Sleeping Disorder & Insomnia

NEW YORK – It may come as news to new parents but a U.S. study has found that mothers do get enough sleep in their babies’ first few months — it’s just not good quality.

Researchers from West Virginia University in Morgantown followed a group of new mothers and found, on average, the women got just over seven hours of sleep a night during their babies’ first four months.

That amount is generally what is recommended for adults, and, based on past studies, more than the average American gets.

But the study found that sleep is also frequently disrupted with the women typically being awake for a total of two hours a night which was worrying as sleep problems and exhaustion may contribute to postpartum depression and impact work performance.

Researcher Dr. Hawley E. Montgomery-Downs, an assistant professor of psychology, said the study challenges a central assumption about new mothers’ typical sleep patterns.

She told Reuters Health that the general assumption had been that most new mothers are not getting enough hours of sleep so the advice on how to combat daytime fatigue has focused on countering sleep deprivation, such as nap when your baby naps.

The current results, reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, suggest that new mothers’ highly fragmented sleep is the cause of daytime fatigue.

That sleep pattern, Montgomery-Downs said, is similar to what is seen with certain sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, where people log enough hours in bed, but get little restorative, good-quality sleep.

Sleep occurs in repeated cycles that each last 90 minutes to two hours. Depending on how often a new mother is waking up, she may get few or no full cycles of sleep, Montgomery-Downs noted.

“We need to think about what kinds of strategies can help consolidate sleep” for these mothers, Montgomery-Downs said.

One tactic, she suggested, could be for breastfeeding mothers to find time to pump milk and store it in bottles so that they do not have to be the one to always get up with the baby.

While quick naps might not do much, Montgomery-Downs noted that “if you’re one of the lucky parents” whose infants typically nap for at least two straight hours, taking that time to sleep could be helpful.

The findings are based on 74 new mothers who were followed between either the second and 13th week of their infants’ lives, or between the 9th and 16th week.

The women kept track of their sleep patterns using sleep “diaries,” and also wore a wristwatch-like device called an actigraph that recorded their movements during the night.

New mothers get sleep, just not good sleep: study

Tuesday 7th September 2010

George Whitfield  (1714-1770)

I’d like to introduce you to another of my “Spiritual Heroes”  -  George Whitfield. Born under a mile  away from my own birthplace in Gloucester, England he was a Spiritual firebrand who became one of the most famous “Great Awakening” preachers in America during the 1700’s. Whitfield was a man who literally changed America with his preaching! It is reported that he preached more than 18,000 sermons in his 34 years of preaching, between England and America. It is said his voice could be heard a mile away, and his open-air preaching reached as many as 100,000 in one gathering, (without the use of a sound system!)

It is estimated that during the 7 trips George Whitefield made to colonies in America, that at least 80% of the population heard him preach at least once. He was both loved and hated, adored and reviled. He stirred the emotions of sinners and saints. Literary men of his times frequented his meetings. Lord Chesterfield, icy as he was, warmed under his preaching. Lord Bolingbroke, not a generous critic, said, “He is the most extraordinary man of our times. He has the most commanding eloquence I ever heard in any person.” Franklin of America, a cold-blooded, calculating philosopher, said of the revivalist Whitefield, “It was wonderful to see the change made by his preaching in the manners of the inhabitants of Philadelphia. from being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if the whole world were growing religious.”

Whitefield’s preaching was often violently opposed. During one of his American revivals Whitfield wrote; “I was honored today with having a few stones, dirt, rotten eggs, and pieces of dead cat thrown at me”. such things were common, with those opposed to his preaching using every means available to drown out the sound of his words with drums, trumpets and other instruments. his last sermon was delivered in the open air at Exeter, Mass., the day before he died in 1770 in Newburyport, where he is buried.

John Wesley wrote of his friend, “”have we read or heard of any person who called so many thousands, so many myriads of sinners to repentance? Above all, have we read or heard of anyone who has been God’s blessed instrument to bring so many sinners from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God as Whitefield?”

God is looking for people to become firebrands in this day, men and women, completely sold out to Him, who are willing to sacrifice all to see America shaken by another great Awakening. will you be one of those who will cry out for the fire of the Holy Spirit to ignite your heart? will you cry out for an anointing of Apostolic zeal to lead America again to Jesus?

Here are some quotes from this great Preacher:

“Believers keep up and maintain their walk with God by secret prayer. the spirit of grace is always accompanied with the spirit of supplication. It is the very breath of the new creature, the fan of the divine life, whereby the spark of holy fire, kindled in the soul by God, is not only kept in, but raised into a flame. A neglect of secret prayer has been frequently an inlet to many spiritual diseases, and has been attended with fatal consequences.”

“Whole days and weeks have I spent prostrate on the ground in silent or vocal prayer.”

“Be content with no degree of sanctification. Be always crying out, “Lord, let me know more of myself and of thee.””

“The Christian world is in a deep sleep; nothing but a loud shout can awaken them out of it!”

“Go to bed seasonably, and rise early. Redeem your precious time: pick up the fragments of it, that not one moment of it may be lost. Be much in secret prayer. Converse less with man, and more with God”

“The renewal of our natures is a work of great importance. It is not to be done in a day. we have not only a new house to build up, but an old one to tear down.”

“Works? Works? A man get to heaven by works? I would as soon think of climbing to the moon on a rope of sand!”

“It is true, a man that is born again of God, may, through surprise, or the violence of a temptation, fall into an act of sin: witness the adultery of David, and Peter’s denial of his Master. but then, like them, he quickly rises again, goes out from the world, and weeps bitterly; washes the guilt of sin away by the tears of sincere repentance, joined with faith in the blood of Jesus Christ; takes double heed to his ways for the future, and perfects holiness in the fear of God.”

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with you all, to comfort under, and deliver you from tribulation; to preserve you to your respective place of abode; and when there, to keep you in his fear, that you may live to his glory; that to live may be Christ’s, and to die by your eternal gain; so that you may live with him through eternal ages, and sing Hallelujahs to him for ever. Amen.”

The Firebrand of the Great Awakening

According to a study published in, Obesity: a Research Journal, "The proportion of young adults sleeping 8 to 8.9 hours per night has decreased from 40.8% in 1960 to 23.5% in 2001–2002 in the United States. During the same time period, the incidence of obesity has nearly doubled."

Improper hormone regulation is the link between sleep deprivation, obesity and weight gain. Sleep helps regulate two important hormones that play a key role in weight management.

Leptin acts on the hypothalamus in the brain to decrease hunger, decrease food consumption, increase energy expenditure (calories burned) and control body temperature.

Ghrelin also acts on the hypothalamus, but it stimulates appetite, is a catalyst for growth hormone secretion, stimulates stomach emptying, and is responsible for telling the brain whether or not the body needs more or less food.

Hormones, Sleep and Appetite

During sleep, leptin levels increase and ghrelin levels decrease as a way to prevent hunger and the need to wake up and eat during the middle of the night. On the other hand, people who are chronically sleep deprived, meaning they regularly get less than 7-9 hours of sleep per night, have reduced leptin levels and elevated ghrelin levels.

This causes a significant increase in appetite and more waking hours spent trying to satisfy that appetite. in addition, lower leptin levels cause the body to expend less energy, or fewer calories, throughout the day. this translates to less energy throughout the day, which can increase sedentary behavior and also lead to weight gain.

And worse, according to Structure of Ghrelin and its Receptor, "Ghrelin also appears to suppress fat utilization in adipose tissue," meaning that fat is readily stored in the body, but not readily burned for fuel, even during aerobic exercise.

The Solution

The solution for those trying to lose weight is to get more sleep. Obesity: a Research Journal reports that the vast majority of sleep deprivation is voluntary and comes as a result of people staying up late to watch television, use the internet or work. other causes of sleep deprivation come from sleep disorders such as insomnia and sleep apnea. If you suspect you have a sleep disorder, see a doctor.

Tips for how to Get more Sleep

Lose Weight by Sleeping More?