Orange County, CA - November 28th, 2018 - Sleep is a healthy habit that we don’t think much about unless we are having trouble with it. The CDC links chronic sleep loss to many chronic conditions, including Cardiovascular Disease, Obesity, Type II Diabetes, and Depression.
Prison inmates are unable to control the lighting and noise which makes it a difficult situation for sleeping. Some prisons even serve breakfast at 3 am, and lunch at 10 am. The body clock may never adjust to these changes and be unwilling to shut down for sleep when needed.
A new study from researchers at North Umbria University, in Newcastle, discovered that a single one-hour session of cognitive behavioral therapy was effective in preventing the development of chronic insomnia in 73% of prisoners. The inmates also reported that the treatment made remarkable improvements to their anxiety and depression.
The results of the study were published in the journal Behavioral Sleep Medicine; researchers worked with 30 male Category C prison inmates aged between 21 and 60. A Category C prisoner isn’t trusted in open conditions but is unlikely to try and escape.
Inmates can spend up to 22 hours a day in their cells. They have strict routines, no control over the noise of the space they live in, and limited access to exercise. Under these circumstances, it’s believed that approximately 61% of prison inmates have chronic insomnia, with the possibility that it started while they were in prison.
Lack of sleep can lead to anger, aggression, and even suicide attempts which adds a burden on the system; any improvement to the inmate’s sleep can have a considerable impact and reduce the use of the healthcare services in prisons.
“We believe that the high levels of insomnia in prisoners are due to many factors that most people have full control over. The line between day-time and night-time environments is blurred for inmates, who spend a significant amount of time in their cells. Their bedroom becomes their living space and not just the space where they sleep. They have less autonomy over their routine and certainly over their bedroom environment. As such, normal access to sleep cues is likely to be harder in this environment. These factors combined with the stress of imprisonment and all that it entails is likely to make inmates far more vulnerable to insomnia," says Professor Jason Ellis, Director of the north Umbria Centre for Sleep Research.Researchers know there is a strong relationship between poor sleep and suicide. They hope to look at the impact of therapy has on suicides in the future.
