A Future of Sleep Deprevation?

Dear Bloggers,

Last weeks topic of sleep in politicians and law enforcement was really interesting and frustrating to me.  My dream job is working in the counter terrorism department of the FBI, where I know I will be put under some hard circumstances, but the reading about the lack of sleep in law enforcement really hit me hard.  The article Sleep Disorders Common Among Police Officers notes that "In a large sample of police officers, about 40% screened positive for at least one sleep disorder" that means that just under half of the law enforcement officers we come in contact with are not fully ready to do their job.  These are the men and women that are protecting our nation and guarding some of our civil liberties.  Shantha Rajaratnam, PhD, of Brigham said that this lack of sleep affects the police in  "making administrative errors, falling asleep while driving, and lashing out at suspects".  Not to put out any political views or arguments, but lately the only reports you can find on the news about police are the "unjustified" shootings and other mistakes.  It makes one wonder if lack of sleep had any input on the decisions these (unfortunately) famous police make. It is also reported that " More than a quarter of cops -- 28.5% -- also reported excessive sleepiness, and 26.1% reported falling asleep while driving at least once or twice a month". We have recently learned of "Brent's Rules" and even though they didn't get passed they were still a movement towards acknowledgement of the dangers of the crazy hours worked by movie makers. Will it take this for law enforcement to put forth better regulation on shifts and hours worked?  Here is a link to a video about a drowsy police officer falling asleep at the wheel and hitting three parked cars.  Imagine if he had been on the highway and hit cars with people in them.  We as citizens put so much trust and faith into these men and women, but I think it is fair to say they owe it to the community to be in good shape when on duty.  I know when I get the opportunity to do my dream job, I would like to think I would not show up at the FBI headquarters tired and still making life threatening decisions. Maybe someone needs to step up and "police" the law enforcement and their demanding hours.

Sources:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/SleepDisorders/30329
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1&v=Bp4OZuCeQ_o

"It's been a long day" http://lawenforcementtoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/sleepingcop.jpg

Courtcases, Sunburns, and No Sleep...Oh My!

Hi Sleepers,

The last week has been more stressful than usual.  I received my case for my Administration of Justice Mock Trial that takes place in about a month.  The description of the case is fifty pages and full of lingo that is not second nature to me yet.  So that has stressed me out.  Also I have my first sociology test Wednesday, which I feel confident about, since it is my best class but I still don't know how Dr. Redmond's tests are yet, so the fear of the unknown is lurking around my brain this week.  Saturday I attended the football game, which was full of emotions.  Even though we lost it was a good comeback and never a dull moment.  The only other downside from losing is that I am tomato read in the face and have a really rad tan on my arms.  I tried to sleep Saturday night with the burn but my skin was thinking otherwise, every time I went to move or reposition myself I just irritated my burn more. So instead of sleeping I stayed up and read and reviewed my mock trial packet.  When I did (thankfully) drift to sleep, I dreamt that I was a real life prosecutor, and was rocking a really cool pant suit. So I guess my unconscious is preparing me for my mock trial date, boosting my non existent confidence.  Here's to aloe and good pant suits!

Are Doctors Really That Safe?

Hi Bloggers!

Last weeks topic of Sleep in the healthcare field really got my attention, and was really concerning to me.  We as consumers look up to those in the medical profession for help and guidance, and especially those in the hospital setting where we tend to go in cases of emergencies or very serious circumstances. In Drowsy Docs it is stated that most attending medical professionals in the hospital setting average 4.8 hours of sleep.  That is quite a but below the recommended amount of sleep for an average person much less a professional who is dealing with peoples lives.  So, 4.8 hours a night in which "hospitals[state] first-year residents work 70- to 80-hour weeks and up to 30 days consecutively (and some think these estimates understate the case). Residents routinely work 36-hour stretches, often without sleep." This is absolutely crazy. We pay huge dollars to people to make us better, when they themselves need to be better.  There need to be more doctors and residents working less hours.  We are not just talking about sleepy workers, but medical professionals who hold our lives in their hands.  These professionals wear sleep deprivation as a medal of honor and see it as a fact of life.  It is disconcerting to know what is really happening to the medical field. 

Source:

Read Dement, The Promise of Sleep, part of ch. 9, “Doctors Asleep on their Feet” (pgs. 223-225).

Atul Gawande, “Drowsy Docs,” Slate, Oct 10, 1997 (http://www.slate.com/id/2666/)

Nothing Like Your "Real" Bed

Hi Sleepers,

This weekend I got to go home to see my mom and my lovely puppy and while I was there I think I have proven the old saying "there's nothing like your home bed".  I have, to make the WBU mattresses somewhat comfortable added three mattress pads, and when I laid down on my mattress at home I felt like I was on a bed of clouds.  I have not slept that well for so long in ages (probably just a month, but whatever).  Not only was I in REM sleep for quite a bit of time, but I know I was in mainly deep sleep the whole night.  I even had the chance to sleep for ten hours compared to my usual six to eight hours.  I woke up in the best mood I've been in for a long time.  Also, I realized that if I don't eat right before bed, I go to sleep much quicker.  Once I got back to my lovely dorm bed, I can promise that I did not sleep near as well.  I guess there is something to be said about feeling the comforts of home.
Plus I love waking up to this!

Hospitals May Not Be the Most Hospitable Place to Catch Some Zzzz's

Hi Honors Kids!

The readings for this week about the patients sleep in the health care setting really hit a cord with me.  My grandparents were really sick most of the time in their last years, with my grandfather having lung cancer and my grandma having COPD complications, so they were in and out of the hospital very often. I spent a significant amount of my childhood taking care of them and the one thing I always noticed was how intrusive the hospital staff was.  Not the needles or the pills, but the constant alarms and disruptions.  Even in the less serious patients halls there was constant noise, and even more in the ICU.  The article  For Hospitals, Sleep And Patient Satisfaction May Go Hand In Hand notes these same findings. It is crazy to me that the institution that is responsible for making you healthier is disrupting as we have learned one of the most vital human functions.  It does not take a specialist to see the connection between sleep and a more speedy recovery.  Even the author of the article seemed slightly annoyed by this in his statement "And, though few studies specifically link quality of shut-eye and patient outcomes, doctors interviewed said the connection is obvious: Patients need sleep. If they get more of it, they're likely to recover faster,"(Luthra, 2).  It is cost efficient for the hospital to allow these patients to sleep, because think about this breakdown: Turning off the lights in the hall lowers the electricity bill, less nurses in the room creates less paperwork and makes for better organization, plus the faster patient turnaround- the sooner a new paying client can come in.  That's the harsh and "moral aside" view but it is true.  From a moral stand point, the hospitals need to think about how they would want to be treated.  In a separate article I found researchers at Johns Hopkins, including Dr. Biren Kamdar and Dr. Needham, developed a project to ensure much like I listed above to help combat this issue.  I'm not saying hospitals are all to blame, interruptions cannot be avoided, but they can be reduced.

Sources:
http://www.healthcarebusinesstech.com/how-improving-patients-sleep-in-the-hospital-is-key-to-recovery/
https://wbu.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-1175594-dt-content-rid-8430281_1/courses/HONO1396FALL-PLV2015PL01/Luthra%20Hospitals%20Sleep%20and%20Patient%20Satisfaction%202015.pdfFor Hospitals, Sleep And Patient Satisfaction May Go Hand In Hand By Shefali Luthra
Comic:
https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/o/obs.asp

No Dreams? No Problems. No Sleep? Definite Problems.

Hi Dreamers!

This last week has been filled with some poor sleep and major sleep rebound, where Thursday and Friday night I received about four hours of sleep (partially due to the bitter cold of my dorm and the constant noise across the hall, even at three in the morning), and I had a lovely sleep rebound session Sunday where I slept twelve wonderful hours. I woke up expecting to feel refreshed and rejuvenated, but to my shock and horror I felt pretty horrible. I had this "fog" all day and I couldn't really concentrate properly.  Besides discovering the joys of sleep rebound I also proved one of our articles we read correct.  This article highlights the point to "not over do the naps" and to keep them to twenty minutes only.  Although at the moment you wake up the twenty minutes do not seem like enough, after walking around for a few minutes I felt great. I wasn't groggy or tired anymore.  I guess less really is more!  I haven't had any dreams to record in my lovely book I bought to conduct my own little research project, but I'm excited to start recording and analyzing them when they come!


Sources:
Escoto "The college student's guide to a good night's sleep"
https://wbu.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-1175585-dt-content-rid-8430268_1/courses/HONO1396FALL-PLV2015PL01/Escoto%20College%20Student%27s%20Guide.pdf

Survival of the Fittest: Nighmare Style?

Hello Sleepers!

I was really intrigued by the section of the video we watched on Thursday about why we have nightmares. It seems so crazy to me that we have these sometimes terrifying visions in order to make us stronger/more prepared for the future. Because of my curiosity, I did some more research as to the reasons that influence what we dream about.  One author stated that it was due to stress and anxiety (Cadman, 1).  This would explain why before a big test I sometimes dream that I failed it and subsequently failed out of high school (thank goodness that's not real).  The brain is preparing us for the worst possible outcome of events that are weighing on our conscious. This is like Alice from Dreamland by David Randall (pg 85) were she eats with her dead father, and he gets upset with her.  People have ideas and events that weigh on them, either that have already happened or that they fear will happen. My mother was very sick at one point in my life, and had to have heart surgery twice.  Each night leading up to the surgeries I would have horrific nightmares about her dying.  It is really smart the way our mind allows us to go through such awful events in dreams to prepare us for real life.  Also, as bad as some nightmares get, the real outcome of some events seems much better since we had experienced such awful things in our dreams, any improvement seems worlds better.  I also read that certain reoccurring items are actual symbols (as some believe) and can have ulterior meanings. Here is a website that gives thirty symbols and their meanings, some of it seems quite Freudian if I do say so myself. So now I have decided in order to figure out my odd dreams I am going to journal them all year long as soon as I wake up from one, and I am going to color code them according to the symbols to figure out what is stressing me and try to fix the sources of my stress.  Hopefully my new dreamcatcher will keep that negative vibes away from me and my dreams!
Here are my sources:
http://www.divinecaroline.com/self/dreams/six-reasons-we-have-bad-dreams
http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/30-common-dream-symbols.html
Randall, David K. Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2012. Print.
Psychology, Everywhere.  "What are Dreams?."  Online video clip. YouTube.  YouTube,  29 Aug. 2012.  Web.  7 Sept. 2015.

Deep Conversations...and Fish?

Hello Fellow Bloggers,

This last week has been filled with lots of exciting events, such as my mom coming to visit me, and my roommate and I becoming fish parents! The only problem with the fish, is that at night the air compressor is actually really loud, and not very rhythmic, so unfortunately I am not lulled to sleep by it, but rather kept up by it.  So my ability and sleep quality have both been compromised by the newfound "joys" of parenthood.  Also, I have long been awaiting seeing my mom, so the anticipation alone kept me up with excitement (until the next day, because then I was not that excited or happy).  This lack of sleep has also been accompanied by some strange sleep habits.  My roommate has informed me that I held a conversation with her in my sleep, one that I do not remember.  I can make the guess that since I have been talking in my sleep a lot lately, I have not been in REM sleep as much, which I would like to blame as the cause of my lower Spanish grade (because I didn't get to enhance my memory in my limited amount of REM sleep). I have spent more time in NREM, which hopefully has refortified my body from my lack of sleep.  I did notice my sleep debt, Friday night, because I slept especially well that night and woke up very refreshed. Fingers crossed that our fish live and I can sleep through the night without interruption! Here is a link to a picture of our tank--->  Name suggestions would be lovely, the little one is Sharkbait, but the larger one is still up in the air!

Sweet dreams & SWS!

P.S.
I recently invested in a dreamcatcher, so hopefully it keeps the nightmares away!