Grow Youthful: How to Slow Your Aging and Enjoy Extraordinary Health
Grow Youthful: How to Slow Your Aging and Enjoy Extraordinary Health

Insomnia and sleep disorders

What is insomnia?

Causes of insomnia

Groups most at risk of insomnia

Consequences of insomnia

Remedies for insomnia (tips for sleeping)

References

What is insomnia?

Insomnia is difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting sufficient good-quality sleep. This lack of sleep affects your ability to function during the day, and can cause distress. An estimated 30% - 60% of adults are affected by insomnia at some time in their lives, with more women being affected than men. One in ten people in developed countries experience chronic insomnia. (6) Its incidence tends to increase with age.

Insomnia is not defined by getting a specific number of hours of sleep, because people vary in their sleep needs. Adults who get 7 - 8 hours of sleep every night tend to be the healthiest and longest-lived. However, depth and regularity of deep sleep is more important than the total time in bed.

Causes of insomnia

Groups most at risk of insomnia

Consequences of insomnia

Remedies for insomnia (tips for long deep sleep every night)

Deep youthful sleep is a skill to work on over your entire life.

References

1. Spiegel K., et al. Leptin levels are dependent on sleep duration: relationships with sympathovagal balance, carbohydrate regulation, cortisol, and thyrotropin. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 89, no. 11. November 2004. 5762-71.

2. Taheri S., Lin L., Austin D., Young T., Mignot E. Short sleep duration is associated with reduced leptin, elevated ghrelin, and increased body mass index. PLoS Medicine 1, no. 3. December 2004.

3. Broussard JL, Ehrmann DA, Van Cauter E, Tasali E, Brady MJ. Impaired insulin signaling in human adipocytes after experimental sleep restriction: a randomized, crossover study. Ann Intern Med. 2012 Oct 16;157(8):549-57. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-157-8-201210160-00005.

4. Ben-Shlomo R, Kyriacou CP. Light pulses administered during the circadian dark phase alter expression of cell cycle associated transcripts in mouse brain. Cancer Genet Cytogenet. Feb 2010; 197(1):65-70.

5. R. Pamplona. Mitochondrial DNA Damage and Animal Longevity: Insights from Comparative Studies. Journal of Aging Research, 2011. DOI: 10.4061/2011/807108.

6. Roth T, Roehrs T. Insomnia: epidemiology, characteristics, and consequences. Clin Cornerstone. 2003;5(3):5-15.

7. Taheri S, Lin L, Austin D, Young T, Mignot E. Short sleep duration is associated with reduced leptin, elevated ghrelin, and increased body mass index. PLoS Med. 2004 Dec;1(3):e62. Epub 2004 Dec 7.

8. Taheri S. The link between short sleep duration and obesity: we should recommend more sleep to prevent obesity. Arch Dis Child. 2006 Nov;91(11):881-4.

9. Al Khatib HK, Harding SV, Darzi J, Pot GK. The effects of partial sleep deprivation on energy balance: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2017 May;71(5):614-624. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2016.201. Epub 2016 Nov 2.

10. Erik S. Musiek, Meghana Bhimasani, Margaret A. Zangrilli, John C. Morris, David M. Holtzman, Yo-ElS, Ju. Circadian Rest-Activity Pattern Changes in Aging and Preclinical Alzheimer Disease. JAMA Neurol. Published online 29 January 2018. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2017.4719.

11. Kate E. Sprecher, Rebecca L. Koscik, Cynthia M. Carlsson, Henrik Zetterberg, Kaj Blennow, Ozioma C. Okonkwo, Mark A. Sager, Sanjay Asthana, Sterling C. Johnson, Ruth M. Benca, Barbara B. Bendlin. Poor sleep is associated with CSF biomarkers of amyloid pathology in cognitively normal adults. Neurology. 2017 Aug 1; 89(5): 445-453. doi: 10.1212/WNL.4171. PMCID: PMC5539733. PMID: 28679595.

12. Ehsan Shokri-Kojori, Gene-Jack Wang, Corinde E. Wiers, Sukru B. Demiral, Min Guo, Sung Won Kim, Elsa Lindgren, Veronica Ramirez, Amna Zehra, Clara Freeman, Gregg Miller, Peter Manza, Tansha Srivastava, Susan De Santi, Dardo Tomasi, Helene Benveniste, Nora D. Volkow. B-Amyloid accumulation in the human brain after one night of sleep deprivation. PNAS, 24 April 2018. 115 (17) 4483-4488.

13. Severine Sabia, Aline Dugravot, Damien Leger, Celine Ben Hassen, Mika Kivimaki, Archana Singh-Manoux. Association of sleep duration at age 50, 60, and 70 years with risk of multimorbidity in the UK: 25-year follow-up of the Whitehall II cohort study. Published 18 October 2022, PLOS Medicine.

14. Langade D, Kanchi S, Salve J, Debnath K, Ambegaokar D. Efficacy and Safety of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) Root Extract in Insomnia and Anxiety: A Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Study. Cureus. 2019 Sep 28;11(9).