The survey, taken in June, found that 78% of people have lost sleep over money problems. Work worries are also high, with 65% losing sleep over job stress and 56% over job security.

“In today’s high-stress world, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and many people carry their worries to bed with them,” said Dr. Andrew Spector, sleep medicine physician and AASM spokesperson. “When your stress level is too high when you go to bed, your sleep suffers, and that affects your physical and mental health.”

Hear more from Dr. Spector in this CBS News segment:

Political worries are on the rise, with 56% losing sleep over the issue, up from 46% last year. Concerns about crime or violence keep 61% awake. New tech and artificial intelligence don’t weigh as heavy, with 39% saying they’ve lost sleep over it, down slightly from last year.

The good news? A few simple habits can help.

• Unplug from news and social media an hour before bed.
• Set aside “worry time” earlier in the day so your brain doesn’t save it for bedtime.
• Write it down if a thought won’t go away.
• Stay active with regular exercise, but not right before bed.
• Don’t stress about sleep itself. Worrying about sleep makes it worse.
• Reach out for support if stress keeps disrupting your nights.

“When we sleep better, we feel better — physically, mentally and emotionally,” Spector added. “Getting quality sleep is one of the most powerful tools we have to build resilience and face life’s daily challenges.”

Use the AASM’s Sleep Center Directory to find an accredited sleep center near you.

Related:

• How stress, anxiety, and depression are stealing your sleep
• How to use a sleep diary to improve your sleep
• The pursuit of perfect sleep may be keeping you awake
• Struggling with sleep? Get help from experts
• Best ways to improve sleep without medication

The post Worries keeping you up at night? You’re not alone appeared first on Sleep Education.

Stress and anxiety disrupt sleep for most

According to the survey, 74% of Americans report sometimes, always, or often experiencing disrupted sleep due to stress. Anxiety is also a major factor, with 68% reporting they lose sleep because of it.

“Stress and anxiety can significantly disrupt sleep patterns by triggering the body’s fight-or-flight response, making it difficult to relax,” said Jennifer Martin, a licensed clinical psychologist and past president of the AASM. “When the mind is racing with worries, it becomes nearly impossible to achieve the deep, restorative sleep we need for overall health.”

Depression adds to sleep challenges

Depression is another common cause of disrupted sleep. More than half of adults (55%) in the survey reported sleep issues due to depression.

Dr. Martin explained that mental health and sleep often affect each other in a cycle.

“Many Americans find themselves caught in a loop: Mental health conditions disrupt their sleep, and poor sleep worsens their mental health conditions,” Dr. Martin said. “This cycle can lead to a range of health issues, beyond just daytime sleepiness. Insufficient sleep can impair cognitive function, affect mood, and diminish overall quality of life.”

Tips to sleep better with stress and anxiety

To help break the cycle, the AASM recommends several strategies:

• Create a calming sleep space: Keep your bedroom cool, dark and quiet.
• Practice relaxation techniques: Try meditation, deep breathing or journaling before bed.
• Limit caffeine and alcohol: Cut back on caffeine and alcohol, especially in the hours leading up to bedtime.
• Get moving: Regular exercise improves mood and helps reduce stress. Try to avoid vigorous exercise close to bedtime.
• Watch your diet: Avoid large meals late at night; opt for a light snack if needed.
• Get support: If stress and anxiety continue to disrupt your sleep, consider talking to a therapist or counselor who can provide coping strategies and support.

“Addressing these intertwined challenges requires a holistic approach, focusing not only on improving sleep but also on managing stress and emotional well-being,” Dr. Martin said.

Help is available

If stress, anxiety, or depression are affecting your sleep, don’t wait to get help. Anyone who has a sleep problem can use the AASM’s sleep center directory to get help from the sleep team at an accredited sleep center.

Related:

• The ‘Mind after Midnight’: People more likely to make bad decisions late at night
• Stressed parents, sleepless nights
• Understanding the relationship between sleep deprivation and addiction
• Vivid dreams in times of stress

The post How stress, anxiety, and depression are stealing your sleep appeared first on Sleep Education.

A study published in JAMA Psychiatry by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that experiencing gratitude may help older adults live longer. Researchers assessed gratitude and mortality among nearly 50,000 women, finding that those who scored highest on a gratitude questionnaire had a lower risk of death over four years compared to those with the lowest gratitude scores.

How can you intentionally cultivate gratitude? New research suggests that sleep might be the key to boosting those grateful feelings.

How sleep affects gratitude

A 2024 study in the journal SLEEP suggests that healthy sleep positively impacts feelings of gratitude, resilience and flourishing.

Researchers assigned 90 participants to different sleep schedules for a week. Some had to stay up late, others went to bed early and a third group kept their normal routine. Sleep patterns were monitored closely using actigraphy (a method that tracks movement during sleep).

Those who went to bed earlier and extended their sleep by about 46 minutes per night showed noticeable improvements in sleepiness, mood and gratitude. In fact, they wrote twice as much on their gratitude lists compared to the other groups. On the flip side, participants who had restricted sleep — going to bed later and getting about 37 minutes less sleep each night — reported lower gratitude and more mood disruptions.

What does this mean? Even small shifts in sleep habits can influence gratitude, resilience and feelings of flourishing.

Better thoughts, better sleep

The link between gratitude and sleep goes beyond just getting more hours. A 2009 study in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research found that gratitude influences sleep through our thoughts before bed. According to the study, grateful people tend to have more positive thoughts and fewer negative or worrying thoughts when falling asleep, leading to better sleep quality and duration. They also function better throughout the day.

Pre-sleep thoughts matter more than you might think. Research shows that optimistic thoughts lead to self-reported better sleep. In contrast, worries and negative thoughts can keep you awake. Focusing on gratitude before bed may help improve your sleep.

Why it all matters

When people get better sleep, they feel more positive, and those feelings encourage prosocial behaviors like kindness and generosity. The SLEEP study suggests that sleep might be the foundation for these emotions.

So, what’s the takeaway? Adopting healthy sleep habits — like keeping a consistent sleep schedule — could improve your well-being and increase feelings of gratefulness. This, in turn, may lead to further improvements in your sleep. Better sleep and more gratitude may not just benefit you but also strengthen your relationships and interactions with others.

Tonight, consider this: What’s one thing you feel grateful for? Maybe a little extra sleep will help you find even more reasons to be thankful tomorrow.

Medical review by Margaret Hovda, MD

Related:

• Sleep loss affects generosity, desire to help others
• Improve your sleep in five simple steps
• The ‘Mind after Midnight’: People more likely to make bad decisions late at night

Authored by: Kate Robards

The post Sleep and gratitude: The secret to a happier, healthier life appeared first on Sleep Education.

Sleepiness and productivity

For almost half of us — 47% according to the AASM survey — sleepiness isn’t just a mild inconvenience; it affects productivity. Tasks that need focus feel harder, and staying on top of work becomes a challenge. And it’s not just about feeling sluggish. Many people see their overall work quality slip too. Men are also more likely than women to report a decline in work performance.

Mental health takes a hit

The effects go beyond work. Over one-third (38%) of people in the AASM survey say that daytime sleepiness negatively impacts their mental health. When you’re always tired, stress and mood swings are more common, making it tougher to stay positive and motivated.

Sleepiness and relationships

It’s hard to connect with others when you’re tired all the time. Daytime sleepiness can put a strain on interactions, with almost a quarter (24%) of people admitting that it affects their relationships with friends and family. After all, it’s tough to be your best self if you’re constantly fighting to stay awake.

Sleep and safety

Daytime drowsiness doesn’t just affect social and work life; it can also pose safety risks. The survey shows that 16% of people report slower reaction times while driving due to sleepiness. This means sleepiness isn’t just a personal issue; it can impact others too.

What can you do?

It starts with better sleep habits. The AASM recommends adults get at least seven hours of sleep each night. Need a place to start? Here are some quick tips:

• Stick to a schedule: Try going to bed and waking up at the same time every day.
• Create a sleep-friendly space: Keep your room cool, dark and quiet.
• Seek help if needed: If better sleep habits aren’t enough, talk to a health care professional, who may refer you to an AASM-accredited sleep center.

Takeaway

Sleep is essential, not just for health but for everyday life. If you’re regularly feeling sleepy, it may be time to make sleep a priority. Wondering how much sleep you’re getting? Track it for two weeks and see if it’s enough. Your productivity, mood and relationships may thank you.

Related

• Study links diet with daytime sleepiness in healthy adults
• FAQs of Zzz’s: Answering your top 10 sleep questions
• How sleep deprivation ages you quicker

The post Daytime sleepiness: More than just feeling tired appeared first on Sleep Education.

Over the past decade, parents have consistently reported higher stress levels compared to other adults, according to the advisory. In 2023, 33% of parents said they had experienced high levels of stress in the past month, compared to only 20% of other adults.

The effects of stress can be profound. Forty-one percent of parents said they feel too stressed to function most days, and almost half said their stress is overwhelming.

Stress takes a toll on parents’ quality of time with their partners, sleep and leisure time, which can, in turn, affect their children’s emotional and cognitive development.

The link between stress and sleep

Parental stress and sleep are closely connected, with each affecting the other. Research shows that poor sleep can make stress worse, and high stress can lead to more sleep problems.

A study published in PLOS ONE found that parents with sleep disorders, or whose children have sleep disorders, are significantly more stressed. In an analysis involving over 14,000 people, researchers found that those with sleep disorders experienced nearly double the stress compared to those without sleep issues.

Similarly, a small pilot study revealed that mothers’ sleep quality was a strong predictor of mood, stress and fatigue levels. Another study found that mothers with shorter, later, and more variable sleep had higher stress levels, which made falling asleep even harder.

Quality sleep is essential for managing stress. When parents get enough rest, they feel better equipped to respond to the demands of family life. Good sleep helps boost cognitive function, memory and concentration. Prioritizing sleep is a powerful way to reduce stress and improve overall mental health.

Stress and children’s sleep: A two-way street

Parents aren’t just losing sleep because of their own stress. Children’s sleep patterns play a big role, too.

For new parents, sleep deprivation is common in the first few years of a baby’s life, and the effects can be significant. When infants have sleep issues, the whole family feels the impact. A 2023 study found that parents who were unhappy with their baby’s sleep at 4–6 months were more likely to report sleep problems when their child became a toddler.

Parental stress is closely tied to how parents perceive their children’s sleep. Research shows that parents who see their child’s sleep as challenging often report higher stress levels.

Parents’ well-being directly impacts their children. When parents are stressed, it can lead to disrupted sleep routines and other poor habits in children, such as increased screen time. In fact, stress during pregnancy has been linked to sleep issues in early childhood, suggesting that the link between parental stress and children’s sleep may begin before birth.

Sleep quality in parents also influences the quality of their caregiving. Poor sleep in mothers has been associated with less positive parenting. A study of over 400 mother-toddler pairs found that sleep deficits in mothers contributed to higher stress and less positive interactions during bedtime — a critical moment in a child’s day.

These findings emphasize how important sleep is, not just for parents’ well-being, but for their ability to provide nurturing care.

Improving sleep for a healthier family

Improving sleep may be the key to reducing stress for both parents and children. Children’s sleep health is closely linked to the sleep quality of their parents. This means that when parents prioritize better sleep, it can benefit everyone.

Adopting healthy sleep habits can lead to better rest for the entire family. Simple changes can make a big difference. Keeping a consistent bedtime and establishing relaxing bedtime routines are effective ways to improve sleep quality.

When parents prioritize their well-being, whether through better sleep, exercise or stress reduction, the effects ripple throughout the household. Stress may be unavoidable, but sleep is a powerful tool to help manage it.

Medical review by Katherine Moawad, DO

Related:

• Sleep disorders in children
• Breaking the cycle of stress, negative thoughts and sleeplessness
• Healthy sleep is vital to children’s well-being
• The way you handle stress may affect your sleep

Authored by: Kate Robards

The post Stressed parents, sleepless nights appeared first on Sleep Education.

With even commonly-abused substances like cannabis causing sleep problems in more than 40% of those trying to quit, sleep deprivation is a serious concern for anyone struggling with a substance use disorder, and should be understood in the interest of effective self-care.

The road to recovery is never easy, but by consciously working to understand the link between sleep deprivation and addiction, those struggling with substance misuse can make the road ahead that much easier. If you’re struggling with addiction and sleep difficulties, here’s a closer look at how you can better manage the impact of addiction on your sleep and minimize the challenges preventing a speedy recovery.

The relationship between sleep deprivation and addiction

From regular users to those who are almost completely recovered, substance addictions of all kinds have been shown to have a close relationship with a person’s sleeping habits. Alcohol, for example, has been shown to decrease quality of sleep by around 9% even at lower doses, preventing REM sleep as the relaxing effects wear off after the last drink.

Sleep issues are also common among people who use illicit drugs, with heavy stimulants like cocaine and amphetamines making it near-impossible for the mind to relax when under the influence, and insomnia being a common withdrawal symptom when people come off these substances.

Frustratingly, the sleep issues caused by substance abuse such as sleep apnea, insomnia, and disturbances in sleep cycles can make it harder for addicted people to stay sober. The irritation of sleep problems can make it easy to turn to a substance as a quick-and-easy solution, creating a vicious cycle that ultimately makes recovery harder in the long run.

A vicious cycle

The pain and discomfort that comes with addiction recovery can make a person more vulnerable to sleep issues, but this relationship can also work in reverse.

Research has shown that people who experience sleep deprivation and unhealthy sleep cycles are at greater risk of developing substance use disorders. Drugs like cannabis, Ambien, and alcohol are all popular go-to drugs for those experiencing sleep issues, and on the flip side, people who feel fatigued and groggy in their waking life can turn to stimulants in order to keep feeling functional.

Research shows that sleep can have a drastic impact on helping the brain conduct important tasks, such as clearing out potentially dangerous substances like beta-amyloid proteins. Research has found that even one night of sleep deprivation can increase the amount of beta-amyloid in the brain.

With sleep deprivation being shown to hinder cognitive function and judgment, not getting enough sleep can also make it harder for people to manage their impulses and avoid making impulsive decisions that lead to relapse.

With sleep issues worsening the health problems associated with addiction, and addictions giving rise to sleep issues, the vicious cycle created between sleep deprivation and addiction can compound the challenge of recovering from one or both of these issues and make it especially important to understand how one side influences the other.

Getting your sleep back on track

If you’re dealing with insomnia while recovering from addiction, it can feel like you’re fighting an unwinnable war as you try to prevent both negative influences from overwhelming you. Though it won’t be easy, alongside seeking professional treatment for insomnia, there are always ways to help along your recovery, manage this cyclical relationship, and maximize your chances of achieving a high standard of sleep.

Get the help you need with recovery

One of the key things to bear in mind when struggling with sleep and addiction is that making a full recovery from your addiction will drastically improve your quality of sleep. With this in mind, it’s important to remember there are resources available for people struggling with addiction, sleep deprivation, and a combination of both.

Seeking professional assistance with any mental health problem can be daunting, especially when you’ve never discussed your mental health challenges openly in the past.

Once you can get over this initial hurdle, the right help will allow you to flesh out a clear roadmap to recovery, and benefit from the expertise of people who will show you you’re not alone in the challenges you’re facing.

Seek support for sleep problems

Whether your addiction is mild or severe, everyone can make positive changes to their daily routine and habits that will help them improve their overall quality of sleep. In many cases, improving your sleep habits can improve your sleep.

If you continue to experience poor sleep or insomnia, seek help from your doctor or the sleep team at an accredited health care center.

The recommended treatment for insomnia is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-I). It addresses the thoughts and behaviors that keep you from sleeping well. The Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine has a directory of behavioral sleep medicine providers who offer CBT-I.

Final thought

Addiction and sleep deprivation have a complex reciprocal relationship that can make the road to recovery even harder. However, by understanding this link, seeking the professional help you need, and adopting healthier sleeping habits, you’ll be able to develop a healthier relationship with sleep and move more confidently toward your benchmarks for recovery.

As you face the challenges of addiction recovery and its effects on sleep, we hope this guide has helped you understand the state of your health, take charge of your recovery, and look forward to a higher quality of sleep each night.

Medical review by John Saito, MD

Related:

• Opioid use, pain linked to sleep problems
• Sleeping pills, stimulants & prescription drug abuse
• Multiple mood and anxiety disorders cause insomnia

Authored by: Sophie Bishop

Sophie Bishop is a medical journalist. Sophie aims to spread awareness through her writing around issues to do with mental health and well-being and is looking to connect with an engaged audience. Contact Sophie via her website: https://sophiebishop.uk/.

The post Understanding the relationship between sleep deprivation and addiction appeared first on Sleep Education.

We sat down with one of the study’s authors, Andrew Tubbs, from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, to answer some questions.

First, could you give us an overview of what the “Mind after Midnight” hypothesis means?

I think everyone knows that getting good sleep is important for thinking clearly and making good decisions, mostly because we’ve all felt stupid and made bad choices after a bad night of sleep. But the amount of sleep you have is just one part of a bigger puzzle because sleep happens in the context of our circadian rhythms, the 24-hour cycles in which we live our lives. These rhythms are why, even after a bad night of sleep, we can get up and be awake and alert during the day—our brains are organized around being as functional as possible at that time. What’s important is that the opposite is true at night: Our circadian rhythms reduce wakefulness and alertness at night to help us go to sleep. All the “Mind after Midnight” hypothesis proposes is that people are more likely to make bad decisions when they haven’t had enough sleep and they’re awake when their circadian rhythms are telling them to be asleep. For most people, that’s between 2 to 3 AM, hence “Mind after Midnight.”

All the “Mind after Midnight” hypothesis proposes is that people are more likely to make bad decisions when they haven’t had enough sleep and they’re awake when their circadian rhythms are telling them to be asleep.

What would you say is the most surprising finding?

What surprised me was how the risk of dysregulated behaviors was consistently elevated at the same time. We looked at timing of suicide deaths, timing of homicide deaths, sleep/wake timing among folks with suicidal ideation in both community and national samples and kept getting the same answer: 2 to 3 AM. That’s when we started digging through the basic science on what happens to the brain in the middle of the night and pieced together the “Mind after Midnight” hypothesis.

The other surprising thing (or sad thing, depending on your view) is that there is so little data on dangerous behaviors during the middle of the night. We looked at dozens and dozens of studies and found a handful of times that researchers even looked at what people were doing at night. Hopefully, our hypothesis will motivate folks to look at outcomes during the night.

What do your findings mean for our readers?

What we know is that risk of suicide, adjusted for patterns of wakefulness, seems to be over three times higher at night than during the day. We have similar data for homicide deaths and the results so far are the same: more risk at night, less risk during the day. So, at this point, the evidence seems to be stacking up in the same direction. What we don’t quite know is why the risk is higher at night. This is the “hypothesis” part of the “Mind after Midnight” hypothesis because we hypothesize that the increased risk is due to natural circadian changes in the brain colliding with sleep deprivation to disrupt emotion processing, decision-making, and impulse control. That’s why we need more data to be sure.

Regardless of the reason risk is up at night, we’re still confident that it is. Thus, our best tool to mitigate this risk is still to get a good night of sleep, and for folks with sleep disorders like insomnia or sleep apnea, that means getting good, evidence-based treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy or positive airway pressure therapy.

Some people prefer to stay up late and sleep late. How does the “Mind after Midnight” hypothesis take late chronotypes, or “night owls,” into consideration?

Despite the name, the “Mind after Midnight” hypothesis doesn’t actually claim that risk is highest right after midnight for everyone. We think that risk is elevated because of sleep duration and circadian rhythms, so if you’re a night owl and you regularly go to sleep at 1 AM and wake up at 10 AM, your risk zone is probably closer to 6 or 7 AM. Conversely, a morning lark who goes to sleep at 8 PM and wakes up at 4 AM may have a risk zone around 11 PM to 12 AM. It all depends on the individual, on how much sleep you get, and how your circadian rhythms are organized.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

It is very likely that not everyone experiences the same risk with being awake at night as everyone else. For some people, the risk may be minimal while for others it may be off the charts. This is why this is such an exciting research hypothesis, because it gives us the tools and framework for finding and explaining the differences between people.

Along those lines, I’ve seen comments from folks on Twitter about how being awake at night increases their creativity and inventiveness, and I think this actually fits into our hypothesis quite nicely. We think that one of the big drivers of risk is behavioral disinhibition, such that people say or do things they wouldn’t ordinarily say or do. For someone already suicidal, this could be extremely dangerous. But for someone creative (who isn’t also suicidal), this disinhibition may help them turn off their inner critic and push forward with new and exciting ideas. I just hope they don’t end up also cutting their ear off (like Van Gogh).

To read the full study, click here. To join the conversation about the “Mind after Midnight” hypothesis on Twitter, click here.

Authored by:

Kate Robards

The post The ‘Mind after Midnight’: People more likely to make bad decisions late at night appeared first on Sleep Education.

There is a big problem facing college students today. Students are sleeping less and not getting a healthy amount. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that, as a nation, 35% of adults are not getting enough sleep. This comes out to about 84 million adults sleeping less than the recommended 7 or more hours a night.

The reality is that many students are overworked. Many take a packed course load, work a part-time job, and still try to find time to be social. However, a lack of sleep can severely hurt grades, among other things. Many college students cram before a test and pull an “all-nighter,” staying awake until the early hours of the morning. This ends up hurting in the long run, as being sleep-deprived impacts the skills needed to do well on tests, like memory recall and concentration. In fact, many students who pull an all-nighter often end up having have lower GPAs.

Lack of sleep can be caused by, and contribute to, mental health problems. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 44% of students experience symptoms of depression. Also, 80% feel overwhelmed by academic responsibilities, and 50% have struggled with anxiety. These mental health issues can hurt your ability to sleep well. Poor sleep also increases your risk of mood problems. This can lead to consequences with grades and work.

Another problem of sleep deprivation is drowsy driving. In this case, it is prevalent mainly among students who commute to school. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety states that 16- 24-year-olds are 80% more likely to be in a drowsy driving accident. Drowsy driving is like driving drunk: reaction times, attentiveness, alertness and decision-making skills are all impaired. When students don’t get enough sleep and then drive to class early in the morning, they not only put themselves at risk, but also everybody else around them. The only way to truly combat drowsy driving is to get a good 7 or more hours of sleep nightly.

As a college senior, I have personally seen the effects of sleep deprivation. I had two friends drop out of school due to their poor grades. They didn’t get enough sleep, causing them to skip class and do poorly on exams. Many of my friends and classmates don’t get enough sleep, instead choosing to stay up late doing schoolwork or being social. I am also guilty of not getting enough sleep as I often stay up late playing video games or (occasionally) studying.

Sleep is underrated when it comes to college students. Many treat sleep as a luxury only for the weekends, when it should be treated the same no matter the day of the week. The negative effects of an unfulfilling night of sleep outweigh the benefits of a few more hours of studying. College students need to start changing their sleep habits and schedules; until that day, sleepy students will sadly continue to underperform academically and fall asleep in class.

The post College students aren’t getting nearly enough sleep appeared first on Sleep Education.

Sleep deprivation puts you at a higher risk of having depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. And, sleep problems are more likely to affect people who have existing mental health issues. Treating your sleep disorder may help with symptoms of mental health problems.

If you’re experiencing a sleep disorder you may meet with a sleep psychologist, one of the members of the integrated sleep care team.

What is a sleep psychologist?

Sleep psychologists study sleep and treat sleep disorders. They are highly trained mental health professionals. They develop an understanding of normal and disordered sleep. Sleep psychologists seek to understand the root of what may be causing your sleep disorder so that they can treat it.

Sleep psychologists can help those experiencing sleep problems related to:

• Insomnia
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Narcolepsy
• Parasomnias (e.g. nightmares, sleep terrors, sleepwalking, bedwetting)
• Sleep movement disorders (e.g. restless legs syndrome)
• Sleep cycle disorders
• Dependence on sleep medications

Sleep disorders most amenable to interventions provided by sleep psychologists include: chronic insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, and PAP non-adherence.  Often, sleep psychologists may use cognitive behavioral therapy to treat sleep disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps you change actions or thoughts that are hurting your ability to sleep well.

Studies have found that cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is more effective than medications used to treat insomnia. It is the role of sleep psychologists to administer this type of behavioral therapy to treat sleep disorders.

Because many sleep disorders affect overall health, sleep psychologists may work closely with other members of the sleep team, including physicians, surgeons and dentists, to treat co-occurring health issues.

“Close collaboration with the sleep team informs my care of the sleep patient every step of the way,” says Dr. Deirdre Conroy, clinical director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at University of Michigan. “Whether it is discussing the results of the polysomnogram, laboratory results, recent adjustments to CPAP pressure, or obtaining other updates on their health, the medical component of the patient’s treatment is integral to the mental health component.”

The treatment for your sleep disorder depends on its underlying cause. If you’re experiencing trouble sleeping, get help from the sleep team at an accredited sleep center near you.

Medical review by Deirdre Conroy, DBSM, DABSM

Related:

• How seasonal affective disorder disrupts sleep
• Multiple mood and anxiety disorders cause insomnia

Authored by:

Kate Robards

The post Spotlight on sleep psychologists appeared first on Sleep Education.

It’s recommended that teens sleep 8-10 hours a night. But many teens are not getting enough sleep. In fact, more than 70% of high school students report getting fewer than 8 hours of sleep on an average school night.

A lack of sleep can have a negative effect on teens’ mental health and decision-making skills.

Teens who get fewer than 8 hours of sleep on average school nights are more likely to participate in risky behaviors. For example, a survey of more than 12,000 high school students found that teens who did not get enough sleep were more likely to drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, or use marijuana.

For those teens who turn to marijuana, there may be long-lasting effects on sleep into adulthood.

More and more, marijuana is marketed as a sleep aid. However, new research suggests that marijuana use at a young age could negatively affect sleep later in life.

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder found that teens who use marijuana  are more likely to experience insomnia as an adult. The study of 1,800 twins found that a third of participants who started smoking marijuana before age 17 developed insomnia as young adults.

Parents have an important role in helping teens develop healthy sleep habits that will benefit them into adulthood. Follow these five sleep tips for parents of tired teens. Establishing a defined bedtime can also help teens sleep longer.

Supporting healthy sleep in teens will help them make smarter choices today and create a better tomorrow.

Authored by:

Kate Robards

The post Teen marijuana use linked to adult insomnia appeared first on Sleep Education.