Archive for the ‘PTSD’ Category
August 4th, 2011 | 
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PTSD Disrupts Sleep/Wake Cycle — Psychiatric News
A retrospective study of 1,078 adults with PTSD treated at a sleep center documented round-the-clock sleep/wake disturbances. The higher their PTSD symptom scores, the more apt they were to report bedtime worries about losing sleep, racing thoughts, watching the clock, and restless legs syndrome.
The same people reported trouble falling asleep, night waking, nightmares, periodic limb movements, and poor sleep. In the daytime, they had more trouble with memory and concentration, felt sleepier and more fatigued, and reported lower quality of life than those with lower PTSD scores. The severity of their symptoms was correlated with sleep factors that promote excess arousal, Barry Krakow, M.D., and colleagues at Maimonides Sleep Arts and Sciences in Albuquerque, N.M., reported at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in June. Changes in the brain during sleep in people with PTSD may maintain or increase activity in arousal-promoting brain centers and reduce activity in sleep-promoting centers, Anne Germain, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, told Psychiatric News.
Comments on: New York Times – Following a Script to Escape a Nightmare
Forty-eight comments were posted on the recent New York Times article on treatment of chronic nightmares. Reading them was illuminating and encouraging, because the overwhelming majority of writers showed a great deal of common sense in their appreciation for the use of imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT). Among this group, there were numerous stories of those who had received similar instructions from a parent or friend who advised them to “change” something about their nightmare scenarios. In other words, these people or their children had lived through a process of suffering from nightmares and then successfully eradicated them through an instruction that afforded them a measure of influence over the problem. Read the rest of this entry »
Using Yoga to Treat Soldiers with PTSD
Heather Hauswirth KUAM
Guam – In 1969 former U.S. Army sergeant Frances H. Wolford received a Purple Heart for his bravery. He was wounded in combat in Vietnam, and to this day he has flashbacks. “I was wounded in the forehead. That’s why I don’t feel like enjoying Christmas,” he described.
The holidays are especially hard for Wolford, who has yet to be treated for his condition, but about 2,500 veterans receive treatment at the Guam Vets Center annually. 65% of them have undergone treatment specifically for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Local Guam yoga therapist Debbie Purcell says she uses yoga as a form of therapy to treat patients with PTSD, and that she’s had great success with vets by getting them to focus on the breath.
Sleep Clinic Helping PTSD Sufferers – KOAT Channel 7
A new sleep clinic opened in Albuquerque Friday with the sole aim of helping people who suffer from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.
“Most people with PTSD have insomnia and nightmares. It’s almost a given,” said Dr. Barry Krakow of the Maimonides Sleep Center.
The effects are devastating for them and others.
“Parasomnia conditions, very disruptive sleep” are common, said Krakow. “They could actually act out their dreams and move around and hurt somebody.”
Krakow said he’s been treating people with sleeping problems for years, helping them with their nightmares. Recently he’s seen a growing problem.
“There clearly is a rise, or at least an awareness of PTSD that’s growing in the community,” Krakow said.
Friday he unveiled a new PTSD sleep clinic.
“We’re trying to emphasize for the PTSD patient,” said Krakow. “We’re going to work on all their sleep problems.”
See Dr. Krakow's videos at sleeptreatment.com with the latest news and personal testimonials about his book.
