When it comes to sleep, I'm not sure there a topic that frustrates more than waking up at night (sometimes referred to as sleep maintenance insomnia). The struggle to make it from bedtime to wake can be a long and tortuous journey for some. In this episode we will:
- explore the history of sleep and nocturnal awakenings
- define the prevalence of nocturnal awakenings in the adult population
- understand both the definition of arousal and its relationship to awakenings
- investigate the concept of sleep efficiency, how it relates to sleep expectation versus sleep need, and how this itself can lead to increased awakenings at night
- determine how the presence or absence of excessive sleepiness can help to understand the cause and seriousness of nocturnal awakenings
- learn the risk factors and predictors that often lead to nocturnal awakenings
- find out that an individual's determination of the cause of their awakenings can be unreliable
- discuss the role of sleep studies in determining if there are pathological causes for nocturnal awakenings
- explore the role of anxiety and worry in nocturnal awakenings
- summarize the numerous studies that have shown the role of exercise in reducing both frequency and duration of nocturnal awakenings
Produced by: Maeve Winter
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Thanks for listening and sleep well!
