The Insomnia Blog by Sleep Doctor Michael Breus, Ph.D.

Help Hubby Sleep: Don’t Vacate the Bedroom

Attention wives whose husbands snore at night: you hold the key to shutting him up and aiding in treating his sleep apnea.

Not long ago, you might recall a comment I made about CPAPs ruining relationships in the bedroom due to their “unsexy” factor. The Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine, or CPAP, is a device used by people with obstructive sleep apnea who have a problem that causes their airways to collapse during sleep. Their breathing essentially gets cut off multiple times during the night. With a CPAP, the airway stays open so breathing is possible. Sleep becomes much more restful and solid. Untreated sufferers of sleep apnea never feel fully rested, which can result in chronic sleep deprivation that can be life-threatening.

The CPAP is the best strategy we have now to treat apnea, and I encourage people to use it, even though it may not be the most attractive thing to put on at night (or sleep next to). But there’s more to the story now.

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago just published a study in an industry journal showing that men whose wives sleep with them in the same bed are more likely to keep using the CPAP.

In fact, one of the authors of the study points out that a woman who has vacated the bedroom—to sleep soundly elsewhere—before her husband has been diagnosed and treated can help her husband’s treatment if she returns to sharing the same bed again. The chance of his continuing to use this very successful treatment is 60 percent higher than if she sleeps alone.

Clearly, a man prefers to get his wife to join him again… even if it means donning the CPAP and taking control of his snoring so she can rest peacefully beside him. And I predict that if a sex study were done to compare notes between those who sleep separately versus those who sleep together… the couple who sleep together wins. Er, has the better sex life.

You see, CPAPs can come off in seconds. Motivating a spouse in another room on the other side of the house isn’t so practical. And now we know that it’s also not as easy to motivate oneself to use a CPAP regularly without a spouse close by.

Proof that a couple that sleeps together, CPAPs together, among other things.

What Do Sleep and Baseball Have in Common this Week?

Aside from the exciting Sox vs. Cardinal baseball that went on last week leading up to the World Series, the drama surrounding Cleveland Indians pitcher Paul Byrd caught my attention in particular. Byrd acknowledged using human growth hormone for a medical condition, but what got my eye wasn’t related to the fact HGH is a banned drug in professional baseball (since 2005) without a doctor’s prescription. It’s about something else I read that I bet most people didn’t stop to think about.

Pop Quiz: Who Sleeps Better, the Man or the Woman in a Couple?

I was amused last week when the media summarized new findings about how well men and women sleep when they share the same bed. If you’re a woman, let me guess: you’d say your partner sleeps better. You have to contend with his snoring and abrupt shifting around, which awakens you easily. Now there’s proof in the pudding. Men are indeed more likely to sleep better than you in the same bed. And here’s the kicker: they also are more likely to be snoozing soundly because of your nearby warmth.

There were two items in the particular to read in between the lines from the study and that every woman should heed:

Sleep, Testosterone, Baldness and Libido

In a recent issue of the Journal Sleep, there was a fascinating new study, once again showing the importance of sleep in all areas of health.  This time it was referring to men’s health -- specifically testosterone levels.

We have known for a while that men’s levels of testosterone vary with age and usually decline. Some men seem to have higher levels of testosterone well into their 80s. High levels of testosterone have been thought to be linked to hair loss, while low levels have been linked to lack of energy and libido. There is now evidence to suggest that these testosterone variations may be linked to sleep.

Researchers found that the amount of sleep that older men in their study got was significantly related to the amount of testosterone in their a.m. blood samples. More sleep lead to higher levels of testosterone.

What does this mean? It is really hard to say.

First, the results may need to be re-confirmed. Next, we would want to look not just at the total minutes of sleep, but also at the actual quality of the sleep these men are getting.

But what is quality sleep? Is it more delta sleep or slow wave sleep (that "wake up and feel great" sleep!)?

Another good question, but I would say that since we know that the elderly have lower wave amplitude (meaning that their brainwaves do not have as much power to the punch as they may have had when younger... but again we do not yet know what this may mean), we would want to see if those with higher testosterone at 80 have not only more minutes, but also higher amplitude.

How can this study have any effect on our real world thinking?

Here is how I see it:  the more sleep you get at 80, the less hair you may have, but the more sexual drive is likely to stay with you.

So ask yourself:  do you want to be bald and hot to trot, or do you want to have a head full of hair but not be that interested?

The Science Behind Undereye Circles

I recently participated in a post on beauty and sleep on the excellent blog, BeautyBrains.  The Beauty Brains are cosmetologists who answer your questions about the real-world science behind beauty products.  Here is a link to the piece: What You Need to Know About Dark Undereye Circles.  I talk about the importance of sleep in cutting back on the appearance of dark rings and puffiness.

Insomnia Blogroll: Beauty Blogs

Did you know sleep affects the appearance of hair, eyes, and skin on the cellular level?  A protein called GH is released during deep sleep.  GH enhances the movement of amino acids through the cell membranes and increases the rate of protein synthesis.  In effect, GH acts like a natural cosmetic -- restoring skin elasticity, smoothing wrinkles, and tending to weakened hair and nails. 

The following is a list of beauty-related blogs. (Do they know about GH?  Maybe it's time to tell them!)  If you know of any I should add to this list, please leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Bad Hair Day
Beauty Addict
Beauty Hatchery
Beautynomics - The Economics of Vanity
Blog for Beauty
Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget
Cosmetic Connection
E-beauty Daily: The Beauty Blog
Home Spa Goddess
Jack and Hill
Meg's Make-up Reviews
Misstified
Product Girl
Talking Makeup
The Beauty Brains
The Beauty Maven
The Beauty Newsletter Blog
The Organic Beauty Expert