SLEEP RESEARCH PROJECT:
CURRENT RESEARCH
Treating Addiction to Sleep Medication
The main current
study in the Sleep Research Project is a clinical trial funded by the
National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Adults in the 21-65 age
range that are dependent on prescription sleep
medications and experiencing current insomnia are recruited from the
community and randomized to three conditions: stress management plus
gradual drug withdrawal, EEG biofeedback plus gradual drug withdrawal, or
gradual drug withdrawal only. PSG and self-report assessment conducted at
baseline, posttreatment, and 1-year follow-up evaluate changes in sleep,
drug consumption, and daytime functioning. Monitoring during the drug
withdrawal phase will also permit evaluation of possible withdrawal
side-effects.
For more
information contact Kenny Lichstein,
lichstein@ua.edu.
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Epidemiology of Sleep
By the method of
random-digit dialing, we recruited 772 people over a three year period who
supplied 2 weeks of sleep diaries and seven daytime functioning
questionnaires: a health survey, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Stanford
Sleepiness Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, Insomnia Impact Scale, Beck
Depression Inventory, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Trait Scale). We
continued recruiting till we had at least 50 men and 50 women for each
decade across the age range 20-89. The sample is evenly divided by gender
and is 70% Caucasian and 30% African American. We have recently completed a book on this data set and are currently preparing journal articles to explore this archive of normal and disturbed sleep.
For more
information contact Kenny Lichstein,
lichstein@ua.edu.
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SES and Insomnia
In one study we
are comparing sleep patterns, and sleep related daytime effects among
different SES groups. We used random-digit dialing to recruit at least 50
men and 50 women in each decade from 20 to 80+, and obtained two weeks of
sleep diaries, daytime functioning measures, and SES information from 772
individuals. The SES measures include a person's individual education,
household education, and estimated income per block group. Specific
questions of interest include finding which SES measure is the best
predictor of insomnia, and whether age, gender and ethnicity interact with
SES to influence insomnia.
For more
information contact Les Gellis,
lgellis@memphis.edu.
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Validating Actigraphy with Insomniacs
Actigraphy, inferring wakefulness and sleep from the activity captured by a limb motion sensor, has a 20 year history and has been well-validated with normal sleepers. However, the few studies that compared actigraphy to PSG among insomniacs found that actigraphy overscored sleep with insomniacs, who lie motionless in bed waiting for sleep onset. The current study is using the Actiwatch from the Mini Mitter Co. with the largest sample of insomniacs to date to validate this device against PSG with the goal of crafting a motility algorithm tailored to insomniacs.
For more information contact Kristen
Stone,
kristengari@yahoo.com.
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Distribution of ESS scores
In another study
we are examining the epidemiological distribution of Epworth Sleepiness
Scale (ESS) scores in Shelby County, TN. We will be comparing ESS scores
among various groups including males and females, Caucasians and African
Americans, and age groups ranging from 20-80+. We will also examine ESS
scores among individuals with differing qualities of sleep including
pristine sleepers and insomniacs. This data was collected in an
epidemiological survey in which we used random-digit dialing to recruit at
least 50 men and 50 women in each decade from 20 to 80+, and obtained two
weeks of sleep diaries, daytime functioning measures including the ESS,
and demographic information from 772 individuals.
For more
information contact Stacy Sanford,
sdsanford@memphis.edu.
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Experiential
Measures of Difficulty Sleeping
Competing
research analyses of the insomnia experience have stressed a variety of
content categories. Some investigators emphasize the importance of general
cognitive overactivity, others stress worry (and some of these
investigators focus heavily on worry about sleep). The importance of
negative affect may dominate the insomnia experience for some poor
sleepers. Two closely related groups of studies explore new approaches to
measurement of insomnia. The Sleep Assessment Device, a commercial product
for measuring the amount of wakefulness during the sleep period, is being
used to record during-the-night descriptions of the insomnia experience.
These are brief tape-recorded samples of mental content narrative. For
example, the research participant is instructed to report on the presence
or absence of critical experiences (when cued at ten-minute intervals by a
soft tone from the Sleep Assessment Device) -- such as racing thoughts,
worrying, bodily tension or negative affect. [Please note: the cuing tone
is very quiet. It does not awaken a person who is asleep.] As an adjunct
to using the Sleep Assessment Device for collection of experiential data,
questionnaire studies will explore the perspectives of insomniacs and
good sleepers. These questionnaires interrogate the participants to
obtain subjective judgments about what types of experience best
characterize their mental contents, affective experience and physical
perceptions during "bad nights." The results of the questionnaire studies
will be used to help decide what types of information should be collected
with the tape recordings. It is hoped that measuring the insomnia
experience as it is occurring, using carefully selected probes, will
provide useful diagnostic information and aid in treatment selection.
For more
information contact Sid Nau,
sid-nau@bama.ua.edu.
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