Recently a group of people with resistant hypertension were studied in the sleep lab. They tended to sleep half an hour less than people with controlled hypertension, and had more disturbed, poorer quality sleep.

The researchers concluded that disordered sleep — short sleep time and poor sleep efficiency — may contribute to the cause of resistant hypertension.  People whose high blood pressure cannot be controlled by taking blood pressure medications may want to discuss this condition with a sleep specialist.

Spanish researchers studied blood pressure in patients with hypertension and sleep apnea for a year while they were treated with CPAP. They found that CPAP did decrease blood pressure while also treating sleep apnea.

The greatest decrease in blood pressure occurred in patients who used CPAP for more than 5.6 hours per night. And those turned out to be the patients whose sleep apnea was most severe or who suffered the most from daytime sleepiness before treatment.

In non-sleepy hypertensive patients with sleep apnea, CPAP treatment for one year achieved a small decrease in blood pressure, but only if patients used CPAP for more than 5.6 hours per night.

[Ideally, patients with sleep apnea are supposed to use CPAP all night in order to treat the harmful cardiovascular complications from sleep apnea.]

PART II :  SLEEP QUALITY

Good enough sleep means uninterrupted nighttime sleep, which the brain needs in order to perform two important processes:

     1. The restorative process, in response to the sleep drive: the longer you have been awake, the stronger is the sleep drive.

     2. The regulation of the timing of sleep and wakefulness during the day-night cycle. This is done by the circadian biological clock located in the brain. It organizes day-night cycles of most body functions, for example the secretion of important hormones that regulate blood pressure and kidney function.

The circadian biological clock is synchronized by daylight, and every day it re-sets itself on a 24-hour cycle, and then synchronizes the hormonal and other cycles and inter-relationships of the body.

Poor Quality Sleep has Consequences
Poor quality sleep prevents the biological clock from keeping your internal other cycles coordinated in a normal way.

Examples of poor sleep that undermines the work of the biological clock:
      A sleep disorder such as sleep apnea or insomnia that fragments the night’s sleep.
      An irregular sleep-wake schedule: bedtimes and wake times that differ from day to day.
      Sleeping longer on weekends than on week nights.
      Shiftwork, especially frequently changing shifts.

Establishing a regular bed and wake schedule and achieving continuous sleep helps you sleep in accordance with your internal biological circadian clock and experience all of the sleep stages necessary to reap the restorative, energizing and revitalizing benefits of sleep.

If you have insomnia, sleep apnea, shiftwork, pain, or other issues that keep you from having enough good quality sleep, talk with a sleep specialist. Your life depends on it!

PART I:  SLEEP QUANTITY

Enough Sleep means the amount of sleep you need in order to not feel sleepy the next day. Sleep experts generally agree that adults need about 7-9 hours per night.
Sleep requirements change with age. Newborns and infants need a lot of sleep and have several periods of sleep throughout a 24-hour time period. Naps are important to them as well as to toddlers who may nap up to the age of 5. As children enter adolescence, their sleep patterns shift to a later sleep-wake cycle, but they still need around 9 hours of sleep. Throughout adulthood, even as we get older, we need 7-9 hours of sleep. Sleep patterns may change, but the need for sleep remains the same.

Sleep Needs Change With Age:

A good indication of whether you are getting enough sleep whether or not you need an alarm clock to wake up.

Allowing enough time to sleep is essential to your overall well-being and quality of life. Plan your days and nights to give you enough sleep that you awaken naturally, without needing an alarm clock.

Too Little Sleep Has Consequences

Too little sleep leads to:
             Poor job and/or school performance.
             Problems concentrating and completing a task.
             Poor decision-making.
             Irritability and difficulty getting along with others.
             Increased risk of injury (100,000 sleep-related vehicle crashes each year and  1,500  deaths).
             Poor health, including less benefit from hormones that are normally released during sleep,  higher risk of diabetes, and impacts on aging.

If you have insomnia, sleep apnea, shiftwork, restless legs, pain, or other issues that keep you from having enough good quality sleep, talk with a sleep specialist. Your life depends on it!

“People think they can judge the precise time they are too tired and don’t realize that ‘drowsy driving’ is a serious danger,” says David Cloud, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation. “They don’t know that it’s possible to fall into a 3-4 second microsleep without realizing it. Traveling at 65 MPH, that’s enough time to travel the length of a football field basically unconscious.”

Even if you manage to stay awake, sleepiness causes slower reaction times, vision impairment, lapses in judgment and delays in processing information, which are all critical elements for safe driving practices. “Getting enough sleep can literally save your life,” adds Cloud.

Prevent a fall-asleep crash by getting enough sleep the night before and by knowing the warning signs of sleepiness and using appropriate countermeasures.

Warning Signs: Feeling Sleepy? Stop Driving!

If you start to do the following, it’s time to get off the road. Find a safe place to pull over:

Have problems focusing, blink frequently and/or have heavy eyelids;
Drift from your lane, swerve, tailgate and/or hit rumble strips;
Have trouble remembering the last few miles driven;
Miss exits or traffic signs;
Have trouble keeping your head up;
Yawn repeatedly;
Or finding yourself rolling down the windows or turning up the radio.

National Sleep Foundation’s Countermeasures to Prevent Fall-Asleep Crashes

Get a good night’s sleep before you hit the road. You’ll want to be alert for the drive, so be sure to get adequate sleep (seven to nine hours) the night before you go. Don’t be too rushed to arrive at your destination. Many drivers try to maximize the holiday weekend by driving at night or without stopping for breaks. It’s better to allow the time to drive alert and arrive alive.
Use the buddy system. Just as you should not swim alone, avoid driving alone for long distances. A buddy who remains awake for the journey can take a turn behind the wheel and help identify the warning signs of fatigue.
Take a break every 100 miles or 2 hours. Do something to refresh yourself like getting a snack, switching drivers, or going for a run.
Take a nap—find a safe place to take a 15 to 20-minute nap, if you think you might fall asleep. Be cautious about excessive drowsiness after waking up.

Avoid alcohol and medications that cause drowsiness as a side-effect.
Avoid driving at times when you would normally be asleep.
Consume caffeine. The equivalent of two cups of coffee can increase alertness for several hours.

For most people sleep talking occurs rarely, and is short-lived. Sleep-talkers usually are not aware of their talking, and their speech may sound different from their everyday speech. Sleep talking is usually clearest when the person is in light sleep, when it can even involve one-sided conversations. In deeper sleep it may be simple mumbling, moans, or gibberish.

Anyone can experience sleep talking, but the condition is more common in males and children. A tendency for sleep talking can run in families. Sleep talkers often are found to have other sleep disorders, such as sleep terrors, confusional arousals, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, and REM sleep behavior disorder.

Medical science and the law consider sleep talking not conscious or rational, and therefore not admissible as evidence in court.

The negatives of sleep talking are that it can cause embarrassment, and it can annoy a bed partner or roommates. Roommates may enjoy earplugs or white noise (such as a fan).

To decrease chances of sleep talking, follow a regular sleep schedule, get plenty of sleep, and limit alcohol, heavy evening meals, and stress. If concerned, consult a sleep specialist to learn whether there is an underlying medical explanation, for example an undiagnosed sleep disorder, or severe anxiety or stress.

Source: NSF

Insomnia may be chronic (lasting over one month) or acute (lasting a few days or weeks) and is often times related to an underlying cause such as a medical or psychiatric condition.

Source: NSF

It is not true that the need for sleep declines with age. In fact, research demonstrates that our sleep needs remain constant throughout adulthood. Adults need about 8 hours of sleep to be at their best.

The prevalence of sleep disorders also tends to increase with age. However, much of the sleep disturbance among the elderly can be attributed to physical and psychiatric illnesses and the medications used to treat them.

Source: NSF

 One study found that children with ADHD are drowsier during the day than children without ADHD. Another study found that 50% of children with ADHD had signs of sleep disordered breathing, compared to only 22% of children without ADHD.

 Restless legs syndrome and periodic leg movement syndrome are also common in children with ADHD.

 Source: NSF

Source: NSF