Anxiety Linked to Sleep Problems

(Ivanhoe Newswire) –When your stress causes anxiety it can take its toll on your sleep.

A new report from Finland finds anxiety from stressful life situations is more likely to cause sleep problems for at least the first six months after the event. The study measured the effects of stressful events such as death or illness in the family, divorce, financial difficulty, and violence. Participants’ risk of anxiety was measured at the beginning of the study.

Results show being at risk for anxiety and having a negative life event were strongly linked to sleep problems. Men at risk for anxiety had sleep disturbance odds 3.11 times higher if they had a severe life event within six months. Those not at risk for anxiety had odds of 1.13 for sleeping problems. And for men and women at risk for anxiety the odds ratio for sleep disturbance up to six months after divorce was 2.05 compared to 1.47 for those not at risk for anxiety.

“This five-year follow-up showed that exposure to severe stressful events can trigger sleep disturbances in people with undisturbed sleep before the event,” study author Jussi Vahtera, M.D., Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki, Finland, was quoted as saying. “Those liable to anxiety before the event seemed to be at a higher risk of post-event sleep disturbances compared with those not liable to anxiety.”

Experts recommend adults get seven to eight hours of sleep a night for good health and to be able to perform at their best.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: SLEEP, 2007

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