I don’t know how your new year is shaping up, but for me 2010 has been even busier than 2009.

Sometimes I think that if I could just give up sleeping I might have enough time to get in all my running, reading writing, knitting, gardening, cooking, cleaning, and that pesky little thing called a job.

More and more research has been coming out recently, though, which tells me that those hours of sleep may be even more important than I thought. Inadequate sleep has been linked to multiple medical problems, including a decreased lifespan, an increased risk for high blood pressure and heart disease, an increased risk for diabetes and overweight, and a decrease in the immune response.

How much sleep is enough? The exact requirement varies for different people, but the average is around eight to eight and a half hours a night and the minimum is around seven hours.

Complaints about problems with sleep (other than just not having enough time, that is) are extremely common. Women often tell me that they either can’t get to sleep, or that they wake during the night and can’t get back to sleep. Some sleep problems are also caused by medical conditions such as pregnancy, restless leg syndrome, or sleep apnea.

Many sleep difficulties can be solved by changes in behavior. For some people, a decrease in the use of caffeine, alcohol, or even nicotine can improve sleep quality. Aerobic exercise such as walking, though not too soon before bedtime, can help also.

A regular sleep routine is important, too. This means going to bed as close to the same time each night as possible, and getting up at about the same time. Naps aren’t necessarily bad, unless napping excessively or too close to bedtime interferes with the night’s sleep.

For those of you who have trouble sleeping, it’s also important that you train your body and brain that bed is the place for sleeping. This sounds simplistic, but too often bed becomes the convenient place for reading, watching TV, eating, or lying awake when sleep just won’t come.

Lying awake, especially if it also involves worrying about not getting enough sleep, causes your body and brain to associate bed with those feelings of waking worry and frustration. If you’re having problems with insomnia, let yourself lie in bed no more than 20 minutes before you get up and do some other quiet activity. When you feel sleepy again, return to bed.

Restless leg syndrome is another condition which sometimes causes or worsens sleep problems. Those of you who have it know what I'm talking about, and also know how difficult it can be to describe the sensations to others. The feeling has been called an ache, a tingling, a cramp, or a crawling sensation, but the common thread is that the discomfort is only resolved by moving the legs.

Some relief of restless leg syndrome can come from regular exercise, stretching, or massage. Some cases, however, require medication for relief. See your doctor if you haven’t gotten help from these other methods.

Finally, sleep apnea can cause sleep problems even when the sufferers aren’t aware that there is a problem. This is common in people who snore, and sometimes this is the only clue to the diagnosis other than daytime fatigue and sleepiness. People with sleep apnea have multiple episodes each night in which they briefly stop breathing, then wake slightly to resume breathing.

If you snore loudly or have unexplained daytime sleepiness even though you seem to be getting adequate sleep, you should see your doctor to be evaluated for sleep apnea. Besides causing the sleepiness, apnea can cause or worsen high blood pressure and heart disease.

Hope your year is shaping up to be happy, even though busy.

Sweet dreams!



Dr. Janet Matthews is the OBGYN physician at The Women’s Center, a service of Muskogee Regional Medical Center, 687-3050. Send questions, comments or suggestions for future columns to janet.matthews@capellahealth.com.