ANCSLEEP BLOG

Have you ever felt like you've tried all the tricks in the book, but you still weren't able to get a good night's rest? Potentially you have trouble falling asleep, or you may even find your sleep constantly disrupted. When you don't get enough sleep, there are consequences from sleep deprivation that can truly ruin your life. Therefore, if you are not getting a good night's rest, then it's pivotal that you continue trying to identify the source of your sleep issues, and get creative with ways to overcome them. 

One thing you can try is a sleep method from a different part of the country. The United States is not the beginning and end of sleep solutions. There are various techniques from around the world that have been around much longer than the U.S. Below, we are going to discuss some interesting sleep tricks from around the world for you to try if you feel like you have just run out of options! As always, please consult a physician or nutritionist before consuming any new supplement or herb as it can interfere with one of your medications.  

Do you ever feel like you follow all the advice on this site, and the advice of the people around you, but you still can't get a good night's rest? It can be extremely frustrating, and even disheartening to do everything possible for a better night's rest, and still wake up exhausted.

Did you know there are different types of fatigue? Understanding exactly what is draining your battery can help you recharge correctly. Continue reading to learn more about setting boundaries, recharging, and finally getting a good night's rest. 

Do you ever go to bed with these grandiose ideas of what you're morning will look like? But then the morning comes and you're so groggy, you can't get out of bed? It can be really frustrating to just sleep-walk through your morning and not achieve the amount of reading, planning, and preparing that you would like to do. 

Well, a study from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that 21% of men and 32% of women rarely or never feel refreshed when they wake up. So, to counter this, a study was done by University of California, Berkeley, that looked at how to wake people up feeling sharp instead of feeling so tired. 

What they found was that getting up early is not about genetics, or just having the grit and discipline to do it. But, it's more so about adjustable lifestyle habits you can do that can help you wake up. These include what you eat for breakfast, your activity throughout the day, and the amount of sleep that you get at night. Continue reading to learn more about these three factors. 

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

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!

Forty percent of Americans report having symptoms of insomnia at some point within a given year, according to the National Sleep Foundation. This alarming statistic identifies a common problem across the country affecting millions of adults. Not only does being tired detract from you quality of life, poor sleep is also detrimental for your health, causing or exacerbating conditions like heart disease and depression.

Before reaching for a prescription drug, there are some lifestyle factors that may actually improve your sleep outcomes. One lifestyle factor is diet. Revamping your diet can go a long way towards improving your sleep quality, provided you opt for foods rich in the right sleep-inducing ingredients. Continue reading to learn about 7 foods that can help you sleep better. 

Alaskans have enjoyed another Summer of the Midnight Sun, but winter is upon us, so here come those dark days. We now have our next challenge to face, Polar Nights. As the bears crawl into their dens for their long winter naps, we would be glad to join them. The sun-driven energy from the summer is gone, and we are up against the health challenges of trying to be awake while it is dark. 

The holiday season has arrived! Not only should you be excited, but there is so much to look forward to. Time with family and friends, shopping, and traveling are all many things that we take part in during the holiday season. However, for patients with mild-to-moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), going untreated while traveling can put them at risk for serious health consequences and, perhaps, ruin their trip as well. Sleep apnea doesn’t take a holiday, so it's important to continue treating it during yours. Here are a few quick tips to make traveling with sleep apnea a little less cumbersome.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

It’s 5:30 am., and that pesky alarm is going off. If you wake up feeling like you didn’t get a wink of sleep, you are not alone. Nearly half of Americans struggle with getting a good night’s sleep. Although the cause of sleep deprivation may be medically complicated, some behavioral patterns also may be contributing. What if you could follow a simple formula that could help you wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead? Following this 5-step formula, you will set yourself up for a successful night’s sleep. Continue reading to learn more. 

Do Opiate Medications Cause Sleep Problems?

Opiate use is at an all-time high in the US. It is a serious epidemic in many cities, especially in Anchorage. It goes without saying that opiate dependency can have dramatic effects on someone’s psychological and physical health. In light of this, lifestyle problems and periphery effects of opiate addiction or taking opiate medications, such as sleep health, go virtually unacknowledged.

The reality is that chronic use of opiate medications can considerably disrupt normal sleep cycles. Unfortunately, this is a revolving door because 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.