Daily Column

December 12, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
Will you please address the affliction of narcolepsy in your column? I do okay as long as I am up and about but as soon as I sit down, I cannot hold my eyes open. I fall asleep while trying to read. I’m 83 years old and am not taking any prescription medications.

DEAR READER:
Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder brought on by the brain’s inability to regulate sleep/wake cycles. At various inappropriate times people with the condition experience overwhelming urges to sleep. Day-time sleep periods can last from a few seconds to several minutes, and longer in some instances. A patient with the disorder does not require any more sleep than does an individual without the condition and, in fact might experience episodes of awakening during nighttime sleep. Narcolepsy is estimated to affect about one in every 2,000 Americans. [Read more...]

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Daily Column

October 3, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I am 70 years old. I have been a light sleeper for my entire adult life. However, sleep has been more evasive in recent months.

Do you have any non-medical strategies for relief? Across the years I have sometimes taken 25 mg of diphenhydramine for allergies and have noticed some assistance with sleeping. I would only be willing to take medication as a last resort. Please give me a quick, easy fix. Thank you.

DEAR READER:
Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is an antihistamine that is sometimes recommended as a non-habit forming sleep aid because it has sedative properties. This is why you experience some relief when taking the product. It is also sold under the trademark, Simply Sleep for those who do not take it for allergies.

Most adults require seven to nine hours of sleep a day. There is no evidence to support the belief that older individuals require less. [Read more...]

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Daily Column

September 17, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I am having trouble falling asleep. My medications include Sinemet, Levoxyl, Wellbutrin, Actonel, and Valium. My supplements are grape seed extract, omega 3 fish oil, COQ10, and vitamins C, D, and B50. I would like to try melatonin to solve my sleep problem. Would it be compatible with my medications? I also have Parkinson’s disease but feel it is unrelated.

DEAR READER:
Let’s consider the big picture here. You are on a host of medications and supplements for your Parkinson’s, hypothyroidism, depression, anxiety, hypercholesterolemia, and osteoporosis.

I would like to clarify the dosage of Levoxyl you are taking for hypothyroidism. While I left out the dosages of the medications you are on, you stated you take 50 mg daily. This amount is beyond comprehension. [Read more...]

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Daily Column

August 1, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
Are dreams healthful?

DEAR READER:
Yes, they are. Dreams occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stages. A sequence of dreams in a progressive pattern often appears to resolve emotional issues by working through them in a step by step manner and by comparing them to successful challenges from the past. A dreamer is likely to awaken in an uplifted mood after such an evening of dreams. In an opposite manner, sequences of dreams that present in a repetitive pattern throughout the night fail to resolve emotional problems and the dreamer often awakens in a bad mood.

It is often said that people problem-solve when they dream. They might awaken abruptly from a sound sleep with those thoughts still fresh in their minds. A resolution is apparent and restful sleep follows. [Read more...]

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Daily Column

July 23, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I am a 49-year-old male. For the last six to nine months I have not been sleeping well but have found a way in which I can sleep soundly but want to ensure it will not harm me.

After months of barely sleeping, I was exhausted. One night I feel asleep on the couch in a sitting position and found that I slept like a rock. I woke up in the morning feeling fine. Since then I start out trying to sleep in bed but inevitably wind up back on the couch sleeping in a sitting position. I always feel fine in the morning but worry that this might do my body some harm down the road should it continue.

DEAR READER:
To the best of my knowledge there is no harm in sleeping on the couch in a sitting position. I would imagine that this could cause some muscle stiffness upon waking but if you are not experiencing any problems, I don’t see any reason to stop. [Read more...]

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Daily Column

April 16, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I am a 17-year-old female, 5’9”, 130 pounds, athletic, and in relatively good health.

My problem is that I am constantly tired. About one and a half hours after lunch I fall asleep. I cannot control it. This has been happening for quite a while. I get plenty of sleep at night (eight to nine hours). Getting more than that does not seem to help.

I was wondering if I could be diabetic or hypoglycemic. Could these conditions possibly be the culprit and if so, how could I easily tell? I don’t know what else it could be. Please help me. My school work is suffering because of it.

DEAR READER:
You need a thorough examination and testing by your family physician. In particular, you should have blood work to check for anemia, thyroid disorders and abnormal blood sugar levels.

If the testing is normal, the next step, in my opinion, is for you to see a neurologist. This specialist can test you for several disorders. I would be most interested in the outcome of testing for narcolepsy. This is an unusual brain condition that results in an uncontrollable desire to sleep or sudden attacks of falling asleep at intervals. It is often associated with a condition known as cataplexy which is sudden attacks of muscle weakness.

Your uncontrollable sleeping in the afternoon is not normal. A diagnosis needs to be made; however, because of the strange nature of your symptoms, this may not be an easy process. I urge you to speak to your parents about it, seek medical help and be persistent until someone can tell you what is happening.

To give you related information, I am sending you copies of my Health Reports “Sleep/Wake Disorders” and “Medical Specialists”. Other readers who would like copies should send a self-addressed, stamped number 10 envelope and $2 (per report) to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title(s).

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Sunday Column

April 13, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I wanted to write to you in the hopes of helping someone else with my problem, night terrors.

I started having them about five years ago and it got to be that I was having them almost every night. Some nights I would have several. Mine weren’t as severe as others I had seen on TV but they were bad enough that to make me jump out of bed and practically leave the room to escape the spiders on the bed, the collapsing ceiling or whatever I believed was about to take my life. I lived with this for a while, thinking I was just losing my mind. I didn’t know what else to do. Even my primary care physician couldn’t suggest anything.

Then, I discovered melatonin. I started taking 1 mg before bed and soon the night terrors started to diminish. It’s been a few years now and I have had to increase the dosage to 3 mg a night. As long as I continue to take the melatonin, I don’t have any terrors.

A few months ago, I ran out and didn’t buy more for a couple of days. The night terrors came back. Now I am careful not to run out. It is safe and inexpensive. I thought you might find this interesting and possibly would recommend it to those with this very frustrating affliction.

DEAR READER:
I am glad to hear that you have resolved your problem in an easy, inexpensive and safe way. I am passing your experience on to my readers.

Night terrors are a form of nightmare which causes the sufferer to cry out in fright and awake in panic. They are more common in male children ages three to five but can occur in anyone of any age. The major differences between a nightmare and a night terror are the time and stage of sleep in which it occurs. Nightmares generally happen during the REM (rapid eye movement) period of sleep and in the early morning hours. Night terrors occurs during stage 3 (deep sleep) and stage 4 (deepest sleep). They also generally occur within the first 60 minutes of falling asleep.

Symptoms of a night terror include sudden awakening from sleep, sweating, confusion, rapid heart rate (usually between 160-170 beats per minute), screaming, persistent fear that occurs at night, difficult to comfort, and an inability to wake up fully (but eyes may be open). One of the most characteristic symptoms is not remembering the night terror. Some individuals remember parts of the “dream”; some may even be able to remember the whole thing, but in general there is no recollection. Once the night terror occurs, the person may sit up and appear to be awake; however, this is not always the case. The sufferer may still be in the midst of the terror, be unable to explain what is happening and usually is difficult to comfort. Physical contact occasionally worsens the experience.

Often times the night terrors are about people or animals. Most sufferers, who can remember the terrors, describe the person or animal as dark, shadowy and threatening. They feel that it is going to cause them harm.

Night terrors can be troublesome in the least. There is no test for diagnosis and medical treatment is not generally used or recommended. For severe cases, therapy and counseling may be helpful. Minimizing risk factors, such as stress, and obtaining appropriate amounts of sleep can reduce the frequency, diminish severity and may cause the night terrors to stop.

For my readers who are interested in this subject or believe they may suffer from these episodes, I recommend the website www.NightTerrors.org. This website was created by a gentleman who suffers night terrors and started researching the subject. I should mention that he is not (to my knowledge) a physician or scientific researcher. He, however, has done fairly extensive research using well-known medical publications such as the Journal of American Medicine and the British Medical Journal. I also recommend that you speak to your primary care physician, a psychiatrist or psychologist or ask for a sleep study if you have the episodes nightly; continue the melatonin therapy.

Readers, if you suffer from night terrors, please let me know if melatonin is successful or not for you.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Sleep/Wake Disorders”. Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

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March 19, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
My husband is 74 and has always had trouble sleeping. He has tried every prescription sleep aid and most of the over-the-counter ones but none seem to help. He dreams every night about things he did when he was working but has not worked since 1985.

DEAR READER:
Your husband, like the reader above, would probably benefit from the use of melatonin. It is safe, inexpensive and non-habit forming. It is available over-the-counter in the vitamin and supplement section. Good luck.

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Daily Column

March 19, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
My husband and I are senior citizens and we have a terrible time adjusting to the time change in the spring and fall; it just causes havoc with our sleep routine. We wake up between 3 and 4 am and then can’t get back to sleep. Who wants to get up at that hour? It would think this is a health issue. About the time we almost get adjusted and start to get more sleep, it’s time for the time to change again. I have mentioned this to several people of all ages and they agree with me that it affects everyone of all ages. What can we do to leave it at central time so we can all feel better?

DEAR READER:
Adjusting to time changes can be a challenging problem because it requires a re-setting of our biological clocks. There are some solutions but one of the most common is used by many pilots who fly internationally.

Melatonin is a naturally occurring compound. It is manufactured in our brains when it is dark, which causes us to feel sleepy and, therefore, go to bed. However, for this to be effective, it must be completely dark because once our eyes, even if they’re closed, are exposed to light, the melatonin production stops, causing us to wake up. Be sure to speak to your physician before taking melatonin so he or she is aware of your sleep problems and can then be prepared should you decide the melatonin is not for you.
Simply take the melatonin one hour before you plan to go to bed. Be sure not to expose yourself to unnecessary light during this one hour period. One hour later, go to bed in your dark bedroom. You should have no problem falling asleep. If you do, try taking a slightly higher dose until you find the one that is right for you but do not exceed the package’s direction unless your physician has told you its okay.

Melatonin, unlike sleeping aids, is safe, inexpensive and non-habit forming.

As far as changing Day Light Savings time, I don’t know what could be done other than moving to Arizona which, to the best of my knowledge, does not observe it.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Sleep/Wake Disorders”. Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped number 10 envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

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