5 ms·

Sleep Deprivation May Spur Serious Mental Problems, Study Finds

40 points by px 16y ago

Vivtek 16y ago
Ah, hell. I should go to bed, then.
hugh3 16y ago
Oooh oooh, can I be "Correlation does not equal causation" guy in this thread? Seriously though, the actual article is probably much more useful than the headline, since they have presumably actually quantified the extent of the correlation between insomnia and other health problems. The other thing I learned is that there's a journal called Sleep.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- skip 16y ago
  Well, I came in here to say exactly that: the paper is based on a survey of people self-reporting their past history with sleeping. Not a very good way to control the results.
ryanjmo 16y ago
Definitely not the article you want to read because it is 4 in the morning and you can't sleep... shit.
DanielBMarkham 16y ago
Anecdote: I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea, which meant that for a good while I was getting virtually no REM sleep every night. After I got it fixed, I was talking to my doc. He said that he had seen a couple people who were locked up due to psychiatric problems who actually were really suffering from sleep disorders. Once the sleeping problem was fixed, they no longer needed medication or institutionalization. Powerful stuff, even if it's just second-hand stories.
jessriedel 16y ago
> The Pennsylvania researchers tracked 1,741 middle aged volunteers who completed a questionnaire on their sleep history, underwent a physical exam and were monitored overnight in a sleep laboratory. The death rate exceeded 50 percent for men with chronic insomnia, compared with 9.1 percent of those who slept well, after researchers adjusted for differences such as weight and smoking habits. Huh? 9% of the normal men died, and half of those with insomnia? How long did they follow them for?
- dLuna 16y ago
  You stole my comment! :-) Anyway, answer is here: http://www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=27894 http://www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=27894 And to save everyone from clicking on that link: "were followed-up for 14 years (men)", "mortality rate was 21% for men"

40 points by px 16y ago

Ah, hell. I should go to bed, then.

hugh3 16y ago

Oooh oooh, can I be "Correlation does not equal causation" guy in this thread? Seriously though, the actual article is probably much more useful than the headline, since they have presumably actually quantified the extent of the correlation between insomnia and other health problems. The other thing I learned is that there's a journal called Sleep.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
skip 16y ago
Well, I came in here to say exactly that: the paper is based on a survey of people self-reporting their past history with sleeping. Not a very good way to control the results.

ryanjmo 16y ago

Definitely not the article you want to read because it is 4 in the morning and you can't sleep... shit.

DanielBMarkham 16y ago

Anecdote: I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea, which meant that for a good while I was getting virtually no REM sleep every night. After I got it fixed, I was talking to my doc. He said that he had seen a couple people who were locked up due to psychiatric problems who actually were really suffering from sleep disorders. Once the sleeping problem was fixed, they no longer needed medication or institutionalization. Powerful stuff, even if it's just second-hand stories.

jessriedel 16y ago

> The Pennsylvania researchers tracked 1,741 middle aged volunteers who completed a questionnaire on their sleep history, underwent a physical exam and were monitored overnight in a sleep laboratory. The death rate exceeded 50 percent for men with chronic insomnia, compared with 9.1 percent of those who slept well, after researchers adjusted for differences such as weight and smoking habits. Huh? 9% of the normal men died, and half of those with insomnia? How long did they follow them for?

dLuna 16y ago
You stole my comment! :-) Anyway, answer is here: http://www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=27894 http://www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=27894 And to save everyone from clicking on that link: "were followed-up for 14 years (men)", "mortality rate was 21% for men"