Journal of Sleep Sciences
Volume:5 Issue: 4, Autumn 2020

While insufficient sleep remains an under-recognized public health issue across the globe, there is paucity and heterogeneity of data regarding its cardiometabolic and haemoinflammatory implications. We, therefore, aimed to evaluate the impact of chronic sleep restriction on cardiometabolic and haemoinflammatory parameters in rats.

16 male Wistar rats (aged 8-10 weeks) were randomly assigned into equal control or sleep restriction groups. Gentle handling was used to induce sleep restriction for six weeks. Fasting weight and blood sugar were obtained and lipids were analyzed using their respective Randox kits. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were assayed. Full blood count and CD4+ T cell count were determined using automated analyzer. Data were analyzed using Student’s t-test, with level of significance set at P ≤ 0.05, via SPSS software.

Chronic sleep restriction caused significant initial weight loss, increase in feed consumption, and percentage increase in fasting blood sugar (FBS) (32% vs. 15%). We also noted the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index of sleep-restricted rats to be significantly higher (6.22) than that of controls (5.62). In addition, a significant reduction in monocyte count, monocyte-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and absolute CD4+ cell count among the sleep-restricted rats was observed.

Our findings have provided objective evidence that, over the course of 6 weeks, 5 hours of sleep restriction had caused body weight gain, hyperglycaemia, insulin resistance, and impairment in immunoinflammatory status; hence, it could be a risk factor for developing cardiometabolic syndrome and immune-related disorders.

The results of different studies have indicated the comorbidity between emotional disorders and sleep problems. However, no study has compared the outcome of mindfulness and unified protocol on the emotional problems and the sleep quality of the adolescents with emotional disorders.

The current investigation was a quasi-experimental study with a control group, which was conducted in 2019. The participants included adolescents with emotional disorders in control (n = 15) and experimental (n = 16) groups. Both groups received 14 sessions of therapy. The assessments were performed in three stages: pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. The measurements included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED).

The mean age of the participants in the experimental and control groups was 13.06 and 13.05 years, respectively. Given the results, both treatments alleviated the sleep and emotional problems of the adolescents diagnosed with emotional disorders. However, the combined treatment of mindfulness and the unified protocol led to more improvements. The calculated effect size of this treatment was 0.21 for sleep quality and 0.24 for the SCARED questionnaire.

Based on the findings, utilizing mindfulness as a supplementary therapeutic method can enhance the chances of reductions in the emotional problems and the improvements of sleep quality in the adolescents with emotional disorders.

Reports have shown a link between dysfunctional beliefs about sleep and sleep disorders. We investigated the frequency of dysfunctional beliefs about sleep in three groups of patients suffering from psychiatric disorders (patients with major depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety).

In this cross-sectional study, 150 patients with psychiatric disorders referred to psychiatry clinic affiliated to Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran. Fifty patients were selected in each group (anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder). Two questionnaires of Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep (DBAS) and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) were completed for all patients. Data were analyzed with Student’s t, chi-square, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation tests.

A significant difference was observed between the three groups in the latency to fall asleep at night (P = 0.002) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) ≤ 5 (P = 0.002). Patients with anxiety and bipolar disorder more than other groups believed that insomnia caused loss of life joy (P = 0.010) and the only solution for sleeplessness was medication (P = 0.003), respectively. There was a significant relationship between sleep quality and anxiety (P = 0.030), total sleep time (P = 0.040), sleep latency (P = 0.020), and ISI (P < 0.010) with depression, awakening time during night, and bipolar disorder (P = 0.030).

Patients with psychiatric disorders have high frequency of dysfunctional beliefs about sleep. Regarding the relationship between dysfunctional beliefs about sleep and insomnia, future work is needed for better treatment.

Pregnancy and childbirth are periods of great joy and delicate, interesting, and exciting aspects of women’s life. The study investigates whether sleep quality components will predict health-related quality of life (HRQOL) domains among primigravidas.

The study employed descriptive research design. 768 primigravidas, attending antenatal care in nine purposively-selected government hospitals in Ibadan, Nigeria, which fulfilled the inclusion criteria participated in the study. A questionnaire consisting of demographic information of primigravidas, World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) with reliability coefficient of 0.89 and 0.85, respectively, were used to collect data. Six hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis (MRA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Sleep quality components had a statistical, joint influence on HRQOL domains (physical health domain, F = 4.526, P < 0.01; psychological domain, F = 2.931, P < 0.05; and environment domain, F = 2.788, P < 0.05) of primigravidas in Ibadan. In addition, domains of HRQOL were significantly influenced by primigravidas’ marital status (F = 3.591, P < 0.05).

Effective management of sleep quality components during pregnancy can improve HRQOL domains of primigravidas. Researchers recommended that antenatal care lectures for primigravidas should be reinforced with emphasis on the sleep quality and its influence on their HRQOL domains for better wellness of the primigravidas.

Insomnia is a universal phenomenon that many people experience and is characterized by difficulty in sleep initiation, maintaining sleep, waking up early in the morning, and inability to return to sleep. Due to its high prevalence and the effect of insomnia on the mental and physical performance of individuals, especially students, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between transdiagnostic structures and insomnia disorder in students.

This was a cross-sectional study. Population of this study was 400 medical students of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences and Zanjan University, Zanjan, Iran, who were selected by non-random sampling method. Research tools included demographic characteristics questionnaire, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), 12-question Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Third Edition (ASI-3), and Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire (RTQ). Research data were analyzed using LISREL software.

The average age of students was 21.54 years. Transdiagnostic constructs explained a total of 9% of insomnia disorders in students. Insomnia disorders in women were significantly higher than in men; moreover, in the single group was higher than in the married group.

Transdiagnostic constructs can predict insomnia in students.

Co-occurring central sleep apnea (CSA) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are a developing apprehension because many patients referred to sleep studies have co-morbidities such as cardiovascular and/or neurological disorders which increase the possibility of central and obstructive episodes. Here, we report a patient without excessive daytime sleepiness and a combination of CSA and OSA.

We present a 16-year-old boy with a history of snoring, poor quality of sleep, nightmare, sleep walking, and sleep talking since he was two-years old. His STOP-Bang score was 7. Standard attended polysomnography (PSG) with audio-video monitoring was performed. The PSG results contained Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI): 30.2 (number of OSAs was 50 and number of CSAs was 49 during sleep). Then, a titration study was performed and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) setting as low as eight cmH2O was effective in eliminating obstructive events, but there was emerging CSAs in favour of Treatment Emergent CSA (TCSA).

This case represents a non-sleepy phenotype of OSA in combination with many CSAs in PSG. We suggest that further studies be performed on the association between the concomitant presence of CSA and OSA among nonsleepy patients with OSA.