There is a pervasive attitude in many of the men we care for who view the initial consultation regarding their possible obstructive sleep apnea with disdain.  It’s seems apparent that they are there because their wife has influenced the situation to such a degree that it’s easier to give in.

It’s worth remembering that in health diagnosis and treatment, it’s always better off if you can catch something early.  Why should you waste valuable years operating at a less-than-optimal level?  No matter what your age, it is important be perform at your personal best.

If you were experiencing chest pains or bleeding profusely, you wouldn’t hesitate to address that would you?

Your body is a miraculous machine.  Now, many out there would respond, “Well, it used to be.”

I’d like to submit to you that your body is even MORE remarkable when it’s NOT working properly. 

Your body has a very reliable warning system, just like your car, to inform you when upkeep is needed.  Certainly there are issues that come up out of the clear blue sky, but most of the time you can see danger coming down the road.

Heed the warnings and live and longer, fuller, more satisfying life.

Sleep Data Editor.

Testosterone, Sleep, and Sexual Health

By Michael J. Breus, PHD

Sleep disorders include a range of problems-from insomnia to narcolepsy-and affect millions of Americans.

When it comes to sleep, testosterone may be the somewhat forgotten hormone.  We know a great deal about the importance of testosterone as the male sex hormone, its role in the body and the effects of testosterone deficits, particularly for men.  But there’s been relatively little attention paid to the effects of testosterone on sleep, for both men and women.  A recent review of research seeks to bring some much-needed attention to the role that testosterone plays in sleep.

Changes in testosterone levels occur naturally during sleep, both in men and women.  Testosterone levels rise during sleep and decrease during waking hours.  Research has shown that the highest levels of testosterone happen during REM sleep, the deep restorative sleep that occurs mostly late in the nightly sleep cycle.  Sleep disorders, including interrupted sleep, lack of sleep, and reductions in the amount of REM sleep, will frequently lead to low testosterone levels.  This is important for men and women.

There’s strong evidence of a relationship between testosterone and sleep-disordered breathing, including obstructive sleep apnea.  Studies have shown that low testosterone levels frequently occur in men with obstructive sleep apnea.  Men with obstructive sleep apnea are also more likely to suffer from complications to their sexual function, including low libido, erectile dysfunction, and impotence.

Men are more likely than women to suffer from sleep apnea and sleep-disordered breathing-though there is a widespread belief that sleep apnea in women remains significantly underdiagnosed- and testosterone deficiencies may play a role.

What does this mean for men suffering from sleep problems or problems with sexual function?  It’s time to explore the connection between the two.

First off, guys, you’ve got to go to the doctor.  Making the decision to consult a physician is the first important step, one that unfortunately can still be difficult one for some men.  Men who are struggling with issues related to sexual function should have their sleep evaluated by their physician.  The good news is that treatments for obstructive sleep apnea-particularly CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) – are safe and effective.  In some cases, hormone replacement therapy for conditions such as erectile dysfunction may be appropriate, independently or in conjunction with treatment for a sleep disorder.

What are the implications for women of low testosterone levels from lack of sleep?  Women are particularly vulnerable to sleep problems related to hormone changes and deficiencies, throughout their lives.  We talk most frequently about estrogen and progesterone, the primary hormones involved in menstruation.  But testosterone should be added to the list of hormonal factors to consider when thinking about hormone-related sleep problems in women.

Women, like men, are also likely to find their sexual lives negatively affected by obstructive sleep apnea.  Studies have found strong correlations between obstructive sleep apnea and sexual dysfunction in women.  As obstructive sleep apnea grows worse, problems with sexual function- including sensation and desire- become more serious.  Women are particularly at risk for undiagnosed sleep problems, including sleep-disordered breathing.  Women who are experiencing problems with sexual function should have their sleep evaluated.

“Sleep Well” WebMD, accessed October 5^th, 2011, http:blogs.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/2011/10/testosterone-sleep-and-sexual-health.html

We have a number of articles in this blog that address the important issue of snoring. 

We have never presented one in Spanish.  Considering our large Hispanic patient base, I’d like to present an article in Spanish that we found interesting.  The article is about what snoring really means and how to address it.

SAOS: Cuando roncar es peligroso

Roncar es una situación común entre la gente y por ello no se piensa que se trata de un problema serio

“Los ronquidos son una vibración que se produce en los tejidos que conforman la garganta, específicamente en la zona de la orofaringe y son el resultado de la relajación que la gente presenta al dormir”, explica el doctor en neurociencias Reyes Haro Valencia, director de la Clínica de Trastornos de Sueño de la Facultad de Medicina de la UNAM.

Las personas que roncan lo hacen porque tienen un crecimiento en alguno o todos los músculos de esa zona: la úvula ó campanilla, las amígdalas y el velo del paladar (los arcos que están alrededor de ambas estructuras).

Nadie ronca despierto, porque dichas estructuras necesitan estar relajadas para que al paso del aire vibren. Es por eso que roncamos.

¿Es un problema de salud?

Durante muchos años se pensó que roncar era normal, incluso, mucha gente sigue pensando que es sinónimo de dormir bien ó de estar profundamente dormidos; sin embargo, en la actualidad sabemos que es todo lo contrario.

El ronquido de una persona es un indicador de que el aire está pasando con dificultad. Mientras más fuerte sea el fenómeno, mayor dificultad respiratoria existe.

Un indicador de que el problema ha evolucionado es el tiempo que dura la persona roncando, además de su intensidad. Al principio puede ser sólo un ronquido leve que paulatinamente aumenta en intensidad ó frecuencia.

Si se deja avanzar el problema, podemos desarrollar una patología conocida como: Síndrome de Apnea Obstructiva del Sueño (SAOS). Apnea, significa dejar de respirar; Obstructiva, por que se obstruye el paso del aire; y del Sueño, por que sólo pasa cuando la gente está dormida.

SAOS

El Síndrome de Apnea Obstructiva del Sueño se desarrolla en una persona que inicialmente roncaba poco, pero cuyo sobrepeso va haciendo que ronque cada vez más.

El sobrepeso es el principal factor de riesgo si alguien ronca y aumenta de peso roncara más.

Pero también si se fuma antes de dormir, se va a roncar más. Beber alcohol es otro de los factores que provocan que la gente ronque más. También un día pesado de actividades, o el sedentarismo contribuyen a que se ronque de una manera más intensa.

Se debe estar atentos a cuando el ronquido evolucione y haya desarrollado SAOS, que es cuando, repetidamente, durante la noche se presenta un grupo de tres o cuatro ronquidos, después un silencio que se rompe con un ronquido fuerte y movimiento.

Esos silencios son los que indican los momentos en que la gente está dejando de respirar.

El problema del ronquido

La persona que ronca no se puede dar cuenta por que le ocurre, normalmente la pareja, la familia o los amigos son los que se dan cuenta.

Cuando los amigos y familiares ya avisaron del fenómeno, la persona se puede dar cuenta que ha avanzado el problema si amanece frecuentemente con la boca seca, pues regularmente se respira por la boca, un síntoma que indica que el ronquido es más intenso.

Si se está cansado durante el día, no haber dormido lo suficiente la noche previa, si ese cansancio se vuelve crónico, si tiene problemas de atención, de memoria, si se queda dormido cuando no querían hacerlo, si tienen que hacer algo para no quedarse dormidos a pesar de haber dormido el tiempo suficiente.

Todos esos son indicadores que el ronquido ya evolucionó a SAOS.

Los riesgos del SAOS

Cuando hay SAOS se deja de respirar varias veces durante la noche, entonces eso provoca varios cambios importantes en el funcionamiento del organismo.

La gente que padece este síndrome y no se atiende, tienen un riesgo elevado de sufrir accidentes de tránsito o laborales por la somnolencia.

Ahora, durante la pausa respiratoria disminuyen los niveles de oxígeno, entonces esto daña varios órganos del cuerpo de manera sistemática y lenta.

Así, con el paso del tiempo aumenta el riesgo de que haya problemas cardiacos o cerebrovasculares del tipo de las embolias.

Se puede dejar de roncar

La primera acción para combatir el problema es dejar de ser sedentario. Hay que vigilar mucho el peso, que si bien es el principal factor de riesgo, no es el único.

Hay personas que no tienen problemas de sobrepeso y presentan este problema.

Pero también hay medidas preventivas, en la actualidad se cuenta con algunas medidas tópicas que se utilizan de manera estratégica cuando se empieza a roncar. Por ejemplo: Una de ellas es un spray orofaríngeo (como Silence) que se coloca en los tejidos que se mencionan al principio y evita que se relajen, los mantienen en la tensión para que no se produzca el ronquido.

Es una medida preventiva muy útil que impide el desarrollo del SAOS. Sin embargo, hay otra estrategia como poner un dispositivo que provoca un avance del aire, abre un espacio y evita que choque con esos tejidos, esto se hace en las clínicas de trastorno de sueño.

Son las dos estrategias que en la actualidad se utilizan para evitar el desarrollo del SAOS.

¿Se cura o se controla?

Si el ronquido está relacionado con el sobrepeso, al disminuir tallas, se dejará de roncar.

Si el problema es moderado, se puede tratar quirúrgicamente, pero se deben realizar algunos estudios en una clínica de trastornos de sueño.

El problema es leve cuando una persona deja de respirar hasta 15 veces por hora de sueño o que sólo ronca.

Si es moderado significa que se deja de respirar hasta 25 veces por cada hora que la persona está dormida y en esos casos, el tratamiento quirúrgico corrige el problema. Esta técnica se conoce como uvulopalatofaringoplastia (UPFP), y lo que se hae es reducir el volumen de las estructuras para evitar el colapso y por ende, el ronquido. Claro que esta técnica debe ser bien indicada y empleada sólo en casos moderados.

Y si el problema es severo, si se deja de respirar más de 30 veces por hora de sueño, entonces este problema ya requiere otro tratamiento: Se coloca una mascarilla en la nariz de la persona, su función es comprimir el aire ambiental y por acción mecánica desplazar aquellos tejidos que provocan la obstrucción.

Este equipo es un generador de presión de aire positiva continua, también puede ser indicado en una clínica bajo un estudio polisonográfico, pero es una maravilla para todas aquellas personas que lo requieren.

El diagnóstico

El problema lo puede tratar el médico familiar, pero si ya hay síntomas claros como fatiga, somnolencia, se quedan dormidos en el trabajo y parecen desinteresados; entonces ya hay síntomas que indican que el problema puede ser severo y deben acudir a una clínica de trastornos de sueño.

The following is an edited collection of content provided by the U.S. Departent of Health & Human Services.  Scientists estimate that fibromyalgia affects 5 million Americans age 18 or older.  For unknown reasons, between 80 and 90 percent of those diagnosed with fibromyalgia are women; however, men and children also can be affected.  Most people are diagnosed during middle age, although the symptoms often become present earlier in life.

People with certain rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (commonly called lupus), or ankylosing spondylitis (spinal arthritis) may be more likely to have fibromyalgia too.

Several studies (1) indicate that women who have a family member with fibromyalgia are more likely to have fibromyalgia themselves, but the exact reason for this- whether it is heredity, shared environmental factors, or both- is unknown.  Current study supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin diseases (NIAMS) is trying to determine whether variations in certain genes cause some people to be more sensitive to stimuli, which leads to pain syndromes.

The causes of fibromyalgia are unknown, but there are probably a number of factors involved.   Many people associate the development of fibromyalgia with a physically or emotionally stressful or traumatic event, such as an automobile accident.  Some connect it to repetitive injuries.  Others link it to an illness.  For others, fibromyalgia seems to occur spontaneously.

Many researchers are examining other causes, including problems with how the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) processes pain.

Some scientists speculate that a person’s genes may regulate the way his or her body processes painful stimuli.  According to this theory, people with fibromyalgia may have a gene or genes that cause them to react strongly to stimuli that most people would not perceive as painful.  There have already been several genes identified that occur more commonly in fibromyalgia patients, and NIAMS-supported researcher are currently looking at other possibilities.

The Path to CPAP

Research shows that people with fibromyalgia typically see many doctors before receiving the diagnosis.  One reason for this may be that pain and fatigue, the main symptoms of fibromyalgia, overlap with those of many other conditions.  Therefore, doctors often have to rule out other potential causes of these symptoms before making a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.  Another reason is that there are currently no diagnostic laboratory tests for fibromyalgia; standard laboratory test fail to reveal a physiologic reason for pain.  Because there is no generally accepted, objective test for fibromyalgia, some doctors unfortunately may conclude a patient’s pain is not real, or they may tell the patient there is little they can do.

A doctor familiar with fibromyalgia, however, can make a diagnosis based on criteria established by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR): a history of widespread pain lasting more than 3 months, and the presence of diffuse tenderness.  Pain is considered to be widespread when it affects all four quadrants of the body, meaning it must be felt on both the left and right sides of the body as well as above and below the waist.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition, meaning it lasts a long time-possibly a lifetime.  However, it may be comforting to know that fibromyalgia is not a progressive disease.  It is never fata, and it will not cause damage to the joints, muscles or internal organs.  In many people, the condition does improve over time.

What can I do to try to feel better?

Besides taking medicine prescribed by your doctor, there are many things you can do to minimize the impact of fibromyalgia on your life.  These include exercise, a healthy diet, and most importantly:

Getting enough sleep.  Getting enough sleep and the right kind of sleep can help ease the pain and fatigue of fibromyalgia.  Even so, many people with fibromyalgia have problems such as pain, restless legs syndrome, or brainwave irregularities that interfere with restful sleep.  It is important to discuss any sleep problems with your doctor, who can prescribe or recommend treatment for them.  For instance: CPAP; the compliant long-term use of CPAP will enable you to achieve a true deep restorative sleep.  This is truly essential to keep your body in the shape it needs to be in to fight chronic pain.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Here are some interesting notes from a study done by Dr. Masatoshi Shimizu, PhD, Rheumatologist at Hino Hospital, Osaka Japan.

“It has been nearly four years since the sleep study I started on rheumatoid arthritis patients in the Rheumatism Department got into full swing.  First of all, I was surprised to learn that Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) existed among more than 50% (53%) of rheumatic patients.  The good news for SAS patients is that remarkable improvements were seen in rheumatoid arthritis by treating it with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP therapy).  There were also patients who could discontinue their medication entirely.”

1. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Fibromyalgia/default.asp, Accessed, 8/17/2011
2. Shimizu, Masatoshi M.D., Rheumatoid Arthritis, “Sleep and Adult lifestye-related Diseases”, www.liptrainerguru.com Accessed 8/17/2011

Colin Sullivan: Inventive Pioneer of Sleep Medicine

Almost exactly 30 years after the publication of his pioneering paper on positive airway pressure for sleep apnea (PAP) in The Lancet, Colin Sullivan continues to extend the boundaries of sleep medicine. In those three decades, PAP has gone from an obscure treatment available to few to an effective, portable treatment that has improved the sleep, and thus lifestyles, of millions worldwide.

From a family of tradesmen, Sullivan and his two brothers were constantly inventing and building new things. It was a theme that would resonate throughout his life. After completing medical studies at the University of Sydney, Sullivan went on to specialize in respiratory medicine at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital where he met mentor David Read, an expert on sudden infant death syndrome. They postulated that this syndrome might be caused by a breathing defect and this work piqued Sullivan’s interest in sleep science. During his research Sullivan and long-time friend and colleague Michael Hensley dug up papers that referred to the condition sleep apnea; they realized that one of their adult patients had the condition, and set about working out what caused it and how to treat it.

Read recommended that Sullivan join University of Toronto Professor Eliot Phillipson to do postdoctoral work, including research on the sleeping pattern of specially trained dogs. “3 years of intensive study followed, looking at how breathing affected sleep, dreams, and responses. Leading to the important conclusion that failure of arousal during sleep was a key response lost during some patients with breathing problems”, Sullivan told The Lancet. Then, in 1979, Sullivan returned to the University of Sydney as a senior lecturer in respiratory medicine, where he remains today, and physician at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. By then, his focus was on sleep medicine, a specialism that had only a handful of specialist centers around globally. To investigate patients with suspected sleep apneas, he borrowed a portable trolley with an array of biological amplifiers and other technology that Read was using to study babies. Those early studies involved much work through the night with Sullivan monitoring patients himself. But momentum built, more equipment was procured, and space was found in his university complex to properly study patients. Among the indicators studied were breathing rate, chest expansion, air pressure, and vital signs. “A key moment was the advent of the pulse oximeter to measure oxygen levels”, says Sullivan.

While initially only a few patients with sleep apnea were discovered, an article on the subject in The Sydney Morning Herald prompted hundreds of phone calls to Sullivan’s team from people who thought they had the condition. Today, an estimated 9% of men and 5% of women have some form of sleep apnea. Patients can appear well, but in sleep, they are choking, in some cases up to 500 times per night. Sufferers can end up falling asleep during daytime, including at the wheels of cars, and are at higher risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. “There will have been many cases of death recorded as arrhythmia or cardiovascular diseases that were actually sleep apnea”, says Sullivan.

Sullivan and his team undertook experiments with dogs on airway obstruction, and created a mask for use on human patients. Air pressure was controlled with a circuit that raised pressure until passive obstruction of the airway was cleared. His first test patient was a 43-year-old construction worker who did not want a tracheostomy—back then the only treatment. At very low pressures, PAP cleared the man’s airway and allowed him to sink into a deeper sleep, as well as being sleep-free the next day. An elated Sullivan tried the technique on four other patients, and these findings formed the basis for his 1981 Lancet paper.

Yet even then, he considered PAP as a rescue therapy to delay or avoid tracheostomy, rather than a cure in itself. It was only when a patient requested a PAP device for self-treatment at home that Sullivan realized the potential of a mass-produced portable device. He patented his device, and joint-founded the company ResMed in Australia. By 1989, some 1000 patients in Australia alone were using home-based devices. Soon after the first early successful treatment of sleep apnea, Sullivan extended the method to provide positive pressure ventilation during sleep in patients with severe respiratory failure in diseases such as emphysema, work that led to the now widespread use of this method. Much early work on the efficacy of PAP was done by Professor Sir Neil Douglas of Edinburgh University. Douglas, who is Chair of the UK’s Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, says that Sullivan “is the towering figure internationally in his field. Colin’s intellect is the most impressive that I have encountered in my career and his contributions to respiratory science and patient care have been immense”.

Another key area of Sullivan’s current research is using PAP to reduce sleep apnea and resultant hypertension in sleeping pregnant women, with the theory that this will improve fetal wellbeing, and thus improve maternal and child morbidity and mortality outcomes. Hensley, a sleep medicine specialist and Professor of Medicine at the University of Newcastle, Australia, says: “Colin is a giant without equal in the field of sleep and breathing. In the 35 years that I have been a respiratory and sleep physician there has hardly been a day when I have not been influenced in my diagnosis or treatment by his work.”

-Tony Kirby

The Lancet, Volume 377, Issue 9776, Page 1485, 30 April 2011 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60589-8

Normally these devices are used to help people with sleep apnea achieve a restorative night’s sleep by delivering a gentle flow of room temperature air into the patient’s airway; keeping it open and flowing over the course of an evening.  This allows the patient to achieve a level of continuous, deep sleep that they were previously unable to do.

Now the Riverside County paramedics are outfitting all 96 of their stations with CPAP devices for patients in need.  In the past paramedics, or doctors in the hospital later might have to insert a breathing tube, to help a patient breath.  This procedure is much more traumatic for the patient.  Once a breathing tube has been inserted, the patient must be weaned off a ventilator in a hospital, a process that can take days.

Once again, CPAP proves itself to be the better choice.

 Since April, the Riverside County paramedics have used the devices on 48 patients, all benefitted from the procedure, some dramatically.

1. Budge, Sarah Public Safety: Breathing aids added to paramedics’ arsenal, http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/pe_news_local_d_sfire04.2255120.html, accessed 8/04/11

Your last night of sleep may have been punctuated by mini-awakenings, diminishing your ability to retain this new skill.  It’s possible that you slept for 8 to 9 hours and may not feel tired.  However, when sleep is interrupted frequently-as it is in disorders like sleep apnea, Alzheimer’s disease, and alcoholism-the ability to learn and retain new things is often dramatically impaired, says a new study conducted on mice.

Studies to date have shown that when sleep is frequently interrupted, memory suffers, but no one really know whether the memory problems they observed were the result of shorter cumulative sleep times, poor overall sleep quality, the degradation of some distinct part of the sleep cycle, or the sheer annoyance of being prodded awake repeatedly while sleeping.  This study suggests that even when frequent waking doesn’t affect sleep quality and doesn’t cut into overall sleep time, memory takes a hit.

Researchers stimulated “micro-arousal events” in mice by injecting their brains with a virus carrying a red fluorescent protein.  Once established in the brain, the protein found its way to specialized brain cells in the hypothalamus involved in awakening.  When stimulated by a laser diode directed at that region of the brain, those specialized neurons became active and the mice briefly awakened.  During four hours of daytime sleep, scientists “lit up” the awakening neurons every 60 seconds, causing the mouse’s brain briefly to stir, and then fall back to sleep.  The frequent awakenings did not drive down the amount of rapid-eye-movement (REM), or deep, restorative sleep the mouse had.  Nor did it drive down cumulative sleep time.  And it didn’t appear to cause the mouse any stress.

A control group of mice had the laser diode flashed at them.  But since they had not had the specialized protein introduced into their brain, they did not experience micro-arousal events, and slept through.

Before tuck-in-time, each mouse had been put into a cage where it had two novel areas to explore (when introduced to two new things, a mouse will typically explore both equally).  After four hours of daytime sleep, researchers sought to test whether a mouse would remember having explored these areas before.

After four hours of sleep, the mice whose brains had been prodded awake every 60 seconds showed no familiarity with the cage to which they had been introduced earlier, and their patterns of exploration reflected that.  The mice whose sleep had not been interrupted behaved as if they remembered having explored the cage.

Researchers suggest that new skills and information are committed to memory-or “consolidated”- during sleep when our brains “replay” recently learned actions or sequences.  In the process, the memory, now neatly packaged and ready for storage, is transferred from the hippocampus to the neocortex, from which it can be retrieved when needed.  The Stanford researchers who led the study-biologist H. Craig Heller and neuroscientist Luis de Lecca- suggested that when frequent awakenings interrupt that process, the memory can be lost of compromised before it is stored.

By Melissa Healy

Los Angeles Times

Edited by Admin @ Sleep Data

Hello everyone!  Now that it is summer-time and the kids are home from school, it might be a good time to take a look at controlling childhood obesity in your family.  Remember, obesity is linked to serious health concerns such as sleep apnea, impaired glucose, high blood pressure and joint discomfort.

Here are some good ideas.

1. Switch off the electronics 60 to 90 minutes before bedtime to counter the stimulating effect of television or computers.

2. Avoid heavy meals before bed, but offer a light snack, such as yogurt, if your child is hungry.  Eliminated caffeine-containing stimulants including chocolate, energy drinks, tea and colas.

3. Establish a consistent bedtime ritual.  As your child gets into his pajamas, chooses a book for you to read and is tucked in, his body is receiving cues that it’s time for sleep.  Limthe process to 20 to 30 minutes.

4. Don’t let a break in routine to become a bad habit.  If your family is up late for an activity, get back to regular sleep hours as soon as possible.  You’re not helping your children if you allow them to stay up and sleep in the next morning, even on weekends. (1)

Smart, right?

That’s good advice, not matter what your age. 

A true healthy lifestyle includes a healthy sleep-style as well.

A well-rested machine will always out-perform an exhausted one.

1. Bennett, B. More sleep could prevent children from becoming overweight or obese CTW Features, Accessed 8/2/11 

2.  Image courtesy of aboutchildhoodobesity.com 

A new study shows (1) that sleep apnea may affect the blood vessels responsible for supplying blood to the heart, increasing the risk of heart disease in people who are otherwise healthy.

This was the first study to show abnormalities in blood vessels in people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

OSA and other risks has been linked to hypertension and other risk factors for heart disease in the past.

Researchers found reducing the breathing interruptions common with sleep apnea, reversed the blood vessel abnormalities.  The most common treatment is continuous positive air pressure.

One researcher, Gregory Y. H. Lip M.D., professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom reports, “The findings should change how doctors treat patients with obstructive sleep apnea.”

“Even apparently healthy patients with sleep apnea show abnormalities of small and large blood vessels, as well as impaired blood supply to the heart muscle,” Doctor Lip said.

According to the American Heart Association about 15 million adults in the United States have obstructive sleep apnea.

Dr. Lip and others agree that these numbers could improve with the use of CPAP therapy.

1. Posted by Ring, S. Sleep Apnea: Study Shows Link to Blood Vessel Disorders” Third Age.com Accessed 8/2/11

Stress can come from anywhere; an unrewarding job, financial insecurity or even something more tragic like a child with a long-term illness.

Every couple makes a commitment to be there for each other in sickness and health; for richer or for poorer, ‘til death do you part. 

The sentiment, while romantic, is not reality. Reality is far more challenging.

In the movies, couples meet and they fall in love.  Then, they get married and have a series of conflicts which they’re able to resolve sometime before the final credits, and the requisite ballad sung by Celine Dion. 

In the movies, the couples meet their conflicts head-on and repair their malfunction whatever it may be.  This usually happens after they have a cinematic moment of clarity.  It’s indudstry-standard for this to happen while the movie-star is strolling on a lonely beach or on a rain-swept Paris avenue.

This is why we love the movies. 

Problem resolution.

In the real world, problem resolution often takes a back seat to, “just making it through the day”.

Contrary to popular belief, if you stop thinking about a problem, it DOESN’T just go away.

Shocking right?

Sleep apnea and its associated features like snoring, poor energy and insomnia will often lead to short tempers, forgetfulness, and an overall unpleasant demeanor. 

Those aren’t the worst effects.

You can also exacerbate other problems you might already be living with; like diabetes and hypertension for instance.

Sleep apnea could be referred to as, “The Great Enabler”.

No matter what your particular issue happens to be, sleep apnea will increase its negative effects. 

Guaranteed. 

A strong couple addresses an issue like sleep apnea the same way they address a mortgage payment or any other bill. 

They take care of it.

They take care of it together; as a family.

A family is only as strong and as happy as its most unhappy member.

Think about that.  It sounds convoluted, but it’s true.  The entire system will break down if a “weak link” isn’t addressed.  Help needs to be provided; and fast.

No matter what age you are, there’s an optimum performance level that’s within your reach.  Living with sleep apnea, your optimum performance level will remain far out of reach and you’ll find yourself wasting precious years of your life on exhaustion and fatigue.

Address your sleep apnea before it hijacks your life.  It’s an unwelcome stow-away on your life-boat; it’s a crow in your corn field. It’s whatever bit of hyperbole you need to attach to the issue to make your choice of action clear.

There’s no time like the present to address your sleep apnea. 

Sleep Data is here for you.

A major hotel chain in the United Kingdom has come up with a revolutionary way of dealing with the problem of snoring.

They have special “quiet zones” for light sleepers and those who find it hard to sleep when someone on their floor is snoring.

How do they enforce this?

They have “Snore Patrols” in the hotel “Quiet Zone”.

The “Quiet Zone” is a portion of a particular floor in the hotel in which all of the rooms are designated to protect against any noise.

They’ve hired individuals whose job it is to patrol the halls listening for repetitive offensive noise. 

If you are the offending party you will be awakened by the “snore patrol” and asked to transfer from the “Quiet Zone” to another portion of the hotel.  The management will then likely suggest that the “Quiet Zone” is perhaps not the most appropriate area for you.

Patients can also sleep in a “snore absorption room” and expect the latest snore-control technology to reduce the repetitive noise.  Sound proofing on the walls and headboards, anti-snoring pillows and white noise machines are among the features designed to ease snoring.

The snore-absorption rooms are being tried in 10 different hotels in the UK and across Europe and the Middle East.

It’s not fun to have your sleeping interrupted by anything or anybody. 

I’m curious where it is that these people live their regular lives.  I wonder if they expect perfect silence at home as well.  If that’s what they require, I’m curious how they achieve it. 

Do they all live in remote cabins in the woods?

Do they live on a house-boat, adrift on the sea?

Or perhaps they live with monks who’ve taken a vow of silence.  Of course this begs the question…..do monks who’ve taken a vow of silence still snore?  And if they do, doesn’t that negate their vow?

At any rate, snoring is no joking matter, and if you find yourself being ejected from your hotel room late in the evening because you’re snoring too loudly, than perhaps it’s time to have a sleep study done and discover what your evening’s really like for your body and  for those around you. 

It’s never too late to try and achieve a nice restorative sleep.

1. Crowne Plaza London hotel trials anti-snore room “ http://www.london24.com/news/crowne_plaza_london_hotel_trials_anti_snore_room_1_938270” accessed July 26, 2011

2. Featured image also from “http://www.london24.com/news/crowne_plaza_london_hotel_trials_anti_snore_room_1_938270” accessed July 26, 2011