Sleep Deprivation and Insomnia

Researchers say that lack of sufficient sleep is associated with risky behaviors such as smoking, drinking alcohol, being sexually active, using marijuana, lower physical activity, and feeling sad or helpless.

“Insufficient sleep on school nights is common and is associated with participation in health risk behaviors including substance use, fighting, and consideration of suicide,”

Berkeley researchers discovered that during REM sleep the brain processes emotional experiences and takes the painful edge off difficult memories.

The findings offer a compelling explanation for why people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as war veterans, have a hard time recovering from painful experiences and suffer reoccurring nightmares.

They also offer clues into why we dream.

"sleep deprivation has been shown in previous research to increase inflammation and reduce the body's ability to manage pain"

"Doctors have long been aware of the link between poor sleep and fibromyalgia, a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain and tender points in the soft tissues."

Could a lack of sleep be putting your child at risk?

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on why some people are more easily awakened than others.

- When a person sleeps they have different patterns or sleep spindles.
- A person that has a lot of sleep spindles blocks disturbances such as noise.
- People with the most sleep spindles were getting the best sleep.
- People with fewer sleep spindles would wake up 20-30 times a night but did not remember.

Susan Hendricks reports on a new study that finds heavy sleepers have different brain wave patterns than light sleepers.

- Sleep spindles produced by the thalamus.
- Sleep spindles block sound, the more sleep spindles a person generates, the more stable their sleep.

- Try one of the following natural sleep remedies. "These are safer and have fewer side effects than OTC medications," says Jacob Teitelbaum, MD
- Magnesium and calcium, wild lettuce, hops, aromatherapy, melatonin, yoga, meditation, L-theanine, valerian

It seems easy enough: You're tired, you lay down, put your head on a pillow and sleep. But for many, it's not that simple.
- Bill Clinton says his heart trouble may be linked to lack of sleep.
- Increase stress hormones and alters insulin production.
- Increase risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Sleep expert, Dr Edward Suarez of Duke University, in his own words on the importance of sleep and the link between sleep deprivation and your health.
- Sleep deprivation causes inflammation, inflammation is implacated in both heart disease and diabeties.
- Sleep deprivation leads to weight gain.
- Poor sleep means less recovery and longer term can lead to poor health.

Study shows that people deprived of deep sleep have poor blood sugar control.

Adequate sleep reduces stress. A midday nap can help deal with information overload.

Fact: The late stage of sleep—sometimes missed by early risers—can boost by 20% your acquisition of coordination crucial for playing a sport, a musical instrument, or any fine motor control.

Sleep strengthens the nerve circuits that underlie learning and memory…Sleep deprivation may be an important contributor to obesity. It also elevates the stress hormone cortisol.

At some point, nearly everyone struggles to sleep. Tips on how to get your snooze schedule back on track and on how to avoid sleepless nights.