News alert for mothers: having children at home doesn't increase your risk for severe daytime sleepiness or fatigue.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
Carol A Landis
Publications and source records attributed to Carol A Landis.
Improving outcomes for restless legs syndrome.
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Analgesics, Opioid↗
Functional magnetic resonance imaging in nursing research.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a powerful noninvasive neuroimaging technique nurse scientists can use to investigate the structure and cognitive capacities of the brain. A strong magnetic field and intermittent high-frequency pulses cause protons in body tissues to release energy, which can be recorded and processed into images that are sensitive to specific tissue characteristics. Although temporal and spatial resolution constraints define an upper limit to the precision of magnetic resonance (MR) scanners, the primary index of neuronal activity, hemodynamic response, can be efficiently estimated. Characteristics of the experimental environment, the hypothesis of interest, and the physiology of the cognitive process under investigation provide guidance for the design and limit available options. The processing of functional data to remove unwanted variability is briefly described as are the techniques used to estimate statistical effects and control for the rate of false positives in the results. A detailed applied example of nursing research is included to demonstrate the practical application of the theory, methods, and techniques being discussed. A glossary of key terms is also provided.
Adult↗
Effect of foot bathing on distal-proximal skin temperature gradient in elders.
Increased distal (foot)-proximal (abdominal) skin temperature gradient (DPG) has been associated with better sleep initiation. Warm foot bath can affect distal skin temperature to change DPG. However, the optimum water temperature and duration necessary to raise DPG has not been established. This study explored the effects of 1-h foot bathing at two water temperatures of 40 and 41 degrees C, respectively, on DPG in Taiwanese elders (n=6, ages 60-73 years). Each subject's feet and legs were immersed in a temperature-controlled water tub to 20 cm above the ankles for 60 min in each of two water temperatures. Oral, abdominal, and foot temperatures were taken during (at 10-min intervals), and after (at 1-min intervals) foot bathing. DPG was calculated by subtracting abdominal temperature from foot temperature. Results showed the value of DPG was significantly increased in the 10th min bathing at both water temperatures and maintained above 0 degrees C. DPG gradually declined after bathing at both water temperatures. The value of DPG with 41 degrees C water was slightly higher than 40 degrees C. All subjects tolerated both bathing temperatures well for 1h. Both 40 and 41 degrees C foot bathing for 1h can increase the DPG and may be an effective way to affect whole body skin blood flow and trigger heat dissipation.
Aged↗
Decreased sleep spindles and spindle activity in midlife women with fibromyalgia and pain.
OBJECTIVES: To compare sleep-spindle incidence (number of spindles per minute of non-rapid eye movement [NREM] stage 2 sleep) and duration, spindle wave time (seconds per epoch in NREM stage 2 sleep), spindle frequency activity, and pain measures (pressure pain threshold, number of tender points, skinfold tenderness) between midlife women with fibromyalgia (FM) and moderate to high pain to a control group of sedentary women without pain. A second goal was to explore the extent to which pain pressure thresholds, age, and depression explain the variance in spindle incidence. DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive study. SETTING: A university-based sleep research laboratory and a referral clinic for chronic fatigue and pain. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-seven medication-free women with FM (mean age, 44.9 +/- 8 years) and 30 women with self-reported good sleep and no pain (mean age, 44.1 +/- 7.7 years) completed a psychiatric interview and the Beck Depression Inventory prior to 2 consecutive nights of polysomnography, with pain measures obtained in the morning. Time domain analysis of spindle incidence and spectral analysis of spindle frequency activity were conducted on night 2 of polysomnography recordings. INTERVENTIONS: NA. RESULTS: Women with FM had fewer mean spindles per minute of NREM stage 2 sleep and lower mean spindle time per epoch of NREM stage 2 sleep (both P values < .02), but mean spindle duration, although slightly shorter, was not statistically significantly different (P < .06) compared to control women. Women with FM had a lower mean pressure pain threshold, a higher average number of positive tender points, and higher skinfold tenderness compared to control women (all P values < .001). Group differences in spindle frequency activity were found after controlling for age, depression, and psychiatric diagnosis in a general linear model (P < .02). One-way analysis of variance revealed significantly lower spindle activity in the 3 frequency bins (12-12.5 Hz, 13-13.5 Hz, 14-14.5 Hz) at C3 (all P values < .04), Fz (all P values < .02), and Cz (all P values < .02). Finally, after controlling for age and depression, pain pressure threshold significantly predicted spindles per minute and spindle time per epoch of NREM stage 2 sleep (r2 = .26; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Women with FM and pain have fewer sleep spindles and reduced electroencephalogram power in spindle frequency activity compared to control women of similar age. These data imply that some aspect of thalamocortical mechanisms of spindle generation might be impaired in FM.
Adult↗
Pain, psychological variables, sleep quality, and natural killer cell activity in midlife women with and without fibromyalgia.
In women with fibromyalgia (FM), central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction in pain, mood, and sleep processes could be associated with changes in immune system indicators. The primary purpose of this study was to compare pain, psychological variables, subjective and objective sleep quality, lymphocyte phenotypes and activation markers, and natural killer activity (NKA) in midlife women with and without FM. A secondary purpose was to explore relationships among these variables in a step-wise regression. Subjects had pain pressure tender points assessed, completed a psychiatric interview and questionnaires (Beck Depression Inventory, SCL-90, Profile of Mood States, subjective sleep), and underwent polysomnograhic assessment for two consecutive nights. Lymphocyte phenotypes, activation markers, and NKA were assessed from blood drawn the morning after sleep laboratory night 2. Compared to controls, women with FM had lower pain thresholds, more psychological distress, higher depression scores, and reduced subjective and objective sleep quality. They also had fewer NK cells (p <.009) and more NK cells that expressed the IL-2 receptor (p <.04), but these differences were not statistically significant after correction for multiple comparisons. NKA was not statistically significantly lower in the women with FM compared to controls. In a multiple regression of age, tender point threshold, depression, psychological distress, and sleep efficiency, only the effect of group was significant (F = 5.479, p <.03) on NKA. In conclusion, we found little evidence to support the hypothesis that pain, mood, and sleep symptoms are associated with changes in the enumeration of peripheral lymphocytes or function in FM.
Adult↗
Sleep and menopause.
Many midlife women obtain inadequate sleep, and sleep problems are common during the menopause transition. This article reviews the research literature on sleep and sleep disorders during menopause. Few studies have included subjective and objective measures of sleep quality or studied women during different menopause stages. Potential mechanisms associated with the emergence of insomnia and sleep-disordered breathing during menopause are discussed along with effects of estrogen and progesterone on sleep. It is argued that sleep quality is an important determinant of health status and quality of life for women during and beyond menopause.
Estrogen Replacement Therapy↗
Priorities for sleep research during the next decade.
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Adolescent↗
Sleep and methods of assessment.
Sleep is a complex behavior; adequate sleep is essential for healthy functioning and even for survival. Poor sleep quality and insufficient sleep have been linked to increased risk for various illnesses, as well as with an increased prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness and reduced quality of life. Daytime sleepiness can lead to dangerous outcomes associated with drowsy driving and has become an important public health issue. Routine health examinations that include questions about sleep habits, daytime sleepiness, and problems with sleep at night can help to educate people about the importance of good sleep habits. They provide a way to identify sleep disorders so that appropriate therapies can be instituted or proper referrals to a sleep specialist can be given.
Humans↗
Sleep fragmentation in the arthritic rat.
We examined the diurnal sleep-wake patterns in the adjuvant arthritic rat. In contrast to control rats, arthritic rats lacked a normal diurnal variation in sleep and wakefulness. Thus, arthritic rats exhibited no differences in the mean number or duration of bouts of sleep and episodes of wakefulness between light and dark hours. Arthritic rats also had a marked increase in the fragmentation of their sleep manifested by an increased number of sleep bouts and episodes of wakefulness and a decrease in the duration of episodes of deep sleep recorded both during the time of maximal sleep (08.00-11.00 h) and of maximal wakefulness (20.00-23.00 h). The possibility that the experience of chronic pain causes these marked changes in sleep patterns in the arthritic rat is discussed.
Animals↗
Self-reported sleep quality and fatigue correlates with actigraphy in midlife women with fibromyalgia.
BACKGROUND: Limited data are available on the relationship between self-reported sleep quality, fatigue, and behavioral sleep patterns in women with fibromyalgia (FM). OBJECTIVES: To compare self-reported sleep quality, fatigue, and behavioral sleep indicators obtained by actigraphy between women with FM and sedentary women without pain, and to examine relationships among these variables. METHODS: Twenty-three women with FM (M = 47.3, +/- 6.7 years) and 22 control women (M = 43.5, +/- 8.2 years) wore an actigraph on the nondominant wrist for 3 consecutive days at home. Each day women reported bedtimes, rise times, and ratings of sleep quality and fatigue in a diary. Self-reported sleep quality, fatigue, and indicators of sleep quality obtained from actigraphy (e.g., total sleep time, sleep efficiency, sleep latency, wake after sleep onset, and fragmentation index) were averaged. The Mann Whitney U test was used to assess group differences. Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to evaluate relationships between sleep quality and fatigue, and among sleep quality, fatigue, and actigraphy sleep indicators. RESULTS: Women with FM reported poorer sleep quality and more fatigue compared to controls (both p <.001). Actigraphy sleep indicators were not different between groups. In women with FM but not in controls, self-reported sleep quality was directly related to actigraphy indicators of total sleep time (r =.635, p <.01) and inversely related to sleep fragmentation (r = -.46, p <.05). Fatigue in women with FM was directly related to actigraphy indicators of wake after sleep onset (r =.57, p <.01), and inversely related to sleep efficiency (r = -.545, p <.01). DISCUSSION: Self-reported sleep quality and fatigue are associated with behavioral indicators of sleep quality at home in women with FM. Actigraphy is a useful objective measure of improved sleep outcomes in intervention studies.
Activities of Daily Living↗
Stress exposure, psychological distress, and physiological stress activation in midlife women with insomnia.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe perceived and polysomnograhic (PSG) sleep patterns and determine whether stress exposure, psychological distress, and physiological stress activation differed among midlife women with psychophysiologic-type (PP-type) or subjective only-type (SO-type) insomnia or no insomnia. METHODS: Women had their sleep monitored, collected urine samples, and completed questionnaires in a week-long field study, and 53 women met criteria for insomnia types or no insomnia based on reported sleep quality and PSG sleep efficiency. RESULTS: As expected, women with PP-type insomnia were found to have the lowest sleep efficiency, took longer to fall asleep, had more wakefulness after sleep onset, and had more fragmented sleep. Perceptions of stress exposure, either for major or minor events, did not differ among groups. Despite there being no differences in perceived stress exposure, women with both types of insomnia scored higher on psychological distress (SCL-90R), especially on the somatization subscale, than women with no insomnia. Of the physiological stress activation indicators tested, a morning-to-evening difference in urinary cortisol statistically differed across the groups (p <.005). Women in the PP-type insomnia group had the highest levels of urinary cortisol in an early morning urine sample. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide support for the hypothesis that, in midlife women, cognitive or emotional arousal with chronic stress neuroendocrine activation underlies chronic insomnia, particularly the PP-type.
Body Mass Index↗