Depression, Mental Distress May Start with Short Sleep

A variety of everyday problems can be maddeningly difficult on little sleep. Minor conflicts may cause a sleep-deprived person to feel frustration, anger or even sadness. Slight disruptions become emotional eruptions in the absence of restful sleep.

For teenagers and young adults who already grapple with heightened hormones, a string of sleepless nights can turn them into walking time-bombs. Mental illness is a real risk for many people less than 24 years of age who don’t get enough sleep, according to a new study in the September issue of the journal SLEEP.

The study reports that every hour of sleep loss significantly raises the risk of emotional distress, a combination of high levels of depressive and anxious symptoms. The risk is most relevant for people with pre-existing mental health issues or a history of depression.

Young adults who otherwise have no mental health history can develop mental distress by severely limiting sleep over a long period of time. The study found people with no psychological distress who slept five hours or less are three times more likely to be distressed a year later.

The study design involved 20,000 Australians aged 17 to 24. Each participant completed a sleep diary by listing the amount of hours slept per night over the course of a month. Subjects also answered the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), a mental assessment that includes questions about feeling tired, nervous, hopeless, restless, depressed, sad and worthless.

A randomly selected group consisting of about 10 percent of the participants completed a follow-up survey about a year later. Approximately 1 in 5 young adults who responded slept fewer than seven hours per night. Less than two percent were extremely short sleepers with less than five hours per night.

Mental health and psychological stress is a serious concern for young adults of any nation. The U.S. government estimates nearly 1 in 5 people between the ages of 18 and 25 years of age experienced serious psychological distress in the past year.

There’s been much discussion this early September about the risks related to insomnia and short sleep duration. A widely-reported study linked long-term insomnia to death for middle age males. Another study published in the same journal focused on teenage sleep patterns and suggested a relationship between sleep length and obesity. It concluded teenagers who sleep less than eight hours a night usually have unhealthier diets, consisting of fatty foods and frequent snacks.

Teenagers and young adults need more sleep than their parents or older siblings yet many in the age group are inclined to stay up late due to natural night-owl tendencies. High levels of stress and numerous distractions such as cell phones and video games also keep young adults from getting to bed at a decent hour.

The good news is after high-school, many have a more flexible schedule that can suit their sleep needs. This is especially the case for college students, who can avoid early morning classes if they wish. There’s no mental harm in sleeping too much. The study reports participants who reported sleep durations of more than nine hours showed no heightened mental distress.

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Vikings Receiver Harvin’s Health Woes Stem from Sleep Apnea

At 5’11’’, 184 lbs of solid muscle and the ability to complete the 40 yard dash in less than 4.4 seconds Percy Harvin, the explosive wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings, doesn’t have the obvious warning signs of obstructive sleep apnea that NFL coaches and trainers can easily identify. Most players in the league who’ve been diagnosed with the sleep disorder have massive bodies with excess weight, like Mario Williams or Antwan Odom.

Entering his second season in the NFL, Percy Harvin’s was considered a talented player who may never reach his potential because of chronic health concerns caused by undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea. Debilitating migraines have plagued him for his entire life. This year the painful condition kept him from practicing with the team in the preseason, prompting concerns of an early end to his NFL career.

When he finally stepped on the practice field he collapsed in a matter of minutes. His heart stopped beating for ten seconds. Harvin told NBC’s Andrea Kremer that his migraine medication led to the collapse. Strangely, this scary episode may have been the luckiest thing that ever happened to him.

Doctors at the hospital that day suspected he wasn’t getting enough oxygen when he slept. Four days later an overnight sleep study confirmed he had obstructive sleep apnea, which doctors believe triggered the migraines.

Harvin is now the proud user of CPAP, a machine that can save his career and his life. He even brings it on the road for away games.

After a long stretch of missed practices and preseason games Harvin saw regular action Thursday night in the NFL season opener against the New Orleans Saints. He only caught one pass for 12 yards in the 9-14 loss.

Despite a disappointing opening game, Harvin is past his migraines and back on track to become one of the league’s marquee receivers all thanks to one little machine he keeps at his bedside.

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Study Links Sleeping Pills to Mortality

Sleeping pills lengthen your slumber and may shorten your life, a Canadian report claims. The 12-year study linked hypnotic class sleep drugs and anti-anxiety medications with long-term mortality.

Consumption of sleeping pills or anxiety relieving medications was associated with a 36 percent higher death risk, the study concluded. Respondents to a large Canadian National Survey who said they used the medications at least once a month had a mortality rate of 15.7 percent. Those who said did not use the medications had a rate of 10.5 percent. The results were controlled to person risk factors like tobacco use, depression and physical health.

The study offers no clear explanation of the findings. The results bare resemblance to a study published in the September issue of the journal SLEEP that investigated a possible link between insomnia and long-term death risk. It reported five times as many middle-aged male insomnia patients died over the 14-year study length compared with healthy subjects.

Could the elevated mortality rates associated with sleeping pills be due to long-term insomnia? It is not a stretch to conclude a many of the people who regularly use sleeping pills over an extended period of time also have long-term insomnia.

Dr. Geneviève Belleville, the lead author of the sleeping pill study, offers an alternate explanation. Dr. Belleville speculates the sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medications may cause accidents and promote suicides.

Sleeping pills and anxiolytics impact reaction time, alertness and coordination. Under these conditions, the risk of injury from a fall or an automotive accident increases.

A review shows sleeping drugs may increase the risk of suicide as many as seven times over. Central nervous system inhibitors found in the medications may alter a person’s judgment, making some people more likely to carry out suicidal ideations.

The AASM reports hypnotic class drugs are safe and effect short-term solutions to insomnia when used as directed. Go to bed immediately after taking sleep medications and avoid physical activity, driving, or operating heavy machinery. Never take more than the recommended dose, for risk of serious complications.

Dr. Belleville recommends insomnia patients consider the alternative of cognitive behavioral therapy, the most effective solution to long-term insomnia. The approach helps you change actions or thoughts that hurt your ability to sleep and promote a healthy pattern of sleep.

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Strange Midnight Binges Haunt Sleep-Eaters

Most people scoff at the thought of eating a blend of raw bacon, egg shells and coffee grounds. People with sleep related eating disorder are no different, yet they consume such sickening concoctions without thinking twice. Or thinking at all, for that matter.

SRED involves unconscious compulsive binge-eating in the middle of the night. Sleep-walkers rapidly prepare and consume whatever they can find, whether it’s high-calorie junk food or an unusual mix of kitchen ingredients. An episode can last about ten minutes, and the sleep-eater won’t remember a thing.

43-year-old Anna Ryan once tried to eat a steel wool dish detergent pad. She’s among the estimated one million Americans with SRED.

Her story was featured on the ABC Nightline special “Secrets of the Mind” Tuesday evening. The series investigates rare conditions of the brain. Past programs have addressed topics such as narcoleptic attacks caused by strong emotions, aneurysms and pathological violence.

Ryan would go on diets but mysteriously gain weight, unaware she was consuming thousands of calories every night. She’s at-risk for weight-related conditions like heart disease, diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea.

SRED can also cause social embarrassment and physical danger. People can fall, start fires or even consume toxic chemicals while sleepwalking to the kitchen.

About 65 to 80 percent of people with SRED are women. The episodes usually begin sometime before the age of 30. Empty wrappers and missing food may serve as clues for SRED. A history of other parasomnias such as sleepwalking, sleep talking or REM sleep behavioral disorder is also a warning sign.

Ryan is on a medication to limit her midnight binges. Sleep Education reports SRED is treatable with a combination of medication and therapy.

If you think you have SRED seek treatment at an AASM-accredited sleep center immediately.

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Long and Solid Nighttime Sleep Helps Solve Childhood Obesity

The battle against childhood obesity begins not in the school lunchroom but in the bedroom. When infants and toddlers lose sleep early in life they gain weight that can last a lifetime, a new University of Washington study reports. Regular, lengthy nighttime sleep encourages healthy development.

Young children are nearly twice as likely to become obese or overweight by the age of five when they sleep less than the recommended number of hours per night (see chart below). Daytime naps are no substitute to nighttime sleep in preventing obesity, the study shows.



The article was published in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and involved federal from more 2,000 children. Researchers looked at participating children’s reported weight and sleep duration over the course of their childhood.

The relationship between sleep and weight was strongest at a very early age. Children who become obese early on face an uphill battle that may last the rest of their lives.

The reason why children who fall behind on sleep gain weight still isn’t clear. Study limitations prevented researchers from investigating a cause.

In an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, principal researcher Janice Bell offered some possible explanations. She believes overtired children are less active and may gain weight as a result.

Her other explanation is based on how loss of sleep can affect your appetite. As the Sleep Education Blog reported earlier this year, sleep can change the amount of hunger-regulating hormones the adult body produces. Bell suggests this may be true for children as well as adults.

Just as sleep loss can cause weight gain, obesity can lead to serious sleep problems. Childhood sleep apnea is twice as prevalent among obese children.

Make sleep a priority in your child’s life. Toddlers and preschoolers who meet their sleep needs get better grades in school and have fewer behavioral problems.

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Sleepy Teens Eat More Fatty Foods and Snacks

Poor sleep habits go hand-in-hand with unhealthy diets for teenagers. A new study shows teens that sleep less than eight hours on weeknights usually eat more fatty foods and snack more often than their well-rested peers.

The high-fat, snack filled diet is a recipe for obesity, especially as female teens as researchers discovered through data analysis.

Short sleep durations may cause a number of small adjustments in eating habits, altogether changing a teenager’s energy balance. Results show teens who slept less than eight hours consumed 2.2 percent more calories from fat and 3.0 percent fewer calories from carbohydrates.

Sleep-deprived teens were also more likely to grab a snack between meals. For each extra hour of sleep the change of consuming a high amount of calories in snacks decreased by 21 percent.

The study examined the diets of 240 teens in Cleveland, Ohio. Wrist actigraphy data indicated only 34 percent of the participating teens slept for more than eight hours per night. Researchers cross-referenced the hours each teen slept with nutrition data, collected in interviews.

The authors of the study say it’s not clear why the relationship between sleep length and eating habits is stronger for females. They speculate teenage girls are more likely to engage in emotional eating. Because the findings were based on correlation, researchers could not determine the cause of the relationship.

Females with poor sleep habits may unhealthy foods, but men potentially face far worse consequences. Men with long-term insomnia are more likely to die.

Learn more about teen sleep habits and what is keeping them awake at night.

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Chronic Insomnia a Death Risk for Men

Consider seeking cognitive-behavioral therapy for long-term insomnia, especially if you are a male. New research shows men who consistently get less than six hours of sleep are four times more likely to die.

A long-term mortality study published in the September issue of the journal SLEEP demonstrates why identifying and treating insomnia early on should become a top health priority.

The study involved 741 men and 1,000 women with an average age of 50 years old. Researchers determined which subjects had insomnia using sleep diaries, physical exams and overnight sleep studies. About four percent of men had chronic insomnia and slept less than six hours per day.

After 14 years, more than half the male insomniacs had died. Only 9.1 percent of “good sleepers” were deceased. Death risk was even higher for men who had insomnia and diabetes or hypertension. The results were adjusted to account for risky conditions such as obesity, alcohol use and obstructive sleep apnea.

There was little difference in mortality rates for females with insomnia and "good sleepers." The authors of the study couldn’t determine why the relationship seemed to only affect men. One reason may be because they followed women for only 10 years, as opposed to 14 years.

Among all participants, one in five males died over the course of the study, while only 5 percent of women died.

Reduce your risk by aiming for the ideal amount of sleep for adults – 7 to 8 hours each night. Long-sleepers also have higher than average mortality rates, a recent study reports.

A number of other studies have also looked at the link between sleep duration and mortality. Previous findings show chronic insomnia increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and hypertension and is associated with neurocognitive deficits.

Learn more about cognitive-behavioral therapy, the leading treatment for long-term insomnia at sleepeducation.com.

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