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What causes insomnia? - Dan Kwartler

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    What keeps you up at night?
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    Pondering deep questions?
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    Excitement about a big trip?
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    Or is it stress about unfinished work,
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    an upcoming test,
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    or a dreaded family gathering?
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    For many people, this stress is temporary,
    as its cause is quickly resolved.
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    But what if the very thing keeping
    you awake was stress about losing sleep?
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    This seemingly unsolvable loop
    is at the heart of insomnia,
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    the world’s most common
    sleep disorder.
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    Almost anything can cause
    the occasional restless night -
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    a snoring partner,
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    physical pain,
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    or emotional distress.
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    And extreme sleep deprivation like jetlag
    can throw off your biological clock,
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    wreaking havoc on your sleep schedule.
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    But in most cases, sleep deprivation
    is short-term.
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    Eventually, exhaustion catches up
    with all of us.
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    However, some long-term conditions
    like respiratory disorders,
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    gastrointestinal problems,
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    and many others can overpower fatigue.
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    And as sleepless nights pile up,
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    the bedroom can start to carry
    associations of restless nights
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    wracked with anxiety.
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    Come bedtime, insomniacs are stressed.
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    So stressed their brains hijack
    the stress response system,
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    flooding the body with
    fight-flight-or-freeze chemicals.
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    Cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormones
    course through the bloodstream,
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    increasing heart rate and blood pressure,
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    and jolting the body into hyperarousal.
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    In this condition, the brain is hunting
    for potential threats,
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    making it impossible to ignore
    any slight discomfort or nighttime noise.
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    And when insomniacs
    finally do fall asleep,
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    the quality of their rest is compromised.
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    Our brain’s primary source of energy
    is cerebral glucose,
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    and in healthy sleep, our metabolism slows
    to conserve this glucose for waking hours.
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    But PET studies show the adrenaline
    that prevents sleep for insomniacs
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    also speeds up their metabolisms.
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    While they sleep, their bodies
    are working overtime,
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    burning through the brain’s supply
    of energy-giving glucose.
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    This symptom of poor sleep leaves
    insomniacs
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    waking in a state of exhaustion,
    confusion, and stress,
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    which starts the
    process all over again.
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    When these cycles of stress
    and restlessness last several months,
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    they’re diagnosed as chronic insomnia.
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    And while insomnia rarely leads to death,
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    its chemical mechanisms are similar
    to anxiety attacks
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    found in those experiencing depression
    and anxiety.
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    So suffering from
    any one of these conditions
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    increases your risk of
    experiencing the other two.
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    Fortunately, there are ways to break
    the cycle of sleeplessness.
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    Managing the stress that leads
    to hyperarousal
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    is one of our best-understood treatments
    for insomnia,
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    and good sleep practices can help rebuild
    your relationship with bedtime.
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    Make sure your bedroom is dark
    and comfortably cool
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    to minimize “threats” during hyperarousal.
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    Only use your bed for sleeping,
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    and if you’re restless,
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    leave the room and tire yourself out
    with relaxing activities
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    like reading,
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    meditating,
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    or journaling.
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    Regulate your metabolism by setting
    consistent resting and waking times
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    to help orient
    your body’s biological clock.
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    This clock, or circadian rhythm,
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    is also sensitive to light,
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    so avoid bright lights at night
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    to help tell your body
    that it’s time for sleep.
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    In addition to these practices,
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    some doctors prescribe medication
    to aid sleep,
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    but there aren’t reliable medications
    that help in all cases.
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    And over-the-counter sleeping pills
    can be highly addictive,
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    leading to withdrawal
    that worsens symptoms.
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    But before seeking any treatment,
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    make sure your sleeplessness
    is actually due to insomnia.
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    Approximately 8% of patients diagnosed
    with chronic insomnia
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    are actually suffering from a less common
    genetic problem
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    called delayed sleep phase disorder,
    or DSPD.
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    People with DSPD have a circadian rhythm
    significantly longer than 24 hours,
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    putting their sleeping habits out
    of sync with traditional sleeping hours.
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    So while they have difficulty
    falling asleep at a typical bedtime,
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    it’s not due to increased stress.
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    And given the opportunity,
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    they can sleep comfortably
    on their own delayed schedule.
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    Our sleeping and waking cycle
    is a delicate balance,
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    and one that’s vital to maintain
    for our physical and mental wellbeing.
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    For all these reasons,
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    it’s worth putting in some time
    and effort
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    to sustain a stable bedtime routine,
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    but try not to lose any sleep over it.
Title:
What causes insomnia? - Dan Kwartler
Speaker:
Dan Kwartler
Description:

more » « less
Video Language:
English
Team:
closed TED
Project:
TED-Ed
Duration:
05:03
Michelle Mehrtens edited English subtitles for What causes insomnia?
Michelle Mehrtens edited English subtitles for What causes insomnia?
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Michelle Mehrtens edited English subtitles for What causes insomnia?
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