Archive for November, 2006
Video: Snoring Center - Sleep Apnea
In this short video clip, Dr. Craig Schwimmer defines obstructive sleep apnea , tells us the health consequences of having sleep apnea, and tells us who is at risk.
Schwimmer describes the event cycle of a person who is sleeping that has obstructive sleep apenea: Soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses the airway, and prevens the sleeper from breathing. The brain notices that there is less oxygen in the blood stream, and the person wakes up. This can happen several hundred times a night.
In the long term, these nightly cycles cause significant strain on heart an lungs. People with sleep apnea are at greater risk for having high blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks, and several other cardio vascular diseases.
Studies have shown that up to 5% of the population may have sleep apnea. Signs of obstructive sleep apnea include:
- Loud, habitual snoring
- Gasping for air while sleeping
- Poor quality sleep - usually wake up not feelign well rested
- Trouble concentrating during the day
- Having headaches in the morning
People who are most at risk for having sleep apnea are:
- Men
- between 40 and 60 years old
- and are overweight
Traditionally, sleep studies have been done in facilities to determine if someone has sleep apnea. Now, sleep studies may be done at one’s home.
You can find out more information from The Snoring Center.
Video: Polysomnography - OSA
This video shows a man with obstructive sleep apnea during his sleep study. He has wires stuck onto his body and face, and he has belts around his waist. You can see his body struggle to breathe while he snores, and then he has sudden loud gasps for air.
Tags: [Sleep Study Video]
Video: Nick’s Sleep Study
This is a short clip about a man who is going into a sleep study. You can really see how unhappy his sleep is making is life… and how excited he is after making a step in the right direction by going forward with a sleep study. Through the sleep study, the neccesary data can be collected to diagnosis someone with a sleep disorder. After the diagnosis, treatment can begin, and people like Nick will enjoy higher quaility life.
Tags: [Sleep Study, Uncategorized Video]….Ugh, so happy. No more waking up in the middle of the night, twenty times to pee… No more dry mouth… No more more heart burn… No more BREATHE, BREATHE… Ughh.
Can’t wait to get up and feel refreshed in the morning… Don’t have to feel exhausted all day. Can’t wait. Ohh. Pretty excited…
Video: Sleep Apnea PSA
This short video clip is a public service announcement from American Sleep Apnea Association.
From the video:
Tags: [Sleep Apnea, Snoring Video][person snoring in background] Oh No… another sleepless night
The snoring. Then the silence.
When will he take another breath?
[snort] If you know this sound you may know a person with…. sleep apnea.
It can be life-threatening.
Get that person to a doctor, or a sleep specialist for treatmentSleep Apnea
It is no way to sleep.
It is no way to live.American Sleep Apnea Association
888-293-3650
www.sleepapnea.org
Video: Snoring Center - Sleepy Drivers
Tags: [Snoring, Uncategorized Video]
Video: Snoring Center - Snoring advice
Tags: [Snoring, Uncategorized Video]
Video: Snoring Center - Better Sleep for Better Health
Tags: [Snoring, Uncategorized Video]
Book Review: Good Night
I was very excited when I learned that Michael Breus, Ph D. had published a book. Breus is the sleep expert on the popular site WebMD, an has other sleep sites Soundsleep Solutions and The Insomnia Blog.
The Sleep Doctor really deserves credit for giving us practical suggestions for better sleep in Good Night. Often when I read books about health improvement, I feel like the author is a doctor writing for the audience of another doctor. Those types of books have a lot of wonderful information - it is too bad you have to go to med school to understand it, and even then it may not have an application in your life. The Sleep Doctor’s book is not like that - it is gives doable advice, and quick hints on getting better sleep.
This is an excellent book if you are not familiar with sleep health because Breus discusses the most common sleep disorders, as well as the common things that disrupt your sleep. Even if you are well read in sleep health, Breus includes latest healthcare discoveries and makes hard concepts easy to understand.
The book starts off with discussing the most common causes of sleep problems, and gives us a solution to those problems. For example, the sleep problems caused by having young children, by smoking, using caffeine, stress, and business needs. What I really like about Breus is that he does not try to make us sacrifce the rest our lives in order to have perfect sleep. He is not going to tell you not to have your Starbucks fix, or convince you to quit smoking. He realizes that people do not have perfect conditions, and he encourages to break down a big problem (never feeling well rested) into smaller problems, and make small adjustments in order to get maximum results.
After these quick fixes, the Sleep Doctor goes into depth about why sleep is so important, and the pontential results of not getting enough sleep. This leads us into the best part of the book - your own 28 day program to getting better sleep (the full title of the book is Good Night: The Sleep Doctor’s 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health
The last part of the book recognizes there are times when good habits may not be enough, or are not right at a point in time. He briefly presents medications, and other sleep aids that may help us as a last resort.
Overall, and excellent book. I definately reccomend that you buy this book, or check it out at your local library. Breus also has information on his website Soundsleep Solutions.
GoodKnight 420G CPAP Machine
Steven K. Roberts has written a review of the the Puritan Bennett GoodKnight 420G CPAP machine. Steven does not have a lot of experience with other units, but he is happy with his CPAP machine. Steven says that he had picked the machine because:
- The small size works with his nomadic lifestyle. The size (2.9″ X 5.6″ X 7.7″) of this CPAP unit is great if frequent travel is needed.
- It was simple to operate. Steven gives some instructions on his review.
- The 420S and 420E have more complex functionality, but for price concerns, the 420G will do the job.