WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE?
New studies examine the connection between insomnia and such conditions as menopause, high blood pressure, heart failure, anxiety and depression.
BY:MYRA DEMBROW
The number of prescriptions for sleeping pills has soared from 29 million to 43 million, during the first few years of the 21st century. A study by Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, documented the near-50 percent increase between 2001 and 2005.
One reason for the dramatic rise is pharmaceutical advertising on TV and in magazines for prescription sleeping aids such as Ambien, Lunesta and Rozerem. People are having such a difficult time falling asleep, or achieving uninterrupted sleep, they often ask for a prescription when they wouldn't have done so a decade ago.
Insomnia affects nearly half of all American adults over 60, and is common among spouses caring for people with Alzheimer's disease. It damages the caregiver's own memory and ability to concentrate, increases fatigue and the likelihood of accidents or falls, and leads to taking over-the-counter or prescription sleep medication, according to a study published in the July 2006 issue of the American Journal of Medicine.
Other research suggests that insomnia is not necessarily a disease in and of itself. A national survey of 31,044 adults found an association between troubled sleep and high blood pressure, heart failure, anxiety and depression. "It had been most often thought that insomnia was quite prevalent on its own, but only four percent of the people who said they had insomnia said they had it without any of those conditions," says study leader Richard L. Nahin, PhD, MPH, senior advisor for scientific coordination and outreach at the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Similarly, a Stanford University School of Medicine research team looked at the connection between insomnia and severe hot flashes in almost 1,000 women between the ages of 35 and 65 years. A third of the group said they'd had hot flashes. Of those who reported severe episodes, 81 percent also reported insomnia. Furthermore, their sleeplessness rose with the intensity of the flashes.
Both Dr. Nahin's survey and the Stanford study were published in Archives of Internal Medicine in 2006, and both teams reached the same conclusion: Relieve the main complaint, and the insomnia will subside.