Sleep latency is the amount of time it takes to fall asleep. Normal is considered to be 15-25 minutes (some say 30minutes). I’ve had many people tell me with disappointment that it takes them 30 minutes to fall asleep and how they know people who can fall asleep instantaneously. They are surprised to hear that […]
What You Do Before Bedtime Matters
We don’t fully understand the mechanism of insomnia (defined as difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep). But some theorists believe untimely central nervous system arousal plays a large part. Our brains are always on, however when we think hard about something, our brain is more activated or aroused than when we are not consciously thinking about […]
Benzodiazepines are Not Good for Sleep
I’ve frequently prescribed benzodiazepines (benzos) such as Klonopin and Ativan for patients with anxiety. For some patients who are particularly anxious in the evenings, taking the medication can help relax them to the point of falling asleep easier. I usually tell them it’s not a good long term solution for sleep and the most obvious […]
What is Sleep Architecture?
You may have heard this term used before, it refers to the different stages that make up our sleep. Understanding these stages of sleep help scientists and clinicians target treatments for insomnia. Sleep is divided into two stages: Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and Rapid eye movement (REM). NREM is further divided into four stages, numbered […]
Sleep is Essential
This may seem like an obvious statement, but it’s not. Our culture rewards hard work and often that comes at the expense of sleep. Millions of people do not get enough sleep each night and it can have serious consequences to our physcial and mental health. I’ll be doing a series of posts on sleep […]
Most Women Aren’t Sleeping
A recent article in the Psychiatric News periodical discusses a survey that reveals a large number of women in the United States are sleep deprived. There’s a quote saying “Americal women struggle to do it all…” The women in the poll said they lacked the time to meet all of their obligations in addition to […]