Insufficient Rest or Sleep and Its Relation to Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes and Obesity in a National, Multiethnic Sample

BACKGROUND: A new question on insufficient rest/sleep was included in the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for the 50 states, District of Columbia, and three US territories. No previous study, however, has examined perceived insufficient rest/sleep in relation to cardiovascular disease (CVD) or diabetes mellitus. We examined the association between self-reported insufficient rest/sleep and CVD, diabetes, and obesity in a contemporary sample of US adults. METHODS: Multiethnic, nationally representative, cross-sectional survey (2008 BRFSS) participants were >20 years of age (n=372, 144, 50% women). Self-reported insufficient rest/sleep in the previous month was categorized into four groups: zero, 1-13, 14-29, and 30 days. There were five outcomes: 1) any CVD, 2) coronary heart disease (CHD), 3) stroke, 4) diabetes mellitus, and 5) obesity (body mass index≥30 kg/m2). We employed multivariable logistic regression to calculate odds ratio (OR), (95% confidence interval (CI), of increasing categories of insufficient rest/sleep, taking zero days of insufficient rest/sleep as the referent category. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Insufficient rest/sleep was found to be associated with 1) any CVD, 2) CHD, 3) stroke, 4) diabetes mellitus, and 5) obesity, in separate analyses. Compared to those reporting zero days of insufficient sleep (referent), the OR (95% CI) associated with all 30 days of insufficient sleep was 1.67 (1.55-1.79) for any cardiovascular disease, 1.69(1.56-1.83) for CHD, 1.51(1.36-1.68) for stroke, 1.31(1.21-1.41) for diabetes, and 1.51 (1.43-1.59) for obesity. CONCLUSIONS: In a multiethnic sample of US adults, perceived insufficient rest/sleep was found to be independently associated with CHD, stroke, diabetes mellitus and obesity

Investigating the Bidirectional Associations of Adiposity with Sleep Duration in Older Adults: The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)

Cross-sectional analyses of adiposity and sleep duration in younger adults suggest that increased adiposity is associated with shorter sleep. Prospective studies have yielded mixed findings, and the direction of this association in older adults is unclear. We examined the cross-sectional and potential bi-directional, prospective associations between adiposity and sleep duration (covariates included demographics, health behaviours, and health problems) in 5,015 respondents from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), at baseline and follow-up. Following adjustment for covariates, we observed no significant cross-sectional relationship between body mass index (BMI) and sleep duration [(unstandardized) B?=??0.28?minutes, (95% Confidence Intervals (CI)?=??0.012; 0.002), p?=?0.190], or waist circumference (WC) and sleep duration [(unstandardized) B?=??0.10?minutes, (95% CI?=??0.004; 0.001), p?=?0.270]. Prospectively, both baseline BMI [B?=??0.42?minutes, (95% CI?=??0.013; ?0.002), p?=?0.013] and WC [B?=??0.18?minutes, (95% CI?=??0.005; ?0.000), p?=?0.016] were associated with decreased sleep duration at follow-up, independently of covariates. There was, however, no association between baseline sleep duration and change in BMI or WC (p?>?0.05). In older adults, our findings suggested that greater adiposity is associated with decreases in sleep duration over time; however the effect was very small

Integrating Positive and Clinical Psychology: Viewing Human Functioning as Continua from Positive to Negative Can Benefit Clinical Assessment, Interventions and Understandings of Resilience

In this review we argue in favour of further integration between the disciplines of positive and clinical psychology. We argue that most of the constructs studied by both positive and clinical psychology exist on continua ranging from positive to negative (e.g., gratitude to ingratitude, anxiety to calmness) and so it is meaningless to speak of one or other field studying the “positive” or the “negative”. However, we highlight historical and cultural factors which have led positive and clinical psychologies to focus on different constructs; thus the difference between the fields is more due to the constructs of study rather than their being inherently “positive” or “negative”. We argue that there is much benefit to clinical psychology of considering positive psychology constructs because; (a) constructs studied by positive psychology researchers can independently predict wellbeing when accounting for traditional clinical factors, both cross-sectionally and prospectively, (2) the constructs studied by positive psychologists can interact with risk factors to predict outcomes, thereby conferring resilience, (3) interventions that aim to increase movement towards the positive pole of well-being can be used encourage movement away from the negative pole, either in isolation or alongside traditional clinical interventions, and (4) research from positive psychology can support clinical psychology as it seeks to adapt therapies developed in Western nations to other cultures

Association of Sleep Duration with Chronic Diseases in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Potsdam Study

Background: In view of the reduced number of hours devoted to sleep in modern western societies the question arises what effects might result from sleep duration on occurrence of chronic diseases. Methods: Data from 23 620 middle-aged participants of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Potsdam study, that were recruited between 1994–1998, were analyzed by using Cox proportional hazard regression to examine the association between self-reported sleep duration at baseline and incidence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, myocardial infarction, stroke, and cancer. Results: During a mean follow-up period of 7.8 years 841 incident cases of type 2 diabetes, 197 cases of myocardial infarction, 169 incident strokes, and 846 tumor cases were observed. Compared to persons sleeping 7-,8 h/day, participants with sleep duration of,6 h had a significantly increased risk of stroke (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 2.06, 95

Maladaptive behaviors are linked with inefficient sleep in individuals with developmental disabilities

The purpose of the current study was to assess the relations between nightly sleep patterns and the frequency of daily maladaptive behavior. Antecedent and consequential relations between sleep patterns and behavior were evaluated with time series analysis. Sleep efficiency and maladaptive behavior were determined for 20 female residents of an institutional care facility for adults with developmental disabilities. Daily maladaptive behavioral data and nightly sleep/awake logs were collected for 4 months for each participant. Efficient sleep patterns were significantly associated with lower frequencies of maladaptive behaviors. All lagged cross-correlations 8 days before and 8 days after an evening of sleep were significant. These findings suggested that inefficient sleep was associated with increased maladaptive behaviors and that the lagged associations reflected a chronic but not an acute linkage between sleep and behavior

No Elevated Plasma Catecholamine Levels during Sleep in Newly Diagnosed, Untreated Hypertensives

The sympatho-adrenergic system is highly involved in regulating sleep, wake and arousal states, and abnormalities in this system are regarded as a key factor in the development and progression of arterial hypertension. While hypertension is associated with a hyperadrenergic state during wakefulness, the effect of hypertension on plasma-catecholamine levels during sleep is not yet known. Twelve young participants with newly diagnosed, untreated hypertension and twelve healthy controls slept for 7 hours in the sleep laboratory. Before and after sleep, subjects rested in a supine position for 3-h periods of wakefulness. We sampled blood at a fast rate (1/10 min) and monitored blood pressure and heart rate continuously. We show that plasma NE and E levels did not differ between hypertensives and normotensive during sleep as well as before and after sleep. Blood pressure was higher in hypertensives, reaching the largest group difference in the morning after sleep. Unlike in the normotensives, in the hypertensive participants the morning rise in blood pressure did not correlate with the rise in catecholamine levels at awakening. Our results suggest that hypertension in its early stages is not associated with a strong hyperadrenergic state during sleep. In showing a diminished control of blood pressure through sympatho-adrenergic signals in hypertensive participants, our data point towards a possible involvement of dysfunctional sleep-related blood pressure regulation in the development of hypertension

Early to bed and earlier to rise: school, maternal employment, and children’s sleep

School-age children need 10-11 hours of sleep per night. It has been well-documented that lack of sleep leads to diminished cognitive performance and that people who sleep less are more likely to be overweight or obese. I use data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) to examine two factors that can potentially influence the amount of time children sleep: school and maternal employment. I find that school-age children sleep less when school is in session than during the summer, and that they get less sleep on school nights than on non-school nights. Children go to bed about 38 minutes earlier on school nights, but wake up about 72 minutes earlier on school days. This translates into about 34 minutes less sleep on school nights compared with non-school nights, and implies that these children have a cumulative sleep deficit of over two-and-a-half hours by the time they arrive at school Friday morning. In addition to the lost sleep time, the earlier wake-up times on school days appear to disrupt children's natural sleep cycles. Maternal employment affects children's sleep time in the summer, because children wake up earlier on days that their mothers work. But during the school year, maternal employment effects are dominated by school effects

Sleep and recovery in physicians on night call: a longitudinal field study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is well known that physicians' night-call duty may cause impaired performance and adverse effects on subjective health, but there is limited knowledge about effects on sleep duration and recovery time. In recent years occupational stress and impaired well-being among anaesthesiologists have been frequently reported for in the scientific literature. Given their main focus on handling patients with life-threatening conditions, when on call, one might expect sleep and recovery to be negatively affected by work, especially in this specialist group. The aim of the present study was to examine whether a 16-hour night-call schedule allowed for sufficient recovery in anaesthesiologists compared with other physician specialists handling less life-threatening conditions, when on call.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sleep, monitored by actigraphy and Karolinska Sleep Diary/Sleepiness Scale on one night after daytime work, one night call, the following first and second nights post-call, and a Saturday night, was compared between 15 anaesthesiologists and 17 paediatricians and ear, nose, and throat surgeons.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Recovery patterns over the days after night call did not differ between groups, but between days. Mean night sleep for all physicians was 3 hours when on call, 7 h both nights post-call and Saturday, and 6 h after daytime work (p < 0.001). Scores for mental fatigue and feeling well rested were poorer post-call, but returned to Sunday morning levels after two nights' sleep.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Despite considerable sleep loss during work on night call, and unexpectedly short sleep after ordinary day work, the physicians' self-reports indicate full recovery after two nights' sleep. We conclude that these 16-hour night duties were compatible with a short-term recovery in both physician groups, but the limited sleep duration in general still implies a long-term health concern. These results may contribute to the establishment of safe working hours for night-call duty in physicians and other health-care workers.</p