Poor Sleep Contributes to Health Problems

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Poor Sleep Contributes to Health Problems

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By Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) -- New studies are discovering

just how vital sleep is to overall health.

So, sleep habits should become a standard part of a complete check-

up, researchers say.

" There is increasing evidence that there is a very strong

relationship between sleep quality and physical and mental health, "

said Dr. Phyllis C. Zee, a professor of neurology at Northwestern

University's Feinberg School of Medicine.

" If you have poor health, that is associated with poor sleep. Also,

if you have poor sleep, there is an association between that and poor

health, " Zee said. " What we don't have yet is the research to

categorically say that if you improve sleep, you will improve

conditions, such as diabetes or hypertension, or other medical

conditions. "

Still, physicians should be asking their patients about the quality

and quantity of their sleep, Zee said. " Sleep should be another vital

sign, " she said.

Zee wrote an editorial in the Sept. 18 issue of the Archives of

Internal Medicine, a special, themed issue on sleep and its

relationship to overall health.

In one study, led by L. Nahin, a senior advisor for

scientific coordination and outreach at the U.S. National Center for

Complementary and Alternative Medicine, looked at why people had

trouble sleeping and how many were using alternative drugs to help

them sleep.

Insomnia and trouble sleeping are most often associated with high

blood pressure, heart failure, anxiety and depression, according to a

national survey of 31,044 adults. " That's unusual. It had been most

often thought that insomnia was quite prevalent on its own, but only

4 percent of the people who said they had insomnia said they had it

without any of those conditions, " Nahin said.

The researchers also found that 1.6 million Americans are using

alternative therapies, such as melatonin to treat their

insomnia. " That's quite high when you consider that there is very

little reliable data on the efficacy and safety of using the products

people are using, " Nahin said.

These findings have implications for treating sleep problems, Nahin

said.

" Instead of treating the insomnia itself, a health-care provider

might be better off treating one of these comorbidities, " he

said. " In addition, a physician seeing a patient for insomnia should

ask if the patient is using any alternative and complementary

treatments, because they might upset the treatments the health-care

provider wants to apply. "

Another study found that people who have sleep-related breathing

disorder -- marked by frequent pauses in breathing, labored

breathing, or reduced breathing during the night -- were two to 2.6

times more likely to develop depression. Moreover, the odds of

depression increased as breathing disorders became more severe,

according to researcher E. Peppard and colleagues from the

University of Wisconsin.

And a study by French researchers found that people with allergic

rhinitis, caused by hay fever and other allergies, have more

difficulty sleeping and more sleep disorders than people without

allergies. " The results show a significant impact of allergic

rhinitis on all dimensions of sleep quality and, consequently, a

lower quality of life as reflected by more somnolence [sleepiness];

daytime fatigue and sleepiness; and impaired memory, mood and

sexuality, with a significantly increased consumption of alcohol and

sedatives in cases compared with the control group, " the study

authors wrote.

One expert agrees that sleep problems shouldn't be ignored.

" If you think insomnia is an annoyance and merely something you

should tough out, that may be a mistake, " said L. Perlis,

director of the Sleep Research Laboratory at the University of

Rochester, in New York. " It may lead you down the path to other

morbidities. It would also be a mistake because it's treatable. "

Other studies in the same journal issue found that:

Fewer hours of sleep may contribute to poor health in young adults.

Those in rural areas who sleep fewer hours appear to weigh more.

The immune system may play a role in narcolepsy, a disorder

characterized by an uncontrollable urge to sleep.

The immune system may be affected by a lack of sleep that contributes

to inflammation and a variety of diseases.

The National Sleep Foundation can tell you more about getting a good

nights sleep (www.sleepfoundation.org ).

SOURCES: L. Nahin, Ph.D., M.P.H., senior advisor, scientific

coordination and outreach, U.S. National Center for Complementary and

Alternative Medicine, Bethesda, Md.; Phyllis C. Zee, M.D., Ph.D.,

professor, neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of

Medicine, Chicago; L. Perlis, Ph.D., director, Sleep Research

Laboratory, department of psychiatry, University of Rochester, N.Y.;

Sept. 18, 2006, Archives of Internal Medicine