[Sleep disorders in a isolation situation. Hyposomnia in older convicts]

Modern world is hostile to sleep and by its achievements it disturbs our hereditary biological rhythm. About 80% of all the cases of hyposomny are caused by emotional disturbances in the broadest sense. Somnipathy in a prison shows of course considerable characteristics, although here, too, we can find the same problems a normal doctor working outside a prison has to cope with. 54% of all the inmates of the prison in Straubing (= JVA Straubling) complain about somnipathy; from the prisoners more than 50 years old only 43%. Physical diseases cause somnipathy within 19% of the older prisoners where we find predominantly heart-diseases and circulatory diseases. 5% of somnipathy are due to an abuse of coffee or nicotine and the rest is due to emotional disturbances in the broadest sense. The normal medical treatment for simple somnipathy is of no success in a prison and the prisoners abuse the normally used medicaments to get into a state of ectasy. Therefore medicaments on a vegetable basis are used, also neuroleptica and medicaments against depression, where there is practically no danger for addiction.