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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Behavior, Chronic Disease and Health Promotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 13588

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Dr. Abbas Smiley

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Department of Surgery, Westchester Medical Center, School of Medicine, New York Medical College, New York, NY 10595, USA
Interests: sleep; physical activity; nutrition; lifestyle; chronic disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Insufficient sleep may be low in quality, short in duration, or both. It increases sympathetic activity and pro-inflammatory cytokines, both of which increase insulin resistance. Advanced glycation end products are significantly increased in chronic sleep insufficiency, which could increase insulin resistance. Stage 3 in sleep is the most crucial sleep stage because of releasing growth hormone (GH) and GH releasing hormone (GHRH). They induce fat burning, bone building, and general repair and regeneration. The longest-duration stage 3 takes place before midnight. Delayed sleep onset suppresses the largest GH pulse, increases ghrelin and decreases leptin. Ghrelin stimulates appetite, whereas leptin does the reverse. All these changes lead to weight gain, less repair and more inflammation, predisposing the body to chronic disorders.

Astrocytes are special giant cells in brain interstitial fluids that play a major role in β amyloid and tau cleanup. Their activity is increased by GHRH. Slow-wave sleep insufficiency prohibits optimum GHRH needs, leading to impaired peripheral clearance of extracellular β amyloid and intracellular tau neurofibrillary tangles. Accumulations of these neurotoxins start immediately after one night of sleep insufficiency and they potentiate each other’s destructive effects on the structures and functions of neurons, causing neuronal death. The results are interference with decision making and increased consumption of unhealthy snacks in late sleepers. High levels of β amyloid may lead to sleep fragmentation, worsening of sleep quality and daytime somnolence. Concentration will be more difficult, and performance will be reduced. Cognition will be deteriorated in the long term.

This Special Issue plans to focus on the most recent findings in the relationship between sleep insufficiency and chronic diseases.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

Comparing sleep and other lifestyle factors such as physical activity and nutrition in triggering, continuing or exacerbating chronic diseases;
Interaction of sleep and other lifestyle factors such as physical activity and nutrition in restoring and maintaining health;
Strength of associations between sleep and different chronic diseases;
Mechanisms of associations between sleep and various chronic diseases.

Dr. Abbas Smiley
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

sleep
physical activity
nutrition
lifestyle
chronic disease

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 1059 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sleep Quality and Cognitive Function after Stroke: The Mediating Roles of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms

by Shuzhen Niu, Xianliang Liu, Qian Wu, Jiajia Ma, Songqi Wu, Li Zeng and Yan Shi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2410; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032410 - 29 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2117

Abstract

This study examined the association between post-stroke cognitive function and sleep status at 30 days post-stroke and evaluated the role of anxiety and depression as potential mediators of that association. The participants in this study were 530 acute ischemic stroke (IS) patients. Sleep disturbance at 30 days post-stroke was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Basic patient information, cognitive function, depression, and anxiety status were assessed before discharge from the hospital. Stratified linear regression analysis models were fit to examine the associations between post-stroke sleep quality and the influencing factors. A structural equation model was developed to evaluate the role of anxiety and depression as potential mediators of sleep quality and cognitive function. At 30 days post-stroke, 58.7% of IS patients had sleep disturbance. Women and older IS patients were more likely to suffer poorer sleep quality (p < 0.05). A stratified linear regression analysis showed that the inclusion of cognitive function variables and indicators of depression and anxiety were statistically significant in predicting improvement in the sleep disturbance of AIS patients. Cognitive function, depression, anxiety, and sleep status were selected to construct a structural equation model. The total effect of cognitive function on sleep status was −0.274, with a direct effect of −0.097 and an indirect effect (through depression) of −0.177. The total effect of anxiety on sleep status was 0.235, with a direct effect of 0.186 and an indirect effect (through depression) of 0.049. IS patients often experience poor sleep quality. Depression in IS patients mediates two pathways: the pathway through which cognitive function affects sleep quality and the pathway through which anxiety affects sleep quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sleep and Chronic Diseases)

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18 pages, 677 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Cardiac Rehabilitation on Sleep Quality in Heart Disease Patients with and without Heart Failure

by Fabio Lodi Rizzini, Adela María Gómez-González, Rocío Conejero-Cisneros, María José Romero-Blanco, Almudena Maldonado-Barrionuevo, Pablo Salinas-Sánchez and Manuel Jiménez-Navarro

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16675; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416675 - 12 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1724

Abstract

Insomnia is a modifiable cardiovascular risk factor. Previous studies suggested that attending a cardiac rehabilitation program may improve sleep quality in cardiac patients and pointed out the association between heart failure and poor sleep quality. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate sleep quality in patients attending a Multidisciplinary Cardiac Rehabilitation Program (MRCP), and to compare sleep quality between patients with and without heart failure. A prospective observational study was carried out on a consecutive sample of 240 patients attending an 8-week MRCP; 50 patients (20.8%) were included due to heart failure (NYHA stages I–III) and the rest of them after having undergone any revascularization procedure or valvular surgery. Before and after the completion of the MRCP, the quality of sleep was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score. Post-intervention global PSQI scores were statistically significantly lower than those of pre-intervention (p = 0.008), but only 60 patients (25%) registered a clinically significant improvement. When comparing patients with heart failure with those without, no differences in sleep quality were found. This suggests that only a small percentage of patients can achieve clinically significant improvements in sleep quality attending conventional MCRP. Suggestions for future research are given. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sleep and Chronic Diseases)

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12 pages, 363 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sleep Problems and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand in Persons with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome—A Cross-Sectional Study

by Natasa Milenovic, Aleksandar Klasnja, Renata Skrbic, Svetlana Popovic Petrovic, Sonja Lukac and Gordana Devecerski

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12486; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912486 - 30 Sep 2022

Viewed by 1545

Abstract

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) arises as a result of a specific relationship among the anatomical structures that may cause compression in the muscles, nerves, and/or blood vessels in the neck, thereby compromising the local circulation. The aim of the current study was to establish the presence of sleep disturbance and disability in the shoulder, arm, and hand in individuals affected by TOS, as well as to ascertain if there are any differences in these findings relative to TOS-free individuals. The study sample comprised 82 TOS patients and 81 TOS-free individuals aged 19–66 years. Data were gathered by administering the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) instruments. The results showed that both the DASH (t = −13.21, p < 0.001) and PSQI (t = −7.27, p < 0.001) scores obtained by the TOS group were higher relative to the controls and were strongly and positively correlated (ρ = 0.58, p < 0.01). As positive DASH scores may be indicative of TOS, they signal the need for further diagnostic evaluations. In individuals in whom TOS is already diagnosed, high DASH scores imply that further sleep quality assessments are required, as compromised sleep patterns may undermine quality of life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sleep and Chronic Diseases)

Review

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35 pages, 5072 KiB

Open AccessReview

Healthy Sleep Every Day Keeps the Doctor Away

by Cailan Lindsay Feingold and Abbas Smiley

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 10740; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710740 - 29 Aug 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 7598

Abstract

When one considers the big picture of their health, sufficient sleep may often go overlooked as a keystone element in this picture. Insufficient sleep in either quality or duration is a growing problem for our modern society. It is essential to look at what this means for our health because insufficient sleep increases our risks of innumerable lifechanging diseases. Beyond increasing the risk of developing these diseases, it also makes the symptoms and pathogenesis of many diseases worse. Additionally, consistent quality sleep can not only improve our physical health but has also been shown to improve mental health and overall quality of life. Substandard sleep health could be a root cause for numerous issues individuals may be facing in their lives. It is essential that physicians take the time to learn about how to educate their patients on sleep health and try to work with them on an individual level to help motivate lifestyle changes. Facilitating access to sleep education for their patients is one way in which physicians can help provide patients with the tools to improve their sleep health. Throughout this paper, we will review the mechanisms behind the relationship between insufficient sleep health and chronic disease and what the science says about how inadequate sleep health negatively impacts the overall health and the quality of our lives. We will also explain the lifechanging effects of sufficient sleep and how we can help patients get there. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sleep and Chronic Diseases)

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