Obstructive sleep apnea Insomnia Sleep-disordered breathing refers to recurring arousals from sleep and intermittent reduced blood oxygen levels (hypoxia). This condition affects a sizeable fraction of elderly Americans. Several adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes, may arise from sleep-disordered breathing. A team of researchers sought to determine if objectively measured sleep-disordered breathing…
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Sleep-Disordered Breathing Might Kill You
Interruptions reduce sleep quality Poor sleep quality harms your health Sleep-disordered breathing (obstructive sleep apnea is one common example) occurs widely among American adults. This condition predicts increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke. Most people with this malady don’t know they have it and don’t receive medical treatment. Yet, medical treatment can improve sleep…
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Write Yourself to Sleep
A recent study extended the benefit of expressive writing to 111 female college students recruited from an undergraduate psychology class. The students were randomly assigned to either an expressive writing group or a control group. Students in the writing group were instructed to write about their deepest feelings and concerns regarding body image and eating concerns. Students in the control group were instructed to write about their plans over the previous week in a time-management context. Eight weeks later, students in the expressive writing group reported significantly less difficulty sleeping compared to students in the control group. This effect occurred even though the expressive writing didn’t concern sleep. Body image concerns presumably acted as a source of stress for the students. Expressive writing appeared to diminish the effects of the stress.
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