Sleep affects a person’s waking hours more than a person realizes. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, about 60 million Americans suffer from insomnia or other sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, restless limb syndrome, narcolepsy, delayed or advanced sleep phase syndrome and parasomnias. 

The Alert, Well and Keeping Energy (AWAKE) sleep support group is part of the Piedmont Newnan Sleep Center’s efforts to help patients get the rest they need to lead normal, productive lives.

“People don’t realize the affect and power a good night’s sleep has on people,” says Jennifer Morrow, the Piedmont Newnan Hospital Sleep Center and AWAKE support group coordinator.

Some common symptoms of not getting enough rest include excessive sleepiness during daytime hours, loud snoring, pauses during breathing while asleep, morning headaches, restless legs during sleep and exhaustion despite having enough sleep hours. Read the rest of this entry

One of the most common health disorders among people around the world is “sleep apnea”. In its simplest sense ‘sleep apnea’ can be understood as one or more pauses in normal breathing. In many cases the shallow breathing during sleep is also termed as ‘sleep apnea’.

A pause in normal breathing during sleep may have an undefined duration. Meaning thereby, the pause could be for a few seconds only or it can even stretch up to few minutes.

Similarly, the rate of occurrence of such pauses during sleep may also vary up to great ranges. It could be five times per hour or even up to 30 times an hour. Normal breathing generally starts immediately after such a pause but this re-start could generate a snoring or choking sound as well.

Once a person is a victim of ‘sleep apnea’ this disorder converts in to a chronic disorder slowly over the years. In majority of the cases people never realize that the ‘sleep apnea disorder’ has crept in their lives. Read the rest of this entry

Sleep apnea is a deadly sleep disorder and as soon as you spot out any symptoms of this deadly disorder it is always best to go to a sleep specialist and follow his instructions.

A good sleep specialist will probably recommend CPAP, surgery, or oral appliance therapy. This list is not necessarily an alternative to CPAP, surgery, or oral appliances, but rather supplementary methods that decrease the probability of airway collapse.

Usually these methods are not enough to entirely eliminate sleep apnea disorder however there are effective ways either. Here are six of such probable ways ;

1. Lose Your Extra Weight

Unless you are extremely overweight AND your sleep apnea is mild, usually weight loss is not enough to entirely eliminate it. But it can definitely help. Weight loss is thought to improve apnea by changing the shape of the airway which decreases the probability of airway collapse. Read the rest of this entry

Children are busy these days with texting, talking on the phone, and video games and this could leave them heavily sleep deprived. Apart from all these gadgets and other activities there is another monster that’s robbing them of a good night’s rest.

Getting your kid to sleep like a baby is harder than ever these days. If you have a teen, you know exactly what is this all about.

Edward Grandi with the American Sleep Apnea Association says, “They go to bed and immediately they’re texting their friends, or they’re looking at movies.”

Or they’re on Facebook or Twitter or checking their email, it’s endless. Read the rest of this entry

Sleep disorders often remain undiagnosed. Untreated sleep disorders among police officers may adversely affect their health and safety and pose a risk to the public.

Researchers examined and evaluated associations between sleep disorder risk and self-reported health, safety, and performance outcomes in police officers.

Cross-sectional and prospective cohort study of North American police officers participating in either an online or an on-site screening (n=4957) and monthly follow-up surveys (n=3545 officers representing 15 735 person-months) between July 2005 and December 2007. A total of 3693 officers in the United States and Canada participated in the online screening survey, and 1264 officers from a municipal police department and a state police department participated in the on-site survey.             Read the rest of this entry

People sleep significantly better and feel more alert during the day  if they get at least 150 minutes of exercise a week, a new study  concludes.

A nationally representative sample of more than 2,600 men and women,  ages 18-85, found that 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a  week, which is the national guideline, provided a 65% improvement in  sleep quality. People also said they felt less sleepy during the day,  compared to those with less physical activity.

The study, out in the December issue of the journal Mental  Health and Physical Activity, lends more evidence to mounting  research showing the importance of exercise to a number of health  factors. Read the rest of this entry

Sleep apnea is a dangerous problem that can lead to heart attacks, strokes, excessive daytime sleepiness, short-term memory loss and increases in motor vehicle accidents. It is essential to diagnose and treat sleep apnea. One study showed a 36% decrease in 8 year survival comparing treated and untreated sleep apnea.

A problem frequently experienced is that the cost of health, life and disability insurance policies can increase exponentially following diagnosis of sleep apnea. This is problematic for owners of small businesses and wealthy individuals who utilize life insurance to protect their estates. Read the rest of this entry

People with obstructive sleep apnea are more likely to stick to prescribed treatment when a partner or parent is involved with their treatment, according to a team of sleep researchers.

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the upper airway collapses during sleep. It is the most common type of sleep-disordered breathing, and chances of it occurring become more elevated in obese people.

The first line of treatment for sleep apnea is a non-invasive in-home treatment called CPAP, continuous positive airway pressure therapy. However, if patients do not use the equipment properly, or at all, it cannot help. Read the rest of this entry

Two sleep disorders centers focussing on the children have opened up with dedicated sleep disorders programs  for the suburban Philadelphia residents. These two Philadelhia hospitals intend to help people who have trouble sleeping.

Crozer-Keystone Sleep Centers recently opened the Pediatric Sleep Center at Crozer-Chester Medical Center. Mercy Suburban Hospital in East Norriton also recently opened a sleep disorders center for adults on the third floor of its Medical Arts Pavilion.

Crozer-Keystone Sleep Centers has been opened by Crozer-Keystone Health System to serve children ages six months to 16 years with problems such as sleep apnea, sleep walking, insomnia and night terrors. Read the rest of this entry

Patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition in which the airway collapses and blocks breathing for 10 seconds or more, may consider adjustable oral appliances (OAs), devices that fit within the mouth to prevent upper airway collapse, as an effective first-line treatment, according to two studies conducted by sleep medicine specialists from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) in Bethesda, Md. 

The retrospective, peer-reviewed studies, published in the December 2011 issue of CHEST, the official journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, and in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM), the official journal of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, provide findings on OAs from the largest patient populations studied to date. The studies found that adjustable OAs are nearly as effective as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment for patients with a mild form of OSA and are more effective than fixed oral appliances, particularly in patients with moderate to severe OSA. Read the rest of this entry

A new study presented in November at the American College of Allergy, Asthma  and Immunology Annual Meeting found that obese adolescents have an increased risk of sleep apnea or abnormal breathing during sleep.

Previous research has shown that obese children and teenagers are at higher  risk of health-related problems, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood  pressure and asthma. Children who are overweight are nearly 2-1/2 times more  likely to have asthma than those who are not overweight. Now, this new study  highlights how obesity may interfere with a child’s ability to have restful  sleep.

“Quality nighttime sleep is a key component for advanced executive function  in children and teenagers,” says Sushmita Mikkilineni, M.D., Director Pediatric  Pulmonology for Children’s Hospital of New Jersey (CHoNJ) at Newark Beth Israel  Medical Center. “Untreated pediatric sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, can  exact a heavy toll on young people. Children suffering from sleep disorders may  be hyperactive, inattentive, and chronically tired.” Read the rest of this entry

People with diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea are at greater risk of hypoglycemia, a newly concluded research revealed.

People suffering from a sleep disorder who also had poor autonomic function had significantly more hypoglycemia than those with more normal function (P<0.05), Jennifer Cheng, MD, of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago, and colleagues reported here at the World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease meeting.

“We expected that the symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea patients would have more hyperglycemia, but they actually had more hypoglycemia,” Cheng told MedPage Today. “Clinicians should take into account autonomic function when recommending tight glucose regulation because of the adverse effects that hypoglycemia can cause.” Read the rest of this entry

A study appearing in the November 2011 issue of the Journal of  Clinical Sleep Medicine finds that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)  patients treated with Provent Sleep Apnea Therapywere not only compliant  with the therapy but also showed a reduction in apnea-hypopnea index  (AHI).

“This study provides further validation that Provent Therapy is an  effective treatment for some OSA patients as it reduces daytime  sleepiness, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), and snoring associated with this  prevalent condition,” said Meir Kryger, MD, of Gaylord Sleep Medicine  and past president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

“Patients  reported wearing the device almost 90% of the nights, which represents  very high compliance. The current gold standard, continuous positive  airway pressure (CPAP) is very effective but many patients do not use it  adequately. Provent represents an important new treatment option for  many obstructive sleep apnea patients.” Read the rest of this entry

Apnex Medical, Inc., has received CE Mark approval for its Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation (HGNS®) System for use by people who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The system was approved for sale in Europe based on the positive results of two clinical studies conducted in the United States and Australia. In those studies, the majority of patients demonstrated a significant reduction in their obstructive sleep apnea as well as substantial improvements in the quality of their sleep, quality of life, and overall health.

“CE Mark approval is an important confirmation of the substantial benefits that patients receive from our HGNS therapy for obstructive sleep apnea and is a key milestone for our company,” said Chas McKhann, Apnex Medical President and CEO. Read the rest of this entry

Clayton Sleep Institute (CSI), in partnership with Sleep Review magazine hosts the 9th Annual Updates in Sleep Medicine 2011. The conference takes place in St. Louis, Mo. at the Four Seasons Hotel beginning on Friday, November 4 and continuing until 12:30 CST on November 5. The annual meeting offers premiere medical and scientific presentations by leaders in sleep medicine on the current trends and latest developments.

Each year, the event attracts sleep specialists, primary care physicians, specialty physicians, nurses, respiratory care practitioners and residents in training from across the United States. The following topics will be covered at this year’s conference:

Managing Circadian Rhythms: Diagnosis and Treatment: this presentation will be given by Mark J. Muehlbach, Ph.D. Dr. Muehlbach is the Clinical Director of the The Clinics at Clayton Sleep Institute. The presentation will help audience members both become familiar with circadian rhythms and identify factors contributing to disruptions in circadian rhythms. Read the rest of this entry