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Morning Briefing

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Monday, Feb 11 2019

Full Issue

Is There Such A Thing As Too Much Sleep? More Research Needed To Determine Health Risks For Long Sleepers

News on the science of rest focuses on the health impact of sleeping 10 to 12 hours a night, the sleep needs of teens, snoring, changing patterns as adults age, and the risks of sleep aids.

Tracey Thomsen Anderson, 57, a retired ad agency copywriter from Colorado Springs, sleeps nine or 10聽hours every night, and has done so her entire life. 鈥淢y ability to sleep through ridiculous circumstances was legendary as a kid 鈥 parties, fireworks, I slept through a car wreck once,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 can get by on eight for a day or two, but I feel like a zombie all day with anything less than nine.鈥 (Cimons, 2/9)

At first, Lilly Grey Rudge objected to her classes starting later. Delaying the first-period bell nearly an hour until 8:45 a.m. meant that her mother could no longer drive her, and Lilly Grey would have to take two buses to Ballard High in Seattle. Now, more than two years since the change, the 16-year-old junior is a fan. (Cohen, 2/9)

Snoring is the top reason that patients come to see Jennifer Hsia, a sleep surgeon at University of Minnesota Health in Minneapolis. Most of the time, they come in not because they are worried about their health, but because their partner has been complaining about the noise. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very rare that I have someone come in and say, 鈥業 think I have sleep apnea,鈥欌夆 she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more, 鈥業鈥檓 snoring quite badly and my bed partner wants me to do something about it.鈥欌娾 (Sohn, 2/9)

When Carol Gee turned 55, she made a new friend: 4 a.m. In the past, she usually slept through it. But once she entered menopause, it became her new wake-up time. 鈥淚 would go to sleep and wake up every morning around the same time, almost like you set the clock,鈥 says Gee, who is now 68. She鈥檚 not the only older adult to have experienced an exasperating shift in her sleep cycles. In 2017, a national poll conducted by the University of Michigan found that 46 percent of adults 65 and older have trouble falling asleep on a regular basis. (Blakemore, 2/10)

A lot of people out there don鈥檛 get enough sleep 鈥 more than 1 in 3 American adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you鈥檙e one of them, you probably know there are two main treatments for improving sleep: behavioral methods and medications. When you鈥檙e desperate for a good night鈥檚 sleep, medications sure do sound appealing. But there are caveats with them all 鈥 the prescription pills, the over-the-counter products and the herbal supplements. (Adams, 2/9)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
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