Sleep apnea is a serious condition that affects more than 30 million Americans who suffer from lack of restorative sleep.
The majority are undiagnosed and unaware of their condition.
Typical symptoms include heavy snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness or fatigue, difficulty with concentration or memory, among many others.
Untreated, sleep apnea can lead to serious health consequences.
Find out if you or a loved one is at risk of sleep apnea. Read about how to spot the signs and how to get a diagnosis.
Learn about the importance of sleep and the different types of sleep apneas. Familiarize yourself with diagnosis, testing, treatment options, and how to cope with the life-long effects of sleep apnea. You can help reduce the effects of sleep apnea by making healthy choices like getting restorative sleep, eating right and staying active. It’s also important to follow recommended screening guidelines, which can help detect certain sleep apnea early on.
These Top Ten recent topics from September feature concerns about head colds and CPAP, hurricane relief for CPAP users, having a second sleep study, and more.
We are here to help. Our CPAP Assistance Program has been mobilized to provide evacuees with much-needed PAP machines and supplies lost to the hurricanes.
We are also here to offer support through our A.W.A.K.E. groups for those who are struggling with other sleep-related problems, such as post-traumatic stress, aggravated health conditions like pulmonary hypertension (which disrupts sleep), and “painsomnia” caused by injuries sustained while fighting or fleeing Mother Nature in some form or another.
Sleep changes among teens are related to shifts in their circadian rhythms at the onset of puberty. Most tweens and teens experience what is considered a delayed sleep phase as the result of swift and complex changes to the adolescent brain which are associated with its final development. They are often described, in fact, as “night owls.” This means their rhythms undergo a slight biological reset that makes it more natural for them to abide a later schedule.While most younger children and adults may more naturally feel sleepy between 9 and 10pm, teens are far less likely to feel sleepy until at least 11pm. For some, the rhythms shift as late as 1am. These changes are hormonally related and have little to do with poor self management.
While weight loss may not “cure” other health conditions like sleep apnea, healthy weight loss and management can lead to better sleep, ease of mobility, higher energy levels, a more positive mood, and less pain and discomfort.
Most parents likely agree… a seamless transition from summer break to the fall school schedule can only happen when sleep is made a top priority.
Dr. Brandon Rogers, a graduate of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, was described as “the singing doctor,” and “a standout contestant” in the show. Judge Simon Cowell declared him to be “one of the best singers in this year’s competition so far.” Co-judge Heidi Klum said of his performance, “the doctor is really handsome and the doctor can sing.” On June 9 in Maryland, not long after the audition had taken place, but before it had even aired on television, Rogers was riding in a car driven by a friend who’d just come off a long shift at work. The driver fell asleep at the wheel and the car veered off the road before striking a tree head on. While the driver and another passenger in the back seat survived, Dr. Rogers was seriously injured. He died the next day in the hospital at age 29.
We’ll be waiting to see how Tiger Woods’ drug use and DUI charges pan out. What happens next may very well shape the way drowsy driving in its various forms—driving while drowsy, drugged driving, driving while impaired, driving under the influence—will be prosecuted in the future.
These Top Ten recent topics since last June feature concerns about sleep studies, CPAP mask usage, understanding the relationship between ADHD and sleep, dealing with hypersomnia, traveling with CPAP, and more.
Over the course of the next few years, after meeting this legend and his amazing brother in arms, Bill Clark (both so graciously mentoring me), the work we now do at the American Sleep Apnea Association is a product of their combined influence: innovation and evolution of our Sleep Health Patient Community, now and into the future.
Those with COPD struggle to maintain a healthy balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in their bloodstream during the day. If they also have OSA, this sleep breathing disorder kicks in as soon as they fall asleep, leading to further stresses to their blood chemistry. While the rest of us rely on that nighttime period of consolidated sleep to maintain health and well being, and to recover from the stresses placed on our
systems by chronic illness, those with Overlap Syndrome never catch a break. This explains the term “overlap syndrome.” It’s a way to reference the never-ending challenges of breathing for those suffering from both COPD and OSA.
