Sleep Archive

A few simple measures can help minimize the sleep disturbances and malaise that can occur when you cross several time zones.

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This month we perform the annual ritual of turning back our clocks as Daylight Savings Time ends. Most of us can handle the one-hour time change easily. However, when we travel long distances across several time zones, few of us can survive the trip without feeling a little out of whack. For holiday travelers flying from coast to coast or overseas, recovering from the symptoms of jet lag—fatigue, insomnia, digestive upsets, and headaches—can consume a day or two of precious vacation time. According to Dr. Charles A. Czeisler, director of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, jet lag is due to a misalignment between the external environment and the internal clock in the brain that drives our daily performance, alertness, and the ability to sleep.

What happens during jet lag

A range of choices may help you get a better night's sleep.

Image: Courtsey of Carpenter Co.

When the doctor says you have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), you'll likely hear about the gold standard in treatment: continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which uses forced air, pushed through a tube connected to a face mask, to keep your airway unblocked. Yet many people have trouble adjusting to a bulky CPAP mask. "We often see people who say they tried CPAP and didn't like it, and now it's been years since they've had treatment," says Dr. Stuart Quan, the Gerald E. McGinnis professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School.

You may be able to adjust to CPAP by trying relaxation exercises, practicing wearing the mask during the day, and gradually increasing CPAP pressure. But if it doesn't work out, you do have alternatives.

Driving while very sleepy or drowsy impairs a driver’s reaction time, attention, and judgment. 

A study questions whether CPAP helps to slow the progression of coronary artery disease in those who already have it, but use of the device has still been shown to have quality of life and other health benefits in those with sleep apnea.

Home sleep tests to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may reliably detect the disorder even if a sleep specialist is not involved. Marked by loud snoring and breathing lapses during sleep, OSA can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Sleep apnea is a common condition that currently affects 26% of all Americans. When a person suffers from sleep apnea, their breathing becomes shallow or even disrupted during their sleep. This results in poor sleep and daytime sleepiness. However, a recent study showed that the use of a pacemaker on the hypoglossal nerve in the neck effectively treated people with moderate to severe sleep apnea. Although there isn’t widespread use of pacemakers to treat this sleeping disorder just yet, it may be an effective solution for people with sleep apnea.

Sleep shortfalls can lead to a range of health problems, from being more likely to catch a cold or gain weight to increased risk of developing heart disease or diabetes.

For optimum health and function, the average adult should get seven to nine hours of sleep every night. But more than 60% of women regularly fall short of that goal.

The American College of Physicians recommends cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as a first line of defense for chronic insomnia, instead of sleep medications.

Just about every new parent has wrestled with the idea of whether to comfort a baby who cries during the night or whether to let him or her “cry it out.” A recent study adds more evidence to what researchers (and our own parents and grandparents) have long known: It’s okay to let your baby cry it out. It won’t harm them — and you’ll get a much better night’s sleep, too!