Sleep Deprivation

Is it Really That Easy to Overcome a Sleep Deficit?

A lot of people think sleep is like the money in their bank accounts. They think they can build up sleep reserves and then deplete their sleep balance, or even incur a sleep “debt” without any serious repercussions. Furthermore, many people believe that a day spent sleeping is all it takes to repay that debt, much in the same way that a weekly paycheck replenishes banking account funds.

However, sleep isn’t anything like money. Although I suppose a case could be made that as modern-day humans, we need both money and sleep to survive, especially since the days of bartering are long gone. So in that sense, they’re similar.

But that’s where the similarity ends.

If you think it’s possible to repay sleep debt with a day spent sleeping in, this story is definitely for you.

Let’s start with some observations:

• Nearly a third of all people fall short of the daily recommended hours of sleep. Adults should get 8 hours of sleep each night, but many get less than 6.
• Many people holding critical jobs including paramedics, truck drivers, doctors, and medical interns go for more than a day without getting any sleep at all.
• Studies have shown that the degree of impaired judgment experienced by an individual that shorts himself a couple of hours of sleep each night, as well as the individual that goes a day or more without sleep is equal to that of a person who drives while intoxicated.
• What’s even worse is the individual who regularly gets less than the daily recommended amount of sleep AND on top of that, occasionally pulls an all-nighter.


This dual sleep deprivation pattern makes this person’s impairment 10 times worse than the impairment that results from simply going without sleep for a 24-hour period.

I don’t know about you, but the idea of a drunken emergency room doctor treating me, or a bleary eyed big rig operator driving on the open road beside me, are both a bit unsettling. What’s even more unsettling is the sheer number of individuals that regularly deprive themselves of sleep, whether purposely or because of stress or other worries. No wonder so many mistakes and accidents happen during the night and the wee hours of the morning. That’s when people should be home in bed!

Results of a recent study of sleep patterns reveals what many of us will probably be surprised to find out: The ability to recover from sleep debt takes longer than researchers—and most of us—previously believed. As you’d expect, how long sleep recovery takes depends on various factors.

Once you make your way through the scientific babble behind this latest study, a couple of things become apparent.

1) We need to sleep.
2) Through evolution, the human body now has more than one built-in mechanism designed to promote sleepiness.
3) Sooner or later, some type of price will be paid for depriving oneself of sleep.

Sometimes solutions are pretty simple, as is the case with sleep: Get enough—every day.

Enough said!

Taking Aspirin May Soothe Social Pain

A Possible New Cure for an Age-Old Problem

It used to be that hurt feelings could be soothed with an apology. Sometimes more was needed to help ease the pain, so a piece of chocolate was given along with the apology. That usually worked. And if it didn’t, time could always be counted on to make things better between two people.

But very soon, there might be a new way to alleviate social pain. And it doesn’t involve words or chocolate or anything normally associated with soothing hurt feelings.

What’s the newest way to cure social pain?

Pop an over-the-counter pain reliever and in a few hours, your emotional pain may subside. No chocolate or prescription required!

I have to admit, the news that it might be possible to treat emotional pain the same way physical pain is treated caught me by surprise. Haven’t we always been told that if we’re unhappy, we should do something that makes us feel happy? Or that if someone isn’t being nice, stay away from that person?

These are the strategies I’ve always relied on to cope with hurt feelings and social snubs. So why would I take acetaminophen to get rid of pain that someone else caused and that exists only in my mind? It didn’t make any sense. But that’s because I don’t know a lot about genetics or brain mapping.


One gene, two types of pain

Apparently scientists have zeroed in on a single gene that they have been able to link to two types of pain: One is physical pain, and the other is the kind that’s felt as a result of being rejected. They’ve also located certain regions of the brain that are believed to be linked to this pain-causing gene.

We already know that pain relievers can focus on the regions of the brain that process physical pain, and effectively alleviate that type of pain. But what we don’t know is whether that same pain reliever could also focus on the overlapping regions of the brain that process emotional pain, and effectively alleviate that type of pain.

So a research team was assembled. Their goal: Figuring out whether over-the-counter pain relievers can alleviate both a broken heart and a broken bone.

Two small-scale studies were launched. The first consisted of 62 participants, half of whom took acetaminophen and the other half, a placebo. For 3 weeks participants reported their feelings of pain using a widely accepted tool for measuring hurt feelings. When researchers analyzed their responses, they confirmed that over time, hurt feelings and social pain decreased in the group taking the acetaminophen. The placebo group showed little change.

A second study measured brain activity. After three weeks of testing and observation, the group taking the acetaminophen showed much less neural activity in the regions of the brain that respond to rejection than the placebo group.

Time to stock up on acetaminophen?

Not yet. Until further studies are completed, you’ll have to settle for soothing socially-induced pain the old-fashioned way!

Loneliness - Do you suffer?

Can Loneliness Really Spread Like a Disease?

When I first read the news that loneliness could be contagious, I was puzzled. I mean, if you’re lonely, doesn’t that imply that you’re not around people very much? And if you’re not around people, how could you possibly spread something to someone else?

The idea intrigued me so I decided to investigate. And here’s what I found out.

To help make this easier to understand, let me first ask this. Have you ever been told to smile because it’s contagious, so you smile at the next person who walks by, and like magic, that person smiles back?

Well apparently, the same sort of thing can happen when you’re constantly caught not smiling, just not as quickly. It seems that when you stop smiling, some of your friends stop smiling, too.

For loneliness to spread there doesn’t have to be any person-to person contact. And it’s not necessary to sneeze in another person’s direction. All it takes is for one person in your social circle to start exhibiting signs of loneliness and the personality traits that lonely people tend to exhibit like lower self-esteem, hostility, social awkwardness, anxiety, and shyness. Once that happens, everyone else in that social circle is vulnerable to catching the emotional state we call loneliness.

All of this is according to a decade of research conducted by several prominent learning institutions including Harvard University, the University of California at San Diego, and the University of Chicago.


Which came first?

For a long time now, the overriding belief about loneliness was that it develops as a result of isolation. But study co-author John Cacioppo wants to shake up that way of thinking. Based on an analysis of his research, he believes the opposite is true: that loneliness triggers isolation.

By looking more closely at the impact people who described themselves as lonely made on others in their social circles, Cacioppo and the other researchers realized that lonely people don’t keep their loneliness to themselves. Instead, they share it, or rather, they share the behaviors associated with their loneliness.

In other words, when lonely people exhibit anxiousness, social awkwardness and other negative behaviors, quite often the people around them start exhibiting these types of behavior, too. So it’s actually the behaviors that lonely people exhibit that become contagious. This idea even has a name: Emotional contingent meaning that loneliness may spread by catching another person’s emotional state.

It seems that the only way to avoid “catching” loneliness then is to stop hanging around the lonely person. As more friends and coworkers avoid interacting with the lonely person, the lonely person becomes more and more isolated.

On the other hand, the people who choose to stick around eventually begin exhibiting more of the behaviors associated with loneliness. And soon, their behavior spreads to others in that person’s social circle. Before you know it, there’s a whole group of people from different social circles exhibiting standoffish and distant behavior, slowly losing their friends, and as a result, feeling more isolated and alone.

And that, researchers believe, is how loneliness spreads like a disease.

Children and Stress

Children and Stress – A Sign of the Times?

I’m stressed, you’re stressed, and people we know are stressed. That probably doesn’t come as any surprise, especially considering what’s going on in the world lately.

What may surprise you though is the number of children that are feeling stressed. But they’re not stressed over dating or what they’re wearing to the Homecoming dance, or any of the things we usually think stress the younger generation.

What’s stressing our children?

Today’s kids are stressing over their parents’ financial situations. They’re stressing over school. And they’re stressing over what awaits them once they finish high school. They worry about losing their homes, not having a job once they graduate high school and not getting accepted into college.

All of this is according to a recent study conducted by the American Psychological Association. Each year, the Association conducts a stress test of sorts by surveying adults in an effort to learn more about stress.

Recently, the Association decided it was time to survey our nation’s children. A little more than 1,200 kids aged 8 through 17 participated in the survey. They were asked to talk about stress in their lives. In particular, the survey sought to uncover the situations that cause stress and how stress affects their health.


I don’t know about you, but I often tell my kids how much I wish I could switch lives with them. I tell them I’d rather be back in school than deal with all the responsibilities that come with adulthood. When I look back at my school years, all I remember is lots of fun and lots of friends, and no cares in the world.

But things are different today

School isn’t always the carefree place it used to be. Our kids are under increased pressure to take mandated tests and advanced level classes. They’re bullied, and not just by one or two tough guys. Now lots of kids – even girls! – bully others.

Today’s kids are under tremendous pressure to be sexually active. They’re pressured into being the best in their sport or risk losing scholarship funds. Their lifestyles are changing as parents try to cope with less income and rising prices on basic necessities. And there’s more.

Sadly, children suffer the same health consequences of stress as adults do. They have headaches. They have trouble sleeping. They feel unmotivated, sad, and depressed. They’re irritable and angry. They eat too much or not enough. They have frequent upset stomachs.

And most parents, including me, are totally unaware that any of this is going on!!

Parents, it’s time to tune in. If you’re a parent, there’s never been a more important time than right now to get actively involved in your child’s life. You need to get your child talking, and you need to become a very good listener. Take interest in what they’re saying, but don’t be intrusive. Share with them what’s going on in life, but be careful not to overwhelm.

Realize that your kids may be more stressed than you think. And take action now before the situation gets out of control.

Internet Addiction

When Internet Usage Turns From Normal into an Addiction

How many hours do you spend connected to the Internet each day? If you’re reading this blog, you’re connected. If you’re a PharmacyEscrow.com customer, you’re connected when you order your prescription drugs. When you leave this site, do you stay connected and visit other sites? During all that time, guess what? You’re connected to the Internet.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re addicted to the Internet. I’m connected to the Internet from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed. I don’t spend all that time online though. I take breaks to shower, exercise, cook, eat, socialize with real friends, and tend to other personal business. So I consider my daily Internet usage typical, even necessary, since my job is 100% Internet-based.


We’re all connected

Nobody is trying to argue the fact that we live in a connected world. Most of us spend big chunks of each day online and the main reason for doing so is convenience. With just a few clicks of the mouse, you can find practically anything you need, no matter how obscure. Everything’s easier on the Internet including comparison shopping, finding service providers, learning, and entertaining.

Today we can use the Internet to make phone calls and watch TV. We can read online books, and conduct research for term papers. We can get everything we need, without leaving the comfort of home.

And it’s that part that has some people ready to label the user an Internet addict. Problem is, there’s currently no way to test or prove such an addiction. Plenty of quizzes are available – online, of course! But these are mostly designed to help better understand your Internet usage, which can actually be an important first step in determining whether closer examination of your Internet habits is warranted.

Like any type of addiction, the way you use the Internet isn’t a problem until it starts creating a problem.

• If the time you spend on the Internet is interfering with your job or relationship.
• If you’ve started lying about using the Internet.
• If Internet use has turned into a compulsion.
• If the Internet starts to dominate your life.
• If the Internet is causing stress in your relationships at home and/or at work.
• If you find it hard to simply unplug and/or experience withdrawal-like symptoms when you do.

It might be time to figure out if you have a problem, possibly an addiction, to the Internet.

Who’s at risk?

Anyone that uses the Internet could become addicted to it. However, studies show that individuals with addictive personalities are part of the high-risk group. So are depressed individuals and individuals suffering from anxiety-related disorders. People that have trouble forming or maintaining relationships as well as individuals with ADHD, those exhibiting hostility, and those that use the Internet as a way to escape are also at greater risk.

Fortunately, the push is on to train more professionals in the ability to both identify and treat this 21st century problem that sounds kind of funny but can be very serious.

Do you have an internet addiction problem, please let us know.