Scientists Say Respiratory Rhythms may Help Predict Insomnia

Respiratory rhythms can help predict chronic insomnia and sleep disruptions,scientists from University of Rochester Medical Centre have revealed.

In the study conducted over women with metastatic breast cancer, the researchers found that breathing, heart rates and cortisol levels can help predict insomnia.

Insomnia — Overview
Difficulty in initiating and maintaining sleep is known as insomnia. It is a symptom that occurs due to other disorders and can cause daytime sleepiness.

Lead author Oxana Palesh, Ph.D., research assistant professor at Rochester's James P. Wilmot Cancer Centre said that identifying the body's parasympathetic nervous system, a branch of the autonomic nervous system that controls breathing and heart rates and the body's response to stress, act as a contributor to poor sleep, which is a persistent problem for women with breast cancer.

"We were able to identify the role that the parasympathetic nervous system plays in insomnia. It's reasonable to suggest that simple breathing exercises may help more than we realize with insomnia," said Palesh.

She suggested that regulating deep diaphragmatic breathing through yoga, meditation and other techniques might help in preventing insomnia and sleep disruptions in cancer patients.

Sleep Disorders in Children - Overview, Types, Diagnosis, Management
Sleep disorders are problems in sleep that meet diagnostic criteria for a disorder. They include insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, parasomnias and narcolepsy.

During the study, out of 99 women with metastatic breast cancer or recurrent disease over 45, 39 took antidepressants and 19 used medications to treat their insomnia.

The scientists measured participants' heart rate during a stress task and found that lowered heart rate variability was associated with efficiency of their sleep.

About Sleep Disorder
Sleep disorders can either be having difficulty in getting sleep or dozing off at inappropriate time.

They found that most women spent about eight hours in bed at night, but had on average 15 wake episodes in the night with each episode lasting about 5 minutes, for a total of 71 minutes

Insomnia can reduce quality of life for people facing the disease.

Sleep Disorder: Periodic Limb Movement Disorder
Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) is a sleep disorder which causes repetitive cramping or jerking of the legs, resulting in disturbance of sleep.

The research showed that more than a third of the women with metastatic breast cancer, circadian rhythms are disrupted and cortisol peak multiple times or rise during the end of the day.

The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Source-ANI
RAS/SK