What is Sleep?
Although everyone needs to sleep to maintain their health, the question “what is sleep?” has proven surprisingly difficult. During the state of sleep, the brain exhibits profound changes.
It is now believed the function of sleep is to clear metabolic waste products from the pathways of the brain. This helps explain why healthy sleep must be sufficient in both duration and depth.
What Conditions Are Associated With Sleep?
The most common health condition associated with sleep is insomnia. Insomnia is difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or both. Sleep disturbances can be physiological in nature (for example, Restless Legs Syndrome) or psychological (for example, nightmares.)
Experts have estimated that about 25% of Americans develop some degree of insomnia in any given year. In 75% of cases, it passes without long-term damage to sleep habits.
Other common sleep disorders include:
- Snoring
- Sleep apnea, “pauses” in breathing often caused by soft tissue blockage in the airway
- Sleep hypoventilation, trouble breathing in sleep caused by respiratory muscle weakness
- Restless Legs Syndrome, which causes discomfort only alleviated by moving the legs
- Bruxism, the grinding of the teeth during sleep, which can damage the teeth and jaw
Sleep medicine experts also recognize several less common sleep disorders. These include things like narcolepsy, nightmares and night terrors, and Rapid Eye Movement Behavior Disorder.
Maintaining Sleep Health
Many chronic sleep conditions arise with no known cause. However, maintaining good sleep hygiene can help. Sleep hygiene refers to the whole collection of habits that affect sleep health.
In general, it is a good idea to develop a consistent bedtime and routine for “going to bed.” Discontinue the use of phones and other “screens” an hour before bed, since the blue light of these devices inhibits the brain’s natural response to reduced lighting at night.
Remember, many factors can contribute to sleep health issues:
- Certain medications, such as those used for high blood pressure and asthma
- Chronic pain disorders and other conditions that cause persistent discomfort
- Stress in your personal or work life and conditions like anxiety or depression
Each individual has a slight variance in sleep need. Likewise, the duration of sleep needed does change depending on life stage. However, it is important to know everyone needs about eight hours of nightly sleep to maintain mental and physical health.
Medical Research on Sleep
With the answers to key questions on “why do we sleep?” coming into view, sleep researchers are continuing to pursue clinical sleep studies looking for new sleep disorder treatments.
Sleep clinical care has undergone revolutionary changes in recent years thanks to imaging technology that precisely pinpoints sleep-related changes in the human brain at any age.
Current Clinical Trials on Sleep
This list includes all clinical trials on sleep recognized by ClinicalTrials.gov. To add sleep clinical trials to our list, contact us.
- Written Exposure Therapy and App-Delivered Mindfulness Meditation for PTSD in China: A Pilot Studyon May 1, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: PTSD; Insomnia, Secondary Interventions: Behavioral: written exposure therapy; Behavioral: Written Exposure Therapy plus Mindfulness-Based App (WET + MBA); Behavioral: Minimal Contact Control (MCC) Sponsors: Peking University Recruiting
- QoL in OSA patiënts Treated With MMA Surgery.on April 26, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Sleep Apnea, Obstructive; Quality of Life Interventions: Procedure: Maxillomandibular Advancement Surgery Sponsors: Diakonessenhuis, Utrecht Recruiting
- Lifestyle and Physical Activity as Part Of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatmenton April 24, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Obstructive Sleep Apnea Interventions: Behavioral: Individually tailored lifestyle and physical activity intervention; Behavioral: Individually tailored lifestyle and physical activity intervention combined with enhanced behavioral support -intervention (EBS) Sponsors: Filha ry; University of Jyvaskyla; Organisation for Respiratory Health in Finland; Central Finland Hospital District Recruiting
- Exploring the Effects of Probiotics on Workplace Related Stress Symptomson April 24, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Stress; Sleep Disorder Interventions: Dietary Supplement: probiotics; Dietary Supplement: placebo Sponsors: National Taiwan Sport University; Bened Biomedical Co., Ltd. Recruiting
- Melatonin's Effect on Nighttime Blood Pressure and Sleep in OSA Patients (MEBP-OSA)on April 24, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Obstructive Sleep Apnea of Adult Interventions: Drug: Melatonin 3 MG Oral Tablet Sponsors: Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Medicas y Nutricion Salvador Zubiran; Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico; Emory University Recruiting
- Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise on Pain and Sleep Quality in Individuals With Non-specific Chronic Neck Painon April 23, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Non-specific Chronic Neck Pain; Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise Interventions: Other: diaphragmatic breathing exercise; Other: conventional physiotherapy exercise Sponsors: University of Jordan Recruiting
- Biomarkers of Dementia in Chronic Sleep and Breathing Disorderson April 22, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: COPD; Overlap Syndrome; OSA Interventions: Diagnostic Test: High density electroencephalogram (HdEEG); Diagnostic Test: Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS); Diagnostic Test: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); Biological: Blood collection; Diagnostic Test: Neuropsychological battery; Other: Questionnaires; Diagnostic Test: Pulmonary Function Test (PFT); Other: Cognitive Assessment; Diagnostic Test: Polysomnogram (PSG) Sponsors: Woolcock Institute of Medical Research Recruiting
- Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory B-cell Lymphoma With Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell Therapy Produced by a New Technologyon April 22, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Refractory B-Cell Lymphoma; B-cell Lymphoma Recurrent Interventions: Biological: CAR-T cells therapy Sponsors: Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca; Spanish Clinical Research Network - SCReN; Fundación Canaria de Investigación Sanitaria; Fundación para la Investigación Biomédica del Hospital 12 de Octubre Recruiting
- Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment Model for Insomnia Disorderon April 19, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Insomnia Interventions: Other: Routine clinical treatment Sponsors: Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing; West China Hospital; Beijing Tiantan Hospital; Ningcheng Center Hospital; Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University Recruiting
- Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Prevents Delirium in Patients With Subarachnoid Hemorrhageon April 19, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Interventions: Device: Real transcranial alternating electrical stimulation; Device: Sham transcranial alternating electrical stimulation Sponsors: Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing Recruiting
- Interventional Neuromodulation in Fibromyalgiaon April 18, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Neuromodulation and Sleep Disorders Interventions: Device: repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation active stimulation; Device: repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation sham stimulation Sponsors: Tanta University Recruiting
- The Effect of Foot Massage and Bed Bath on Individuals With Canceron April 18, 2024 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Patients Interventions: Other: foot massage; Other: bed bath Sponsors: Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi Recruiting
Why Are More Clinical Trials on Sleep Necessary?
There may be no single “cure for insomnia”, but clinical trials on sleep help doctors develop effective sleep disorder treatment protocols for the various situations where sleep is disturbed.
Ongoing sleep research continues to redefine what we know about each of these conditions. Insomnia treatments are just one of the new sleep clinical resources coming from this effort.
Conclusion
The majority of American adults experience sleep disturbances at some point in life. With that in mind, clinical trials on sleep truly affect everyone. Unfortunately, sleep disorders are under-diagnosed – and those who suffer often do not pursue treatment. Participating in clinical studies on sleep is one way to help ensure you, and others, will rest better.
Content Box
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180605154114.htm
- https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/pdfs/Insomnia.pdf
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-future-of-sleep-studies
- https://www.sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/what-insomnia
- https://medlineplus.gov/sleepdisorders.html
- https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/sleep-hygiene