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- Herausgeber: Gill Books
- Kategorie: Ratgeber
- Sprache: Englisch
Difficulty with sleeping is one of the most common complaints that people make to their GP. In Sleep – The Commonsense Approach, Brenda O'Hanlon gives a clear and commonsense explanation of sleep, how much we actually need and of common sleep disorders, She gives well-researched and practical advice on how to get a better night's sleep, what help is available, and discusses the proven benefits of complementary medicines and therapies. Sleep – The CommonSense Approach is packed with sensible guidance and information, and also includes lists of useful addresses and further reading. It is a must for anyone who finds that a good night's sleep is hard to come by. The CommonSense Approach series is a series of self-help guides that provide practical and sound ways to deal with many of life's common complaints. Each book in the series is written for the layperson, and adopts a commonsense approach to the many questions surrounding a particular topic. It explains what the complaint is, how and why it occurs, and what can be done about it. It includes advice on helping ourselves, and information on where to go for further help. It encourages us to take responsibility for our own health, to be sensible and not always to rely on medical intervention for every ill. Other titles in the series include Depression – The CommonSense Approach, Menopause – The CommonSense Approach and Stress – The CommonSense Approach. Sleep – The CommonSense Approach: Table of Contents Foreword by Dr Chris Idzikowski Did You Know That … ? - All About Sleep - How Much Sleep Do We Need? - Common Sleep Disorders - How to Get A Better Night's Sleep - Getting Help - Sleep Clinics - Autogenic Training, Homeopathy and Acupuncture - Complementary Medicine and Therapies: Herbal Medicine and AromatherapyUseful Addresses
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 1998
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Sleep
Brenda O’Hanlon
Newleaf
The CommonSense Approach Series
This series of self-help guides from Newleaf provides practical and sound ways to deal with many of life’s common complaints.
Each book in the series is written for the layperson, and adopts a commonsense approach to the many questions surrounding a particular topic. It explains what the complaint is, how and why it occurs, and what can be done about it. It includes advice on helping ourselves, and information on where to go for further help. It encourages us to take responsibility for our own health, to be sensible and not always to rely on medical intervention for every ill.
While the author has made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate, it should not be regarded as an alternative to professional medical advice. Readers should consult their general practitioners or physicians if they are concerned about aspects of their own health, and before embarking on any course of treatment. Neither the author, nor the publishers, can accept responsibility for any health problem resulting from using, or discontinuing, any of the drugs described here, or the self-help methods described.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
The CommonSense Approach Series
Please note
Foreword by Dr Chris Idzikowski
Did you know that …?
Chapter 1: All about sleep
Some historical background
Is sleep necessary?
What the experts say
What are NREM and REM sleep?
Circadian rhythms
Chapter 2: How much sleep do we need?
Assessing your needs
Identifying a problem
Getting help
A simple experiment
Aetigraphy
Night-time awakenings
Chapter 3: Common sleep disorders
Insomnia
Who gets insomnia?
What is insomnia?
Specific aggravating factors
Older people and sleeping problems
Restless legs syndrome
Jetlag
Reducing the effects of jetlag
On arrival
Melatonin
Other medications
Night/shift working
Do’s and don’ts for shift workers
Snoring
Sleep apnoea syndrome
Who suffers from it?
Diagnosis
Treatment
Practical steps for sufferers
Narcolepsy
Day-time sleepiness
REM-related phenomena
Treatments
Bruxism (teeth grinding)
Chapter 4: How to get a better night’s sleep
Twenty-three steps to a good night’s sleep
Essential oils
Your bedroom
Diet
Exercise
Yoga and sleep
Case studies
Chapter 5: Getting help
A GP’s perspective
Counselling
Don’t keep taking the tablets
The GP’s dilemma
Getting the best results from sleeping pills
Do I have depression?
The depression checklist
Dr Murray’s case studies
Coming off sleeping pills
Chapter 6: Sleep clinics
How are sleep disorders investigated?
Polysomnography
Advances in technology
Sleep apnoea treatment
Chronotherapy
Light therapy
Chapter 7: Autogenic training, homeopathy and acupuncture
What is autogenic training?
What is autogenic training for?
Evaluating your suitability
Autogenics and sleep disorders
How does autogenics work?
Homeopathy
How does it work?
Homeopathic medicines for sleep disorders
Acupuncture
Acupuncture and sleep disorders
Who can benefit?
Treatment regime
Chapter 8: Complementary medicine and therapies
Herbal medicine
The medical herbalist’s approach
Herbal medicine and sleep disorders
A typical course of treatment
Supplies
How to find the best practitioner
Case studies
Aromatherapy
Background
How treatment works
Aromatherapy and sleep disorders
The practitioner’s perspective
Case studies
Further reading
Copyright
About the Author
About Gill & Macmillan
Foreword
Sleep is a fundamental state of being, yet the stresses of everyday life — illness, caring for others, a panoply of different factors — all can conspire to make it difficult. Everyone knows what it is like when sleep has been disturbed: inattention, irritability, tiredness and general malaise.
Research in the last thirty years has increased our knowledge concerning sleep, but little of this is percolating into a general awareness. Many healthcare professionals, including medical doctors, know little more than the general public. Therefore books like Sleep: The CommonSense Approach provide a tremendously useful bridge between contemporary knowledge and practical assistance.
Sleep in industrialised societies does not come naturally. The first one to two years of life are spent training babies to sleep according to the demands of our contemporary life styles. Sometimes this learning breaks down and ‘disturbed’ sleep results in later life. Life events such as bereavement, divorce and change of job can initially disturb sleep, but the disturbed sleep may not return to normal. The resultant chronic insomnia may be difficult to treat but might not have developed at all if remedial action had been taken straight away.
Societies generally do not tolerate individuals who cannot manage their mental state. Research shows that poor sleepers rarely achieve good jobs and often can develop disorders such as depression.
Recent research has shown that disturbed sleep costs the American economy at least 100 billion dollars a year through accidents, reduced productivity, absenteeism, hospitalisation, depression and alcoholism. Shift work is a necessary part of industrialised society, but inappropriate management of sleep can be more costly than ignoring it. Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, the decision to launch Challenger, Exxon Valdez, various rail disasters, even the death of Princess Diana — all have involved sleep-disrupted individuals. Accidents should not be surprising, as there are virtually no good shift work rotas that take account of the biology of the brain’s sleep wake systems. Doctors and nurses who have to work overnight are professional groups who also suffer from more accidents than those not involved in shift work.
Currently, many countries are reducing permissible alcohol levels in drivers. These levels are already below the equivalent performance impairment caused by a disrupted night’s sleep.
Self-medication with alcohol is more likely to cause alcoholism than to improve sleep long-term. Melatonin is now popular in many countries but it is almost certainly abused as its effects on sleep and wakefulness are complex.
It is difficult to find anyone who has not had a disturbed night’s sleep. For many this is a one-off event and sleep is restored the next or following night. As one gets older, though, sleep becomes more fragile and the various afflictions of old age take their toll. Sleeping pills are not necessarily the answer and may in some cases compound the problem. On the other hand, the individual may relearn to control their sleep if they are told what to do. Various research studies have shown that sleep education can improve the way people sleep and, unlike weight control, the improvement is maintained long-term.
Most measures of ‘quality of life’ assess sleep as an important variable. Everyone with disturbed sleep knows that it is. Yet the majority is ignorant of the facts. This book provides an excellent, thorough and practical approach to dealing with sleep problems.
Dr Chris Idzikowski
Director, Sleep Assessment and Advisory Service, Lisburn
Chairman, British Sleep Society, 1995–7
Founding Chairman, Royal Society of Medicine Forum on Sleep and its Disorders
Did You Know That … ?
Several studies have shown that hypnotics (the most commonly prescribed sleeping pills) are really only a short-term solution. To avoid habit formation, the maximum recommended use is for twenty-one days; even within that period, hypnotics are best taken on a non-consecutive basis.
You always sleep worse when you stop taking sleeping pills, but this should only last a short time.
A recent study shows that most sleep disorders specialists do not use sleeping pills to control their own short-term sleeping problems.
The incidence of falls and hip fractures is higher among older people who are taking long-acting sleeping pills.
Valerian is an alternative to sleeping pills for dealing with mild insomnia. It is widely available in pharmacies and health food stores.
Between one-fifth and one-quarter of the adult population is affected by disturbed sleep in some form, and about one third by insomnia specifically. In psychiatric conditions, the figure is much higher.
Sleeping problems are probably the second most frequently reported health problem, the common cold being the first.
It has been found that the population at large takes at least a week to adjust to the effects of the summer/winter clock time change.
Most people’s sleep cycles are ninety minutes long. If you’re taking a nap, it should only be for forty-five minutes, or at most ninety minutes.
Sudden weight loss or gain can affect previously normal sleep patterns. Fragmented sleep may result from weight loss, whereas long and continuous sleep may result from weight gain.
In the US, an estimated forty million people suffer from chronic sleep disorders and an unknown number have less severe sleeping problems. The cost to society is estimated at at least 100 billion dollars.
One in five motorway accidents in Britain has been attributed to sleep disorders. In the US, sleep deprivation is reckoned to be the cause of 100,000 traffic accidents and 10,000 traffic fatalities each year.
Chronic insomniacs have up to three times as many car accidents as good sleepers.
Other studies show that one in five drivers admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel at least once.
The rate of alcoholism among insomniacs is twice that of good sleepers.
Insomnia is more common in adult women, especially those living alone and, as some studies show, also in the lower socio-economic groups. It is about equally likely in both men and women from their sixties onwards.
Insomnia can be fatal. The rare illness, fatal familial insomnia, begins with difficulty falling asleep and soon leads to a total lack of sleep. It is always fatal within seven to thirteen months of onset.
As we age, our sleep patterns change and our bodies become less adept at sustaining sleep at night. This may lead to taking more frequent naps during the day.
