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    Dangers of Uncontrolled Sleep Apnea

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    Original Article | JohnsHopkins.org

    You’ve probably heard that regular exercise and a heart-healthy diet are the most important things you can do for your cardiovascular health. As it turns out, though, the quality of sleep you receive is also critical to your heart’s wellbeing. 

    In particular, undiagnosed sleep apnea is directly tied to an increased risk in cardiovascular and metabolic health. The scariest part? You might not even know you have this very common problem.

    “Sleep apnea happens when upper airway muscles relax during sleep and pinch off the airway, which prevents you from getting enough air. Your breathing may pause for 10 seconds or more at a time, until your reflexes kick in and you start breathing again,” explains Jonathan Jun, M.D. , a pulmonary and sleep medicine specialist at the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center.

    Sleep apnea occurs in about 3 percent of normal weight individuals but affects over 20 percent of obese people, Jun says. In general, sleep apnea affects men more than women. However, sleep apnea rates increase sharply in women after menopause. Sleep apnea is often linked to heart disease and metabolic issues like diabetes.

    What are the signs of sleep apnea?

    There are two kinds of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea happens when air can’t flow into or out of the nose or mouth, although you’re trying to breathe. Central sleep apnea happens when the brain fails to send the right signals to your muscles to make you start breathing. (This type is less common.)

    “Sleep apnea may be noticed more by the bed partner than by the sleeper,” says Jun. “Your bed partner might notice that your breathing pauses, or they may complain of your loud snoring.”

    That said, snoring itself—though annoying—isn’t the same as sleep apnea. Snoring is just the vibration sound created by airway resistance. You can snore loudly and not have sleep apnea, and you may even have sleep apnea without much snoring.

    People with sleep apnea might also suffer from unexplained fatigue and mood swings, because their breathing interruptions continually wake them and prevent them from settling into a deep, nourishing sleep.

    The consequences can be significant, Jun says. “We’re talking about car accidents in the daytime, lost productivity at work, mood swings, waking up feeling groggy and falling asleep in class.”

    Other sufferers might wake up with a dry mouth, since sleep apnea tends to make you breathe with an open mouth, drying out your saliva. Some awaken with a headache, which may be caused by low oxygen or high carbon dioxide levels during sleep.

    How is Weight Control Linked to Sleep Apnea?

    “Weight control is very important. There are many studies showing that losing weight can either completely cure you of sleep apnea or at least make it less severe,” Jun says.

    Sleep apnea, cardiovascular risk and metabolism

    Several studies have shown an association between sleep apnea and problems like type 2 diabetes , strokes , heart attacks and even a shortened lifespan, says Jun. Why this connection? For one thing, obesity is common in sleep apnea patients, and obesity greatly increases risks of diabetes, stroke and heart attack, he says. “In most cases, obesity is the main culprit behind both conditions,” Jun explains.

    Still, it’s important to note that not everyone with sleep apnea is obese. Furthermore, evidence suggests an independent link between sleep apnea and diabetes. “Our lab and others have shown that sleep apnea is associated with higher risks of diabetes, independent of obesity, and that sleep apnea can increase blood sugar levels,” says Jun.

    For people who are overweight or obese, weight loss is key for treating or avoiding sleep apnea. People who accumulate fat in the neck, tongue and upper belly are especially vulnerable to getting sleep apnea. This weight reduces the diameter of the throat and pushes against the lungs, contributing to airway collapse during sleep.

    Women in particular should be careful as they age. While premenopausal women tend to put on weight in the hips and in the lower body instead of the belly, this shifts with time. Weight begins to accumulate in traditionally “male” areas like the tummy, and this leads to a greater chance of sleep apnea.

    “After menopause, hormones change and women tend to start looking like men in terms of where the weight gets put on. It’s a time to be paying attention to the risks of sleep apnea because women begin to catch up to men in the rates of apnea after menopause,” Jun says.15

    Diagnosing and treating sleep apnea for better health

    It’s important to treat sleep apnea, because it can have long-term consequences for your health. While there have been some high-profile deaths linked to sleep apnea—such as with Judge Antonin Scalia —Jun says that the true risk is from damage done over time.

    Obstructive sleep apnea can range from mild to severe, based on a measurement system called the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). The AHI measures the number of breathing pauses that you experience per hour that you sleep.

    Obstructive sleep apnea is classified by severity:

    • Severe obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI is greater than 30 (more than 30 episodes per hour)
    • Moderate obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI is between 15 and 30
    • Mild obstructive sleep apnea means that your AHI is between 5 and 15

    Whether or not you need treatment for sleep apnea depends on its severity, whether or not you have symptoms such as sleepiness and other health conditions. For example, if you have risk factors for heart disease, your doctor might opt to treat you even for mild sleep apnea. On the other hand, if you have a severe case of sleep apnea, your doctor might insist on treatment even if you’re not sleepy.

    The main choice of therapy is a breathing device called a CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure machine. A CPAP machine pipes humidified air through the nose, which creates air pressure to keep your throat open while asleep. This prevents pauses in breathing.

    “CPAP is the first-line treatment, and it’s very effective,” Jun says. A recent Johns Hopkins study looked at what happens to metabolism at night when sleep apnea patients don’t wear their CPAP. The study found that the resulting apnea caused a spike in blood sugar, heart rate, blood pressure and stress hormones—a response similar to what might happen if you were asked to get up in front of a crowd to speak. “It’s very similar to that type of a stress response,” says Jun. “I would liken sleep apnea to something like that happening on a nightly basis.”

    CPAP is not the only alternative.

    Many cannot tolerate the CPAP machine and are able to obtain the help they need from a Sleep Apnea Dental Specialist. Their use of an oral appliance has helped hundreds of thousands resolve their medical issues as they pertain to Sleep Apnea.

    Get the Medical Equipment You Need at Home

    Many studies show that regular use of CPAP or oral devices reduces blood pressure and improves wakefulness during the day. People with sleep apnea who use sleep apnea therapeutic devices also report improved quality of life. In some observational studies that compare people with apnea who seek sleep apnea remedies versus those who don’t, those seeking treatment have lower risk of stroke and heart attack and lower blood glucose, Jun notes.

    If you or your partner has noticed signs of sleep apnea, visit your doctor. A sleep specialist can order a sleep apnea test, which uses equipment to monitor your breathing and oxygen levels while you sleep. Often, you’ll visit a laboratory to spend the night for monitoring. Other times, it’s possible to use a portable, take-home kit. You’ll rest easier knowing the results.

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    Sleeping five hours or less increases risk of chronic illnesses, study warns

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    Original Article | By Judy Packer-Tursman

    Getting a good night's sleep of more than five hours can help older people avoid developing multiple chronic illnesses, a new study suggests. Photo by Wokandapix/Pixabay

    Getting a good night’s sleep of more than five hours can help older people avoid developing multiple chronic illnesses, a new study suggests. Photo by Wokandapix/Pixabay

    Oct. 18 (UPI) — Older people who get five hours of sleep a night or less may face a far greater risk of developing two or more chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer or diabetes, compared to people who sleep longer, a new study suggests.

    The research, published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine, tracked the impact of sleep duration on the health of more than 7,000 men and women at the ages of 50, 60 and 70.

    This was done via a 25-year follow up of participants in the Whitehall II cohort study involving members of the British civil service.

    The British and French researchers, led by University College London, found that sleeping for five hours or less at the ages of 50, 60, and 70 was linked to a 30% to 40% increased risk of developing multiple chronic diseases versus people who slept for up to seven hours.

    The investigators also examined the relationship between each participant’s length of nightly sleep and mortality. They found that nightly sleep that lasted five hours or less at age 50 was associated with a 25% increased risk of death over the 25 years of follow-up.

    This is primarily because short sleep duration increases the risk of chronic illness that in turn increases the risk of death, the release said.

    The scientists also analyzed whether sleeping for nine hours or more affected health outcomes, but they found no clear link between this sleep duration and developing chronic diseases for healthy people at age 50.

    RELATED Getting enough sleep key to a healthy immune system

    However, for those individuals already diagnosed with a chronic condition, such long sleep was associated with roughly a 35% increased risk of developing another illness, possibly due to underlying health conditions affecting sleep, they said.

    “As people get older, their sleep habits and sleep structure change. However, it is recommended to sleep for seven to eight hours a night — as sleep durations above or below this have previously been associated with individual chronic diseases,” Séverine Sabia, the study’s lead author said in the release.

    A researcher/epidemiologist at University College London’s Institute of Epidemiology & Health and at Inserm, Université Paris Cité, Sabia advised having good sleep hygiene, such as ensuring the bedroom is quiet, dark and a comfortable temperature before going to bed.

    RELATED Going to bed too early or sleeping too much can increase dementia risk, study says

    She also suggested avoiding large meals before bedtime.

    The study used self-reported data on sleep, which the researchers noted is likely to be subject to reporting bias.

    Sponsors of the research included the National Institute on Aging, a part of the National Institutes of Health, the U.K. Medical Research Council and the British Heart Foundation.

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    Sleep Apnea. Bad for Your Brain.

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    Original Article | BottomLine INC
    Chris Iliades, MD is a regular contributor to Bottom Line Health. He was an ear, nose, throat, head, and neck surgeon before becoming a full-time medical writer.

    According to the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Neurology, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is bad for brain health. Studies show that OSA causes cognitive impairment, which is the loss of your brain’s ability to remember, think, concentrate, learn, and make decisions.

    Sleep Apnea

    What happens during OSA?

    In people with OSA, the oral or nasal airway collapses during sleep and breathing stops for a short period. This is called apnea. Blood oxygen levels decrease and carbon dioxide levels increase. Rising carbon dioxide triggers your brain to wake you up enough to breathe. Almost everyone with OSA snores, usually loudly, so a sleeping partner may hear loud snoring followed by quiet, and then sudden gasping for air. In mild-to-moderate OSA, there may be between five and 30 episodes per hour. In severe OSA, these instances can occur more than 30 times per hour.

    A 2021 study reported at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting showed that people with OSA were 60 percent more likely to score in a lower range on cognitive testing than people without it. The worse the OSA, the worse the cognitive decline. The average age of study participants was about 70.

    Further, OSA increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.

    Are you at risk?

    The American Heart Association estimates that OSA may affect close to 40 percent of U.S. adults and up to 80 percent of people with cardiovascular disease. It is more common in men and in people who are overweight. You could be at higher risk if you have a family history of OSA. Other risk factors include smoking, drinking alcohol, taking sleeping pills, and having any type of narrowing of the nasal or oral airway, like a deviated nasal septum or large tonsils or adenoids.

    Reduce risk, improve health

    Lowering risk can be as simple as exercising. An important study presented at the 2021 meeting of the American Heart Association showed that exercise reduces the risk of both OSA and cognitive decline.

    In the study, 47 patients with varying degrees of cognitive loss were tested for a cognition score. Half of the patients were given a six-month-long supervised exercise program. After six months, the exercise group had fewer OSA episodes, a 32 percent improvement in their cognitive scores, and better glucose metabolism in the brain.

    In addition to exercise, lifestyle changes that reduce the risk or improve symptoms of OSA include not drinking, not smoking, and losing weight. Sleeping on your side and propping up your upper body during sleep may also reduce OSA. In some cases, surgery can be used to correct a deviated septum or remove tonsils and adenoids if they are contributing to OSA.

    Diagnosis

    Mark Twain said, “There ain’t no way to know why a man can’t hear himself snore,” but there is a way to find out if you have sleep apnea. If your sleeping partner describes periods of snoring and apnea, or you wake up groggy with a headache and feel sleepy all day, you should have a sleep study.

    During the sleep study, you spend a night in a sleep lab, where specialists called polysomnographers document sleep apnea and grade the severity. Sleep study kits you can use at home are now available, so you may not need to spend the night sleeping in a laboratory.

    Treatment

    For mild sleep apnea, lifestyle changes, sleeping position, and sometimes an oral appliance that keeps your tongue from blocking your oral airway may be all you need. For more severe OSA, the treatment of choice is CPAP. During CPAP treatment, you wear a mask while you sleep that provides humidified oxygen through your nose to force open your airway. It is very effective but takes some getting used to, and you may need to experiment with different types of masks, levels of air pressure, and humidification devices to find the most comfortable option.

    A new technology called hypoglossal nerve stimulation may eliminate the need for CPAP for some people who can’t tolerate it. With this treatment, a pacemaker implanted in the chest stimulates the hypoglossal nerve to open the back of the throat.

    OSA is that it is both common and dangerous. If you have the symptoms, tell your doctor and get OSA under control now. Your brain and your sleeping partner will thank you.

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    CPAP Crisis Creates Chaos for Apnea Victims and Snorers!

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    Original Article | The People’s Pharmacy

    Do you know someone who snores and/or stops breathing temporarily? They could have sleep apnea. Why is there a CPAP crisis? Who is at fault?

    According to the AMA, “About 30 million people in the United States have sleep apnea, but only 6 million are diagnosed with the condition.” People with sleep apnea may stop breathing many times during the night. These episodes can last a few seconds or as long as a minute or two. They can occur dozens of times an hour. There is a CPAP crisis going on because many patients are having a hard time getting safe CPAP devices. Disclaimer: we do not know who made the CPAP device in the photo. The illustration is not intended as criticism.

    What’s It Like To Suffer Sleep Apnea?

    I have tried holding my breath while timing it with my smart phone stopwatch. It starts to get uncomfortable around 25 seconds and I have to take a breath around 30 seconds. I have a hard time imagining what it would be like to go longer than that.

    Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is caused by the collapse of muscles in the throat. This can block the airway. The result is reduced oxygenation of the circulating blood.

    Patients with OSA often suffer from daytime sleepiness and brain fog. That makes them more prone to accidents. They are also more likely to develop hypertension, strokes, irregular heart rhythms or heart attacks.

    Symptoms can include noisy snoring interrupted by gasping or gagging sounds. For a bed partner, this can be scary and/or annoying. It’s hard to sleep when the person nearby is “sawing wood” and intermittently gasping for air. People with OSA may also complain about frequent nighttime trips to the bathroom to pee, morning headaches, daytime irritability and “cotton mouth” upon awakening.

    Treating OSA and the CPAP Crisis:

    To treat sleep apnea, doctors prescribe machines that pump air in a continuous stream that can help keep the airways open. They are called CPAP devices, for continuous positive airway pressure. Some people find the devices noisy and uncomfortable. You have to wear a kind of face mask that pushes air into the throat and lungs.

    Others find the devices improve the quality of their lives. Here is just one of the hundreds of messages we have received on our website:

    Jerry reports that CPAP made a difference:

    “Sleep apnea is a medical condition that can cause frequent nighttime urination. After being diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea, I was treated using CPAP therapy.

    “The very first night after getting my CPAP machine I slept for a full 7 hours. Before treatment, I was waking and passing large amounts of urine every 1-2 hours. My blood pressure went from high to normal, and my heart rate during exercise dropped by 20 heartbeats.”

    The CPAP Crisis Is Creating Chaos:

    Needless to say, people with serious sleep apnea rely on these machines and are well aware that their lives depend on them. Just imagine the panic they might feel if their machines were no longer available.

    That has happened to far too many patients over the last year, as the company that dominates the industry, Philips Respironics, fumbled a recall of faulty CPAP devices.

    Here is what one reader wrote us about the CPAP crisis:

    “My husband has sleep apnea, so he has used a CPAP for over 12 years. Recently his machine stopped working. When he contacted his supplier, he was told his machine had been recalled and he would have to wait for a replacement. They advised him to contact the manufacturer, Philips.

    “He called Philips, and after following the instructions to restart the machine, was told it was not working. That was July 11. We had just gotten home from the ER where we both tested positive for COVID and received infusions. So he has been without his CPAP since then.

    Anxiety interferes with sleep:

    “He is very aware of the dangers of not using the CPAP machine and has been sleeping very uncomfortably since then. I have been anxious as well, just listening to his snoring. Here’s hoping he does not stop breathing, as he used to do before getting the CPAP.

    “I have heard that it can take up to a year to get a replacement. Surely, he is not alone in this situation. What is a person with sleep apnea supposed to do? A person at his pulmonologist’s office said they are currently diagnosing new patients with severe sleep apnea. These patients are being placed on waiting lists.

    “To my mind, this situation is similar to not having baby formula available. Apparently, there are currently just two companies in the USA who manufacture CPAP devices. What can patients do without this important appliance? Doctors warn that using the machine every night is of critical importance. What can be done to help so many people in need?

    “I am hoping that sleep apnea patients can soon get the machines they desperately need for a good safe night’s sleep.”

    How Has the FDA Fumbled the CPAP Crisis?

    Our reader is right to compare the situation with CPAP machines to the baby formula shortage. Both result from the FDA’s inadequate oversight. In our opinion, the FDA has fumbled a few too many oversight responsibilities.

    That’s not just our opinion. An article in JAMA Internal Medicine, July 26, 2021 reviewed the FDA’s oversight of MAUDE (Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience). The agency relies on device manufacturers, distributors, physicians, patients, hospitals and other health care facilities to submit reports of problems. Unfortunately, the FDA only pays attention to deaths, rather than all serious complaints.

    The analysis in JAMA Internal Medicine points out that:

    “For the overall sample, the percentage of reports with deaths that were not classified as deaths was 23%, suggesting that approximately 31,552 reports in our sample had deaths that were classified in other categories.”

    If the FDA ignores serious complaints and overlooks deaths with misleading codes, it risks leaving flawed medical devices on the market long past their “use by” date. You can read more about the agency’s fumbling and bumbling at this link.

    What Went Wrong With CPAP Machines”

    On July 29, 2021, the FDA issued an announcement about problems with Philips Respironics BiPap and CPAP machines.

    On May 19, 2022 the agency updated its warning:

    “Philips Respironics (Philips) voluntarily recalled certain ventilators, bi-level positive airway pressure (also known as Bilevel PAP, BiPAP, or BPAP) machines, and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines in June 2021 due to potential health risks. The polyester-based polyurethane (PE-PUR) foam used in these medical devices to lessen sound and vibration can break down. If the foam breaks down, black pieces of foam, or certain chemicals that are not visible, could be breathed in or swallowed by the person using the device.”

    The Washington Post reported on July 29, 2022 that:

    “Today, those machines are at the heart of one of the biggest medical device debacles in decades.”

    “If inhaled or swallowed, the emissions could cause headaches, asthma, lung problems and even cancer, the company warned in launching a massive recall. The Food and Drug Administration classified the recall as the most serious type, saying “use of these devices may cause serious injuries or deaths.”

    According to the Washington Post, millions of patients have been left in limbo while they wait for their devices to be repaired or replaced.

    “In May, the FDA announced it had received 21,000 reports, including 124 deaths, concerning the breakdown of the polyester-based polyurethane foam in sleep apnea machines and ventilators during the past year — a sharp increase from 30 the previous decade.”

    How long has the maker of CPAP machines known there was a problem? Why didn’t the FDA discover this problem on its own? What should it do about the CPAP crisis?

    Some Recommendations from The People’s Pharmacy:

    Here are some of our suggestions:

    • 1) The president should invoke the Defense Production Act to increase the manufacture of chips specifically for these medical devices.
    • 2) Philips Respironics should prioritize delivering CPAP machines to people who are most vulnerable. The company should also communicate directly to every patient.
    • 3) The FDA should be more proactive regarding critical medical devices so that a life-threatening shortage of this sort never happens again.

    What Do You Think?

    We would love to read your thoughts about the CPAP crisis in the comment section below. Do you know someone who snores and has obstructive sleep apnea? Have they ever used a CPAP machine? Has their device been recalled? What are they doing now?

    If you think this article has merit, please send it to friends and family. We suspect that someone you know snores, has a sleep apnea and/or has a CPAP-type machine. They (and their health care providers) may not know about the problems with these devices. It’s super easy to share. Just scroll to the top of the page and click on the icons for email, Twitter and Facebook.

    While you are at it, please encourage your contacts to sign up for our free online newsletter. You may have noticed that Google accepts a lot of drug and device ads. Is it any wonder that articles like this disappear almost without a trace? The only way your acquaintances can read our independent voice is to subscribe to our newsletter at this link. Thank you for supporting our work!

    Contact us TODAY! Our oral devices can help.

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    Air Filters in the Bedroom and Airway Resistance

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    Posted by Lisa Spear | Original Post Apr 12, 2020 

    Using a bedroom air filter that traps fine particles of pollution with diameters smaller than 2.5 micrometers can significantly improve breathing in asthmatic children, a new study in JAMA Pediatrics found.

    The research documents that physiological improvements occur in the childrens’ airways when air filters are in use, and it suggests that with consistent use, the filters may help prevent, not just alleviate, asthmatic flare-ups.

    While using the filters daily for two weeks, children in the study experienced decreased airway resistance and lung inflammation and increased airway elasticity, among other benefits.

    Air Purifier and Sleep

    “Pharmaceutical companies have spent large amounts to develop drugs that can work on lower airways, but they are very expensive. Our results show that using an air purifier to reduce the exposure of lower airways to pollutants could help asthmatic children breathe easier without those costly drugs,” Junfeng Zhang, professor of global and environmental health at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, says in a statement.

    “This warrants a clinical trial to confirm findings,” he says.

    Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a ubiquitous air pollutant originating from fossil fuel emissions, wildfires and other biomass burning, industrial sources, and gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. Thirty times smaller in diameter than a human hair, the particles are easily inhaled and can penetrate deep into the small, or lower, airways where they can trigger or exacerbate asthma symptoms. Inhalers don’t help, since they are only designed to open upper airways, according to the researchers.

    The scientists conducted the double-blind crossover study in a Shanghai suburb during a period of moderately high PM2.5 pollution in 2017. They gave 43 children with mild to moderate asthma two air filters to use in their bedrooms. One was a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter capable of removing PM2.5; the other was a sham filter. Each filter was used for two weeks in random order with a two-week interval in between. Neither the children nor their families knew which filter was which.

    Results showed that PM2.5 concentrations inside the children’s bedrooms were a third to two-thirds lower when the real air filters were in use than when the sham ones were being used, Michael H. Bergin, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, says in a statement.

    This drop coincided with significant improvements in how easily air flowed in and out of the children’s small airways and lungs, Bergin says. These improvements included a 24% average reduction in total airway resistance, a 43.5% average reduction in small airway resistance, a 73.1% average increase in airway elasticity, and a 27.6% average reduction in exhaled nitric oxide, a biomarker of lung inflammation.

    Although the benefits lasted only as long as the real air filters were in use, “it’s probable that if children use the filters on an ongoing daily basis they will see continued benefits,” Zhang says.

    If clinical trials confirm the new study’s findings, the filters could serve as a practical preventive measure for asthma management in polluted outdoor or indoor environments worldwide, he says. They could also be lifesavers in areas near wildfires.

    “Look at the high PM2.5 pollution levels that occurred in San Francisco last year as a result of smoke from the California wildfires, and at the air-quality problems happening this year from the bushfires in Australia,” he says. “People should really consider using one of these devices during wildfires.”

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    Can Oily Fish, Cherries or Milk Help You Sleep? Here’s What the Evidence Shows

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    James Brown, Aston University and Duane Mellor, Aston University

    Original Article | Posted by Lisa Spear | Dec 17, 2021 | Sleep & the Body

    Almost one-in-five British people report they don’t get enough sleep each night. The problem is so bad that in total the UK public are losing around a night’s worth of shut-eye each week.

    There are a lot of popular beliefs about foods and drinks helping people get a good night’s rest, but many of them are not based on scientific evidence. Here’s what we know.

    Chemistry of food and sleep

    Our diet has an influence upon sleep patterns by affecting the sleep hormone melatonin. For example, foods rich in the essential amino acid tryptophan are commonly cited as helping sleep, as tryptophan helps produce melatonin. Additionally, some vitamins and minerals may help sleep, such as vitamin D, magnesium and zinc.

    Oily fish: Evidence suggests the more oily fish, such as salmon or herring, you eat the better you sleep. Oily fish contain healthy fats such as omega-3 oils which have been shown to improve sleep in children and are involved in serotonin release. Serotonin, a brain chemical linked to mood, also regulates the sleep-wake cycle which may also explain how eating oily fish can help.

    Tart cherries: A number of studies have looked at consumption of tart cherries, usually in the form of a drink, and sleep. Evidence suggests that tart cherries improves sleep in older adults, probably due to their ability to increase melatonin levels. And tart cherries are also rich in nutrients, including magnesium, which also may improve your sleep.

    Kiwi fruit: The evidence for kiwi fruit helping you sleep is mixed. One study suggested four weeks of kiwi fruit consumption improved multiple sleep measures, while another, admittedly in sufferers of insomnia, found no effect. Based on these findings it is not clear yet that eating kiwi fruit will benefit sleep for most people.

    Oysters: In 1888 W F Nelsom wrote “He who sups on oysters is wont on that night to sleep placidly…”. There is some evidence to back up this statement, with zinc-rich foods, including oysters, being reported to benefit sleep. However, on balance eating oysters before bedtime is unlikely to be beneficial to your night’s sleep.

    Alcohol and other drinks

    Alcohol causes brain activity to slow down and has sedative effects that can induce feelings of relaxation and sleepiness> But consuming alcohol is actually linked to poor sleep quality and duration. Although drinking alcohol may cause more rapid sleep onset, this can affect the different stages of sleep, decreasing overall sleep quality. If you want a good night’s sleep, avoiding alcohol is sound advice. But are there any non-alcoholic drinks that might help?

    Warm milk: Research conducted in the 1970s suggested that a glass of warm milk before bed could improve sleep quality. This research was performed in a very small group however, and little research has been done since. Drinking milk does increase melatonin levels which could help. But there isn’t enough evidence to support the claim that a glass of warm milk definitely makes you nod off.

    Bone broth: Bone broth commonly crops up in online articles as a food that can aid sleep. This may be due its high content of the amino acid glycine. Glycine has been shown to improve sleep in rodents and humans, possibly by lowering body temperature. There are however no studies specifically looking at bone broth consumption and sleep.

    Herbal teas: The range of herbal teas aimed at the sleep market has grown and grown. Evidence for valerian, a common ingredient, to aid sleep is inconclusive. Decaffeinated green tea has been reported to improve sleep quality, which might be linked to the relaxing qualities of L-theanine, an amino acid it contains, but in general, avoiding caffeinated teas is a wise choice. If you like herbal teas, then they can be part of a relaxing pre-bedtime routine – but they are unlikely to improve your sleep quality.

    A bedtime routine

    Having a bedroom environment and daily routines that promote consistent, uninterrupted sleep are important. These include keeping to the same time to head off to bed, making your bedroom free of disruptions and having a relaxing pre-sleep routine. But many of the foods that have claimed benefits for sleep have little or no evidence behind them, to the point there are no legally recognized health claims for food assisting sleep approved in the UK or Europe.

    If any one of these things helps you to sleep well, there’s no reason to stop. But just remember the other basics of a good nights sleep too, including relaxing before bed and avoiding too much blue light from electronic devices.

    James Brown, Associate Professor in Biology and Biomedical Science, Aston University and Duane Mellor, Lead for Evidence-Based Medicine and Nutrition, Aston Medical School, Aston University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.