Sleep Doctor Michael Breus, PhD | The Insomnia Blog

Sleep Loss, Brain Loss

A mind is a terrible thing to waste, as the old adage goes. But so is sleep.

Last week a new study emerged indicating that chronic insomnia may be doing more damage to your brain than you ever thought: it could be associated with a wasting away of its gray matter.

Social Media NOT Causing Sleep Problems?

I don’t believe it.

A new study says the amount of time spent on social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn doesn’t affect how much sleep college students get each night.

Like I said, I’m very skeptical of this study, though I should note that it wasn’t done on American students.

The very next day, I read about another study—this one done on US soil by the Kaiser Family Foundation—that states plainly how connected our kids are these days. Check out the following facts:

A Snor-Chestra of Song

Tired of the Christmas carols? Sick of holiday songs and jingling bells?

Well, as you pack up those holiday decorations, I suggest you check this out: a group of musicians got together and created a montage of snorers from around the United Kingdom to the tune of, well, let’s just say a very odd sounding “Silent Night.”

Now that’s not what I call a “silent” night!

Attention Parents: Sleep Problems May Trigger Manic Depression in Kids

For years now, we’ve known that chronic sleep deprivation can trigger a litany of other health risks, from diabetes and obesity to heart and memory problems. This is true for adults and children.

But now there’s a new study has linked sleep problems among children as a trigger for manic depression. 

Pilot Fatigue to Blame?

If you learned upon landing that your plane’s pilots had overshot the airport by 150 miles because they fell asleep at the controls, what would you feel?

Terrified?
Shocked?
Lucky?

I’d feel a mix of the above. In this week’s latest hit to the airline industry, a Northwest flight to Minneapolis overshot its destination and pilot fatigue could be to blame. Of course, the pilots are saying they were in an argument at the time and that’s the reason for the blunder (not that I’d like to see my pilots so distracted over a “debate” that they still overshoot the runway!).

Fatigue among pilots has been a recurring theme this year, punctuated earlier this year by the deadly crash near Buffalo that was partly blamed on fatigue (that crash was blamed on pilot error).

The Federal Aviation Administration is rewriting its rules that govern flight time for pilots and their required rest periods in order to reduce the chances of fatigue. It will be the first update to the rules in decades and will utilize research that wasn’t available before.

Does that make me feel better the next time I fly?

Big Decisions Decided After All-Nighters?

Imagine having to make a huge decision that may affect the lives of millions.  Your constituents have voted with confidence in your ability represent them on issues like health care and education.

But after months of contentious debate, when the deadline nears, it comes time to make the critical decisions, there’s nothing left to do but pull numerous all-nighters, eat poorly, and struggle to stay awake while you and your colleagues fight for a resolution.

Sound like a group project in college or business school?  No wait -  it is actually the State Senate!

This is what’s been happening in states like California where budgets are running in the red and constitutional rules have forced legislators to lock themselves in the statehouse to get bills passed.  California lawmakers have pulled at least six all-nighters so far this year.

Is Your Sleep Deprivation Leading You to Diabetes?

Pop quiz: Which of the following words does not seem to go with the others?

• Obesity
• Calories
• Insulin
• Sleep
• Fat
  

If you said sleep, you’re right. Er, you’re wrong actually.

While sleep may not seem like it belongs in the same category as words that revolve around weight, it actually has everything to do with weight and whether or not you’re at risk for diabetes. Two fascinating studies that just came out to further prove it:

Moms: A New School Year Can Spell Sleep Relief (or Not)

“A woman’s work is never done” – a phrase that will never go out of style, and its partner - a woman’s often low-quality sleep life. At least that’s what some are reporting as study after study indicate that all the multitasking in the world can’t create more time to rest and enjoy leisure time.

In fact, a study that came out earlier this year in the Economist revealed that, across 18 countries, men had between 4 to 80 minutes more leisure time per day than women.

Now, 4 more minutes isn’t all that much. But 80? That’s plenty of time for a good long nap, more time in bed, or simply some downtime sitting on the couch.

Many moms are rejoicing at the thought of the kids going back to school. This means:

Sleeplessness Worse for Women

All “men” are created equal. That turns out not to be the case when it comes to sleep.

Just this week a study came out of the U.K. revealing an alarming discrepancy between the effects lack of sleep brings men versus women. Scientists looked at two biological markers that relate to cardiovascular health and discovered that those markers change a lot when a woman loses sleep but not so much when a man loses sleep.

In other words, if a woman gets fewer than 8 hours of sleep, her risk for heart disease goes up (accordingto these biological indications), but men don’t seem to show such a significant increase in their risk.

Not fair?

Sleepless in the White House

How long do you think you would last if your alarm rang at 4 am every morning and you often didn’t stop working until very late at night? Your days last 18 hours, 7 days a week, but you’re expected to be on-call for 24 hours. And you’re not a physician who can take several weeks of vacation a year. OK, the vacation part is a joke!

The Washington Post published an article this week detailing the grueling lifestyles of the people working in the West Wing. It’s bad. It’s worse than anything depicted on the TV drama. Highlights of some of the descriptions of people’s days sound unbearable: