Insomniacs may Be More Sensitive to Pain

People with insomnia or poor sleep quality may be less tolerant of pain, new research suggests.

The more frequent and severe the insomnia, the greater the sensitivity to pain, the Norwegian study showed. Additionally, the researchers noted that people with insomnia who also suffer from chronic pain have an even lower threshold for physical discomfort.

The study, led by Borge Sivertsen, of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Bergen, involved more than 10,000 adults. The study participants all underwent a standard test of pain sensitivity by dunking their hands in a bath of cold water for 106 seconds.

The volunteers were also asked about their sleep quality. The researchers also took into account other factors that might affect pain tolerance, such as recurring pain, depression and anxiety.

They found that nearly one-third of participants were able to keep their hand in the cold water for the entire test.

Those with insomnia, however, were more likely to remove their hand from the water early. In fact 42% of people with insomnia pulled their hand out before the test ended, compared to 31% of those without this sleep disorder, the study published in the journal PAIN revealed.

People with more severe cases of insomnia had greater pain sensitivity, suggesting tolerance of pain drops along with sleep quality. People with insomnia and chronic pain were more than twice as likely to have reduced tolerance to pain, the research revealed.

Much of Bone is Shock-Absorbing ‘Goo’ that stops it from Shattering

Findings reveal new insights into bone diseases like osteoporosis.
March 25, 2014 (Medical News Today)

A team of chemists from the UK has made a remarkable discovery about the structure of bone and shown that much of the mineral from which it is made comprises a viscous ‘goo-like’ fluid that is trapped between the crystals that form bone.

The goo-like fluid allows movement or slipperiness between the calcium phosphate nano-crystals so they do not shatter under pressure. This newly discovered property is what gives bone its flexibility, say the researchers who write about their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study shows that the goo-like viscous fluid is made of the chemical citrate – which is a natural by-product of cell metabolism – mixed with water. The researchers suggest their discovery may explain how osteoporosis arises and will shift current thinking about the causes of this and other bone diseases.

If the citrate goo leaks out, it fuses with the calcium phosphate crystals, creating big clumps that stick together, causing bone to lose its flexibility and become more brittle.

“Bone mineral was thought to be closely related to this substance called hydroxyapatite. But what we’ve shown is that a large part of the bone mineral – possibly as much as half of it, in fact – is made up of this goo, where citrate is binding like a gel between mineral crystals” says lead investigator Dr. Melinda Duer of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge.

Imagine two panes of glass with water in between, they stick together but can slide with respect to each other. The citrate is what keeps the plates together, without drying out and sticking to each other or flying apart.

MY TAKE:
Hopefully, this new research will move the medical community away from the use of biphosphanates like Fosamax and Boniva. Drugs like this maintain old brittle bone by preventing the body from dismantling it and subsequently rebuilding with new bone. Although this improves the density on bone density studies, the remaining bone is more prone to fracture. This is why the companies were forced to print warnings about increased hip fractures on the labels.

As bone ages and begins to loose some of it’s’ flexibility, cells called osteoclasts eat the old bone. Then other cells, called osteoblasts produce new bone to replace what was lost. This process is ongoing though out our lives. Fosamax actually prevents the osteoclasts from doing their job.

Estrogen, on the other hand, stimulates both the osteoclasts and osteoblasts, especially the later. That protective factor is very important for women. When women go through menopause and estrogen levels drop, bone loss often escalates, resulting in osteoporosis.

Unfortunately, estrogen supplementation (HRT-hormone replacement therapy) can increase the risk of cancer, especially in the sex organs. Bio-identical HRT appears to reduce that risk by using a much lower dose of estrogen.

I believe the key lies in supporting adrenal health. After menopause (or andropause), the adrenals produce our sex hormones. They produce a little estrogen and testosterone when we are young, but their role increases as they take over for the ovaries and testes.

However, most of us have taxed our adrenals extensively with the stress of modern life. They just are not capable of taking on the additional task of hormone production. Hormone levels fall too far and too fast. This results in hot flashes, mood changes, depression, loss of libido, and osteoporosis.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
I will follow this research as nutritional support for osteoporosis may change radically as our knowledge grows. In the meantime, try to reduce your stress. Take some time to enjoy the little things in life. Go the beach and watch the sun rise. Read a good book. Play.

As I have noted in previous blogs, the cardinal signs of adrenal stress are poor sleep habits and low libido. If you suffer from insomnia, maintenance or onset, or your sex drive has dropped, consult a qualified nutritionist. There are several herbs that are quite effective in rebuilding adrenal function.

Sleeping Pill Use Rises as Risky Patterns Emerge

About 3.5% of US adults, or 6 million people, reported using prescription sleeping pills in a one-month period in 2009-2010, up from 2% in 1999-2000, researchers from Harvard Medical School reported in the February issue of the journal Sleep.
March 7, 2014

The Centers for Disease control and Prevention recently found similar, though slightly higher usage rates.

One obvious reason for the increase: two decades of marketing for the latest generation of pills, including zoipidem (Ambien), the drug that got Kerry Kennedy in trouble. But experts in sleep medicine say they are less worried about how many people are using the pills than about who it taking them and how.

Of particular concern, 55% of users in the latest study were also taking other sedating drugs, and 10% were taking three or more, most often opioid painkillers and benzodiazepines. While some older sleeping pills, such as triazolam (Halcion), are themselves benzodiazepines, the category also includes anxiety medications such as Xanax, and Ativan.

The fact that so many people are mixing these medications “actually makes me nervous as someone who drives down the road,” say Harvard researcher Suzanne Bertisch. Bertisch says that the heaviest users of sleeping pills are the oldest adults. The new study found 5% of people over 80 taking the medications. “Pretty much nobody over 80 should be on these medications.” Bertisch says, given the risks for daytime drowsiness, cognitive impairment, dizziness, falls and other side effects.

It’s not surprising, though, that so many elderly people and people on multiple medications take sleeping pills, says Daniel Buysse, professor of psychiatry at the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine. About 10-15% of the population has chronic insomnia, and people with other mental and physical health problems are disproportionately affected, he says. “Depression, anxiety, substance abuse, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder – every psychiatric disorder is associated with sleep problems,” he states. So are painful conditions such as arthritis.

MY TAKE:
The average American takes four prescription medications daily. We know very little about what most drugs do in the body. We know almost nothing about the interactions between multiple drugs. Sleeping pills only treat a symptom and often create side effects that are worse than the insomnia.

Sleep issues are probably more common than this report indicates. “How well do you sleep,” is a question I ask of every new patient. There are two basic forms of insomnia – Maintenance insomnia is when you wake up in the middle of the night. Your mind starts to work and you can not seem to shut it down. Onset insomnia is when you lie down to sleep and regardless of how tired you feel, you can not shut down the mind.

Both of these problems are related to adrenal stress. Typically, onset insomnia is the more severe adrenal issue than maintenance. High cortisol, released from the adrenals is the culprit.

Cortisol naturally increases slightly as we sleep each night. In small amounts it helps maintain blood glucose levels by stimulating release of glycogen (stored sugar) from the liver. However, excess cortisol over stimulates and once you are awake you can not get back to sleep.

As the adrenals produce more cortisol, they produce less of all the other sex hormones including estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Eventually, without treatment, the adrenals only produce cortisol. This is a real issue as we age, going through andropause and menopause, we require more and more production of sex hormones from the adrenals.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
If you have maintenance insomnia, try eating some protein at bedtime. This will help you maintain your blood glucose and the need for increased cortisol production should diminish. The herb Chaste Tree can be very effective as well. When taken early in morning, it promotes the body’s natural production of melatonin. Melatonin activates in the dark, so make sure your room is dark when you go to sleep. If you still have difficulty sleeping, have your cortisol levels checked. Our stressful lifestyle fatigues the adrenals over many years. Often adaptogens like Ashwaganda, Rehmannia, Korean Ginseng, or Tribulus can help rebuild the adrenals.