10 must-read articles for Sleep Awareness Week

Since 1998, the National Sleep Foundation has commemorated Sleep Awareness Week in the 7 days immediately after daylight saving time begins to encourage the public to “prioritize sleep to improve health and well-being.”

Insufficient sleep is defined by the International Classification of Sleep Disorders as a “curtailed sleep pattern that has persisted for at least 3 months for most days of the week, along with complaints of sleepiness during the day,” researchers wrote in a 2018 Healthcare article.

According to the researchers, a survey conducted by the CDC in 2014 revealed that only 65% of adults in the United States reported a “healthy duration of sleep.” Worldwide, they added, insufficient sleep is “considered to be a public health epidemic that is often unrecognized, underreported, and that has rather high economic cost.”

Below are 10 stories from the past 12 months that discuss the importance of getting enough sleep, treatment updates for sleep disorders, and more.

Q&A: A good night’s sleep may improve immune response to COVID-19 vaccine

American Academy of Sleep Medicine President Kannan Ramar, MBBS, MD, discussed the evidence on how sleep may improve the immune response to COVID-19 vaccines and tips that primary care physicians can offer patients to achieve good sleep. Read more.

Q&A: PCPs on ‘front lines’ in insomnia recognition, care

Healio Primary Care spoke with Jennifer L. Martin, PhD, FAASM, professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a member of the board of directors of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, to learn more about what primary care physicians can do for patients with insomnia. Read more.

Insufficient, excess sleep may cause cognitive decline among middle-, older-aged people

Middle- and older-aged individuals who sleep for 4 hours or fewer or 10 hours or more per night may need to be monitored for cognitive function, according to results of a pooled cohort study published in JAMA Network Open. Read more.

Significant link found between frequent nightmares, CVD

U.S. veterans who had at least two nightmares a week were more likely to report having one of several cardiovascular conditions, data presented during the virtual SLEEP 2020 meeting show. Read more.

VA, DOD release guidelines for insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea

The Veteran’s Association and Department of Defense released guidelines for managing insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea among patients in their health care system. Read more.

OSA may increase male infertility risk

New data suggest that OSA may be a risk factor for infertility in men, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open. Further, length of exposure to OSA was associated with infertility risk. Read more.

Childhood sleep problems linked to adolescent psychosis, borderline personality disorder

Sleep problems during early childhood may be associated with the onset of psychosis and borderline personality disorder in adolescence, according to results of a cohort study published in JAMA Psychiatry. Read more.

Q&A: ‘Insomnia is a persistent problem’ for kids

In an interview with Healio Primary Care, Julio Fernandez-Mendoza, PhD, CBSM, DBSM, an associate professor of psychiatry at the Sleep Research & Treatment Center at the Penn State University College of Medicine, discussed how primary care physicians can screen for childhood insomnia, why sociodemographic factors are important to consider in this process, treatment options for the condition and more. Read more.

Surgical treatment for OSA tied to lower rates of CV, endocrine, neurological complications

Soft tissue surgery for OSA was associated with a lower risk for cardiovascular, neurological and endocrine systemic complications compared with CPAP in a large cohort of U.S. adults, researchers reported. Read more.

VIDEO: Expert reviews treatment updates for sleep disorders

In this video, Raman K. Malhotra, MD, FAASM, neurologist and sleep specialist at Washington University, discusses “exciting findings” on treatments for narcolepsy, OSA and insomnia that were presented at the virtual SLEEP 2020 meeting. Watch video.

References:

Chatu VK, et al. Healthcare (Basel); 2018:doi:10.3390/healthcare7010001.

National Sleep Foundation. https://www.thensf.org/sleep-awareness-week/. Sleep Awareness Week. Accessed March 12, 2021.