Highlights Of The Australasian Sleep Confernce, Adelaide 2-4th October

Main Category: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia
Article Date: 08 Oct 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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New Australian study finds snoring in children impacts cardiovascular function.
Angela Jackman, University of Melbourne and Monash University

Primary snoring in children may have an impact on cardiovascular function equivalent to that of moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a new Australian study has found. Primary snoring affects up to 30% of children and has traditionally been considered benign. The new research has implications for the management of what is generally considered the mildest form of sleep-disordered breathing.

New study finds links between sleepiness and poor hazard perception
Simon Smith, Queensland University of Technology

Hazard perception is a critical driving skill, so much so that a number of states now mandate a hazard perception test as part of licensing for novice drivers. This is the first study to demonstrate a relationship between objective drowsiness and performance on a hazard perception (HzP) task. It finds impairment of HzP when sleepy is a potential contributor to road crash, particularly in the early hours of the morning.

New research has implications for smoke alarms
Michelle Ball, Victoria University

Researchers have discovered low frequency (400 and 520 Hz) square waves yield lower auditory arousal thresholds than white noise, pure tones and whoops. Researchers tested children, sober and alcohol impaired adults, adults with mild/moderate hearing loss, and adults over 65. Researchers found there was no advantage adding intervening periods of silence to ongoing beeps. The results have implications for smoke alarms.

How much sleep do jockeys get?
Karen Grant, Monash Medical Centre

This study is the first of its kind to quantify the actual amount of sleep jockeys get and consider whether or not it's enough given their claim frequency rates are three to four times higher than most other occupations, according to Victorian Workcover Authority figures. Their responses to the sleepiness questionnaire indicate that they feel the same subjective sleepiness as those with serious sleep disorders such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea or Periodic Leg Movement Disorder.

Obstructive sleep apnea found in 29% of children
Sadasivam Suresh, Mater Children's Hospital, Brisbane

Over a two year period the study found that 29% of children and adolescents referred to a paediatric unit with sleep related symptoms had obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Children who were male, older than 8 years of age, and overweight or obese were more likely to have OSA.

Dreams, learning and memory consolidation all affected by noise during sleep
Russell Conduit, Monash University

Researchers from Monash University found that even sleeping in a slightly noisy environment that doesn't wake you can disrupt sleep processes related to dreaming, learning and memory consolidation. Dreaming is predominantly reported after Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (REM) sleep. The researchers showed that soft tones presented to people during REM sleep, cause people's rapid eye movements to stop, without waking them. When people's rapid eye movements were blocked, they reported fewer dreams and less vivid dreams when awakened by experimenters. They also showed poorer learning of a visual task they did before bed.

Retrospective study indicates a growing incidence of sleep-disordered breathing with increasing obesity playing a major role
Stephen Gyulay, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle

Retrospective analysis of over 14,000 sleep studies performed over a 21-year period indicates a steady increase in severity of sleep-related breathing disorders since the early 1990s. This trend is strongly correlated with the increase in obesity over this period such that 84% of the observed variance in apnoea-hypopnoea index is attributable to changes in body mass index (BMI). The proportion of females being referred for sleep studies has almost doubled from 20% of studies to 39% in 2007, and the rates of morbid obesity (BMI>40) increased by over 5-fold over this period.

How do different rostering schedules affect the sleep of miners?
Gemma Paech, University of South Australia

Researchers assessed the impact on sleep and subjective sleep quality of different rostering schedules at an Australian mine site.

Conference Highlights - Saturday 4th

New Research reveals Australia's Olympic swimmers not getting enough sleep
Charli Sargent, University of South Australia

Despite sufficient opportunity, the amount of sleep obtained by Australia's Olympic swimming team is considerably less than the recommended daily target of 8 hours. The study was undertaken during a 14 day period of high-intensity training and involved12 members of the Olympic team. Findings highlight the importance of scheduling training times to optimise sleep opportunity.

A new tool helps families get under 3's to sleep without distress
Sarah Blunden, University of South Australia

The Sensible Sleep Solution is a new intervention to help families set limits and get young children to sleep without distress. The psychologically based behavioural intervention manages to eliminate all sleep problems without the use of controlled crying techniques. Families reported the intervention to be relatively stress free with significant improvement in family function.

Digital technology intruding on the sleeping patterns of teenagers
Kurt Lushington, University of South Australia

A study of 348 adolescents suggests that up to 50% of Year 11 and 12 students report they sometimes or always play an electronic game, watch TV, listen to music or talk on the phone after going to bed. Given that most adolescents also reported insufficient sleep on school nights, these results indicate sleep may be unnecessarily shortened during a period where alertness and peak academic performance are at a premium.

Tonsils may need to come out earlier
Cameron van den Heuvel, University of Adelaide

Children tested approximately four years after they had their tonsils and adenoids removed for chronic snoring were found to have neurocognitive and behavioural problems, when compared to children who have never snored. The surgically treated group was reported by parents to snore more frequently, have significantly lower non-verbal ability scores and more somatic behavioural problems relative to healthy controls. The data highlights a clear need for earlier detection and improved management of childhood sleep-breathing disorders, to prevent potentially permanent deficits in daytime functioning.

Sleep: A cause or effect for psychiatric disorders?
Robert Stickgold, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Robert Stickgold challenges the assumption that a sleep disorder is usually a consequence of a person's psychiatric disorder. Instead he refers to studies of children with sleep disorders and ADHD, as well as adults with sleep apnea and major depression, to question whether independent sleep disorders can contribute to, or even cause, psychiatric illness. Particular attention is given to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and whether it is in fact a memory disorder and, more specifically, a consequence of defective sleep-dependent memory processing.

Is surgery indicated in the treatment of sleep apnea?
Edward Weaver, University of Washington, USA

Surgery is available as a treatment option for sleep apnea but rarely cures it. International guest speaker Edward Weaver will look closely at the question "Is surgery indicated in the treatment of sleep apnea?" and help clarify the expected outcomes and challenges in this area.

Australasian Sleep Association Conference