27 research outputs found

    An Exploratory Study Examining the Associations between Sunlight Exposure, Sleep Behaviours and Sleep Outcomes during an Arctic Summer

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    Few evidence-based recommendations exist for maintaining healthy sleep during Arctic summers. Our study aimed to examine associations between sleep hygiene, sunlight exposure and sleep outcomes in workers living in and/or near the Arctic Circle during a 24-h light period. A survey was administered July 2017 to 19 workers at 3 Arctic base camps in Northeastern Alaska. Participants with poorer sleep hygiene reported increased sleepiness (r=.62, p=0.01); this correlation remained moderately strong, albeit not statistically significant (NS), after controlling for shift work (r=.46, p=0.06). No other statistically significant correlations between sleep hygiene and sleep outcomes were found. Weekly daytime (8pm) sunlight exposures, estimated from daily self-reported sunlight exposures for a typical workday and day off, were dichotomised, based on means, into: longer (\u3e45 h/week) versus shorter (/week) daytime exposures, and longer (\u3e16 h/week) versus shorter (/week) evening exposures. Participants reporting longer, versus shorter, weekly daytime sunlight exposure had statistically significantly (Mann-Whitney U=18.00, Z=-1.98, p/=.3 for longer, vis-a-vis shorter, daylight sunlight exposure suggest it could be related to poorer sleep outcomes, such as insufficient sleep and sleep quality, yet, as these correlations were NS, future work is needed to determine this. Weak or no correlations (and NS differences) were found for longer, versus shorter, weekly evening sunlight exposure and sleep outcomes. Findings support previous research suggesting self-regulation behaviours alone are not protective against poor sleep in Arctic environments. Sleep outcomes did not differ statistically significantly by evening sunlight exposure length. Longer weekly daytime sunlight exposure, versus shorter, was significantly associated with decreased sleep duration. Results from this exploratory study should be confirmed in studies using larger sample sizes

    A systematic review of variables associated with sleep paralysis

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    Sleep paralysis is a relatively common but under-researched phenomenon. While the causes are unknown, a number of studies have investigated potential risk factors. In this article, we conducted a systematic review on the available literature regarding variables associated with both the frequency and intensity of sleep paralysis episodes. A total of 42 studies met the inclusion criteria. For each study, sample size, study site, sex and age of participants, sleep paralysis measure, and results of analyses looking at the relationship(s) between sleep paralysis and associated variable(s) were extracted. A large number of variables were associated with sleep paralysis and a number of themes emerged. These were: substance use, stress and trauma, genetic influences, physical illness, personality, intelligence, anomalous beliefs, sleep problems and disorders (both in terms of subjective sleep quality and objective sleep disruption), symptoms of psychiatric illness in non-clinical samples (particularly anxiety symptoms), and psychiatric disorders. Sleep paralysis appears to be particularly prevalent in post-traumatic stress disorder, and to a less degree, panic disorder. Limitations of the current literature, directions for future research, and implications for clinical practice are discussed

    An exploratory study examining the associations between sunlight exposure, sleep behaviours and sleep outcomes during an Arctic summer

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    Few evidence-based recommendations exist for maintaining healthy sleep during Arctic summers. Our study aimed to examine associations between sleep hygiene, sunlight exposure and sleep outcomes in workers living in and/or near the Arctic Circle during a 24-h light period. A survey was administered July 2017 to 19 workers at 3 Arctic base camps in Northeastern Alaska. Participants with poorer sleep hygiene reported increased sleepiness (r=.62, p=0.01); this correlation remained moderately strong, albeit not statistically significant (NS), after controlling for shift work (r=.46, p=0.06). No other statistically significant correlations between sleep hygiene and sleep outcomes were found. Weekly daytime (8pm) sunlight exposures, estimated from daily self-reported sunlight exposures for a typical workday and day off, were dichotomised, based on means, into: longer (>45 h/week) versus shorter (16 h/week) versus shorter (<16 h/week) evening exposures. Participants reporting longer, versus shorter, weekly daytime sunlight exposure had statistically significantly (Mann-Whitney U=18.00, Z=−1.98, p≤0.05) decreased median sleep duration (6 h, 18 min versus 8 h, respectively) during the past month. Correlations of r≥.3 for longer, vis-à-vis shorter, daylight sunlight exposure suggest it could be related to poorer sleep outcomes, such as insufficient sleep and sleep quality, yet, as these correlations were NS, future work is needed to determine this. Weak or no correlations (and NS differences) were found for longer, versus shorter, weekly evening sunlight exposure and sleep outcomes. Findings support previous research suggesting self-regulation behaviours alone are not protective against poor sleep in Arctic environments. Sleep outcomes did not differ statistically significantly by evening sunlight exposure length. Longer weekly daytime sunlight exposure, versus shorter, was significantly associated with decreased sleep duration. Results from this exploratory study should be confirmed in studies using larger sample sizes

    Hypnotic hiccups

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    Symptom presentation in patients hospitalized with acute heart failure.

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    OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to examine the type and frequency of symptoms in patients hospitalized with acute heart failure (HF) as well as the relationship between symptom patterns and patient characteristics, treatment practices, and hospital outcomes in patients hospitalized with decompensated HF. METHODS: The study sample consisted of 4537 residents of the Worcester, MA metropolitan area hospitalized for decompensated HF at 11 greater Worcester medical centers in 1995 and 2000. RESULTS: The average age of the study sample was 76 years; the majority (57%) were women, and three-quarters of our patient population had been previously diagnosed with HF. Dyspnea (93%) was the most frequent complaint reported by patients followed by the presence of peripheral edema (70%), cough (51%), orthopnea (37%), and chest pain/discomfort (30%). Patients reporting few cardiac symptoms were less likely to be treated with effective cardiac therapies during hospitalization than patients with multiple cardiac signs and symptoms and experienced higher hospital (9.7% vs. 7.7%) as well as 30-day (17.1% vs. 10.2%) death rates (P \u3c 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study in residents of a large New England community suggest that patients with fewer reported symptoms of decompensated HF were less likely to receive effective cardiac treatments and had worse short-term outcomes. Reasons for these differences in treatment practices and short-term outcomes need to be elucidated and attention directed to these high-risk patients
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