I recently wrote a blog pertaining to sleep and how much is really needed. In this blog posting I’m going to try and cover, “The Side Effects of Minimal Sleep.” More to the point, what happens to us, our judgement, reaction time, etc. when we do not have a quality, full nights sleep and better yet when we go for days with minimal sleep. There are many reasons we get a bad nights sleep, sleep apnea being one of the top issues and I would have to put these as the top 10 (in no particular order) causes of sleep deprivation;
TOP 10 REASONS FOR LACK OF SLEEP
1. Stress
2. Medication
3. Medical Issue (Sleep Apnea, etc)
4. Traumatic Experience
5. Alcohol
6. Bedrooms not quite or comfortable
7. Mattress
8. Pets in the bed
9. Pain
10. Not enough time in the sun
Sleep is as important to us as is food, water and companionship our REM and Non-REM sleep cycles which works out our dreams and memories are affected and this in turn makes it harder for us to learn and remember. With out a good quantity and quality of sleep, it begins to cause problems with our concentration, problem solving skills, it make it harder for us to focus and to learn efficiently, we become less alert and that small thing that happened this morning suddenly became a big thing. On (www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders) they show that a study determined that “Drowsiness can slow reaction time as much as driving drunk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that fatigue is a cause in 100,000 auto crashes and 1,550 crash-related deaths a year in the U.S. The problem is greatest among people under 25 years old.” The article goes onto say that sleep related accidents on the job lead to more accidents, more injuries and in turn more sick days per accident. It also effects ones reaction time when driving and is equal to that of drunk driving accidents. The lack of sleep is known to have been a factor in three of the largest sleep deprivation on the job accidents, 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, Exxon Valdez oil spill, the 1986 nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl (www.wedmd.com/sleep-disorders. Now just think of a bus driver, train conductor, heavy equipment crane operator, the list goes on.
I personally am affected by sleep deprivation. I am currently on several medications which have a warning label that states “May Cause Drowsiness. Do Not Operate any Heavy Duty Equipment after taking this medicine.” HEAVY DUTY? What about mid-duty or even light duty, heck a bicycle? Depending on how various medications affect you, you may or may not need to follow this warning, but, do not make that determination yourself. If someone tells you they don’t think you should be driving, don’t. Listen to your family they have your best interest in mind. If for any reason I need to take a sleeping pill during the day, I will not drive because I know for a fact that when the med starts working I am able to fall asleep standing upright, I kid you not. And I have my wife, Trish who will vouch for this, been there, done that. Now when you add your sleep med on top of you narcotic, yea you need to pay attention to how they interact and if they heighten the affects of each other.
The lack of sleep will also attack ones mood and turn the most lovable, funny, upbeat person (me) into a bear, pain in the a*s, Donnie Downer (also me at times). I remember when my sleep pattern was maybe 2.5-3 hours a night, I had sleep apnea which is where your body never really makes it into REM sleep, the Kaiser, Morse Ave., Sacramento Sleep Study program said the average occurrences of uncontrolled movement or when someone stops breathing is 20-25 times a night, my occurrences were counted during a sleep study and they were in the 250-325 a night, in fact on (www.helpguide.org/life) they have listed various medications, medical problems and sleep disorders that “can” cause sleep problems.
- Medications that can cause insomnia: antidepressants; cold and flu medications that contain alcohol; pain relievers that contain caffeine (Midol, Excedrin); diuretics, corticosteroids, thyroid hormone, high blood pressure medications.
- Medical problems that can cause insomnia: asthma, allergies, Parkinson’s disease, hyperthyroidism, acid re-flux, kidney disease, cancer, chronic pain.
- Sleep disorders that can cause insomnia: sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome.
and this is listing just a few of the possible issues that can effect someones sleep and as I mentioned earlier, start mixing any of these and the effects are outrageous. The CPAP machine (help control ones breathing) I know, when I was first injured and they were trying to find the right balance of sleep med, antibiotic, anti-depressant, narcotic (Morphine or Fentanal were the big ones), I became the man with two, three even four faces depending on the time of day, amount of sleep, pain level. I almost had my wife leave me, my kids had major issues with me, my own family members were telling me I needed to adjust the meds because of my snoring caused by the sleep issue. I could wake the dead at 100 paces with all the windows closed and AC/DC’s Highway to Hell playing as loud as possible. Its hard if not impossible when you have one med taking you up and another bringing you down and all you want is whats right in the middle. You don’t realize what the lack of sleep alone does to you, your body, your relationships, everything you do is affected by the amount of sleep you get. Lately I have been wearing a FitBit One, which is a glorified pedometer which also captures your sleep patterns by the internal device that can tell if you are laying down or standing (arm in the air counts here). For some reason I have gone from waking up 4-5 times a night for 65 minutes and 6-8 times of uncontrolled movement (UCM) at 25-30 minutes to now being at waking 7-9 times, 145 minutes, UCM of 12-20 minutes for 190 minutes, that means I’m either up and awake or flopping around for 5 hours 35 minutes a night, “NO WONDER, I’M SO TIRED.” I have tried a new OTC sleep medicine which has brought these numbers down to almost normal, well my normal. I’m just hoping that like normal my body does not adjust to this new sleep med to quickly, if it does that means I”ll be either searching for a new sleep med or a new bed.
Do not get me wrong and think that all I do is go search for another sleep pill or pain pill to deal with my sleep issues. Over the course of the past 5-10 years, I have tried all of the following to help try and deal with the problem and yes, sleeping pills and pain meds are on the list. In no order of trying, Pain medication, Sleeping Pills – Doctor prescribed, Sleeping Pills – OTC, Sleep on the floor, CPAP machine, Throat Surgery, Bolsters for next. back and legs, Heating Pad, Ice Packs, Head & Legs Propped Up – Single and combined, Regular Mattress, Temper Pedic Mattress (Best for Back Issues), Laying on back (Best), side and stomach, Acupuncture, Acupressure, Massage, Physical Therapy, Exercise, Yoga, Therapy, Pain Expert, Sleep in a Recliner, In another room, Injections and much, much more. If you have dealt with sleep issues, insomnia, sleep apnea, etc., I would be interested in what you’ve tried and what you thought worked or didn’t. Please comment back with your thoughts.
– Richard, aka: Kreisler
– PickYourPain@att.net
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