Going Cuckoo Over Sleep, Or The Lack Thereof
A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow, so says Charlotte Bronte. Studies have linked sleep problems with a multitude of psychiatric conditions. Some medical professionals would say a lot of mental problems are caused by lack of sleep, and some would say that it’s the other way around, that psychiatric problems cause difficulty sleeping. But how is sleep related to your mental health?
Sleep
Sleep is the natural state of rest observed not only by human beings but also by other species of the animal kingdom. Regular sleep is vital for one’s health and survival. This is characterized by a loss of consciousness, reduced voluntary body movement, decreased reaction to external stimuli, an increase rate of anabolism (cell synthesis), and a decreased rate of catabolism (cell breakdown).
Sleep consists of five stages. The first four stages are called non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep. The last stage is the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Stage one is the transition from wake to sleep. Stage two is an intermediate level of sleep. Stages three and four are referred to as deep or slow wave sleep, with stage four as the deepest stage of sleep. The fifth stage of sleep, the REM stage, is the stage in sleep where we dream. All of these stages involve brain movement.
Sleeping problems
There are two sleeping difficulties most noted to be related to psychiatric illnesses:
Insomnia. In this sleeping problem, a patient has trouble falling or remaining asleep. Insomniacs usually don’t feel refreshed after a night’s rest. This is classified into acute (short-term) or chronic (the condition lasts for over a month).
Hypersomnia. When a patient has this condition, he feels extremely sleepy throughout the day. Patients with hypersomnia usually sleep long during the night and still take repeated naps throughout the day. Even though patients sleep long, they are still not refreshed.
Mental illnesses related to sleep problems
Here are some psychiatric conditions that are commonly related to having sleeping disorders.
Adjustment disorders. This is a condition wherein a person overreacts to any form of stress in their life. Patients with this disorder often complain of having insomnia.
Bipolar disorder. In this mental condition, a patient experiences periods of highs (mania) and lows (depression) alternately. Patients with this conditions are most often hypersomniacs.
Generalized anxiety disorder. A patient displays frequent patterns of worrying about things. Patients find it difficult to sleep because of the worries that go around their minds.
Panic disorder. A patient experiences an extreme fear and anxiety over something unexplainable. Patients often wake up in the middle of the night and have difficulty going back to sleep.
How are sleeping problems and mental illnesses related?
People with sleeping disorders may manifest symptoms of the mental illness or that of the sleeping disorder itself. However some noted signs are:
Increased anxiety at bedtime.
An inclination to staying in bed more often.
Fatigue or complete lack of energy.
Difficulty concentrating.
A tendency to fall asleep when in low-stimulation situations.
Feeling disoriented when aroused.
Decreased appetite.
Irritability.
Memory impairment.
Recent studies have shown that brain activity associated with mental illnesses have been observed in healthy people who’ve been sleep deprived for a night. An increase in activity in the amygdala, the brain’s emotion center, was seen in patients who’ve been asked to miss a night’s rest. The same study noted that sleep deprivation affected the way the prefrontal cortex, which damps down the amygdala, reacts. The same disruption of prefrontal cortex function has been noted in patients with certain psychiatric disorders.
In conclusion, sleep is not just a function that we need to engage in to rest our body. Our mind’s health depends on it too. Our busy lifestyles may tell you that sleep is for the weak. But think of how much weaker a lack of sleep may make you.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
Choose Variety of High Quality Medicines at Online MedicinesEnjoyed Reading this article? More here: Pharmacy Articles
12:42 PM | 0 Comments
Detox Facts Alcohol Detox Information
By Richard Bean
We often underestimate the health risks of alcohol abuse. Because it is a legal substance--and heavily promoted--we rarely put alcohol abuse into the same mental category as with drugs such as cocaine or heroin. Although you won't ever go to jail for possession, the health risks are just as great if not greater, and few other drugs can match alcohol for the health risks associated with detox.
With increasing use and abuse comes tolerance and addiction. Physical addiction to alcohol occurs as your brain attempts to equalize from the constant flood of depressive chemicals, and to do so actually changes the flow of certain neurotransmitters.
The brain likes things to stay the same, and when you continually add a depressive like alcohol. It responds by increasing the sensitivity to certain excitatory neurotransmitters, most notably GABA. As long as you continue to consume alcohol, and as a result depress brain activity levels, all is fine (except for the hundreds of other health deficits accompanying alcohol abuse) but should you ever stop drinking, the brain is suddenly lacking in the near continual presence of the depressant chemical, and because it has been "rewired" to be extra sensitive to excitatory neurotransmitters, without anything slowing it down, it races ahead.
This racing brain presents with symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, vomiting, shakes, hallucination, seizures and convulsions and a possibility of heart stoppage. There are few drugs that resent with a detox as dangerous as alcohol.
Treatment
Fortunately, the symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, vomiting, shakes, hallucination, seizures, at least in the acute and dangerous period, can be easily managed with the use of certain prescription medications. Through drugs such as benzodiazepines, which slow the brain down to safe levels, the symptoms are managed, and detox can proceed in safety, and in relative comfort.
No one with a serious history of alcohol abuse and addiction should attempt to detox off of alcohol without medical supervision. The health risks of an unmanaged detox are high, and the discomfort and anxiety of such a detox very unpleasant, there is no reason to endure such a dangerous and painful few days.
The worst of detox symptoms end in a few days, and although long term symptoms of withdrawal may continue for months, after 3 or 4 days the danger period has passed, and recovering alcoholics are now ready to participate and benefit from therapies of recovery.
About the author:
Read out Diet plans. Also check out for online diagnosis and quick weight loss
Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com
8:03 PM | 0 Comments
Suffering From A Level 5 Emergency Restless Legs Syndrome - What To Do
By Linda A.
Restless Legs Syndrome is a common disorder that causes insomnia. It is particularly a problem for women because it frequently comes on during pregnancy and may be related to the blood loss of menstrual cycles, which lowers iron levels. The abnormal and excessive movements of restless legs syndrome can interfere with normal sleep. It has been called the most common medical problem you have never heard of. It is the second most common sleep disorder and affects as many as 12 million Americans, yet doctors hardly ever diagnose it. It is much more common among older people affecting 30-40 percent of people as they age. Sometimes restless legs may be caused by other medical conditions, including iron deficiency, but in many cases the cause is never found.
Restless legs produce an unpleasant feeling in the lower limbs that often has a tendency to spread and may even rise to involve the trunk and arms. The nature of the feeling is difficult to pin down descriptively. It is an achy, expanding, unpleasant sensation which the sufferer, by experience, knows can be relieved by movement, thus giving to the name restless legs. There is an urge to move around in bed, get out of bed, walk around, stomp and shake the legs, and even run in place to undo the unpleasant sensations.
Although people complain that their symptoms are the most severe at bed-time, some people develop an irresistible urge to move their legs or to walk around when they are sedentary or in situations that require that they sit still. Maybe you go crazy if you have to sit as a passenger in a car, you might also find it difficult to sit still in a movie theater. Some people with RLS fall asleep at the wrong time and in the wrong places during the day because of severe daytime sleepiness, which can drastically impact their personal and professional life. Even when they fall asleep, the continuous disruptions and movements result in poor sleep quality and sleepiness the next day. And some people have the awful combination of being overwhelmingly sleepy and yet unable to sleep.
A related disorder is periodic leg movements which is jerking rhythmic movements, most of which occur in the legs every twenty to forty seconds across the night disrupting sleep. Each time the leg muscles twitch, brain changes, including wakefulness, occur. This is not the same as those leg cramps or twitches that happen at sleep onset. Periodic limb movement and restless legs syndrome should not be confused with nocturnal leg cramps. Although leg cramps can be quite painful, they rarely indicate a serious medical problem. They usually are a delayed reaction to strenuous daytime activity level one way or the other. Daily calf-stretching exercises just before bed-time can help prevent leg cramps. If you experience a cramp, try to interrupt it immediately by stretching your leg out straight and bending your toes back toward your head.
It would be worth a try to see if any of these alternatives can provide you with some relief for restless legs syndrome so you can avoid medications and their side effects.
• Get regular exercise
• Stretch the muscles in the back of your legs
• Use a heating pad
• Use cold packs
• Massage the affected area
• Take aspirin or ibuprofen
• Wear long socks or stockings
• Avoid all forms of caffeine, certain medications, stimulants, and certain pain relievers
Restless Legs Syndrome is a common disorder that causes insomnia. The abnormal and excessive movements of restless legs syndrome can interfere with normal sleep and can literally drive one crazy. Visit http://www.better-sleep-resources.com to learn what to do in case of a level 5 emergency restless legs syndrome episode.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_A Read More......6:01 AM | 0 Comments
The Facts About Wellbutrin
by Jim Pretin
Wellbutrin, also known by its scientific name Bupropion, is a very popular antidepressant. It inhibits the reuptake of both dopamine and norepinephrine. If you have never used Wellbutrin before, you need to familiarize yourself with the drug interactions and the side effects associated with it.Wellbutrin is metabolized by the liver. In lab experiments performed with rats, the drug was found to cause hepatocellular hypertrophy when administed in high doses (hypertrophy is an increase in the size of the cells). Common side effects include agitation, dizziness, hypertension, dry mouth, tremors, anxiety, loss of appetite, headache, excessive sweating, increased risk of seizure, and insomnia.
Although with the recommended dosing of the drug the probability that a seizure will occur is extremely small, patients using it should still be screened for any health factors that could contribute to or increase the likelihood of a seizure. A doctor may also review other prescriptions the patient might be taking and recommend an appropriate dosage based on that information.
Also, suicidal thoughts and attempts have been reported in children and adolescents. Bupropion has been shown to increase the incidence of suicidal thoughts amongst children and adolescents. When treating major depression in this group of patients, clinical benefits should be weighed carefully against the potential hazards. Usually, Bupropion is not intended for patients under the age of 18.
Another potential side effect is an improvement in sexual function. Bupropion, unlike serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac, does not appear to reduce the libido of the patient, and more frequently enhances sexual desire. Patients who complain of an impairment in their sex drive as a result of their SSRI have sometimes been prescribed small doses of Wellbutrin to correct it.
One controversy associated with Bupropion is its propensity to lower the seizure threshold. In combination with other medicines, it has been suspected to cause seizures in some patients who have never had a seizure before.[12] While this is not common, an increase in the number of such cases around the globe probably merits further discussion and investigation.
It is not uncommon for patients to receive treatment with other antidepressant prescriptions in combination with Wellbutrin. For this reason, a doctor should be careful when prescribing it with other medications prone to lowering the seizure threshold. Bupropion has also been known to produce seizures in combination with non-illegal drugs such as cocaine and recreational drugs such as alcohol.
I hope you have found this information helpful. Be sure to disclose to your physician any other drugs you might be taking before requesting a prescrtiption for Wellbutrin. Although some of the side effects and drug interactions we have covered are rare, they can happen unexpectedly to even the most healthy individuals.
source:www.goarticles.com/
1:58 AM | 0 Comments
Is A Thyroid Problem Making You Fat?
by: Peter Rapport
Are you gaining weight unexpectedly? Are you not losing weight when you're doing everything right? What if you have hypothyroidism and you don't know it? When your thyroid is working against you, looking and feeling better is like trying to exercise with no energy.
As many as 25 million Americans have hypothyroidism. About half of them have no idea that they do. Millions more suffer this condition around the world. Hypothyroidism is the medical name for when your thyroid gland doesn't produce enough hormones.
The thyroid gland controls your entire body's metabolism. That means that your weight, you're hair, your skin, your sex drive, all sorts of things that go on in your body depend on your thyroid to work right.
When your metabolism doesn't work right because you have hypothyroidism, you may find that there's no amount of dieting or exercise that takes the weight off. You may actually gain extra weight, even though you're doing just what you're supposed to.
Your doctor may not recognize that you have hypothyroidism, because it causes such an incredible variety of symptoms that aren't obviously connected. Even blood tests don't always show this condition. People may blame you for what's not your fault.
If you have hypothyroidism, you can start taking control yourself. Hypothyroidism doesn't just lead to weight problems. It can cause anything from depression, headaches, and lack of concentration and memory problems to rough, dry hair and even hair loss.
As well as diarrhoea and loss of appetite to infertility, irregular menstrual periods and loss of interest in sex. and that's not a complete list. Because there are so many kinds of symptoms, and because not all of them appear in everyone, doctors often don't diagnose hypothyroidism.
They may treat you for a problem you don't have. They may even just send you home and tell you to take better care of yourself.
Prescription medications for hypothyroidism have caused many different side effects, including allergic reactions, vomiting, chest pains, headaches, diarrhoea, insomnia, cramps and fevers.
The possible causes of hypothyroidism can include exposure to unnatural toxins in our environment including chemicals, radiation, drugs, pesticides and excessive consumption of saturated fats.
It's especially important that products to treat this are all natural and contain only natural ingredients that have not been found to cause any side effects. That contain Ingredients to help you get your thyroid back in balance and treat the symptoms of hypothyroidism.
Once hypothyroidism starts, it never goes away. Neither do the symptoms if they're left alone. If you don't treat them; they just get worse and worse. You can't beat an under active thyroid with just will power and it won't get better if you just ignore it.
If you have the symptoms of hypothyroidism and they tell you to just take care of yourself, then do it! Act now to work towards looking better and feeling better.
--------
For more information on THYROMINE FOR YOUR THYROID HEALTH and to subscribe for "Free Health News," Discounts and Savings. Peter Rapport writes on a variety of subjects for http://www.behealthee.com for Your Natural Health Source. The Specialists In Herbal Products To Help You In Different Areas Of Your Life.
source:searchwarp.com
5:08 AM | 0 Comments
