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December 13, 2007Bipolar Disorder Improves With Routine Sleep Patterns?filed under Bipolar Disorder Biology
· Bipolar Disorder Coping
Researchers that sleep is connected to bipolar disorder. That is, past research has shown that bipolar patients have difficulty with sleep and often suffer from sleep-related problems. Now new research is showing that routine sleep schedules can actually be beneficial to the outcomes of bipolar disorder. A new study which appears in this month's issue of the journal, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ANCP), examined two groups of adult bipolar patients receiving different treatment therapies and found that the group of patients who participated in interpersonal and rhythm therapies--these therapies involved the patients monitoring their daily routines--had longer periods without mania and depression. Researchers have believed for some time that bipolar disorder is greatly affected by the circadian rhythm or the body's internal clock, and these new findings only further support this idea. It seems that sufferers of bipolar disorder tend to have more sensitive circadian systems than do others, and as a result, a change in routine or sleep schedule can throw the internal clocks of bipolar sufferers off (more so than with the healthy population), and result in more frequent manic and depressive episodes for bipolar patients. Ellen Frank, Ph.D., who conducted the new study at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine had this to say about the findings: Having already found that disruption in daily routines can make individuals with bipolar disorder vulnerable to new episodes of illness, we have now learned that working with patients to achieve and maintain regular social rhythms -- including regular sleep patterns and adequate physical activity -- will help to protect them against episodes of mania or depression, we have now learned that working with patients to achieve and maintain regular social rhythms -- including regular sleep patterns and adequate physical activity -- will help to protect them against episodes of mania or depression... Full Article:Sleep helps in bipolar disorder treatment (United Press International) Related Stories: CommentsPost a comment |
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My daughter was recently diagnosed with Bipolar. It is very hard on her and myself, for the reasons of 1. it hurts to see her suffer during an episode 2. my other 5 children want to help and don't know what to do. The article about disrupting a set schedule is so what has happened to my daughter, no band in her schedule because of the conflict with athletics which is because of the collage blocks the district has adopted and this is something that she has had in her life for the past 3 years and all her episodes have occured since she stated high school and she had to give up one of the things she loves to do Play her trumpet and be a part of the band. She hardly picks up her trumpet,her guitar or the drums. Her passion for Basketball has gone as well and all this could have been avoided if the school would allow for music to be a part of her. The collage block is like this 4 classes a day for about 1hr 90min so that you are in band or athletics every day, the give athletics,math, health & science and the next day is athletics, english,computers & History and then repeat the 1st day etc.. another change and all of her episodes could have been avoided if all would have stayed as a normal school, instead of trying to make my freshman a collage grad. I only hope that I can get her through all the rough spots and make her healty strong.
Posted by: Mom at December 30, 2007 7:50 PM