Brain Evaluation

Happy People Have Better Sleep

Recent research identified that people reported better sleep when life was uplifting or when they had more uplifting events than events that were problematic.  This certainly makes sense in terms of being more relaxed when life is going well as opposed to when it is not.  This study points to the effects of positive emotions upon sleep which is probably no different than life and not surprising in that we all know that it is always the perception of whether the glass is half full or half empty that makes the difference in how we approach adverse events and move through them graciously.  (Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 9:5-14, 2011)

Are our TEENS are in trouble?

A recent study of over four thousand youths ages 11 to 17 years  including a year later follow-up with three thousand revealed continued sleep restriction of initially twenty percent and seventeen percent one year later.  This was a chronic condition for over fifty percent of the youths studied. Data suggests that perhaps one in five or one in four youths do not get the sleep that they need.  Is sleep restriction becoming the norm for the adolescent population?  Will these patterns carry through to their adult life? What effect does this have on their decision making skills, emotional processing of information and ultimately their behavior?  It is well known that the effects of sleep deprivation are dangerous, a variable in auto accidents as well as poorly thought out decisions, impulsive behavioral responding, increased depression and emotional reactivity. (Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 9:5-14, 2011)

 

SLEEP NEEDS OF CHILDREN

This is a reminder that infants need 14 to 15 hours, toddlers need 12 to 14 hours, preschoolers 11 to 13 hours, school age children need 10 to 11 hours and teens require 9 to 10 hours.  When we do not get enough sleep we can develop sleep deprivation leading to overall emotional sensitivity, crankiness, attention, concentration and short term memory deficits.  It can also lead to insulin resistance, difficulty losing weight, lowered immune system and risk of getting infections or viruses.  Practicing good bedtime routines, prior to going to bed, sleep hygiene (regular bed and wake times) and addressing sleep problems early are critical issues.  Sleep is a necessary function of life. 

 

TNF levels are a mechanism behind the Apnea-Stroke Link

TNF, the inflammatory protein tumor necrosis factor was identified as being significantly higher in OSA patients.  Authors think that the inflammation is the origin of vessel damage resulting in stroke.  (Neurology Today, July 1, 2010). TNF alpha levels were found to be increased in children diagnosed with OSA driven primarily by sleep fragmentation and body mass index, closely associated with the degree of sleepiness. Surgical treatment for OSA (tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy) was found to result in significant reductions in the TNF alpha levels as well as prolonged sleep.

Symptoms of Sleep Deprivation Associated with Chronic Sleep Loss are not Altered with One Night of Recovery Sleep

Healthy adults between the ages of 22 and 45 years were studied using objective neuropsychological tests and subjective neurobehavioral symptoms.  Behavioral alertness and subjective sleepiness did not fully recover even after a longer night of sleep.  Authors of the study hypothesized that chronic sleep loss over a period of five days is not easily fixed with just one night of recovery sleep pointing to the importance of recognizing the impact of chronic loss of sleep hours. (Sleep, 2010, 33, 8).

The Impact of Partial Sleep Deprivation upon Moral Reasoning

Partial sleep deprivation was found to have an impact upon the moral reasoning of military officers in a study released in Sleep (2010, 33, 8).  Sleep deprivation has been researched and seen as having a primary impact upon prefrontal processes, an area of the brain specifically involved in decision making.  Sleep deprivation was found to affect the ability of the officers to make decisions based upon the use of higher processes of moral judgment (involving the use of principles as opposed to reliance upon specific rules and a more concrete approach).  Sleep deprivation resulted in the officers becoming more rule oriented, more dependent upon group thinking, lacking the ability to independently evaluate a specific situation and to make decisions compared to those officers who were not sleep deprived. The findings of this study serves to confirm prior research suggesting that sleep deprivation hinders the ability of the individual to use more complex cognitive processes of flexible thinking that are innovative as well as adaptive to specific circumstances and consequences. The ability to shift sets, to consider other solution options and to analyze information from various perspectives was minimized in the sleep deprived officers resulting in diminished ability to make complex justice decisions and promoting the tendency to instead rely upon steadfast rules.  In addition sleep deprived officers were found to be less able to analyze situational variables from the perspective of the group approaching their analysis from a more egocentric or self oriented perspective.

Short sleep Duration associated with Poor Performance on IQ Measures

Longer sleep duration when completed on a habitual basis was associated with better performance on intellectual measures of perceptual reasoning and overall IQ.   There were no significant associations found for working memory or processing speed IQ factors (Gruber et. al., 2010, Sleep Medicine,11).

Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Insomnia was Successful in Patients Suffering from Chronic Pain

As a result of CBT patients exhibited significant decreases in the time it took to fall asleep, decreased wake periods after being asleep, decreased number of awakenings and increased sleep efficiency or the amount of time spent sleeping after initial sleep onset.  Significant improvements were seen using behavioral treatment for insomnia in a pain population resulting in improvement in pain or lessened pain interfering with daily functioning (Jungquist, et al., 2010, Sleep Medicine, 11). 

Parental Behaviors and Sleep Outcomes in Infants and Toddlers

Parents influence the sleep of their children.  Research points to the presence of co-sleeping as a variable associated with poor sleep in children, including going to bed over an hour later, waking up twice as much during the night, and obtaining less sleep overall at night.  Children who fell asleep independently was the primary mediating variable. The best predictor of nighttime sleep was seen as related to parental behaviors at bedtime and during the night (Mindell et. al, 2010, Sleep Med, 11).

Frequency of Sleep Disordered Breathing and Growth among Premature Infants

Sleep disordered breathing symptoms were found to be detectable among infants born preterm during the time of infancy pointing to the importance of identifying this as a modifiable risk factor with treatment options.  Children with SDB were found to have worse performance on assessments of cognition and academic achievement. The relationship with SDB and growth was found to be consistent with repeated demonstration of failure to thrive, reported in up to 52 percent of SDB patient samples. The idea being that premature infants are at risk for symptoms of SDB (snoring) and its neurocognitive consequences (Montgomery-Downs et.al. 2010, Sleep Med, 11).