Sleep Researchers Discover Insomnia Lowers Life Expectancy

Sleep Researchers Discover Insomnia Lowers Life Expectancy

Chronic insomnia doesn't just make it difficult to get through your day - it can also shorten your days. Researchers followed 2,242 participants in the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study for 11 years starting in 1989. Checking back ten years later in 2010, they found 128 of them had died a three times higher mortality rate then would be expected in the average population.

The risk was highest for those study participants who suffered from sleep apnea, a disorder where the sleeper repeatedly stops breathing for 10 or more seconds during the night. Almost 20 percent of the participants with severe sleep apnea died, compared with about 4 percent of study participants without sleep apnea. Even those with mild or moderate sleep apnea had a 50 percent greater mortality risk than participants without sleep apnea. The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea, where the muscles relax during sleep, causing soft tissue in the back of the throat to collapse and block the upper airway.

People with sleep apnea are usually unaware that they have the condition. Common symptoms include restless sleep, loud snoring, long lapses between breaths and daytime tiredness. The most common treatment for obstructive sleep apnea is continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, which involves sleeping wearing a mask which provides a steady stream of air to keep the air passage open and oxygen levels normal. Doctors have been experimenting with singing exercises to aid snorers, and one study found that playing the didgeridoo (an Australian wind instrument) helped reduce snoring and sleep apnea, apparently by strengthening muscles in the upper airway.

Ten to fifteen percent of Americans suffer from insomnia. Chronic insomniacs include people who frequently have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and getting back to sleep once they wake up. Stress is a main factor for insomnia, as are drinking alcohol and frequent use of marijuana. One Canadian study found that middle-aged people were more at risk of insomnia, as were people who were widowed and those with low education. Overweight people also have more trouble getting a good night's sleep.

"The identification of insomnia as a mortality risk factor may have clinical implications and raise the priority level for insomnia treatment," Laurel Finn from the University of Wisconsin-Madison said in a press release. Finn added that the results emphasize the need for physicians to provide effective treatments for insomnia even in otherwise healthy patients.

Treatments for insomnia generally involve medication or behavioral therapy. Medications that help promote a good sleep include over the counter sleeping pills containing antihistamines, prescription sleeping pills and, for those suffering depression and/or anxiety, antidepressants. Some sleep medications are used to help fall asleep, while others are used to stay asleep.

There are different types of prescription sleeping pills, including the oldest class of benzodiazepines, the newer non-benzodiazepines, and the first in a new class of sedatives, melatonin receptor agonists. These new sedatives mimic the action of the sleep regulation hormone melatonin. They carry little risk of physical dependency, and are the only non-scheduled (uncontrolled) prescription drug for insomnia in the US. They are now the preferred choice for the treatment of insomnia in patients who have trouble falling asleep.

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