Sleep Problems

A study reported in Science 1998;279:333-334,396-398

A jet lag cure with a difference. Before dawn of the next day of your arrival, shine a bright light on the backs of your knees, if done at this particular time it advances the circadian clock, so that by the next day the timing of temperature changes and melatonin release occurred earlier.

Travellers rave about NoJetLag, it’s a fast track cure for jet lag, and safe as only an homeopathic remedy can be.

Something to be alarmed about if you take sleeping pills.I came across an article in the NECTimes dated 3/14/07.

All prescription sleeping pills may cause ’sleep driving’, it is mentioned that given the number of people who take sleeping pills the incidence of ’sleep driving’ is rare. This is a lame reaction if ever there was, even one case of ’sleep driving’ is one too many. The article goes on to say that all sleeping pills will carry a warning on their labels, and will have medication guide inserts with all prescriptions.

What is this ’sleep driving’ ? It’s getting into your car while you are asleep, and actually going for a drive, then returning to bed and waking later with no memory of the incident.

The drugs most likely to cause serious problems are: Ambien; Butisol sodium; Carbrital; Dalmane; Doral; Halcion; Lunesta; Placidyl; Prosom; Restoril; Rozerem; Seconal; Sonata.

A case reported on Australian television: A young woman told how she had suffered from insomnia for years and had to take sleeping pills. She said that one night she drove over to her boyfriend’s house and ripped up some of his clothes, then returned home, later having no memory of the incident. At least there was a reliable eyewitness on this occasion!

Another case I know of where a lady took Ativan every night for her insomnia, she ended up unable to sleep, kept hearing voices telling her to kill herself, she finally obeyed the voices and threw herself off a cliff, while she was out walking with her husband. Her sleeping pills were never blamed for the tragedy, it was never investigated.

A report in Science Daily referred to a study done on a group of subjects, half with visual impairment some of this group had optic nerve damage, and the other group had normal vision. The subjects were monitored for period of two weeks during their waking and sleeping times.

It was found that the subjects who had visual impairment as a result of optic nerve damage were far more likely to suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness than the subjects who had normal vision. Also subjects with optic nerve damage were far more likely to have excessive daytime sleepiness than those who were visually impaired, but did not have optic nerve damage.

The conclusion drawn by the researchers from this study was the importance of the role vision has in controlling circadian rhythms.