Do you have questions about Obstructive Sleep Apnea or CPAP treatment?  Is your equipment or mask not working or fitting properly? Or, perhaps you have questions about sleep studies or medical care for yourself or a loved one?

Join us for a free educational and social support group for people affected by sleep apnea. No matter who your doctor or DME supplier is, we’re here to help!

DeVilbiss Healthcare, Lincare and our medical specialists will be at the meetings to troubleshoot any problems and address your concerns.

Schedule

November 9, 2-5 pm, at the Starlight Medical Group office in Lutz.

December 3, 10 AM to noon, at the Starlight Medical Group office in Wesley Chapel.

For more information or to RSVP, please contact Christy at 813-994-2729 or cmccluskey@starlightmedicalgroup.com

Light refreshments will be served.

For sleep labs like Starlight Medical Group, when discussing sleep apnea, it is typically from the point of view of a health care provider trying to explain the disorder, or how to treat it.

But what about the point of view of someone with sleep apnea? How does it affect their lives? What do they do differently? And most importantly, do they sleep better, and ultimately feel better, because they received treatment?

Check out the case of William Holloway of Abilene, Texas, and decide for yourself.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sleep disorder characterized by an uncontrollable urge to move the legs in response to unpleasant "creepy-crawly" sensations. RLS occurs in about 15% of the population. However, new findings suggest that middle-aged women with RLS may experience something even more unpleasant - heart failure or stroke resulting from elevated blood pressure.

A study, published in the journal Hypertension, asked 65,000 nurses if they experienced any common symptoms of RLS, as well as inquiring about their blood pressure. The researchers found that 33 percent of women who experienced frequent (more than 15 times per month) RLS episodes had high blood pressure, compared to only 21 percent of women who had no RLS symptoms.

"We cannot say from this study that restless legs syndrome causes blood pressure to rise," study co-author Dr. Salma Batool-Anwar, a sleep researcher at Harvard Medical School. "But we did see a significant relationship between the severity of RLS symptoms and prevalence of hypertension."

"What this study suggests is that if you have RLS, make sure your healthcare provider pays extra attention to your blood pressure,"says Robin Trupp, RN, PhD, ARNP at Starlight Medical Group. "Sleep is a natural way for the body to lower blood pressure, but if you can't fully fall asleep because your legs are twitching all night long, then the blood pressure lowering effects are reduced." Blood pressure levels typically drop 20-25% during the sleep.

That also suggests that reducing hypertension can reduce the symptoms of RLS. Hypertension can be treated with a healthy diet, weight loss, dietary salt reduction and exercise as well as medications.

Many of us have experienced the trouble of trying to doze on an airplane. With so many things happening, such as people walking down aisles, smells of food, drink services, and crying children, it's a wonder that anyone can fall asleep on a plane.

And don't forget the emotions felt when leaving. Before a trip begins, there is planning, preparation and other stresses that must be faced; at the airport, it's parking, security checkpoints and flight delays; and finally, the anticipation and excitement about arriving at the destination, all of which can heighten our energy levels, making it harder to sleep.

What can you do to improve your odds of falling asleep on an airplane? Here are 10 suggestions to consider.

1. Wear ear plugs or noise-cancelling headphones.
2. Use a neck pillow for support.
3. Wear cotton or wool clothes, such as a light sweater. These fabrics breathe to allow heat to escape from the body.
4. Bring your own blanket. If you are"lucky" enough to get one, the polyester ones supplied by the airlines can trap heat the body and - let's face it - are not too sanitary.
5. Recline your seat back as much as possible. Studies have shown that inclines of 40 degrees or more can help us fall asleep, although seats of this capability may only be found in business or first class.
6. Eat meals at regular times, to avoid changing your internal body clocks, which can disrupt normal sleep patterns.
7. Eat lighter meals, to avoid feeling too full.
8. Finish your planning before leaving for the airport. This allows your mind to relax once stressful planning activities are forgotten.
9. Stay adequately hydrated. As a rule, drink 8 ounces of water for every hour of flight time.
10. On longer flights of 2 or more hours, be sure to get up and walk for a few minutes every 2 hours. This activity, in combination with staying hydrated, can help prevent blood clots from forming in your legs.

If you normally have trouble trying to sleep during flights, see your health care provider about prescription remedies. A sleeping pill may help, but don't get frustrated if it doesn't work as expected. The fact remains that a crowded airplane is simply a hard place to relax and catch some zzzzs.

Do you have any helpful tips to add to this list? Share your suggestions here.

As our daily lives are more and more intertwined with devices that constantly connect us to the world, new studies are revealing that we should be more careful about when to use this technology, because it could be costing us valuable sleep time.

The National Sleep Foundation found that 95 percent of Americans use some kind of technology one hour before going to sleep, including 61 percent who use a laptop or computer. These devices emit a blue light from their screens that interfere with the body secreting melatonin, the “hormone of darkness” that allows you to get drowsy and fall asleep. Blue light is also emitted from televisions, cellphones and certain alarm clocks – items typically found in bedrooms. Reading exciting books, watching distressing TV, or playing computer games also interfere with sleep by keeping the mind very active and making it difficult to relax.

These effects from technology may be more commonly found in members of Generation Z and Generation Y (essentially everyone born in 1976 or later). Research has shown these people are most likely to engage in using computers or playing video games in the hour before bedtime.

In a country where 1 in 4 adults do not get adequate sleep (defined as 7-8 hours per night), we should all be more aware of the risks associated with chronic sleep deprivation, such as developing high blood pressure, gaining weight, or experiencing a stroke. Turn off the technology for better rest and better health!

If you’re someone who constantly feels tired all day long, this message is for you.  Listen to your body - it’s trying to tell you something.

Excessive daytime sleepiness is a normal consequence after a night without adequate sleep. Once in a while, sleep deprivation is expected and is not a big deal.  However, when that constant fatigue happens day after day after day, it’s time to take action.  Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to developing high blood pressure, weight gain, depression, stroke, erectile dysfunction, to name just a few.

Besides health problems, excessive daytime sleepiness can lead to other serious issues. The National Sleep Foundation’s 2010 Sleep in America Poll found that one out of five adults reported that they missed events at least one day in the past month because they were too sleepy or had a sleep problem. Annually, over 50,000 traffic accidents in the United States are attributed to driving while sleepy.

How do you know when to be concerned about excessive daytime sleepiness?

A simple questionnaire, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, can provide you the answer to this. In less than 2 minutes, after answering 8 simple questions, you can know if you should be concerned and should seek professional evaluation.

Starlight Medical Group has made this scale available online for people who wish to test themselves. Find out your score today. If you’re concerned about the results, please contact us to schedule a free consultation.

Lost sleep costs the average American worker 11.3 days, or $2,280, in lost productivity each year, and the total cost to the nation is $63.2 billion annually, a new study appearing in the journal Sleep says.

Researchers analyzed information about sleep habits and work performance from 7,428 workers who took part in the American Insomnia Study survey conducted by the Harvard Medical School.

Overall, about 23.2 percent of the participants had insomnia, characterized by a hard time falling or staying asleep. Insomnia rates were lower for workers age 65 and older (14.3 percent) and lower for working men (19.7 percent) than for working women (27.1 percent). Findings also showed that insomnia rates were 19.9 percent for those with less than a high school education and 21.5 percent for college graduates.

"Most people with insomnia still go to work when they’re tired,” says Robin Trupp, RN, PhD. “However, working while tired can lead to lost productivity, poor decision-making and other factors that hurt people and the organizations where they work.”

The cost of insomnia treatment ranges from about $200 a year for generic sleeping pills to as much as $1,200 for behavioral therapy, according to study co-author James K. Walsh, executive director and senior scientist at the Sleep Medicine and Research Center, St. Luke's Hospital, Chesterfield, Mo.

New findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association show that, over a five-year period, elderly women with sleep apnea are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia when compared to women without sleep apnea.

The main reason is because sleep apnea causes gaps in breathing, leading to lower oxygen levels in the blood, which can damage the brain and other organs. However, this does not mean that sleep apnea causes dementia, but dementia often develops due to a lack of oxygen to the brain. Many people with various forms of dementia also have sleep apnea. 

Earlier studies suggested oxygen therapy for patients with both Alzheimer's and sleep apnea might slow the mental decline, but this new research shows it might delay the onset or possibly prevent it all together.

Although only women were studied in this research, the same negative effects are believed to occur in the brains of men.

It’s been discussed for years: who gets better sleep, men or women? A new study presented at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s annual meeting is moving us closer to learning the answer.

Findings from the study of sleep patterns in 16 men and 18 women showed that the women tended to fall asleep faster, have more deep sleep, and wake up during the night less frequently as compared to the men. Even the amount of time needed for the internal sleep/wake “clock” to reset itself is different between genders.  A woman’s body clock resets itself six minutes sooner than men, and while that may not sound like much of a difference, this can have a cumulative effect over time.

Since sleep is such a vital part of a healthy life, medical researchers are wondering if these differences in sleep patterns are one of the main reasons why women live longer than men.

Researchers say it still isn't clear why in numerous studies women tend to complain more about their sleep, saying they don't get enough sleep and find it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. With this in mind, more studies are needed to better understand the complete picture.

Recent medical research has shown for the first time that sleep apnea is characterized by the breakdown of the inner walls of blood vessels (known as endothelial dysfunction) resulting in altered blood flow to the heart.

This study compared groups of healthy people, otherwise healthy people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and people with hypertension (or high blood pressure). Results showed that both the healthy people with OSA and those with hypertension had similar blood flow issues to their hearts, and all experienced significant improvement in endothelial dysfunction after 26 weeks of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.

“While this study shows what happens to the blood vessels with sleep apnea,” says Robin Trupp, RN, PhD, “the good news is that wearing CPAP directly treats the cause,  allowing people with sleep apnea to get better sleep AND to improve their blood flow and blood pressure.”