Insomnia : Risk Factors

Women's health differs from men's health, and not just with respect to reproduction. To understand and examine these differences appropriately, the variables of sex and gender are each relevant. In general, sex refers to biological, anatomical, physiological, and hormonal variations that, on average, distinguish females and males. By contrast, gender refers to the differences between men and women, boys and girls, that stem from how behaviors, abilities, responsibilities, and overall values are ascribed differentially to males and to females in a society. Sometimes separately, but more often through their interactions, sex and gender are important determinants of health. For instance, there are sex-linked diseases (e.g., hemophilia) that only rarely and under exceptional circumstances affect women. There are also sex-specific cancers (e.g., of the prostate [men] and of the ovaries [women]), as well as specific conditions that, because of their biological exclusivity to males or females, can only occur in one or other sex (e.g., pregnancy-related conditions in women; testicular disorders in men). Generally, however, observed differences in the frequency of some health outcome between women and men do not reflect a sex (biologic) difference. Rather, most differences derive from a complex set of interactions between sex (biology) and gender (roles and expectations). Every society has its own economic, social, cultural, and political arrangements that make being a woman different from being a man. The gender norms and expectations applied to women and to men that derive from these arrangements vary from place to place, change overtime, and are always affected by other features (e.g., age, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability) that are attached to an individual. As a result of the gender differences assigned to them, individuals will experience their lives differently according to whether they are defined as male or female. Accordingly, women and men will have different exposures to different risks, different responses to the same exposures, different patterns to seeking treatment, and different needs for and responses to public health programs. These all contribute to differences in the frequency and distribution of diseases between them. Consequently, to understand and respond to most human health and sickness issues, clarifying the interaction between sex-linked factors and gender-based factors is critical; the expectations, norms, and stereotypes associated with the roles of men and women play out in their health, strongly influencing symptoms, treatments, and policies. As an example, consider the relation of work to health. Much research has shown that underemployment and lack of control over work situations or job demands are associated with increased levels of stress and poor health. These employment and working conditions differ according to gender, and women in the paid workforce in North America are more likely than men to have undervalued and underpaid jobs in the service sector, to work part-time, to have interruptions of their careers because of family responsibilities, and to experience high-demand, low-control conditions at work. All these factors influence their risks for (exposure to) disease, what they do when ill, how health care professionals respond to and treat them, and what public policies of work-related health promotion and health protection are developed. Thus, to examine the relation of work to health without accounting for the influence of gender would be to ignore how women may be exposed to health-damaging agents unlike those their male colleagues face; how they may have less access to private health care (United States) or necessary medications that must be paid for out-of-pocket (United States and Canada); and how they may have reduced opportunities to attend health programs, such as screening programs, because after-work hours are filled with child-care duties more often for women than for

When you exercise, you gain more strength and flexibility. Your mood will improve, and you'll be able to think better.

In elderly patients, symptoms of depression can be mistaken for symptoms of another medical problem, so it is important for clinicians to consider all physical problems and medications of elderly patients before making a diagnosis.

Learn how to put together a caregiving plan, draw on useful services, and address legal, medical, and financial planning issues. Also, find advice on involving family members, handling daily tasks, and maintaining your well being.

Aimed at older adults, this report provides practical advice on how to avoid common and often deadly accidents at home.

Stress is defined as an organism's total response to environmental demands or pressures. When stress was first studied in the 1950s, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures. More recently, however, the word stressor has been used for the stimulus that provokes a stress response. One recurrent disagreement among researchers concerns the definition of stress in humans. Is it primarily an external response that can be measured by changes in glandular secretions, skin reactions, and other physical functions, or is it an internal interpretation of, or reaction to, a stressor; or is it both?

Stress can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or anxious. What is stressful to one person is not necessarily stressful to another. Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension or fear. The source of this uneasiness is not always known or recognized, which can add to the distress you feel.

Everyone feels stress from time to time. It's a fact of daily life. Stress has its upside, but too much of it can leave you feeling out of control. And chronic stress can have negative consequences on your health.

In this report you'll learn about a multitude of techniques that can help reduce stress, including breath focus, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, yoga, massage, and more.

Disturbance in the physiology of the individual. Among psychologists and psychiatrists, stress refers to a psychological reaction within the person to events that generate strong emotion that cannot be easily regulated; for other social scientists, the term stress is used to describe a disturbance in the individual's physiology. These two definitions of stress are not identical. For example, a fall from a tree that leads to a broken arm creates physiological changes in a child that would be regarded as stressful, for there is a cascade of biological events that occurs in such an act of harm to the child. However, many children who have had such falls are not necessarily psychologically upset, anxious, or fearful, even though there was a physiological stress reaction. On the other hand, a child who believes his parent does not like him, experiences rejection from a friend, or is feeling guilt over violating a moral standard will experience unpleasant psychological feelings that disrupt ordinary functioning. That disruption is a result of a psychological stress. This definition of stress need not involve any strong cascade of physiological changes, as occurred in the fall that leads to a broken arm. Nonetheless, psychiatrists and psychologists would say in the second instance that the child was experiencing stress. A problem with understanding the effects of either physiological or psychological stress more completely is that there are no sensitive techniques to ascertain the private reactions that are occurring in the child's body or mind. Many scientists make the assumption that certain events will produce stress in the child, recognizing that in some cases the event will not be stressful. For example, most sociologists, psychologists, and psychiatrists assume that death of a parent, marital strife, separation and divorce, abuse, rejection by a close friend, and chronic failure in school will create stress in the child. Although this assumption is reasonable there is no one-to-one relationship between the occurrence of those and similar external events and a physiological or psychological reaction of stress within the child. Hans Selye is credited with introducing the importance of the concept of stress. Selye discovered that if an individual is under chronic physiological stress there are permanent changes that occur in the body leading to a compromised immunity and a reduced resistance to many forms of disease. Thus college students who are stressed during final examination periods will show a lowered resistance to getting colds and other minor infectious diseases.

Sometimes no matter how hard and fast you work, you miss your deadline, adding to your physical and emotional stress.

Knowing the causes of your stress will help you find ways to manage it.

Stress is defined as an organism's total response to environmental demands or pressures. When stress was first studied in the 1950s, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures. Since the 1990s, however, the word stressor has been used for a stimulus that provokes a stress response. One recurrent disagreement among researchers concerns the definition of stress in humans. The issue is whether it is primarily an external response that can be measured by changes in glandular secretions, skin reactions, and other physical functions—or if it is an internal interpretation of, or reaction to, a stressor, or both.

Ways to manage stress: Get enough sleep, follow a healthy diet and make time for yourself.

When you're faced with a highly stressful event in your life, the strategies outlined here will help you cope.

By consciously learning to be present and mindful, you can transform your inattention to attention and your stress into solutions.

Many people believe stress is all in the mind. But dealing with stressful situations can have physiological consequences.

Detailed information on women and managing stress

Some stress is inevitable, but as you grow older, the key is to minimize stress while maximizing happiness and enjoyment.

If you take a healthy attitude toward stress in your travel plans, the payoffs include improved physical well-being, mental alertness and better job performance.

Lower your risk: Control stress. When you’re stressed, your heartbeat speeds up and your blood pressure skyrockets. The next time you feel tension taking over, sit back and look at what’s bothering you.

Yoga is one of the few stress-relief tools that has a positive effect on all the body systems involved.

Recent studies are changing our notion about why men develop impotence. While it was once believed that psychological problems were the main cause, we now understand that medical factors -- such as poor blood flow, nerve damage, and medication side effects -- play an important role in most cases of impotence.

New research shows that prolonged stress can accelerate the aging of body cells.

A British study suggests a link between increased stress and a rise in cholesterol level, and a follow-up several years later showed the trend continued over time.

Practicing deep, focused breathing is a relaxation technique that can help alleviate stress, which in turn will likely have positive effects on general health and well-being.

As a working parent, do you need some relief from the stress of managing a career and a family?

Your wedding day can be one of the best days of your life, it can also be one of the most stressful.

By understanding what is causing you stress, you may be able to make changes to help you feel more in control.

Stress is a term that refers to the sum of the physical, mental, and emotional strains or tensions on a person. Feelings of stress in humans result from interactions between persons and their environment that are perceived as straining or exceeding their adaptive capacities and threatening their well-being. The element of perception indicates that human stress responses reflect differences in personality as well as differences in physical strength or health. A stressor is defined as a stimulus or event that provokes a stress response in an organism. Stressors can be categorized as acute or chronic, and as external or internal to the organism. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM-IV-TR ) defines a psychosocial stressor as "any life event or life change that may be associated temporally (and perhaps causally) with the onset, occurrence, or exacerbation [worsening] of a mental disorder." Stress affects the lives of most adults in developed countries in many ways. It is a major factor in rising health care costs; one public health expert maintains that 90% of all diseases and disorders in the United States are stress-related. Stress plays a part in many social problems such as child and elder abuse , workplace violence, juvenile crime, suicide , substance addiction , "road rage," and the general decline of courtesy and good manners. Stress also affects the productivity of businesses and industries. One nationwide survey found that 53% of American workers name their job as the single greatest source of stress in their lives. Furthermore, the overall cost of medical care, time lost from work, and workplace accidents in the United States comes to over $150 million per year.

Over the course of evolution, the human mind and body have developed means of handling stressful situations. Over the short term, such stress response pathways are highly adaptive, allowing a person to manage his or her resources in order to navigate the crisis; in some cases, however, these processes go awry and result in pathology. Chronic stress is becoming increasingly problematic in the United States as workers work longer and harder hours. Approximately one-third of all workers report that they are in high-stress jobs, and that not only is stress implicated in 15 percent of all disability claims, the number of stress-related absences is increasing. Such prolonged exposure to stress can also result in consequences in the form of physical illness. Alternatively, a severe acute stressor may result in a stress-response syndrome such as an acute stress disorder or a post-traumatic stress disorder. In acute stress, the mind and body respond with a fight or flight response that involves activation of the sympathetic nervous system and release of stress hormones such as cortisol. Psychologically, this increases the organism's alertness and response time. Physiologically, these changes provide the organism with the energy needed to meet the emergency. Such intense activation helps the organism in the short term, but prolonged activation of this system creates problems in that it may increase the risk of certain disease states, and, once set into motion, chronic stress responses may be difficult to extinguish. This has led some researchers to investigate potential mediating factors such as personality. For example, a correlation has been established between a personality characterized by hostile competitiveness (type A) and increased risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack). An acute stressor or psychological trauma, such as a life-threatening circumstance, presents a person with new information that may be difficult to assimilate. In an attempt to adapt, the person will typically alternate between contemplation of the stressor and avoidance of reminders of the event. Such a cycle allows for dose-by-dose psychological processing of the event. Difficulties in adaptation may present as an acute stress disorder that manifests itself as an extreme version of this cycle. People with such a disorder may have intrusive remembrances, nightmares, or even flashbacks of the stress event. These can alternate with emotional numbing, interpersonal alienation, and extreme avoidance of traumatic reminders. A diagnosis of postraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is made if these symptoms persist longer than one month. Studies suggest that approximately 0.5 percent of men and 1.3 percent of women meet criteria for PTSD over their lifetime. A larger percentage (approximately 15%) of subjects were found to have some symptoms but did not meet criteria for the full disorder. At present, psychotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for stress response syndromes. A variety of approaches exist, but they share a common goal of assisting the patient with conscious contemplation of the event in such a way that it may be assimilated and anxiety responses extinguished. Care must be taken to create an environment of safety and to avoid retraumatization, which may occur with overly rapid exposure to traumatic memories. Patients experience decreased feelings of guilt and shame as they learn that they responded to the trauma as adequately as possible. Contemplation of the event in therapy may lead to further benefits, including an enhanced understanding of the meaning of the event in the larger context of the individual's life. Psychopharmacologic treatment may be a useful adjunct for specific symptom clusters such as associated anxiety, depression, and insomnia. The prognosis for treatment is good and is improved if the patient was without preexisting psychiatric comorbidity and if the treatment occurs in close proximity to the event. Brief treatment is frequently h

Stress is an individual's physical and mental reaction to environmental demands or pressures.

Women experience symptoms of stress 30 percent more often than men, research has shown.

No one can avoid all stress -- and a certain amount actually is good for you. But it's always best to keep unhealthy levels in check when possible.

Mental stress does more than diminish your sense of well-being. It also can increase your risk for heart disease.

During stressful times, your body produces various chemicals, including cortisol, an immune-suppressing hormone. The more cortisol produced, the weaker your immune cells become and the more susceptible you are to illness.

You're familiar with the symptoms of stress -- a pounding heart, increased perspiration, tight neck and shoulder muscles, anxiety and fear. But you may not know how to prevent or relieve these symptoms.

The formula for success at work is not only hard work, but also frequent breaks for mental and physical rest.

Here are suggestions on how to avoid and deal with the stresses in your life.

Whether your credit card balances are soaring, or you and your partner are arguing constantly over nickels and dimes, there are things you can do to relieve financial stress.

The more you learn about the pressure times and triggers at your workplace, the better you'll be able to plan for them.

No matter the source of your stress, it can produce physical, mental, and emotional symptoms that can affect any part of the body.

Stress is a powerful force for good and for ill. It can help us cope with life's challenges, but it can also affect our health by making pre-existing conditions worse or even bringing on new ones.

To manage your stress, you must first learn to recognize when you are under stress. Every one reacts to stress differently; find out how you respond to stressful situations.

Anything that brings on feelings of stress is called a stressor. Today, we often face many stressors.

Stress tests are not recommended unless you experience chest pain or tightness during exercise or other activities that stress the heart.

Guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology offer advice on protecting the heart during noncardiac surgery.

Resilience is the ability to handle stressful events and remain mentally strong and healthy. The presence of a certain form of neurochemical may be one explanation for why some people are more resilient than others.

In experiments on mice, suppressing a chemical linked to stress and appetite prevented the formation of abdominal fat cells, which could lead to new possibilities for weight loss drugs.

What is the relationship between stress and infertility? Joan Bengtson, M.D., is assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and a member of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproduction at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

My fingertips have recently started peeling. I have been under a considerable amount of stress lately. Could there be any correlation?

Traveling with children presents special challenges. It disrupts familiar routines and imposes new demands. Planning ahead - and involving children in the planning - may lessen the stress of travel.

Detailed information on health considerations after returning home from traveling abroad

Detailed checklist for travelers to ensure a safe and healthy trip

Glossary of terms relating to travel medicine

Detailed information on the most common high risk diseases for travelers, including African trypanosomiasis (African sleeping sickness), mad cow disease, HIV, AIDS, cholera, e. coli, dengue fever, diarrheal disease, cryptosporidiosis, diarrhea, traveler's

Detailed information on travel and planning to travel

Detailed information on traveling while pregnancy or breastfeeding

Detailed information on the most common types of diarrheal diseases, including cryptosporidiosis, diarrhea, traveler's diarrhea, salmonella infection, and giardiasis

Detailed information on traveling with HIV

Detailed medical information for Americans traveling abroad

Detailed information for travelers with special needs

Detailed safety information for travelers

Detailed information on health preparations before you travel and during travel

Detailed information on traveling with diabetes

Detailed information on common health problems associated with travel in developing countries

Detailed information on healthy considerations for air travel, including ways to prevent motion sickness and jet lag

Detailed list of what a traveler's first-aid kit should include

Detailed information on the most common high risk diseases for travelers, including African trypanosomiasis (African sleeping sickness), mad cow disease, HIV, AIDS, cholera, e. coli, dengue fever, diarrheal disease, cryptosporidiosis, diarrhea, traveler's

Detailed information on the most common high risk diseases for travelers, including African trypanosomiasis (African sleeping sickness), mad cow disease, HIV, AIDS, cholera, e. coli, dengue fever, diarrheal disease, cryptosporidiosis, diarrhea, traveler's

Detailed information on traveling with children

Detailed information on how to respond if you become ill or injured while traveling

List of online resources to find additional information on travel medicine

Detailed information on taking special care when traveling with chronic conditions

Detailed information on special vaccination requirements, including primary vaccine series, an influenza vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, polio vaccine, measles vaccine, typhoid vaccine, and meningococcal vaccine

Detailed information on special vaccination requirements, including primary vaccine series, an influenza vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, polio vaccine, measles vaccine, typhoid vaccine, and meningococcal vaccine

Flying is a stressful experience, and it presents several health challenges. This article offers advice and suggestions on how to care for yourself while traveling by air.

Jet lag is a condition marked by fatigue , insomnia , and irritability that is caused by air travel through changing time zones.

Jet lag is a condition marked by fatigue, insomnia , and irritability that is caused by air travel through changing time zones. It is commonplace: a 2002 study of international business travelers (IBTs) found that jet lag was one of the most common health problems reported, affecting as many as 74% of IBTs.

How to Enjoy Your Plane FlightBe sure it leaves you feeling rightThe ads are so inviting -- smiling attendants, comfortable seats, the "friendly skies." But flying can create a host of creature discomforts as well.

Parents need to be prepared to focus their energy on soothing, distracting or comforting their child during the flight.

Taking a trip? Information about shots and other health precautions to consider before heading out, including several web sites.