Alexis
Petnuch
*Couldn't post from my account*
Carey, Benedict. "Insomnia Is Linked
to Trouble Breathing." Well Insomnia Is Linked to Trouble Breathing
Comments. The New York Times, 3 Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.
<http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/insomnia-is-linked-to-trouble-breathing/>.
The article, “Insomnia Is Linked to
Trouble Breathing” talks about a study conducted to determine whether or not
breathing problems were the cause of insomnia. Although it is speculated that
irregularities in breathing can cause insomnia, only one small study was
conducted to prove this, thus, it is not proven. A drop in the amount of oxygen
inhaled while sleeping may actually cause chronic insomnia, speculated by many
to be caused by the urge to use the bathroom or stress. Hyper-arousal, a state
in which your nervous system is alerted, is a theory as to why insomnia occurs.
However, this theory explains why insomniacs cannot fall asleep and fails to
explain what makes them wake up numerous times during the night.
Sleep researches in Albuquerque
interviewed twenty people with chronic insomnia and asked what they thought the
cause of their insomnia was. Most blamed their insomnia on nightmares, urge to
use the bathroom, or pain. These people were then tested and wired with sensors
that tracked brain waves and breathing during the night. The results showed
that in majority of the people studied, an abnormal breath occurred within
seconds of the insomniac awaking. An irregularity in breathing is not proven to
be an official cause of insomnia, but studies have shown that it is definitely
a contender in finding a reason for this sleeping problem.
Insomnia is often treated with talk
therapy or medications, but these rarely solve the problems with the disease.
If the finding of breathing disorders as a cause of insomnia is proven,
treatment of the disorders may aid in curing the insomnia. Dental inserts to
keep the airways open during the night can be prescribed to help with breathing
and in extreme cases, a CPAP can be used to keep the airways open. These sleep
therapies are costly and more studies would need to be conducted to prove the
theory of breathing problems causing insomnia, but in the future, the mystery
of the causes of insomnia could be found.
This article was interesting and
showed a possible explanation for Chronic Insomnia. A lot of this article was
speculation so it was kind of disappointing to know that not many studies were being
conducted to prove this theory. However, it was interesting to know that this
was a possible explanation and a good starting point for future studies and
findings on insomnia. There aren’t many known causes or treatments for insomnia
so it is important to know that there may be unknown causes of the disease that
are being researched and studied.
A.P. Biology Gina Elbert
ReplyDeleteReview Commentary 12/11/12
Alexis’ review provided a thorough description of the sleep study, an informed critique of the article, and useful clarification of terms. Alexis’ description of the insomnia study mentioned many details that it made the details of the experiment, such as its method and its findings, clear. For example, she explained the theories that had once been linked to insomnia, the procedure of the experiment, and the new theory that arose because of it. However, Alexis mentioned that the study was by no means conclusive, because of its lack of a control and its small sample size, which gave us, as readers, a willing suspension of disbelief. She urged us to remember that, while the study sounded useful, it was quite possible that, because of the lack of a control, it was not irrefutable. Finally, her clarification of terms such as “hyper-arousal” helped me to understand what she was talking about and to comprehend the genuine meaning of the study. She defined each uncommon term concisely and accurately.
No review is without its flaws. While she did all of the things mentioned above, Alexis included a few too many details about the study, as well as little analysis. Much of the review, while well-written, was a recitation of what was said in the article, although it better words. It would have been more concise if she had not included all of the details. I would have also preferred more on how the study could help science in the future and possibly a connection to what we have learned in A.P. Biology this year, although with this topic, that would have been difficult, as it does not relate to anything that we have learned this year.
One thing that impressed me about the study was that an actual pattern was found among the insomnia patients. They could all have had different problems in life and reasons for insomnia, but they were united by this one factor that unites all aerobic creatures: breathing.
I enjoyed reading Alexis’s review on the article, “Insomnia is Linked to Trouble Breathing.” I enjoyed how she stated the skepticism of this idea, being that is not yet officially proven that irregular breathing causes insomnia, and that there are only links to it rather than a direct cause-and-effect relation. This lets the reader know that this idea is not definite. Also, I liked how she mentioned the hyper-arousal theory with insomnia, being the idea that insomnia is caused by a state in which your nervous system is alerted, and explained how it does not explain how insomniacs can wake up numerous times in the night. This lets the reader know another theory about insomnia, but also shows how there is still a mystery to insomnia, even if this theory is correct. Lastly, I appreciated how she explained the study done to see a relationship between trouble breathing and insomnia. This is the core of this idea, considering this was the part that could have easily proven or disproven the connection between breathing and insomnia, based on the data. This part needed to be added, otherwise the article would be only slightly informative, and have no backup to its own title.
ReplyDeleteAlexis could have improved the review on two parts. She could have elaborated more on the talk therapy and medicine that is used with some people, since it is not clear as to how and why they are used at all if they do not work. Also, she could have mentioned the lead group or leader to the study, since it is doubtful that the twenty people doing the study just collaborated together randomly.
I was very interested in this theory of insomnia. I have heard how dreadful this disease can actually be, considering sleep is a very important part of life that normally gets overlooked and taken for granted. Hopefully more studies like this are done to find direct causes to insomnia, to overall prevent it, which would help many people who have the disease.
AP Biology Petey DeJoy
ReplyDeleteComment Review 12/12/12
Alexis did a very good job with her review of “Insomnia is Linked to Trouble Breathing”. There were a few aspects of the review that were particularly well presented. Primarily, I really enjoyed her analysis of the experiment and how she explained what was done: A group of 20 people with chronic insomnia were collected and tested. I also enjoyed her presentation of the problem. She stated very clearly that people who have insomnia might be this way because of irregular breathing patterns. I also think she did a good job maintaining a little bit of ambiguity, as the study done was very questionable. It does not seem like it could have been very accurate, and she addresses that. She could have done a few things a little better. Her wording was a little off, and it was a little hard to read in places. If she had been clearer in her presentation, it would have made the review easier to read. Also, I would like to know a little more about the study they did, how they did it, and the specific results they found, things that are not presented in the review. I thought it was very interesting to know that insomnia might be curable, as I used to struggle with it myself, and hope for the best for the people researching it.
AP Biology Petey DeJoy
ReplyDeleteComment Review 12/12/12
Alexis did a very good job with her review of “Insomnia is Linked to Trouble Breathing”. There were a few aspects of the review that were particularly well presented. Primarily, I really enjoyed her analysis of the experiment and how she explained what was done: A group of 20 people with chronic insomnia were collected and tested. I also enjoyed her presentation of the problem. She stated very clearly that people who have insomnia might be this way because of irregular breathing patterns. I also think she did a good job maintaining a little bit of ambiguity, as the study done was very questionable. It does not seem like it could have been very accurate, and she addresses that. She could have done a few things a little better. Her wording was a little off, and it was a little hard to read in places. If she had been clearer in her presentation, it would have made the review easier to read. Also, I would like to know a little more about the study they did, how they did it, and the specific results they found, things that are not presented in the review. I thought it was very interesting to know that insomnia might be curable, as I used to struggle with it myself, and hope for the best for the people researching it.
I thought the reviewer did a great job of presenting this article. I really liked how she explained the specifics of the article and interpreted the results. She made it easy to understand how the experiment happened and what the results shower. I also liked that the reviewer mentioned the possibility of breathing disorders as a contributor to insomia, but made a clear distinction between correlation and causation. She clearly indicated that while it may be a cause, there are too many variables and too little data to confirm it as a definite source of the disease. I also liked that she presented other theories as to why insomia occurs in people including the “hyper-arousal” theory. This allowed the reader to get a different perspective on the possible cause of insomia other than the one that the article focused on.
ReplyDeleteI thought that although her review was well organized and thought out, the reviewer could have done a better job with her grammar and word choice. There were a few instances where grammatical errors made it difficult to understand everything the reviewer was writing. I also would have liked an explanation as to what other measures are being taken elsewhere to find the cause of the disease, and how current measures to combat the disease are working.
I found this article to be very interesting as I have an insomiac as a family member. He struggles a lot as a result of the disease and I always like to hear about potential causes of the disease and the measures being taken to help those who are unfortunate enough to have the disease.
Alexis’s review of the article, “Insomnia is Linked to Trouble Breathing,” by Benedict Carey of the New York Times, was well written. Alexis did a good job explaining the already well-known causes of insomnia. In the article, these were often excessively repeated, but Alexis wrote it once, and clearly. Also, Alexis wrote about the treatments already available to insomniacs. This is important, for the current treatments, as she said, “…Rarely solve the problems (of the) disease.” Doctors and scientists, therefore, are excited by this new finding, which Dr. Michael J. Sateia, a professor at Dartmouth College’s school of medicine, says “…By no means can be discounted.” This is exciting, for if a new cause of insomnia is found, then maybe new, more useful cures will be discovered too, and become available. Further more, Alexis did a good job evaluating the flaws of this study, and I agree with her, when she says, “…It was kind of disappointing to know that not many studies were being conducted to prove this theory.”
ReplyDeleteAlthough Alexis did a very good job, there were certain things that she could have done to make this review even better. For example, she could have explored Dr. Sateia’s comment, “We know arousal can in and of itself promote instability of the upper airway.” This means that it is not always clear whether it is the breathing that causes the insomnia, or the insomnia (or awakening) that causes the troubled breathing. This means that this study really needs further research. The data found can very easily be accounted for by something else, meaning this data is very questionable. Also, it would have been good for Alexis to delve into the fact that, currently, treatments for this sort of insomnia are very expensive. This is important, for, without treatment, there is not way to cure the insomnia.
This article was very interesting. Although this study had many different problems associated with it, it is still valuable, for it is, hopefully, the beginning of further studies. If breathing problems can be found responsible for insomnia, then that could help many people who have been struggling with the disease.
ReplyDeleteAlexis’s review of Insomnia is Linked to Trouble Breathing was very well written. A good point made my the reviewer was that although it was questioned, breathing problems while sleeping is not proven by this experiment since only 20 people were tested and with no control. They have conclusive evidence towards this being a cause of Insomnia, but it is not yet proven and needs further testing. Another good point was while people thought the cause of their insomnia was the need to use the bathroom or racing thoughts, the real issue was the amount of oxygen being inhaled dropped while sleeping which caused them to awaken. The notion that people wakeup because they feel an urge to use the restroom and have racing thoughts only explains why they can’t fall asleep, not why they wakeup multiple times during the night. A well-represented topic in this review is how insomnia is normally treated with talk therapy and medication, but rarely helps the actual issue. A reason for this could possibly be because these treatments are treating the wrong problem and not treating the oxygen issue.
One thing this review needed was possible future studies. How could this experiment help aid science for the future? And is there any testing being done now testing the different reasons people wake up during the night? Another thing that could have been better represented was just how this study was done. How did they find out it was a drop in oxygen intake during sleep?
Something that surprised me in this article was the theory that insomnia may be caused by a breathing issue. Especially as a teenager, insomnia takes over most nights for many people. And to know that it may have nothing to do with racing thoughts and the urge to use the bathroom is really interesting. The fact that there is a study being done to try and aid insomniacs is great.
Alexis did a great job reviewing "Insomnia is Linked to Trouble Breathing." I appreciated the fact that Alexis was not as repetitive as the article was in stating the already known causes for insomnia, as this was not the thesis of the article, but still important background information. I also though Alexis made it clear that the article was linking breathing problems to insomnia, however as it has not be thoroughly tested and it has not been compared to other data this cannot be an accepted theory yet, however is proposed. Lastly i liked how she included that racing thoughts can not be the full reason for why insomniacs wakeup in the middle of the night and shows that there is still mystery to this disease. One thing i thought she could've improved on was elaborating on the use of therapy and medicine as remedies to insomnia, as there was no mention or explanation for why they are used if they dont work. Secondly I think it would be cool if Alexis had included other studies or experiments that are being conducted to find the reason for insomnia. Overall I think this article was very interesting and the part in which i became most fascinated with is that racing thoughts or having to go to the bathroom are apparently not related to insomnia; or are not the main reason.
ReplyDeleteAlexis did a great job reviewing "Insomnia is Linked to Trouble Breathing." I appreciated the fact that Alexis was not as repetitive as the article was in stating the already known causes for insomnia, as this was not the thesis of the article, but still important background information. I also though Alexis made it clear that the article was linking breathing problems to insomnia, however as it has not be thoroughly tested and it has not been compared to other data this cannot be an accepted theory yet, however is proposed. Lastly i liked how she included that racing thoughts can not be the full reason for why insomniacs wakeup in the middle of the night and shows that there is still mystery to this disease. One thing i thought she could've improved on was elaborating on the use of therapy and medicine as remedies to insomnia, as there was no mention or explanation for why they are used if they dont work. Secondly I think it would be cool if Alexis had included other studies or experiments that are being conducted to find the reason for insomnia. Overall I think this article was very interesting and the part in which i became most fascinated with is that racing thoughts or having to go to the bathroom are apparently not related to insomnia; or are not the main reason.
ReplyDelete