JaMarcus Russell earned a reputation as one of the worst disappointments in draft history and argued that sleep apnea was to blame for much of the behavior that earned him widespread criticism and put an end to his NFL career at the tender age of 26.

JaMarcus Russell’s diagnosis and subsequent discussion of sleep apnea may not be enough to restore his much-maligned performance or defunct career; but at a time when nearly 12% of the American public suffers from this serious and potentially life-threatening condition, it may help raise popular awareness of sleep apnea – and encourage patients to thoroughly research their treatment options to find solutions that are both effective and sustainable for the long haul. Read the rest of this entry

Sleep is extremely important for the body. It plays an important role on the body weight and metabolism, mood, cardiovascular health, and disease .

The frightening side effects of sleep deprivation are only compounded by the fact that millions of the Americans are sleep deprived. According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), 40 million Americans suffer from some type of sleeping disorder, with 60% of adults saying that they do have sleep problems a few nights a week, if not more.

A recently concluded research study findings published in the journal Immunity  will sure have people taking their sleep a whole lot more seriously than they have before. Read the rest of this entry

UBM Medica’s Psychiatric Times today announced special coverage of sleep disorders that occur in patients with mental illness.

Chronic sleep disturbances can lead to or exacerbate mental illness. The information offered on Psychiatric Times is written by leading psychiatrists for mental health practitioners who want to improve their patients’ “sleep hygiene” and alleviate symptoms of mental illness.

Sleep disorder highlights on Psychiatric Times include:

1. “Sleep Hygiene: Tips on Getting a Restful Night’s Sleep,” offers practitioners simple tips to give their patients who are having difficulty sleeping
2. “Treatment of Insomnia in Anxiety Disorders,” discusses the prevalence of comorbid insomnia in anxiety disorders and how it can be treated
3. “Psychosomatic Symptoms in Children with Chronic Mental Illness,” addresses the needs of the approximately 20 percent of children with chronic medical conditions who also have behavioral and emotional symptoms  Read the rest of this entry

A recently concluded research revealed that the amount and quality of sleep directly affects your memory as you get older.

Yo-El Ju, MD, from Washington University School of Medicine and his colleague researchers tested the sleep patterns of 100 dementia-free people between the ages of 45 and 80, half of whom had a family history of Alzheimer’s disease. A device was used to measure sleep for two weeks, and the participants also kept sleep diaries and filled out questionnaires.

The average time a person spent in bed during the study was about eight hours, but the average sleep time was 6.5 hours due to short periods of wakefulness during the night. Read the rest of this entry

A Currently concluded research study based on the large health insurance database revealed that people who’d suffered sudden deafness were more probable to have a previous diagnosis of sleep apnea than a comparison group without hearing loss.

Taiwanese health insurance data analysis revealed that the absolute difference is actually small: 1.7 percent of those with hearing loss had sleep apnea in comparison to 1.2 percent without hearing trouble.

The health records of nearly one million Taiwanese evaluated by Dr. Jau-Jiuan Sheu, of Taipei Medical University Hospital. His team of researchers found that almost 3,200 had been diagnosed with sudden deafness between 2000 and 2008. Comparison was made with other five people of same age and sex without hearing loss. Out of those 19,000 people in total, 240 had been diagnosed with sleep apnea before the episode of sudden deafness occurred. Read the rest of this entry

SleepApneaDisorder/ DEARBORN, MI/ January 28, 2012 /PressRelease/ — Patients suffering from sleep apnea and snoring can now seek treatment from Dr. Bruce Luria, Dearborn dentist. Dr. Bruce Luria is currently a member of the Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and is pleased to share his expertise with other members of Luria & Birnholtz Family Dentistry and his patients to improve their quality of life.

The American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) is dedicated to the treatment of sleep-related breathing disorders through use of oral appliance therapy. As part of the AADSM’s stated mission, Dr. Bruce Luria, Dearborn, MI dentist, works with his patients to create a positive public awareness of sleep disorders such as snoring and obstructive sleep apnea in Dearborn.  Read the rest of this entry

Home sleep testing devices have become popular among medical providers to  determine whether or not patients may have obstructive sleep apnea.  Left  untreated, sleep apnea can account for higher risks of accidents, obesity, heart  disease, diabetes, and even colon cancer.

Medical professionals upload raw data  off the machine through the pm-Assist?  service that is scored by Registered Polysomnographic Technicians (RPSGT),  interpreted by Board Certified Sleep Physicians, and in as little as 24 hours  receive a diagnostic report.

“The growth of our pm-Assist program parallels the growth of home sleep  testing in the industry,” commented Dr. Benjamin Gerson, Chief Medical Director  of University Services, the parent  company of pm-Assist. Read the rest of this entry

Nemours/Alfred I. du Pont Hospital for Children (AIDHC) and Delaware Sleep Disorder Centers are pleased to announce a collaboration to provide sleep studies for children ages six to 18.

Adequate, restorative sleep is essential to maintaining good health. If a child has difficulty sleeping, a sleep test and subsequent evaluation can help identify the problem. Under this collaboration, tests are done at the Smyrna, Delaware Sleep Disorder Center in a child friendly atmosphere with state-of-the-art equipment for a full range of sleep disorders. Following the testing, Nemours sleep specialists will interpret all studies and are available for consultations. Read the rest of this entry

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

As the number of patients diagnosed with sleep apnea is increasing the costs related to the health insurance is also increasing exponentially. This skyrocketing of the insurer’s sleep apnea related costs has now compelled the insurance companies to change their health coverage policies for the disorder.

A sleep apnea diagnosis usually requires patients undergo tests overnight in a sleep lab; some patients spend two nights in the lab to separately test for sleep apnea and to try a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. Insurers often spend $1,900 for one overnight stay.

As a result of this increased spending, some experts are concerned that overnight tests to diagnose apnea are over-prescribed. Medicare payments for sleep testing increased from $62 million in 2001 to $235 million in 2009.

This contrasts effective home sleep tests that cost less than a fifth of the lab version. Although Medicare began paying for home sleep tests in 2008, the tests have had only modest growth. Read the rest of this entry

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 ... ]

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