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American Morning

Combating Sleep Disorders

Aired July 16, 2001 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if you're looking for reasons to get back into bed, consider this. Studies associate sleep deficits with a range of maladies, from depression and memory loss to gaining weight and hypertension. Now, we have some tips on what to do about sleep disorders and some answers to your earlier e-mails as well on this subject. And joining us with more information on all this is Dr. Eric Genden. He is surgical director of the sleep disorder clinic at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Good morning. How are you?

DR. ERIC GENDEN, MT. SINAI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Good morning. Thank you very much.

HARRIS: All right, listen, first of all, I want to ask you, is: Are you getting busier and busier each year or this is something that has been happening for years and years and we just never paid attention to it?

GENDEN: Well, what's interesting is that things have changed a lot over the last 50 years in particular. In fact, if you look at some of the most recent studies, Americans are sleeping 20 percent less now than they did just 50 years ago. People are sleeping less, they're working harder, they're working under more stressful conditions. And as a result, the sleep that they get is very, very important sleep. So when they don't sleep well, we hear about it. And as a result, I think we're seeing many, many more patients every year and almost every month at this point, people with complaints.

HARRIS: Yes, but the rest of us who may complain to ourselves or to a friend over coffee or whatever, it's just that we all say that, you know, we're used to this, this is the schedule that I have, this is just the demands of my lifestyle at this particular point. I'm used to it, it's no big deal.

GENDEN: Well, the thing is is there are, I think what has happened is certain people who have maybe some sleep disorder, breathing or a neurologic problem that has led to poor sleep, are so accustomed to sleeping poorly that they don't know what it is like to sleep well. There is certainly an aspect of sleeping that has to do with stress and the job or bringing up children, that type of thing. But then there's a whole another group of patients or people who have sleep disordered breathing or neurologic problems and those are the people that are really the problem. HARRIS: All right, well, we've got some people out there with problems, some of some severity, others are not. But we've had folks send in e-mails to us this morning and we want to get to the first one here. This one comes from desperate, sleepless in Florida, who says, "I've been taking Tylenol P.M. or other over the counter sleeping pills at night to sleep. Is this safe? Even with this, I only get three or three and a half hours of sleep. What else can I do?"

GENDEN: Well, here's a good example. There are certain people that have sleep disorders that are acute, which is to say that it lasts one, two, three days, and then they're sleeping well. And then there are those who have chronic sleep disorders. If you have an acute sleep disorder, something like a Tylenol P.M., an occasional hypnotic or a sedative is maybe not a bad thing.

The problem becomes if the sleep disorder becomes more chronic then I think you need to have a medical evaluation because you may just be treating the effect and not, in fact, treating the cause.

HARRIS: OK, interesting. Let's go to the next one here. This one is really out there if you ask me. I've never heard of this before. But, "Do you get a better night's sleep if you experience lucid dreaming and is it worth buying a lucid dreaming sleep mask which flashes a light when you enter REM sleep to make you aware that you are dreaming so that you can control your dreams?" That's from Darren in College Park, Maryland. I'd like to hang out with Darren. What is it, what do you think of all this?

GENDEN: Well, I think the first part actually, there is something to it. If you're dreaming, you're usually into a good portion of the sleep, the sleep where you're going to get the most rest and you're having a complete sleep cycle if you're able to dream and dream lucidly. As far as aids and helping you to control your dreams or REM masks, I really can't speak to that. I do know that there is over 300 patents with, aimed at this type of thing and that goes to show you that there is no single one treatment for people who aren't sleeping well.

HARRIS: So under no circumstances would you be buying a lucid dreaming sleep mask?

GENDEN: Well, I'd certainly have to look a little further into it before I put one of those on my face.

HARRIS: OK. A deal. All right, let's move on to the next one. This is from Jay Darsey in Winona, Mississippi. "Is it possible that prescription drugs sometimes cause insomnia? I have been taking Vioxx for a week now and have experienced extreme insomnia during the same time frame."

GENDEN: Well, there's no question that a whole host of both over the counter and prescription medications can lead to insomnia. They can also lead to sleep fragmentation where even though you're sleeping a full six, seven hours a night, you're not actually experiencing a restful sleep. So you have to look into whatever medications you may be taking, over the counter or prescription. Vioxx in particular is not, to my knowledge, associated with significant sleep deprivation or sleep fragmentation. But a lot of these over the counter medications, including some of the decongestants, are the most common problems.

HARRIS: So, of course, folks, check with your doctor. Ask your doctor questions like that about the drugs that you're given, you're being given. All right, this is from Mykle in Tennessee, this next one. "I've been a night shift nurse for 15 years. Is there any hope for me? Can you set your biological clocks for night shift without killing yourself and having a life, too?" Great question there.

GENDEN: Well, that's a very good question and, in fact, most of the work that's been done in resetting the biologic clock has actually been done with the astronauts, where they tend to lose their light/dark cycle cues. There is some evidence that you can reset the clock. But I'm going to tell you that there is a lot of debate over this issue and I don't think there's any clear answer to it. But there is some evidence that you can reset your clock.

HARRIS: Are you worried about long-term effects from doing something like that, though?

GENDEN: Well, you know, there's a lot of literature that's out there right now that's coming out and has been out there for several years that demonstrates that you may sustain significant neurocognitive dysfunction, that is, the ability to remember things or concentration, multitask, that you can lose these abilities if you're not sleeping in what we consider the normal cycle, that is, asleep at sundown, awake at sunrise.

But I don't think there's anything definitive out there that we need to be worried about at this point.

HARRIS: Dr. Eric Genden, we thank you very much for your time and for your advice and we invite you to get back in touch with us if you ever do decide to buy a lucid dreaming sleep mask. I'd like to see one of those things one day.

GENDEN: Thank you very much.

HARRIS: Good luck and pleasant dreams to you.

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