Sleep problems & Homoeopathic Treatment

Sleep problems & Homoeopathic Treatment to protect  so many diseases


Insomnia  and sleep apnea are turning us into major health service consumers, causing us to be less productive at work, and may even lead to serious accidents.

If you can’t sleep at night, you’re not alone. Around ten per cent of the population suffer from insomnia, where you have trouble falling asleep, wake up frequently at night, and still feel tired when the morning comes. When you feel tired and indisposed, your performance at work suffers.

Sleep apnea is a more severe problem, affecting four to five per cent of the population. Sufferers can stop breathing for up to 40 seconds several times during the night, putting a huge strain on the heart. As a result, they have many micro-awakenings that stop them from reaching deep sleep.

Bad night, bad day

According to the sleep scientist, a recently-published study from the United States puts the annual losses from insomnia alone at 63.2 billion US dollars annually. Only a third of this was due to actual absence from work; two thirds was due to a loss in productivity while at work.

An study found that about two per cent of  GDP is lost due to sick leave caused by insomnia and sleep apnea disorder. This shows how common these diseases are and how much they affect work.

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Danger on the roads

In their own ways, each sleep disorder also has a strong impact on accident statistics.

For example, lorry drivers have sedentary jobs, and this increases the risk of developing obesity and sleep apnea.

The disease is a major cause of the many traffic accidents on roads. As for insomnia, drug use can cause problems. Sedatives can cause users to feel less rested during the daytime. Sleep medication may work in the short term, but after six weeks of use we noticed a decrease in deep sleep. Sleep may be uninterrupted, but you may not necessarily get quality sleep.

Testing every treatment there is

Sleep disorder sufferers are often major health care users, which leads to an increase in social costs. When you feel bad, you will try every treatment there is. There is an over consumption of alternative methods amongst insomnia sufferers. They often consume too much alcohol and visit their GPs, psychologists, physiotherapists, and chiropractors more often. Insomnia treatment to become more accessible, and to include cognitive behavioural therapy.

Several recent studies show that the Internet can be used to offer good and cost-effective methods of treatment. This is particularly true in areas where sleep centres are few and far between.

Sleepless nights up diabetes risk

Poor sleep may not only leave you drowsy, it might also raise your odds for a precursor condition to diabetes, according to a small new study that looks at how fat cells respond to sleepless nights.

"It's always been thought that the primary function of sleep was for the brain, but in addition to the brain, your fat cells also need sleep. Too little sleep makes you groggy, and the same thing happens on a metabolic level. Cells don't behave as they normally would, and this can lead to insulin resistance".

Problems with a lack of sleep

Other recent research has suggested that a lack of sleep can lead to a variety of problems, such as insulin resistance, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure, according to background information in the study. What hasn't been clear, though, is why too little shuteye is linked to these conditions.
"This is the first time that sleep has been studied at the cellular level".

For the current study, the researchers recruited seven healthy, normal-weight young adults whose average age was just under 24 years.

How the study was done

The study volunteers were randomly assigned to spend four nights simulating sufficient sleep by sleeping 8.5 hours and four nights simulating sleep deprivation by sleeping just 4.5 hours a night. The four-night stretches of sleep simulations were spaced four weeks apart. The study took place in a sleep lab.

After each four-day simulation, the researchers measured how well each person processed glucose (sugar), and they took samples of fat cells from each person's abdomen.The investigators found that in people who were sleep deprived, the fat cells' ability to respond to insulin -- a hormone that helps the body metabolise carbohydrates - was reduced by 30%. And, insulin levels were almost three times higher than in the well-rested study participants. High insulin levels tend to indicate that something isn't working properly in the metabolic system, and insulin resistance is occurring. To try to compensate, the pancreas makes more insulin. If this cycle continues for too long, type 2 diabetes can develop.

"Sleep is incredibly important, not only for cognitive (brain) function, but also for your metabolic health".The researchers are currently recruiting for a trial of overweight people with sleep apnea to see if treating the sleep apnea has an effect on the body's metabolism. So much of the population is sleep deprived, and sleep has been implicated in a lot of abnormal bodily functions. This study sets the stage for a better understanding about what we should be telling patients about sleep. Sleep may be another important lifestyle modification that people need to make."

Sleep and metabolic syndrome

This was an interesting study that sheds light on how a lack of sleep can contribute to the metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is the name given to a cluster of risk factors that together increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
"If you're not sleeping enough, you need to know that it's impacting you on a cellular level," and , if you're already overweight, a lack of sleep can put you at risk of further complications, such as sleep apnea, which in turn, leads to less sleep.
"A lack of sleep can really set up a vicious cycle. Sleep should be considered as important as diet when you're trying to prevent weight gain and diabetes. Just because society isn't sleeping as much as necessary doesn't mean you shouldn't try".While the study found an association between reduced sleep and insulin resistance, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

Adequate sleep is an important part of a weight loss plan and should be added to the recommended mix of diet and exercise, there is significant evidence that inadequate sleep is contributing to obesity. Lack of sleep increases the stimulus to consume more food and increases appetite-regulating hormones.

Sleep should be part of weight-loss plan

"The solution (to weight loss) is not as simple as 'eat less, move more, sleep more,'.However, an accumulating body of evidence suggests that sleeping habits should not be overlooked when prescribing a weight-reduction program to a patient with obesity. Sleep should be included as part of the lifestyle package that traditionally has focused on diet and physical activity."The  total sleep time and quality of sleep predicted the loss of fat in people enrolled in a weight loss program.

Fully half of the 400 women given overnight sleep tests in a new Swedish study turned out to have mild-to-severe sleep apnoea. In the random population sample of adult women who answered a questionnaire and were monitored while sleeping, half experienced at least five apnoea-hypopnoea episodes per hour (i.e., periods when they stopped breathing for longer than 10 seconds), the minimum definition of sleep apnoea.
Among women with hypertension or obesity the proportion was even higher, reaching 80% to 84%. Many of the women in the study had mild cases of sleep apnoea.
"How important is the mild sleep apnoea, we don't know. "We see that it doesn't go away and it gets worse."

Sleep apnoea complications

One recent study found that women who have sleep apnoea are more likely to develop memory problems and dementia.Selected 400 women between the ages of 20 and 70 from a larger population sample of 10 000, and asked them to sleep overnight at home, wearing sensors that measured heart rate, eye and leg movements, blood oxygen levels, air flow and brain waves. Among women aged 20-44, one quarter had sleep apnoea, compared to 56% of women aged 45-54 and 75% of women aged 55-70.

No more excluding women  

Severe sleep apnoea, involves more than 30 apnoea-hypopnoea episodes per hour, was far less common, occurring in 4.6% of women 45-54 and 14% of women 55-70.
Rates of severe sleep apnoea were 14% in women of all ages with hypertension and 19% in women who were obese.If physicians are looking for sleep apnoea among women, examining those who are obese, over 55 or have hypertension is a good place to start. Sleep apnoea is often thought of as a condition of men, but identifying women with it is especially beneficial, because her research has shown that women are more likely to comply with treatment.

When children can get just a little more sleep each night, their school behaviour and alertness levels improve, new research suggests. "Even small changes in daily life that can allow children to add about a half hour of sleep could have a significant impact.

How the study was done

For the research, randomly assigned 34 children, aged seven to 11, to one of two groups. One group had their sleep restricted, with bedtimes moved back so they lost an hour of sleep, for five nights straight.The other group had their bedtimes moved up, so they gained an hour of sleep time for five consecutive nights. In all, 33 children finished the study. The children wore wrist-watch like devices, called actigraphs, to record their sleep. The sleep-extension group slept on average just 27 additional minutes a night. Those in the restricted group slept, on average, 54 minutes less a night.

What the study found

At the study start, both groups slept, on average, about nine hours. Children in this age group should sleep 10 or 11 hours, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
Teachers rated the children on standard measures of behaviour, such as impulsivity, restlessness and emotional ability. They also noted daytime sleepiness.
Those in the extra sleep group did better, showing improvement in alertness, behaviour and emotions, the researchers found. Those in the restricted group had declining scores on alertness.He has studied inadequate sleep and its effects on teen behavior. He cautioned parents, however, that the extra sleep can't be just for one night but should be a long-term change if their children are not sleeping enough.

"It's a lifestyle thing, not a quick one-night (change)".

He pointed out that even though the children in the study, on average, were getting a fair amount of sleep - nine hours or so - they still did better when they got more sleep.

Why children are sleep deprived

Study author Gruber said that children may be sleep-deprived for a number of reasons. They can get involved in electronic media past bedtime, including playing video games, watching television, texting or talking to friends.

Parents may also encourage too much activity at night, When children are too busy with schoolwork and extracurricular activities, it often delays bedtimes, Set and keep a consistent bedtime.Don't allow electronics in the bedroom. Be sure the bedroom environment is comfortable, she said.

Beebe had some advice as well.

He told parents to remember that they still have control over household activity. Beebe promotes a pre-bedtime wind-down, starting a half-hour to an hour before the set bedtime. "Take the tempo down," he said. Instruct the kids to use the time to shower or bathe, read a book or otherwise relax.

The World Health Organisation recently recognised environmental noise as harmful pollution, with adverse psychosocial and physiological effects on public health. A new study of noise pollution in Fulton County, Georgia, suggests that many residents are exposed to high noise levels that put them at risk of annoyance or sleep disturbance, which can have serious health consequences"Long-term exposure to noise could increase the risks of heart attack and high blood pressure. Nighttime noise can reduce sleep quality and increase morning tiredness and insomnia".

How the study was done

Fulton County, Georgia is a highly urbanizes area incorporating the city of Atlanta and surrounding communities. Interstate Highway 285 runs around the heart of the county, and the area inside 285 has a complex high-density road network. Investigators collected a number of data sets to estimate road traffic noise exposure levels, including topographical information, vehicle volume and speed, and the mix of vehicle types.

They calculated metrics to indicate the probability that certain percentages of the population, exposed to certain levels of road traffic noise, would be highly annoyed or have high levels of sleep disturbance, at a given point.These cities also have the highest populations in the county. In terms of prevalence, the smaller city of College Park was the city most negatively impacted, with 11.3% of its daytime population and 3.7% of its nighttime population estimated to be at risk for experiencing annoyance or sleep disturbance. Most of the people affected appeared inside the I-285 corridor and contributed 68% and 64%, respectively, to the populations estimated to be at risk of experiencing high levels of annoyance and sleep disturbance.
In a US Census Bureau survey, the city of Atlanta had the lowest percentage of households among 38 metropolitan areas reporting the presence of road traffic noise. "Adequate restful sleep and mental well-being are as essential to good health as adequate nutrition and physical activity. Assessing and alleviating environmental noise is an essential element for improving or creating healthy communities where adults and children can play, work, and live."

Sleep apnoea linked with increased risk of cancer death

The research evidence presented earlier this year highlighting a link between severe sleep apnoea and cancer. Show evidence suggesting an increase in cancer incidence among sleep apnoea patients and an association between the spread of cancer and sleep apnoea.

How the study was done

In the first study, over 5 600 patients from 7 different sleep clinics in Spain were analysed to investigate the link between sleep apnoea and cancer mortality.
The severity of sleep apnoea, was then measured, using an hypoxaemia index. This index measures the amount of time during the night that a person suffers from low levels of oxygen in the blood (less than 90% oxygen saturation).
The results showed that people with sleep apnoea who spent more than 14% of their sleep with levels of oxygen saturation below 90% (usually severe sleep apnoea patients) had approximately double the relative risk of death due to cancer (odds ratio 1.94), than people without sleep apnoea. The results showed that this association was even higher in men and younger people.

People with sleep apnoea can be treated using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, which generates a stream of air to keep the upper airways open during sleep. In the first study, patients who were not using this device consistently had an increased relative risk (odds ratio 2.56) of death from cancer.
“We found a significant increase in the relative risk of dying from cancer in people with sleep apnoea. This adds to evidence presented earlier this year that found for the first time a link between cancer and sleep apnoea mortality. Our research has only found an association between these disorders but this does not mean that sleep apnoea causes cancer.

Similar results were also found in the second study which showed an increase in all-type cancer incidence in people with severe sleep apnoea. The link was present even when factors such as age, sex, weight and other comorbidities of participants, were controlled. “Further studies are necessary to corroborate our results and analyse the role of CPAP treatment on this association. We hope the findings of our studies will encourage people to get their sleep apnoea diagnosed and treated early to help maintain a good quality of life.”

In a third study, researchers used a mouse model of skin cancer (melanoma) to investigate tumour spread (metastasis) and whether this was associated with sleep apnoea. The results showed that the spread of cancer was more abundant in mice that had been subjected to intermittent hypoxic air, with low levels of oxygen as in sleep apnoea, than those who breathed normal air during the experiment.
“The data from this study in animals strongly suggests a link between the spread of cancer and sleep apnoea. This provides strong evidence to encourage further study in this area to understand in more detail the links between sleep apnoea and cancer.”

                       Listed below are some common homeopathic remedies that may be useful for sleep disorders.

Arnica

Good for physical overwork and when the bed feels too hard and uncomfortable. This remedy is also useful for jet lag.

Aconite

Used for acute insomnia caused by shock, fright, bad news, or grief. Also for fear, anxiety, and restlessness. May be woken by nightmares.

Arsenicum album

When you feel sleepy during the day but anxious at night. Restless in bed with anxious dreams and nightmares. Also for warmth, warm drinks, moving about, and sleeping propped up in bed.

Calcerea phosphorica

Difficulty waking and getting up in the morning, waking up before midnight. Painful teething in restless babies. Anxious, irritable, sluggish, and restless. Dislikes routine. Babies who scream in their steep and need lots of attention

Causticum

Bedwetting in the early part of the night. Over-sensitive child easily upset and tearful. Afraid of the dark. Strong sense of justice.

Chamomilla

Irritable baby who refuses to be calmed. Sleeplessness caused by teething, anger, or Colic. Moaning when asleep, eyes are half open when asleep. 

For the person who exhibits irritability, peevishness, and restlessness. It is an antidote for overuse of coffee. Exhibits sleeplessness and restlessness during the first part of the night. They have frightening dreams.

Cocculus

If exhaustion is related to changing work shifts or too many nights of staying awake, as when caring for a sick person. For overtiredness and exhaustion, use 12X.

Coffea

Coffea, the homeopathic remedy made from the coffee bean, is very useful in cases of sleeplessness when the mind is awake and working. Shows inability to relax due to the overexcitement caused by good news or ideas. Vivid dreams, overactive mind, overexcitement. The thoughts are not fixed on a disappointment, but nevertheless the nervous system seems to be overexcited, as if from drinking too much coffee. Take 3X to 200X for insomnia following too much coffee drinking.

Equisetum

Wetting the bed during dreams. Nervous-system immaturity.

Ignatia

Sleeplessness caused by shock, emotional stress, or grief, where the person has become overwrought and moody, with frequent yawning or sighing. Jerks limbs when falling asleep. Mood swings, no thirst, dreams with bottled up anger and tension.

Kali phos

Right terrors, or waking with a sinking feeling in the stomach. Caused by excitement or mental strain. Also for anxiety, irritability, and muscle fatigue Exhausted by stress or overwork.

Lachesis

Sleep problems during the menopause. Sensation of suffocation at the throat or bed swaying as you go to steep. Dread of going to bed because of sudden awakenings and the sensation of swaying. Tendency to hold breath white fatting asleep. Night sweats. Waking anxious and feeling unwell. 

Muriaticum acidum

Generally used for emotional problems.

Nux vomica

Excellent for the person who is irritable and sleepless from stopping sedatives, or from too much mental stress, alcohol or food. For alcohol, overeating especially spicy, foods, noise, lack of steep. The sleeplessness typically occurs after waking up very early in the morning. The person cannot get back to sleep until just before the alarm goes off, and then gets up irritable and angry from lack of sleep.

For wakefulness in the middle of the night, use 6X to 12X.

Opium

If the person is feeling sleepy but unable to get to sleep, if the bed is too hot, or else sleep comes but it is so heavy that the person snores and cannot be roused.

Pulsatilla

Early waking with an overactive mind and/or recurrent thoughts. For anxious or vivid dreams, night sweats. Person is restless in first sleep, feels too hot and throws covers off, then feels too cold and lies with arms above head, not thirsty, or if the insomnia is worse after rich food. 

Sepia

Difficulty falling asleep. Waking early feeling unrefreshed. Exhausted and depressed by over work and mental stress. Feels irritable and sleepy during the day. Suffers headaches, nausea and dizziness due to tiredness. Night sweats.

Sulphur

Awakened by the slightest noise and finds it difficult to get back to steep. Feels hot and thrusts limbs out from under the covers. Kept awake by a continuous flow of ideas. Vivid nightmares, disturbed and unrefreshing sleep, waking in the early hours then steeping late.

Thuja

Wakes up early and unrefreshed just before time to get up. Pain where you have been lying, feeling cold, sleep-talking, anxious dreams, stress headaches.

Senecio:-

 For sleeplessness from prolapse of uterus. Uterine irritation during climacteric.

Cypripedium:- 

When patient is unable to sleep due to the overcrowding of the brain with all kinds of pleasant ideas. Little babies often wake up and play the whole night to the annoyance of their parents.

Mag Carb:-

 Sleeplessness from oppression in abdomen or from anxious uneasiness and internal fear, with a great dread of being uncovered. Sleeplessness from flatus.

Kali Phos:- 

Sleepless after worry, excitement or from nervous causes. Constant dreaming of fire, robbers, ghosts, falling. Twitching of mulscles on falling asleep. Awakens with a fright.

Muriatic Acid:- 

Sleepy, but unable to sleep; tosses about; dreamy and restless all through the night. Irritable.

Ferrum Met:- Can sleep only by change of position of the bed with head to the North.