The Cost of a Good Night’s Sleep

American writer and humorist W.C. Fields once remarked that “the best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep.” While this seems like an obvious remedy, a good night’s sleep is not always so easy to come by. An increasing number of Americans are resorting to sleeping pills to achieve rest (up to 10% of adults by some estimates), but, according to a new study published in BMJ Open, this use of sleeping pills may lead to eternal sleep, not beauty sleep.

The authors of the study conducted a longitudinal review of electronic medical records from a health system in rural Pennsylvania. They examined more than 10,500 patients who received sleeping pill prescriptions, along with nearly 24,000 matched controls. The average age of subjects was 54 years, and they were followed for an average of 2.5 years between 2002 and 2007. Medications taken for sleep included older sedatives and hypnotics, such as benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and antihistamines, and newer non-benzodiazepines, such as zolpidem, eszopiclone, and zaleplon.

The raw data report that the death rate for all sleeping pill users was nearly 5 times as high as the death rate among controls. After adjusting for lifestyle, age, gender, marital status, body mass index, race, and other confounding factors and health conditions, the death rate was still more than 4.5 times higher among sleeping pill users.

When divided into groups based on the number of sleeping pills consumed, the death rate showed a dose-response relationship. That is, the lowest third of sleeping pill consumption (0.4 to 18 doses per year) showed a death rate that was 3.6 times higher than controls; the middle third of consumption (18 to 132 doses per year) showed a death rate that was 4.43 times higher; and the top third of consumption (more than 132 doses per year) showed a death rate that was 5.32 times higher.

Further, the middle third of consumption exhibited a 20% increase in the risk of a new major cancer and the top third exhibited a 35% increase. The risks of lymphomas and lung, colon, and prostate cancers among people who used sleeping pills were higher than the risks among current smokers.

The authors ruled out the possibility that the increased risks of death and cancer were due to pre-existing conditions, but the mechanism by which sleeping pills increase morbidity and mortality are unclear. Possibly, the association may occur due to the use of sleeping pills in combination with alcohol or other drugs, increased levels of depression and suicide associated with insomnia, increased risks of accidents and falls, increased sleep apnea, and night eating syndromes.

Owing to the nature of the study, researchers were unable to verify if the sleeping pills prescribed were actually consumed. They were also unable to account for the possibility that people without prescriptions for sleeping pills took over-the-counter sleep aids or sleeping pills prescribed to other individuals.

Insomnia is a difficult clinical entity; it is complex to diagnose and complex to treat. Most sleep complaints involve difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, and not feeling well-rested upon awakening — all of which lead to professional and social consequences, preventing individuals from performing activities of daily living and work-related tasks. Insomnia may be acute or chronic in nature and is often attributable to anxiety or stress, inadequate sleep hygiene, the use of other medications or substances, or a medical condition.

Medications should not be the first line of defense against sleep-related ills, and a complete evaluation should include an investigation of the precipitating and perpetuating factors related to insomnia. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is often an effective tool to teach sleep hygiene, relaxation techniques, and other cognitive restructuring techniques to aid in sleep. Pharmacological management of insomnia poses risks of drug interactions, memory disorders, daytime drowsiness, falls and accidents, and dependence and withdrawal symptoms.

No sleep aids are intended for long-term daily use, and the risks associated with their use are downplayed by the soft music and floating butterflies in the consumer advertising for newer, presumed-to-be-safer, sleeping pills. As a let-the-sleeper-beware caution, the study raises important concerns about the costs of a good night’s sleep and the use of even infrequent doses of sleeping pills.

6 Ways to Enhance Your Problem Solving Skills

Have you ever thought of yourself as a problem solver? I’m guessing not. But in reality we are constantly solving problems. And the better we are at it, the easier our lives are.

Problems arise in many shapes and forms. They can be mundane, everyday problems:

What to have for dinner tonight?
Which route to take to work?
or they can be larger more complex problems;
How to fix a project that’s running behind schedule?
How to change from an uninspiring job to a career you’re really passionate about?
Every day you’ll be faced with at least one problem to solve. But it gets easier when you realise that problems are simply choices. There’s nothing ‘scary’ about them other than having to make a decision.

No matter what job you’re in, where you live, who you’re partner is, how many friends you have; you will be judged on your ability to solve problems. Because problems equal hassles for everyone concerned. And people don’t like hassle. So the more problems you can solve, the less hassle all-round, the happier people are with you. Everyone wins.

So what can you do to enhance your problem solving skills?

1. Focus on the solution – not the problem

Neuroscientists have proven that your brain cannot find solutions if you focus on the problem. This is because when you focus on the problem you’re effectively feeding ‘negativity’ which in turn activates negative emotions in the brain. These emotions block potential solutions. I’m not saying you should ‘ignore the problem’ – instead try and remain calm. It helps to first acknowledge the problem and then move your focus to a solution-oriented mindset where you keep fixed on what the ‘answer’ could be instead of lingering on ‘what went wrong’ and ‘who’s fault it is’.

2. Have an open mind

Try and entertain ‘ALL POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS’ – even if they seem ridiculous at first. It’s important you keep an open mind to boost creative thinking, which can trigger potential solutions. Coming from 10 years in the corporate advertising industry it is drummed into you that ‘No idea is a bad idea’ and this aids creative thinking in brainstorms and other problem-solving techniques. Whatever you do – do not ridicule yourself for coming up with ‘stupid solutions’ as it’s often the crazy ideas that trigger other more viable solutions.

3. View problems neutrally

Try not to view problems as ‘scary’ things! If you think about it what is a problem? It’s really just feedback on your current situation. All a problem is telling you is that something is not currently working and that you need to find a new way around it. So try and approach problems neutrally – without any judgment. If you get caught up in the label ‘problem’ this may trigger a bought of negative thoughts and block any potential solutions from popping up!

4. Think laterally

Change the ‘direction’ of your thoughts by thinking laterally. Pay attention to the saying, ‘You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging it deeper”. Try to change your approach and look at things in a new way. You can try flipping your objective around and looking for a solution that is the polar opposite! Even if it feels silly, a fresh & unique approach usually stimulates a fresh solution.

5. Use language that creates possibility

Lead your thinking with phrases like ‘what if…’ and ‘imagine if…’ These terms open up our brains to think creatively and encourage solutions. Avoid closed, negative language such as ‘I don’t think…’ or ‘This is not right but…’.

6. Simplify things

As human beings we have a tendency to make things more complicated than they need to be! Try simplifying your problem by generalizing it. Remove all the detail and go back to the basics. Try looking for a really easy, obvious solution – you might be surprised at the results! And we all know that it’s often the simple things that are the most productive.

10 Brainteasers to Test Your Mental Sharpness

To test your mental acuity, answer the following questions (no peeking at the answers!):

1. Johnny’s mother had three children. The first child was named April. The second child was named May. What was the third child’s name?

2. A clerk at a butcher shop stands five feet ten inches tall and wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh?

3. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?

4. How much dirt is there in a hole that measures two feet by three feet by four feet?

5. What word in the English language is always spelled incorrectly?

6. Billie was born on December 28th, yet her birthday always falls in the summer. How is this possible?

7. In British Columbia you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not?

8. If you were running a race and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now?

9. Which is correct to say, “The yolk of the egg is white” or “The yolk of the egg are white?”

10. A farmer has five haystacks in one field and four haystacks in another. How many haystacks would he have if he combined them all in one field?

Answers

1. Johnny.
2. Meat.
3. Mt. Everest. It just wasn’t discovered yet.
4. There is no dirt in a hole.
5. Incorrectly (except when it is spelled incorrecktly).
6. Billie lives in the southern hemisphere.
7. You can’t take a picture with a wooden leg. You need a camera (or iPad or cell phone) to take a picture.
8. You would be in 2nd place. You passed the person in second place, not first.
9. Neither. Egg yolks are yellow.
10. One. If he combines all his haystacks, they all become one big stack.

Okay, some of these are a bit corny. But they all illustrate several brain idiosyncrasies that affect how we make decisions in the world.

Thanks to the way our brain works, we have a very strong tendency to see what we want to see and what we expect to see. This has huge implications when studying our customers, markets, competitors, and other data that influences key business decisions.

When we only see what we want or expect to see, we miss competitive threats because our brain tells us a threat couldn’t possibly come from that direction. We miss opportunities because we only see what has worked in the past rather than what could be. And we miss major market shifts and changes in customer needs that seem obvious in hindsight but are easily overlooked when focusing on what we already know.

Our brain doesn’t like information gaps, so we tend to jump at the first answer/solution that looks good rather than take the time to examine all the data. This is especially true in a world where we receive more information every day than we have time to assimilate. Finally, our brains love to see patterns and make connections. This trait serves us well in many ways as we move through the world. But the brain doesn’t always get it right.

For example, how did you answer question #1 (be honest)? For most people, the first word that pops into their head is “June,” because the brain quickly spots the April/May/June pattern. Upon re-reading the question and analyzing the data, the answer “Johnny” becomes obvious.

And what about the man with the wooden leg? Your answer depends on how you interpret “with.” Does it refer to the man with the wooden leg or to the camera? A bit of a trick question, but it clearly illustrates how the language we use shapes the way we look at the world.

Perhaps the best example of how we miss things is the egg yolk question. Everybody knows egg yolks are yellow. But the question’s phrasing puts our attention on selecting the correct verb, so we overlook an obvious piece of data and an even more obvious answer.

We can’t change how the brain works – at least not yet. Give science another 50 years and who knows what our brains will be doing! For now, we can become more aware of how our brain works, then pause from time to time to consider what we’re missing. This includes the data we’re unconsciously screening out as well as different sources of data to counterbalance what we expect to see.

Get in the habit of teasing your brain. You’ll be amazed at what you end up seeing that you didn’t see before.

Retweet this blog to find out how clever your friends and business associates are.

Forbes