Sleep

A New York City woman files a $500,000 lawsuit that claims her neighbor's yappy dogs are driving her nuts, and your first thought is: Wow, way to overreact. Then you find out the yappy dogs are Chihuahuas. Your next thought is: Oh, she should sue for way more than that. She should sue for 2 or 3 mil, easy. Maybe even more if she can prove lasting damage to her emotional well-being. That should be a piece of cake when you live above two Chihuahuas. Maybe you read about the plight of lawyer Paulette Taylor, 62, who lives in an apartment on the Upper West Side.

A friend asked for an expert's help in understanding night terrors in kids and what causes them, and what to do when they happen. Here's what Dr. Julie Yeh, a pediatrician at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, wrote when I asked for guidance: "Night terrors are a common form of sleep disturbance that occurs during non-REM sleep in young children, usually between the ages of 2 and 6. Typically, the child will wake up very frightened and upset during the...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Trainer Carl Nafzger said he was going to "sleep in" the morning after his 3-year-old charge, Street Sense, had won the Kentucky Derby. But Nafzger couldn't sleep and was at his Churchill Downs barn early serving coffee and doughnuts before 7 a.m. "You never get tired of winning the Kentucky Derby," he said. "You never get tired of reaching the higher pinnacle. In life it's hard to do and you never get tired of it." More Inside How the Preakness field is shaping up. PG 5D

People tend to think of sleep problems as adult problems, generally connected to trouble with weight, diet, stress or depression. But more and more children are having trouble sleeping - and more often than not, a new study finds, the treatment they receive comes in the form of a pill. The trend is concerning, the study authors say, because sleep deprivation can lead to headaches, irritability, impaired concentration and even behavior akin to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. In addition, little is known about the consequences of the prescriptions children are being given to deal with their sleep disturbances.

Between 50 million and 70 million Americans have some sort of sleep disorder, be it apnea, insomnia, narcolepsy. And this time of year - with shopping overload, overbooked calendars and end-of-the-year work demands - can be a sleeper's nightmare. "There just does not seem to be enough time to shop, attend holiday parties, decorate the house, work and sleep," says Mary Battaglia, 42, a co-founder of the sleep-aid company BedtimePlace.Com. "I try hard to get the right sleep because I know how important it is. But that does not always happen."

WASHINGTON -- Under pressure from the federal government, drug makers are revising the labels on Ambien, Lunesta and other popular sleep aids to warn that the pills may result in driving, eating and even having sex while sleeping, health officials said yesterday. The manufacturers of the 13 popular medications are also preparing information bulletins for users that will highlight the possibility of bizarre nighttime side effects. The Food and Drug Administration requested the action to discourage patients from taking higher than recommended doses or combining use with alcohol consumption.

Americans are asking for drugs they don't need based on vague TV commercial promises that are heavy on emotions but light on facts, according to a study published yesterday in the Annals of Family Medicine. The charge, based on 30-month-old advertisements, has some pharmaceutical companies questioning the study's validity. AstraZeneca PLC, for example, acknowledges criticism of past advertising practices but said it has introduced new, more responsible campaigns. "That was an old ad," AstraZeneca spokeswoman Michele B. Pelkowski said, referring to a summer 2004 commercial for its cholesterol medication Crestor, which the medical journal featured online.

You invited readers who have had trouble with Ambien to write. I had two incidents in 2003 when I drove in my sleep while taking Ambien. Once, I bought a pack of cigarettes while I was out. I did not realize this until I saw them on the kitchen counter the next morning. In October of 2005, I went on a cruise. I took Ambien to get some sleep, but my roommate reported that I got up in the middle of the night and started walking around. I have not taken any more Ambien, because I am afraid of what I might do. We keep hearing from people who sleepwalk or even sleep-drive while taking Ambien.

MEDINAH, Ill. -- Sergio Garcia is like many teen-agers: He has no trouble sleeping.Whether it was after taking the first-round lead at the 81st PGA Championship or after moving back in contention at Medinah Country Club with a 4-under par 68, the 19-year old from Spain doesn't have trouble shutting his eyes."

This is an edited excerpt of a Boston Globe editorial, which was published Monday.A STUDY on aging and sleep published this month in the American Journal of Medicine belies a couple of popular myths: that the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin decreases as people get older and that a bottled version of the stuff is needed to correct the deficiency.Dr. Charles Czeisler of Harvard Medical School and his colleagues show that there is no problem. In sleep lab experiments, the researchers found that the melatonin levels of healthy people ages 65 to 81 matched those of people ages 18 to 30.So those ads hawking melatonin as a must-have supplement for anyone over 40 are akin to the babble of the old medicine wagon huckster.

Question: : I am 64 and nearing retirement, but with the stress of the economic downturn, I'm having a difficult time sleeping. Sleeping pills like Ambien or Lunesta cost more than $160 a month, which I cannot afford. What can you recommend for me so I can sleep at night and stay sharp on the job? Answer: : Ambien is available as an inexpensive generic, zolpidem. It has some adverse effects, though: Some people sleepwalk or even sleep-drive while on this drug, and many readers report some generic formulations don't work as well as Ambien.

I've heard that blueberries have a beneficial effect on the brain. Can you tell me more about this? Is the research recent and credible? James Joseph, Ph.D., at Tufts University is a leading neuroscientist and expert on the effects of berries on brain function. He has done a number of studies in both aging rodents and humans demonstrating cognitive benefits from blueberries. We see this research as highly credible (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Feb. 13, 2008). Joseph recommends frozen berries as an economical way to get the antioxidant potential of this fruit.

I was complaining about moving files and pictures and stuff from my old computer to my new laptop - the electronic equivalent of your parents moving out of the family home and into a condo - when one of my friends offered this commiseration. "Yeah. It's like having two men and not being able to remember which one you did what with." That's me, I thought. The microprocessor version of HBO's Big Love. I have this fresh, young, streamlined laptop that can go like mad and restart in seconds.

A New York City woman files a $500,000 lawsuit that claims her neighbor's yappy dogs are driving her nuts, and your first thought is: Wow, way to overreact. Then you find out the yappy dogs are Chihuahuas. Your next thought is: Oh, she should sue for way more than that. She should sue for 2 or 3 mil, easy. Maybe even more if she can prove lasting damage to her emotional well-being. That should be a piece of cake when you live above two Chihuahuas. Maybe you read about the plight of lawyer Paulette Taylor, 62, who lives in an apartment on the Upper West Side.

A friend asked for an expert's help in understanding night terrors in kids and what causes them, and what to do when they happen. Here's what Dr. Julie Yeh, a pediatrician at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, wrote when I asked for guidance: "Night terrors are a common form of sleep disturbance that occurs during non-REM sleep in young children, usually between the ages of 2 and 6. Typically, the child will wake up very frightened and upset during the...

A local father who reads the Charm City Moms blog asked me: "How do we get our 3-year-old out of our bed?" Kim West, a Severna Park social worker who tackles children's sleep problems as "The Sleep Lady," says that many of her clients start out committed to "co-sleeping" with their young kids, but find it doesn't quite work out for them. "I also encounter lots of 'we didn't plan it this way' couples seeking help in finally breaking the pattern. These families end up missing their privacy, or they end up just not getting very much sleep."

New drug may offer relief from jet lag An experimental drug that mimics the effects of the hormone melatonin can reset the body's circadian rhythms, bringing relief to jet-lagged travelers and night-shift workers, researchers reported last week. In a study of 450 people who were subjected to simulated jet lag in a sleep laboratory, a team from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that the drug restored near-normal sleep the first night it was used. There were no after effects, minimal side effects and people who took it performed normally the next day, said Dr. Elizabeth B. Klerman, one of the authors of the study published online in the journal Lancet.

On November 17, 2008, PRINCE EDWARD DOWNER. Born and raised in Greensboro, NC, and formerly of Baltimore. He succumb to sleep after a lengthy illness. He was currently living with his youngest son Shawn in Atlanta, GA. Also survived by his nine children and many relatives and friends. The family will eulogize him in a small private ceremony over the holidays.

I am seeing a new guy, and the stubble on his face has left a large chapped area on my face that almost feels burned. It's an unpleasant aftermath of an enjoyable kissing session. I'm putting Vaseline on it. Is there anything else that might help more? We checked with cosmetics expert Dr. Stanley B. Levy of Chapel Hill Dermatology in North Carolina. He said you can use 1 percent hydrocortisone cream for a few days. It is available over the counter. To prevent or soothe irritation, Aquaphor (made by Beiersdorf)

Too many people rely on sleeping pills and use them for too long, according to the September edition of Consumer Reports. A nationwide survey by the magazine in April found that 44 percent of Americans are problem sleepers, meaning they have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep or wake up too early at least eight nights per month. The survey of 1,466 adults, conducted by the magazine's National Research Center, also found that almost one in five Americans took prescription or over-the-counter drugs at least once a week to help them sleep, and 24 percent became dependent on the medication they used.