Study links women’s waistlines with sleep habits

Swedish researchers have further proof that your sleep habits contribute to obesity. They found women who sleep less tended to have bigger bellies and waistlines.

Past studies have linked short sleep duration to higher body mass index (BMI) scores. In a study published in the May 1st issue of SLEEP, researchers wanted to learn the relationship between sleep length and quality and central obesity, a key risk factor associated with heart disease, diabetes and mortality.

Central obesity is measured by combining a person’s waist circumference with belly size.

The study took place in two phases. First more than 7,000 randomly selected women in Uppsala, Sweden answered questionnaires about their sleep disorders.

Researchers then randomly picked 400 of those women to take tests and answered another questionnaire about their lifestyle. More than half of those women were snorers.

Each subject underwent an extensive overnight sleep study in their own homes. They were free to choose when they would go to sleep and wake up. Researchers measured the women’s total sleep and length of time spent in REM and short wave sleep. They also assessed their sleep for episodes of sleep apnea.

The following morning, a nurse measured their waist circumference, sagittal abdominal diameter and BMI.

The researchers found centrally obese women were less active and had higher BMI scores. They slept less overall. The centrally obese women had less slow wave sleep and REM sleep.

The study noted the link between sleep and central obesity was stronger in younger people.

While these findings are further evidence there is a relationship between short sleep and obesity, the study has its limitations. It did not account for external factors like emotional stress.

Because researchers examined an existing population of centrally obese women, they could not pin down a causal relationship.

Read more about sleep and obesity on the Sleep Education blog.

New movie “In My Sleep” a sleepwalking murder mystery

It’s a classic setup that hails back to Alfred Hitchcock. A man waking up in bed, covered in blood next to a knife. He doesn’t know how he got there, or if he killed anyone.

The protagonist of the new film “In My Sleep” knows he sleepwalks. But was he capable of murder or was it all a setup?

Opening in limited theaters in New York City last weekend, the film so far has inspired a tepid response from critics. In its early goings “In My Sleep” only has a 33 percent score on metacritic.

Since last month when we previewed the film, a real-life case mirroring the plot has drawn national attention.

An otherwise loving husband was arrested when he hit his wife in the face three times. He had REM Behavioral Disorder, a sleep disorder that causes people to act out their dreams, sometimes violently. The husband was charged with assault, and barred from seeing his family.

“In My Sleep” doesn’t reference REM Behavioral Disorder specifically. The doctor in the preview calls the main character’s sleepwalking “parasomnia”, which is actually a broader classification of sleep disorders.

Nightmare disorder, Sleepwalking, Sleep terrors, Confusional arousals, Sleep paralysis, Hallucinations and Sleep-related eating disorder are all parasomnias.

Read our preview for “In My Sleep”

Or learn treatments for REM Behavioral Disorder and other parasomnias.

Running on empty: marathon runner Tera Moody's struggle with insomnia

Without sleep even the simplest everyday tasks, like driving or writing emails prove to be a challenge.

The normally challenging physical tasks we do to stay in shape are nothing short of herculean. 30 minutes on the Stairmaster can feel like a hike up the summit of K2.

So what’s it like to run marathons with no sleep?

U.S. Olympic hopeful Tera Moody knows the feeling all too well. She’s had insomnia since she started running as a child.

As a guest writer in the New York Times “All Nighters” series, she describes her frustrations with waking up at 3 a.m., unable to get back to sleep.

Moody says you can find her at the 24 hour gym, running 20 miles on a treadmill while most people are deep in sleep. She compensated for the lack of sleep by loading up on caffeine before races.

The lifestyle has taken its toll.

“Not sleeping made me unproductive in my work and affected my relationships. I was pretty depressed during that time and even died my hair black to fit my mood,” Moody wrote.
Fitness went downhill, and injuries crept up.

Still she says her marathon times have improved.

Moody’s progress is a bit of an aberration. Her injuries are more typical. Sleeping less can add to inflammation, a huge concern for athletes. It can cause muscle and skeletal problems including soreness and tendinitis.

Researchers have tied extra sleep to athletic performance.

Trainers are taking note. Moody says most of her peers log 8-10 hours per night with a long nap in between workouts.Some NBA teams are changing their practice schedules so players can sleep in. The San Antonio Spurs eliminated morning practice altogether. They now report to the gym at 4 p.m. The Boston Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets are also experimenting with untraditional schedules.Tera Moody admits as long as she runs she’ll never be able to sleep that long.

Moody has improved her sleep hygiene and is seeing some of the benefits. She cut out caffeine and eating before bedtime. She’s replaced time with the TV and computer in the evening with a pile of books.

Learn how you can improve your sleep hygiene at Sleepeducation.com.

Image by Dave Delay

Fighting Freddy Krueger, “Nightmare on Elm Street” and nightmare disorder

In the newly released remake of “Nightmare on Elm Street” the protagonists try to stay awake to avoid dreaming of the demonic Freddy Krueger. As evident by the high kill-counts in each of the horror film in the series, it turns out they were doing it all wrong.

In real life, people who have recurring nightmares about a menacing figure like Freddy should instead see a psychologist or behavioral sleep specialist. They likely have nightmare disorder, a type of parasomnia.

Nightmares can occur at any age. Children most frequently get nightmares. Only a small fraction of people who get nightmares have the disorder.

Nightmare disorder happens when the horrifying dreams are so frequent it causes you to fear going to sleep. Those who manage to fall asleep end up waking up in the middle of the night terrified. And the nightmares only get more intense as the sleep deprivation adds up.

The problems the teenagers in “Nightmare on Elm Street” face fit this description. Only in their dreams they can die.

Nightmare disorder tends to run in families. In other cases the nightmares are a side-effect of medications.

There are several treatment options available. Counseling is most often recommended. A therapist helps look and confront the thoughts and feelings that are the root cause of the nightmares. Relaxing training may be part of the therapy.

Image rehearsal therapy is another option. It’s a form of cognitive behavioral therapy. Patients record their dreams in a journal, and relive them during the daytime. Through practice, the aim is to confront and disarm the unpleasant elements of the nightmare.

Coincidently, this is how the protagonists of “Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” defeated Freddy Krueger. They used lucid dreaming to give themselves magic powers to do battle with the ghoul.

Medications are not normally used to treat nightmares. Some researchers believe the drug prazosin can effectively reduce nightmares. The drug treatment would have to be ongoing; nightmares may return after drug withdrawal.

If you think you have nightmare disorder avoid watching scary movies, especially any of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” films. Instead find help at an AASM-accredited sleep center or behavioral sleep specialist near you.

Is 100 year olds' secret to longevity sleep?

Is the trick to living out a healthy and productive twilight getting a good night’s sleep? Those who’ve already celebrated their 100th birthday sleep longer and better than the rest of the elderly.

The study, published in the May 1st issue of SLEEP used survey data to look at the sleeping habits of the oldest populations in China.

They discovered Chinese ages 100 or above slept an average of 7.5 hours a day, including naps. Controlling for factors like wealth and health conditions, the extremely elderly were 70 percent more likely to report sleeping well than 65-year-olds to 79-year-olds.

Men were significantly more likely to report sleeping well than women. Those with health problems were nearly half as likely to report quality sleep.

The study found access to health care and economic status were strongly related to good sleep.

The authors of the study picked China because it has the world’s largest elderly population, with nearly 40.5 million people over age 75. The Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, completed in 2005, is used by global researchers to study the lifestyle habits of the elderly. The survey was conducted using in-home interviews.

While the study sheds light on the sleeping habits of oldest people in the world, it does not explain why they lived to be so old. The authors say they suspect it may be due in part to sleeping well, but because the research was based on a survey, it’s impossible to prove at the moment.