ANNOUNCER: There are times when it seems our world is changed forever. Whether it is a loss of a loved one or a life-threatening event. These experiences can leave a mark on our very being.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: A traumatic event, in essence, is a threatening event, one in which your well being as a person-physical, emotional, spiritual, social-is threatened.
THOMAS A. MELLMAN, MD: A range of experiences can be considered traumatic. Losses, disappointments, an experience where a person feels that their life is actually in danger or that their physical integrity is in danger.
ANNOUNCER: While what we consider "traumatic" differs for each of us, the after effects of such an event are often similar.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: Very often, preoccupation with the event itself, intrusive thoughts about the event, say, a loss. Other people react with anger, others with great sadness. For most of us, the aftermath of a traumatic event is a heightened sense of anxiety or worry about our well-being, and very often a loss of sleep, of good quality sleep at night.
ANNOUNCER: Difficulties with sleep can result from the ways in which we try and cope with difficult times.
THOMAS A. MELLMAN, MD: A person might feel the need to maintain a high level of vigilance. In other words, to be on alarm, to be on guard. And being on guard is basically incompatible with being asleep.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: They may wake up at night again preoccupied with the event and having a sense of anxiety or foreboding. Repetitive dreams, often, nightmares can be occasions for sleep loss as well.
ANNOUNCER: In the best of times, poor sleep at night can make life difficult during the day. Those problems only increase when someone is trying to handle a life-altering event.
THOMAS A. MELLMAN, MD: You have kind of a paradoxical mixture of a person who's fatigued because of sleep loss, but at the same time on guard and over-vigilant. That it's more difficult for them to focus and concentrate.
ANNOUNCER: Gaining back quality sleep often means finding ways to put the event in perspective.
THOMAS A. MELLMAN, MD: It's helpful for people to talk about their experiences, and people who find a very difficult time doing that, paradoxically, may be the ones who need to do it the most.
One colleague of mine has found that having people talk about or write about their disturbing recurring dreams-trauma-related dreams. And asking them to alter the ending, usually from a more threatening scenario to one in which they have more control, is also a helpful strategy.
ANNOUNCER: Experts sometimes recommend that a sleep diary could be helpful. This journal is kept by the sleeper and records what they do before bedtime and what happens when they sleep.
THOMAS A. MELLMAN, MD: Keeping a diary might render a person more attentive to their habits about sleep, and may become obvious to them what some of the maladaptive habits are. Staying awake for prolonged periods in bed and just getting frustrated, as opposed to leaving the bedroom if sleep is not forthcoming.
ANNOUNCER: Doctors also suggest avoiding things like coffee, exercise or alcohol before bedtime. Relaxation techniques can be helpful. There are also over-the-counter as well as prescription medications that can get the problem sleeper back on track.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: For folks who are suffering from an acute or short-term sleep disturbance in the wake of a traumatic or threatening life event, very often the short-term use of sleeping pills can be a real help.
ANNOUNCER: Prescription medications fall into two classes benzodiazepines and non- benzodiazepines. Experts feel that such medication needs to be accompanied by real efforts to deal with the trauma.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: It's important to help the bereaved person who may be having trouble sleeping get a better night's sleep, but also to re-establish social connections in their lives, not to withdraw, and to re-establish a stable routine of both physical and social activities.
ANNOUNCER: While it may be difficult to deal with trauma there can be consequences of not addressing the event.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: Perhaps 10 to 20 percent of older Americans who experience the loss of a spouse will also develop clinically significant depression. Very often, those are folks who have severe sleep disturbance in the wake of a bereavement.
THOMAS A. MELLMAN, MD: There certainly are hints that prolonged stress reactions may be translated into increased rates of cardiovascular disorders, including hypertension; problems with headaches; chronic pain syndromes some of which may be engendered by chronic disruption to sleep.
ANNOUNCER: Experts urge that it's always best to seek professional help if problems persist.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: My advice both to patients and family members would be seek help, reach out, don't suffer in silence.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: A traumatic event, in essence, is a threatening event, one in which your well being as a person-physical, emotional, spiritual, social-is threatened.
THOMAS A. MELLMAN, MD: A range of experiences can be considered traumatic. Losses, disappointments, an experience where a person feels that their life is actually in danger or that their physical integrity is in danger.
ANNOUNCER: While what we consider "traumatic" differs for each of us, the after effects of such an event are often similar.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: Very often, preoccupation with the event itself, intrusive thoughts about the event, say, a loss. Other people react with anger, others with great sadness. For most of us, the aftermath of a traumatic event is a heightened sense of anxiety or worry about our well-being, and very often a loss of sleep, of good quality sleep at night.
ANNOUNCER: Difficulties with sleep can result from the ways in which we try and cope with difficult times.
THOMAS A. MELLMAN, MD: A person might feel the need to maintain a high level of vigilance. In other words, to be on alarm, to be on guard. And being on guard is basically incompatible with being asleep.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: They may wake up at night again preoccupied with the event and having a sense of anxiety or foreboding. Repetitive dreams, often, nightmares can be occasions for sleep loss as well.
ANNOUNCER: In the best of times, poor sleep at night can make life difficult during the day. Those problems only increase when someone is trying to handle a life-altering event.
THOMAS A. MELLMAN, MD: You have kind of a paradoxical mixture of a person who's fatigued because of sleep loss, but at the same time on guard and over-vigilant. That it's more difficult for them to focus and concentrate.
ANNOUNCER: Gaining back quality sleep often means finding ways to put the event in perspective.
THOMAS A. MELLMAN, MD: It's helpful for people to talk about their experiences, and people who find a very difficult time doing that, paradoxically, may be the ones who need to do it the most.
One colleague of mine has found that having people talk about or write about their disturbing recurring dreams-trauma-related dreams. And asking them to alter the ending, usually from a more threatening scenario to one in which they have more control, is also a helpful strategy.
ANNOUNCER: Experts sometimes recommend that a sleep diary could be helpful. This journal is kept by the sleeper and records what they do before bedtime and what happens when they sleep.
THOMAS A. MELLMAN, MD: Keeping a diary might render a person more attentive to their habits about sleep, and may become obvious to them what some of the maladaptive habits are. Staying awake for prolonged periods in bed and just getting frustrated, as opposed to leaving the bedroom if sleep is not forthcoming.
ANNOUNCER: Doctors also suggest avoiding things like coffee, exercise or alcohol before bedtime. Relaxation techniques can be helpful. There are also over-the-counter as well as prescription medications that can get the problem sleeper back on track.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: For folks who are suffering from an acute or short-term sleep disturbance in the wake of a traumatic or threatening life event, very often the short-term use of sleeping pills can be a real help.
ANNOUNCER: Prescription medications fall into two classes benzodiazepines and non- benzodiazepines. Experts feel that such medication needs to be accompanied by real efforts to deal with the trauma.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: It's important to help the bereaved person who may be having trouble sleeping get a better night's sleep, but also to re-establish social connections in their lives, not to withdraw, and to re-establish a stable routine of both physical and social activities.
ANNOUNCER: While it may be difficult to deal with trauma there can be consequences of not addressing the event.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: Perhaps 10 to 20 percent of older Americans who experience the loss of a spouse will also develop clinically significant depression. Very often, those are folks who have severe sleep disturbance in the wake of a bereavement.
THOMAS A. MELLMAN, MD: There certainly are hints that prolonged stress reactions may be translated into increased rates of cardiovascular disorders, including hypertension; problems with headaches; chronic pain syndromes some of which may be engendered by chronic disruption to sleep.
ANNOUNCER: Experts urge that it's always best to seek professional help if problems persist.
CHARLES F. REYNOLDS, MD: My advice both to patients and family members would be seek help, reach out, don't suffer in silence.