm and an extract of valerian root with that of the sleeping drug triazolam (Halcion). The effectiveness of the herbal combination was similar to that of Halcion, as determined by the ability to fall asleep and the quality of sleep. Another trial also found that the same combination of valerian and lemon balm, taken over a two-week period, is effective in improving quality of sleep.

Melatonin

Melatonin is a natural hormone that regulates the human biological clock. Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland, located within the brain. Levels of melatonin in the body fluctuate with the cycles of night and day. The highest melatonin levels are found at night. Melatonin is present in foods only in trace amounts.

Scullcap (American)

Few studies have been completed on the constituents of American scullcap. One of its constituents, scutellarian, has been reportedly shown to have mild sedative and antispasmodic actions in animal studies. Human trials have not yet been conducted to confirm the use of scullcap for anxiety or insomnia.

Valerian

Valerian root contains many different constituents, including essential oils that appear to contribute to the sedating properties of the herb. Central nervous system sedation is regulated by receptors in the brain known as GABA-A receptors. According to test tube studies, valerian may weakly bind to these receptors to exert a sedating action. This might explain why valerian may help some people deal with stress more effectively. Double-blind trials have found that valerian is an effective treatment for people with mild to moderately severe insomnia.

Generally, valerian makes sleep more restful as well as making the transition to sleep easier, but does not tend to increase total time slept, according to these studies. Two trials have also found that a combination with lemon balm is effective in improving quality of sleep and in treating insomnia.

Source: Prevention

Building on his research that the brain during sleep is fundamentally different from the brain during wakefulness, Dr. Frank has found that cellular changes in the sleeping brain that may promote the formation of memories. “This is the first real direct insight into how the brain, on a cellular level, changes the strength of its connections during sleep,” Frank says.

When an animal goes to sleep it’s like a switch is thrown, everything is turned on that’s necessary for making synaptic changes that form the basis of memory formation. The team used an animal model of cortical plasticity – the making and breaking of neural connections in response to life experiences. They found that once the brain is triggered to reorganize its neural networks in wakefulness (by visual deprivation, for instance), intra- and intercellular communication pathways engage, setting a series of enzymes into action within the reorganizing neurons during sleep. The key cellular player in this process is a molecule called N-methyl D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), which acts like a combination listening post and gate-keeper. It both receives extracellular signals in the form of glutamate and regulates the flow of calcium ions into cells.

“As soon as the animal had a chance to sleep, we saw all the machinery of memory start to engage.” Frank will discuss recent experiments and how these relate to memory formation at the molecular level, why humans need sleep, and why they are so affected by the lack of it.

Source: Karen Kreeger, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine via Eurek Alert.