ANCSLEEP BLOG

Opiate use is at an all-time high in the US. It is a serious epidemic in many cities, especially in Anchorage. Opiate dependency can have dramatic effects on someone’s psychological and physical health. Chronic use of opiate medications can considerably disrupt normal sleep cycles. Unfortunately, downstream effects of sleep problems can exacerbate many of the side effects of chronic opiate use, such as:

• Mood problems
• Impulsivity
• Cognitive disruptions
• Physical underperformance

Let’s look at how opiate medications affect sleep in more detail.

Relationship Between Opiate Side Effects and Sleep

Opiates are strange in that they have properties that both make us feel tired but also promote wakefulness [1]. The result is the frustrating feeling of wanting to sleep, being ready to sleep, but being unable to actually sleep well.

Hence, chronic use of opiates usually is accompanied by the following symptoms [3]:

• Insomnia:
  • Waking up feeling that sleep wasn’t restful
  • Problems staying asleep at night (characteristic of insomnia)
  • Problems falling asleep (characteristic of insomnia)
• Daytime sleepiness
• Highly vivid dreams that disrupt sleep
• General tiredness

For example, researchers at St. George’s Hospital Medical School found that opiate users [4] were:

• More than five times as likely to report difficulty falling asleep
• More than nine times as likely to report not sleeping well

It’s unclear how short-term opiate medication use may affect sleep, as well as the extent to which sleep-related side effects are a risk factor for perpetuating opiate use.

How Opiate Medications Disrupt Sleep

There are four stages to sleep. REM sleep (rapid eye movement), the fourth stage, is where:

• Memories are consolidated
• Dreams occur
• Muscles become immobilized
• 20% of total sleep occurs

The other important sleep stage is NREM (non-REM) stage three, where deep sleep occurs.

Opiates disrupt both of these stages of sleep because of their complex interaction with a chemical called adenosine – an interaction that is dose and receptor-dependent [3]. Hence, even if you take opiates and get a “full night's rest,” you may still feel physically fatigued in the morning.

Relationship Between Opiate Medications and Sleep Apnea

Prolonged use of opiates may contribute to sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a medical condition where one breathes shallowly or experiences pauses in breathing, causing a person to wake in order to begin breathing again. This may happen many times during the night, essentially crippling one’s ability for restful sleep.

Opiates depress respiration by slowing down the breathing rate or reducing the fullness of breaths taken – resulting in decreased oxygen in the blood. For people who already have a variant of sleep apnea, or are at risk for developing it (i.e., people with obesity or diabetes), taking opiate medications can increase the risk of developing or exacerbate existing sleep apnea:

Final Thought: What to do If You’re On Opiate Medications

For many people, taking opiate medications is necessary. To see how opiate medications are affecting your ability to get restful sleep, we highly suggest that consult with a sleep specialist or get a sleep study. Please click the orange button below to take a free online sleep test and get in contact with one of our sleep health specialists.

References

[1] 6. De Andrés I, Caballero A. Chronic morphine administration in cats: Effects on sleep and EEG. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1989;32:519–26. [PubMed]

[2] Jason T Moore, Max B Kelz. Opiates, Sleep, and Pain: The Adenosinergic Link. Anesthesiology. 2009 Dec; 111(6): 1175-1176. [NCBI]

[3] Porkka-Heiskanen T, Strecker RE, Thakkar M, Bjorkum AA, Greene RW, McCarley RW. Adenosine: A mediator of the sleep-inducing effects of prolonged wakefulness. Science. 1997;276:1265–8. [PMC free article] [PubMed]

[4] James Elander, Sally Porter & Sally Hodson (1994) What role for general practitioners in the care of opiate Users?, Addiction Research, 1:4, 309-322, D

Individuals who struggle with diabetes could also be struggling with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Over the past two decades, more research has illuminated the fact that many symptoms of diabetes are common to those in OSA. These similarities include:

• Metabolic conditions

• Obesity

• Glucose intolerance

• Cardiovascular complications

Because both OSA and diabetes present many of the same symptoms, untreated OSA can significantly aggravate diabetes risk factors if OSA is left untreated. Fortunately, there are paths to a diagnosis and a variety of OSA treatment options available that can alleviate symptoms and potentially save lives for those suffering from OSA and diabetes.

What is Insomnia?

“Insomnia” is a word that most people frequently toss around to describe cases of sleeplessness. However, the disorder is actually a complicated umbrella term that includes multiple conditions varying in severity.

Insomnia is defined as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, even when a person has the chance to do so.

No matter the type of insomnia, those who suffer from the condition commonly complain of the same symptoms:

• Waking during the night

• Waking too early

• Fatigue during the day

• Irritability

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Difficulty concentrating

• Increased worry

• Increased accidents

Sleep apnea is a group of sleeping breathing-related sleep disorders that cause low levels of oxygen to circulate through the body at night. There are three types of sleep apnea: 

• Obstructive or obstructive sleep apnea
• Non-obstructive or central sleep apnea
• Mixed: called complex sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by obstruction from the upper airway becoming blocked during sleep. This blockage greatly reduces or completely stops airflow, and is usually accompanied by loud snoring.

Central sleep apnea is caused when the brain does not send signals needed to breathe during sleep. This type of sleep apnea is not accompanied by snoring, does not involve obstruction, and is far less common than OSA.

Complex sleep apnea is accompanied by characteristics of both central and obstructive sleep apnea.

In all cases, the common consequence is the inability to get restful sleep.

We are so excited to let you know about the latest technology for people with sleep apnea. Ultra-portable, compact, seamlessly integrated, and superior quality are just a few of the adjectives used to describe the NEW DreamStation Go by Philips. Anchorage Sleep Center is proud to introduce you to a new portable CPAP machine which delivers on all of the features sleep apnea patients desire in a unit. The newly released Philips DreamStation Go is the perfect size and portable without lacking in effectiveness or functionality. Here are some advantages of the DreamStation for individuals who have sleep apnea.

Most people don’t get enough sleep. We are a society that burns the candle at both ends, a nation where people stay up all night to study, work, or have fun. However, going without adequate sleep carries with it both short- and long-term consequences.

Everyone knows that lack of sleep can make a person grumpy and foggy. However, not everyone knows that sleep deprivation can significantly affect your health, safety, and performance.

These are the top seven dangers of sleep deprivation:

Do you wake up earlier than you’d like or have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep? Are you excessively tired throughout the day and/or having difficulty concentrating at work or school? Do you rely heavily on caffeine to keep you awake? Does the sleep you do get feel restorative, or does it feel inadequate? If you said “yes” to any of these questions, there is a chance that you suffer from a sleep disorder.

If a sleep disorder is suspected, there will likely come a time when you will have a sleep study performed to get to the root of your sleep problems. Talking to your doctor, or one of the sleep specialists at the Anchorage Sleep Center, about your sleeping challenges is the first step in getting a sleep study performed and discovering what exactly is disturbing your slumber. Your doctor will likely have you keep a sleep diary for at least two or three weeks. This will help them better understand your symptoms and help them with their diagnosis. It wouldn’t hurt, however, to start a sleep diary as soon as you recognize that there is a problem with your sleep. Good documentation will help accelerate the process leading up to diagnosis and treatment.

It’s not surprising that the week of Thanksgiving was chosen as GERD awareness week, especially with our tendency to indulge in a little too much of everything!  GERD. or gastroesophageal reflux disease, is a common disease that affects millions of Americans.

Insomnia is a sleeping disorder that prevents you from falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up at an appropriate time. This can be due an underlying cause or seem idiopathic. If you struggle with sleep and are concerned you're the only one, it may help to know that you're not alone in your quest for better sleep. Research studies demonstrate that approximately 25% of people suffer from some form of sleep disorder. This statistic is daunting as sleep deprivation can impose detrimental effects on individuals and the people around them.

Stress is a natural part of everyday life. However, too much stress can interfere with daily activities, including sleep. Stress and sleep are a vicious cycle because too much stress impacts sleep, and too little sleep worsens stress.  

One thing that can help to relieve stress that interferes with sleep is yoga. Yoga is a soothing practice that can calm the mind and relieve tension in the body. It can help lower stress and is often an effective sleep remedy. Certain inversion and resting poses are especially helpful in combatting restlessness, especially when done in the evening before attempting to get some shut-eye. Continue reading to learn 6 yoga poses that are great for sleep!