Sleep Apnea Disorder

Many women are turning to unnatural remedies to get to sleep.

Research finds more and more women are turning to sleeping pills in order to get their beauty sleep. It’s a problem that’s sending many women to rehab clinics.

A study from the National Sleep Foundation found nearly three in ten women say they take sleeping aids at least a few nights a week.

Doctor Nancy Collop at the Emory University’s sleep center reports that three out of four insomnia patients are female.

She examines more over scheduled soccer moms, stressed out working women, and women undergoing hormonal changes taking pills to help them rest. Read the rest of this entry

In asking the simple question: “Can you limit your sitting and sleeping to just 23.5 hrs per day?”, this video nails the importance of physical activity in a manner that can appeal to everyone. Please watch it, show it to your friends and colleagues, and forward it to anyone who you think would benefit from the message.

A Doctor-Professor answers the old question “What is the single best thing we can do for our health” in a completely new way. Dr. Mike Evans is founder of the Health Design Lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of Toronto, and a staff physician at St. Michael’s Hospital.

Snoring was once considered a simple annoyance for bed partners, but there is a growing awareness in the medical community that the grunts and snorts of noisy sleepers can also be a sign of sleep apnea.

Testing can be a lucrative business, and labs have popped up in free-standing clinics and hospitals across the country. Over the past decade, the number of accredited sleep labs that test for the disorder has quadrupled, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

At the same time, insurer spending on the procedure has skyrocketed. Medicare payments for sleep testing increased from $62 million in 2001 to $235 million in 2009, according to the Office of the Inspector General.

Dr. David Gross, medical director of the sleep lab at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., says more than three-quarters of the patients who come to his lab are diagnosed with sleep apnea. “We are spending more and more money on sleep testing and treatment,” he says.

It’s no secret that the sleep business can be lucrative for physicians. While many sleep centers offer comprehensive care for sleep disorders, others are largely focused on overnight sleep testing, according to Dr. Nancy Collop, president of the academy. “A lot of people have gotten into the sleep business specifically to do that procedure,” she says.

Another option is a home sleep test, which costs less than a fifth as much as a lab test, and is considered effective for most patients. Medicare began paying for home sleep tests in 2008, but the tests have had only modest growth.

Some insurers, including WellPoint, are changing the way they pay for sleep testing to curb the costs.  Those changes are now widespread among Massachusetts insurers and are having an effect on the sleep industry in the state. [ Read Complete Post ... ]

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes,  Sleep Apnea remains a growing health concern with an estimated 18 million  Americans suffering.  Sleep Group Solutions offers dental continuing education  courses, with an emphasis in Dental Sleep Medicine.  With a growing demand for  treatment, SGS is now offering an Advanced course to the dental community,  taught by Dr.  Daniel Tache, Diplomat of the Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, the current  president of the Wisconsin Sleep Society and an instructor for Sleep Group  Solutions.

Now more than ever, dentists are seeking higher education to learn new skills  and protocols on proper treatment methods for snoring and sleep apnea.  Sleep  Group Solutions is currently the leader in dental continuing education for  Dental Sleep Medicine, offering over 60 courses in 2012.

Dentists such as Dr. Larry  Grillo in Aventura, Fl attended a course from SGS and currently is one of  the few dentists in the area screening and treating sleep apnea.  “Treating  obstructive sleep apnea impacts the systemic health of our patients more  significantly than almost any other service we provide. Read the rest of this entry

Experts advise against allowing infants to sleep in the same bed as parents but offer these recommendations for safe sleeping:

1. Babies should sleep alone on their backs, in cribs, bassinets or portable playpens that meet the most current safety standards.
2. Do not use a drop-side crib.
3. Do not use bumper pads, pillows, stuffed animals or heavy blankets in cribs. Dress babies in wearable blankets for sleep.
4. Do not allow babies to sleep on couches, adult beds or waterbeds.
5. Do not allow smoking near babies.
6. Babies under 1 should not sleep with other children in the same bed. Read the rest of this entry

In a recently concluded research study the researchers revealed that the babies with sleep problems are several times more likely to still have difficulties when they are toddlers compared to babies who sleep well.

Findings of this research study are published in the journal Pediatrics.

Researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio found that one in 10 children under age three has a sleep problem like nightmares, wakings, trouble falling asleep or an inability to sleep in the child’s own bed – results within the range of other studies.

“Oftentimes the message is, ‘Don’t worry about Susie, this is typical and it will get better,”‘ said lead author Kelly Byars, a pediatric psychologist.But her team found, and other experts agreed, that frequently it doesn’t. Read the rest of this entry

Verizon Wireless and NovaSom, Inc., the leader in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) home testing, will be showcasing the NovaSom’s AccuSom  Home Sleep Test at 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), [the Verizon booth ,Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall, Booth #30259].

The AccuSom Home Sleep Test is used in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea(OSA), one of the most serious and under-diagnosed medical conditions in the United States, affecting nearly 18 million Americans.  AccuSom is the only FDA-cleared wireless home sleep test on the market, utilizing Verizon’s network to wirelessly collect and transfer sleep data from the patient’s home to a proprietary cloud-based sleep apnea management platform for physician interpretation and diagnosis. Read the rest of this entry

A change in the structuring of work time, using a natural experiment to test whether participation in a corporate initiative predicts corresponding changes in health-related outcomes.

Drawing on job strain and stress process models, we theorize greater schedule control and reduced work-family conflict as  key mechanisms linking this initiative with health outcomes.

Longitudinal survey data from 659 employees at a corporate headquarters shows that ROWE predicts changes in health-related behaviors, including almost an extra hour of sleep on work nights. Read the rest of this entry

Children with sleep disordered breathing (SDB) may have a better  quality of life (QOL) and diminished cardiovascular (CV) disease risk  from the decreased endothelin 1 (ET-1) levels after adenotonsillectomy,  according to new research  published in the journal Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.

SDB is an increasingly common indication for tonsillectomy and  adenoidectomy due to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Cardiovascular  disease frequently has been reported in patients with moderate to severe  OSA. Related abnormalities include: systematic hypertension, pulmonary  hypertension with cor pulmonale, left ventricular hypertrophy or  dysfunction, cardiac arrhythmias, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery  disease. Read the rest of this entry

UT Arlington bioengineering researchers have designed an innovative, ultrasonic sensor system that can accurately detect whether a person suffers from sleep apnea without the inconvenience or cost associated with an overnight stay in a sleep center.

The University of Texas at Arlington has applied for a provisional patent for the concept and technology. Researchers are currently identifying private partners to market the device. UT Arlington has formed an alliance with Sleep Consultants Inc. in Fort Worth to conduct studies related to the research.

Sleep apnea affects an estimated 15 percent of adults nationwide. The chronic interruption of breathing can lead to hypertension, heart failure and even some brain injuries. The new detection system promises a speedier path to diagnosis and eventual relief, said Khosrow Behbehani, professor and chair of the UT Arlington Department of Bioengineering. Read the rest of this entry

In the latest step of their national expansion campaign, The Snoring Center is pleased to announce the opening of a Chicago location on January 9. The company is the nation’s leading provider of minimally invasive, office-based treatment for snoring and sleep apnea, including the Pillar Procedure from Medtronic.

Dr. Victoria Brkovich, a Board Certified Otolaryngologist with years of clinical experience, has been appointed Medical Director of the Chicago office, located at Water Tower Place.

“I couldn’t be more honored to join The Snoring Center team,” said Dr. Brkovich. “The Snoring Center’s innovative approach and progressive treatment options have helped people from around the world to find healthy, restorative sleep, which is essential to physical and emotional well-being. The opening of our center gives more people access to convenient, effective snoring and sleep apnea treatment options.” Read the rest of this entry

Parents tend to worry about their newborns when they stop breathing and set up all sorts of safety monitoring. Every now and then a newborn will stop breathing for a few seconds. It is quite often occurring to the newborns and infants. Subsequent to this brief pause in breathing they take a deep breath to the frantic joy and sweet relief of the nearby parent. Delayed or irregular breathing as a newborn is general but if it continues into later life, it can become a complicated medical nightmare.

Sleep apnea is the name for such a condition when a person stops breathing while sleeping. It is more common in adults than children and small babies but the presentation is the same, interruption of a normal breathing pattern. Delayed breathing, long pauses and skipping breaths before starting to breathe again will lead to several other health problems. Read the rest of this entry

The prevalence of obesity in children has tripled in last 30 years, leading to children developing adult medical problems, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and sleep apnea.

While the childhood obesity epidemic is severe, we are seeing a decline in certain populations. In the United States alone, more than 12 million children and adolescents are considered obese.

Children who are obese are also more likely to continue on to be obese as an adult. 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

If you are suffering from the deadly sleep disorder called the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) then you’re not breathing properly while you sleep because your airflow is blocked repeatedly throughout the night.

Almost one in four men and one in ten women suffer from sleep apnea. There are three different types of sleep apnea but obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common. And it goes hand-in-hand with type 2 diabetes.

Among all of the sleep disorders, OSA has the strongest association with type 2 diabetes. That’s even taking into account other risk factors, such as weight, sex and age.

The main risk factor for OSA is obesity. Excess weight deposits extra fat around the thorax, reducing chest compliance and functional capacity, while increasing oxygen demand. Read the rest of this entry