• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.102-107
• /
• 2021

Background: This study was conducted to identify the association between sleep duration and suicidal ideation among farmers in Korea. Methods: We used Safety for Agricultural Injuries of Farmers cohort data collected from September 2015 to June 2018, which was an agricultural survey on the health and behaviors of adult farmers in Jeju island, Korea. Results: A total of 964 participants were included in the analysis, and 3.7% of them were identified with having suicidal ideation. The frequencies of average daily sleep duration of <6 h (short sleep), 6-8 h (normal sleep), and >8 h (long sleep) were 24.4%, 70%, and 5.6%, respectively. Multivariate analyses revealed that short sleep duration was significantly associated with suicidal ideation compared with normal sleep duration (odds ratio = 2.49, 95% confidence interval = 1.07-5.77). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that short sleep duration in farmers result in higher suicidal ideation. Because individuals who have suicidal ideation often commit suicide, careful monitoring is required to prevent suicide in farmers with short sleep duration.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.29-34
• /
• 2020

Objectives : Gyejigamchoyonggolmoryeo-tang (GT, Guizhigancaolonggumulitang in Chinese) is a herbal medicine to be prescribed for insomnia caused by anxiety induced by Heart-Heat and elevated Liver-Yang. In the present study, the onset time (sleep latency) and the duration time of sleep were measured to find out the sleep inducing effects of GT. The expression of c-fos immunohistochemistry was also measured at the ventrolateral preoptic area (VLPO) and tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN) site in brain. Methods : The onset time (sleep latency) and the duration time of sleep were measured 30 minutes after thiopental sodium injection. Thereafter, brain tissue was obtained and c-fos immunohistochemistry was performed on the VLPO and TMN sites. Results : GT statistically significantly reduced the sleep latency required to enter sleep, and significantly increased sleep duration time. GT significantly increased the number of c-fos immunohistochemical staining-positive cells in the sleep-inducing center (VLPO), whereas GT significantly decreased the number of c-fos immunohistochemical staining-positive cells in the arousal center (TMN). Conclusions : It could be concluded that the GT shortened the sleep latency and increased the duration time for sleep induced by thiopental sodium. And it was confirmed that the mechanism was to stimulate the sleep-inducing center (VLPO) and suppress the arousal center (TMN) in the brain. The results of this study are considered to be useful as scientific evidence that can be used clinically for the treatment of insomnia caused by anxiety.

• Journal of Menopausal Medicine
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.204-209
• /
• 2018

Objectives: Aim of present study was designed to investigate the soporific effect of fennel among menopausal women. Methods: The present double-blinded and placebo-controlled trial examined the fennel effect on Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Total score and relevant 7 components, including sleep duration, sleep latency, use of sleeping medication, subjective sleep quality, sleep disturbances, daytime dysfunction and habitual sleep efficiency among 50 menopausal women compared to control group within a 12-week follow-up. Results: The patients in both groups reported no certain side effects and all subjects completed the study. The mean actual sleep duration was 5 hours and 66 minutes. Intergroup comparison revealed no statistically significant differences in the mean total PSQI score (P = 0.439), subjective sleep quality (P = 0.826), habitual sleep efficiency (P = 0.127), sleep disturbances (P = 0.130), use of sleeping medication (P = 0.52) and daytime dysfunction (P = 0.439). A tendency toward significant between 2 groups was seen concerning the sleep duration (P = 0.059). Intergroup comparison showed significantly borderline levels (P = 0.059). Conclusions: The treatment of 12 weeks with fennel caused a slight effect that did not reach to significant. These findings should be considered cautiously because of small sample size, short-term follow-up and subjective measure of sleep quality.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.261-270
• /
• 2021

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of sleep duration on stress and depression in college students. The results obtained will be used as a foundational framework for fostering a healthy sleep culture among college students and for formulating measures to improve the quality of their sleep. Ultimately, we intend to produce a publicity and educational material. Methods : For this study, a survey involving 100 college students was conducted, after which data based on a final total of 95 respondents were analyzed. The information on stress and depression were first analyzed in terms of general characteristics and then organized based on the data collected to investigate the effects of sleep duration on stress and depression. The participants were divided into the following groups: "less than 6 hours," "6 to 7 hours," and "7 to 8 hours." BEPSI-K (Brief encounter psychosocial instrument-Korean) was used for stress evaluation, while K-CESD-R (Korean version of center for epidemiologic studies depression scale-revised) was utilized for depression evaluation. Results : First, according to sleep duration, the BEPSI-K scores showed a statistically significant difference in each group (p<.01). In the post-hoc test, there was a difference among the "less than 6 hours" group, the "7 to 8 hours" group. A statistically significant difference was noted (p<.01). In addition, sleep duration had a statistically significant effect on the negative (-) direction of the BEPSI-K (p<.01). Second, the K-CESD-R score according to sleep duration showed a statistically significant difference in each group (p<.01). Notably, in the post-hoc test, the "less than 6 hours" group differed from the "6 to 7 hours" group, "7 to 8 hours" group. A statistically significant difference was noted (p<.01). In addition, sleep duration had a statistically significant effect on the negative (-) direction of the K-CESD-R (p<.01). Third, for the correlation between sleep duration and stress and depression, a negative (-) correlation was found between sleep duration and BEPSI-K and K-CESD-R. Meanwhile, a positive (+) correlation was found between BEPSI-K and K-CESD-R. Conclusion : Based on the findings of this study, the sleep duration of college students has an effect on stress and depression. The results of this study can be used as a foundational framework in formulating a plan for improving the quality of sleep of college students.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.42-46
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between sleep quality and sleep duration according to individual characteristics, and the relationship between sleep quality and cold type. A total of 1998 participants aged 30-55 who participated in a community cohort study at KIOM's Oriental Medicine Data Center (KDC) was analyzed. Cold type was diagnosed with a common the Questionnaire of Cold Pattern Identification (8 items). Sleep quality was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The participants in this study were classified into 1193 with cold type and 805 with non-cold type. The poor sleep quality was found in more women than men, and the Body Mass Index (BMI) was higher in the non-cold type. In the cold type group, average sleep quality was poor and sleep duration was short. There was a statistically significant correlation between cold score, sleep quality, and sleep duration. Cold type was related to the sleep quality. The risk of poor sleep quality increased 1.46 with increased cold type (95% CI = 1.16-1.84, p <.001). In particular, it was found that various programs to improve the quality of sleep, focusing on the cold type among personal characteristics, are needed to maintain adequate sleep to improve the sleep quality. In the future, when analyzing the relationship between cold type and sleep quality, it is thought that an attempt to derive other objective quantitative indicators is needed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.539-546
• /
• 2013

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sleep duration on dietary habits and body composition of university students. Sleep duration has recently been added to the list of risk factors for obesity. However, studies on this topic are fairly limited particularly in Korea. We studied the relationship between the duration of sleep and obesity principally based on body mass index and %body fat in university students. For this purpose, a survey was conducted on a total of 312 university students. The subjects enrolled for this study were divided into two groups: (1) those with sleep duration of <7 hours (148 students) and (2) those with sleep duration of >7 hours (164 students). Based on a self-reporting method, the participants filled up the questionnaires for more than 20 minutes. Based on the overall data obtained, we observed that most students (52.88%) skipped breakfast. This was mainly due to shortage of time (60.58%). We also observed that self-reporting dietary preferences included eating irregular meals (49.04%), overeating (19.55%), imbalanced diet (16.35%), and skipping meals (9.94%). It was found that cookies were the favorite snacks in the majority of the participants (50%). Our data reveal that the body mass index, fat mass, visceral fat, and subcutaneous fat, respectively of the shorter sleep duration group (<7 h/day) were 23.78 $kg/m^2$, 19.13 kg, 2.23 kg, and 11.15 kg. In contrast, in those of the control group (7 h/day), these values were found to be 21.84 $kg/m^2$, 13.88 kg, 1.56 kg, and 12.11 kg. We also observed that there were significant correlations of sleep duration with body mass index (p<0.05), fat mass (p<0.01), visceral fat (p<0.01), and beck depression score (p<0.01). Our data suggest that the body mass index in the shorter sleep duration group was higher than that of the control group; however, %fat, visceral fat, and subcutaneous fat in the shorter sleep duration group were found to be higher than those of the control group. The data obtained through our study suggest that short sleep duration is clearly associated with a modest increase in general and abdominal obesity particularly in university students.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.90-97
• /
• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between sleep timing and depressive mood in Korean adolescents. Methods: The study analyzed the data from the 2007~2015 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. A total of 541,693 students in grades 7~12 were included in the final analysis. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine their sleep timing and depressive mood, adjusted for sex, grade, region, socioeconomic status, academic performance, alcohol, smoking and physical activity. Sleep duration and sleep quality were also included in our model to identify whether or not the effect of sleep timing on depression is mediated by sleep duration or sleep quality. Results: The prevalence of depressive mood was 32.7% and the mean sleep timing was 12:13 AM. After adjustment for eligible covariates, the association between sleep timing and depressive mood showed a J-shaped curve. Adolescents who slept at 8 pm~10 pm were 39% more likely to be depressive (OR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.30~1.40) and at 3 am~ 4 am were 67% more likely to be depressive (OR=1.67, 95% CI 1.64~1.70) than adolescents who slept at 11 pm~12 am. These associations persisted after being adjusted for sleep duration and sleep quality. Conclusion: Sleep timing was related to depression in adolescents, independent of sleep duration and sleep quality. It appears that there is a certain sleep timing beneficial to mental health of adolescents.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.7-10
• /
• 2022

Hwangryunagyo-tang (HT) is a herbal cocktail to treat insomnia induced by yin deficiency with effulgent fire. In the present study, the onset time and the duration time of sleep were measured 30 minutes after thiopental sodium injection. And c-fos immunohistochemistry was performed to find the activated nerve cells of the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO) and tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN) sites in the brain. HT significantly increased the number of activated nerve cells in the sleep-inducing center (VLPO), whereas HT significantly decreased the number of activated nerve cells in the arousal center (TMN). It could be concluded that the HT shortened the onset time and increased the duration time for sleep induced by thiopental sodium. And it was confirmed that the mechanism acted by activating the sleep-inducing center (VLPO) and suppressing the arousal center (TMN) in the brain. The results are considered to be useful as scientific evidence HT can be used clinically for the treatment of insomnia caused by yin deficiency with effulgent fire.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.227-236
• /
• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the sleep duration, social jetlag (SJL), and subjective sleep disturbance according to the individual chronotype in rotating shift nurses. Methods: A total of 344 rotating 3-shift nurses (mean age 28.67 years) were recruited at one university affiliated hospital. They completed the following questionnaires, which were used to assess their chronotype and sleep: the morningness-eveningness questionnaire (MEQ), self-reported sleep duration of work days (SDW_shift) and free days (SDF_shift) in each shift (day [D], evening [E], night [N]), and sleep disturbance (Insomnia severity index, ISI). SJL_shift was calculated as the difference in midsleep (MS=sleep onset+1/2 sleep duration) between work days (MSW) and free days (MSF). Results: Subjects were divided into 3 chronotype groups according to the MEQ; morning (MG, 4.4%) intermediate (IG, 57.8%), and evening groups (EG, 37.8%). SDW_D was shortest (4.68 hr) and SDF_E was longest (8.93 hr) in the EG. SJL_D was longest in the EG (3.77 hr), and SJL_N was longest in the MG (7.37 hr). The prevalence of sleep disturbance was 33.3% (MG), 29.6% (IG), and 40.0% (EG), respectively, without any statistical significance. Conclusion: In order to improve the sleep of shift workers, it is recommended that the evening chronotypes should reduce the day shifts and the morning chronotypes should reduce the night shifts. We also propose a study to determine whether these shift assignments can improve the sleep in shift nurses.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.209-223
• /
• 2022

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant changes. This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on patients with chronic pain. Methods: Patients with chronic pain from 23 university hospitals in South Korea participated in this study. The anonymous survey questionnaire consisted of 25 questions regarding the following: demographic data, diagnosis, hospital visit frequency, exercise duration, time outside, sleep duration, weight change, nervousness and anxiety, depression, interest or pleasure, fatigue, daily life difficulties, and self-harm thoughts. Depression severity was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between increased pain and patient factors. Results: A total of 914 patients completed the survey, 35.9% of whom had decreased their number of visits to the hospital, mostly due to COVID-19. The pain level of 200 patients has worsened since the COVID-19 outbreak, which was more prominent in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Noticeable post-COVID-19 changes such as exercise duration, time spent outside, sleep patterns, mood, and weight affected patients with chronic pain. Depression severity was more significant in patients with CRPS. The total PHQ-9 average score of patients with CRPS was 15.5, corresponding to major depressive orders. The patients' decreased exercise duration, decreased sleep duration, and increased depression were significantly associated with increased pain. Conclusions: COVID-19 has caused several changes in patients with chronic pain. During the pandemic, decreased exercise and sleep duration and increased depression were associated with patients' increasing pain.