“There are a number of potential causes for a disturbed night’s sleep,” explained Diederik Zeven, general manager of Philips Healthcare in the Middle East. “These include sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which affects approximately four per cent of the adult population.”

Zeven added: “It’s a disorder characterized by airway collapse behind the tongue during sleep, which obstructs breathing. If untreated, it can contribute to the development of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes.”

The company has developed an innovative collection of sleep products, including diagnostic tools and therapy devices.

During the conference, Philips will also be conducting sleep therapy solutions and demonstrating how its tools and products work.

Thomas gives melatonin as an example of a substance which is very effective in treating jet lag and insomnia if given at the right doses—anywhere in between 0.3 mg to 3.0mg. He further explains that 5-HTP and GABA are both neuro-transmitting substances which can help patients sleep. GABA calms down anxiety while 5-HTP is capable of treating depression and apnea.

However, Thomas believes that combining the two substances may not necessarily be effective, saying “as far as we know no science that has looked at these three ingredients together.”

Source: MiamiHerald.com

Researchers in Denmark sought to find out what’s beyond the health consequences of snoring and other sleep disorders and discovered startling figures. Snorers along spent almost $1,000 each year. People suffering from sleep apnea paid almost $5,000 while people who have obesity hypoventilation syndrome had to shell out almost $15,000 annually.

These figures translate to healthcare that is needed to treat the disorders, and what’s worse is that people suffering form such disorders are less able to do so. People with sleep disorders are higher up on the unemployment list by 30 percent, while also earning considerably lower salaries as compared to people who have normal sleeping habits.

Apart from the dangers that sleep apnea brings to everyday living, there is also heightened risk of developing cardiovascular disorders from losing sleep. Apnea has also been linked to obesity, depression and diabetes apart from other medical issues such as attention and hyper activity disorder found in children.

Back in 2008, almost 28 percent of adults who participated in a survey in the U.S. say that they don’t nearly get enough sleep at night. They also associate their sleeping disorder with pain, anxiety, depression, mental stress and poor health in general. The National Sleep Foundation advises adults to catch as least 7-9 hours of sleep each day, while 10-11 hours for children that are already going to school.

For a long time, alcoholism and sleep disorders have been linked together. There haven’t, however, been enough studies focusing on the differences in alcoholism effects on sleeping between men and women. Meanwhile, the study found that women who drank alcoholic drinks slept less, woke up more frequently, found it harder to sleep for long periods and suffered more disruptions during sleep as compared to men who drink before bedtime.

The researchers explain that the differences may be rooted in the different metabolic effects alcohol has between men and women. Women show quicker decline in breath alcohol concentration as compared to men. Gender roles also play a huge part in the effects of alcoholism on sleeping according to other studies.

Source: Examiner

However, despite becoming aware of her disorders, Dunn says that it “didn’t fix everything,” and that she “was still having trouble sleeping.” Dunn went back to her sleep therapist to ask for further advice regarding her sleeping problems. Soon, she found a pattern saying “If I’d be on the computer late I’d be wide awake. I mean it kind of gave me a second wind,” adding that her realization didn’t help especially since she has to wake up as early as 6 am.

Eastern Iowa Sleep Center Dr. Scott Geisler says that Dunn is now one of a growing population of insomniacs who unwittingly worsen their sleeping disorders by using gadgets. Geisler explains that “even that little bit of light you get from a portable device an IPAD or I-phone, smartphone is enough to send messages to your brain that it’s time to wake up.”

Source: KCRG.org

Clinical Neurology Professor Poul Jennum at the University of Copenhagen Center for Health Aging explains hyperinsomnia as a type of symptom exhibited by patients who are suffering from sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy, loud snoring, restless leg syndrome as well as obesity-related breathing troubles. These patients were also found to be heavily dependent on medicine, health services and generally unemployed.

Researchers thus conclude that socio-economic consequences grow as sleep disorders get more severe. They were able to demonstrate how patients exhibiting hyperinsomnia were relying on state subsidized medication as compared to their healthy counterparts. Higher intake of medication and more frequent rate of hospitalization also coincided with increased rates of unemployment for patients who were left undiagnosed and not getting treatment.

Source: Times of India

Traditionally, sleep apnea has been the exclusive responsibility of M.D.s; that is, your family physician and specialists like neurologists and pulmonologists. Screening for these patients has been somewhat difficult because the average family practice doctor usually doesn’t ask (for a variety of reasons) whether or not a patient has the symptoms of sleep apnea such as chronic snoring.

Once a patient is identified as being a sleep apneic (a person who suffers from sleep apnea), he or she is usually put on a CPAP machine at night without delay, and until recent years, there wasn’t much else on the radar in the way of alternative sleep apnea treatment with the exception of surgical solutions.

Then, dentists entered the fray, having insight into the concept of occlusion (how your teeth come together), and how the position of the jaw can influence the airway. They began offering oral sleep apnea and anti-snoring devices that helped patients who couldn’t tolerate CPAP treatment and who didn’t want surgery.

Since then, awareness of sleep apnea has been growing slowly but surely as studies such as one in the journal SLEEP in 2008 that showed that loud snorers were 10 times as likely to have atherosclerosis. That’s energized doctors and dentists alike.

“I now always discuss, in my report and with my patients, whether they had loud, steady snoring. If they did, I recommend treatment, usually with an oral appliance, sometimes with CPAP,” said Dr. Lisa Shives, a sleep expert who authored an article about snoring for CNN Health.

“As a dentist, I feel like I have an opportunity to bridge the gap so to speak, and help catch more cases of sleep apnea,” says Corpus Christi sleep dentist Dr. Don Lowrance. “They’re in my chair, and it doesn’t take that much time to ask some simple questions that tell whether or not a sleep study is warranted.”

“‘Has anybody ever told you that you snore?’” asks Omaha sleep apnea dentist, Dr. Roger Roubal. “It’s a simple question, but by asking it, we’re potentially saving lives in the dental office.”

Twenty years ago, dentists formed the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, a dental off-shoot of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, which has been around since 1975, and its numbers have grown steadily since then. The AASM boasts a membership of more than 8,000 physicians, researchers, dentists, and other health care professionals. They are committed to promoting a high standard of care for sleep apnea and other sleep disorders.

Even Dr. Oz has jumped on the sleep apnea bandwagon, recently in his show, explaining the difference between snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. According to Dr. Oz, the best solutions are to lose weight and then consider surgical solutions; secondarily, Dr. Oz mentioned CPAP and finally oral appliances to pull the mandible forward.

But most doctors, much less this small group of dentists, don’t have their own T.V. shows, so their plan of attack to build sleep apnea awareness involves a grassroots campaign, and of course, the Internet. That’s where a Colorado Internet marketing consultant has found a niche market. Jonathan Fashbaugh has been marketing dental practices online since 2004, and in 2009, he discovered that he suffered from sleep apnea. He noticed that his clients were offering dental sleep apnea treatment and began to help these dentists promote their sleep apnea and snoring services more aggressively, alongside their more mainstream cosmetic dentistry services.

“It’s almost funny calling what my clients and I are doing ‘marketing,’” says Fashbaugh. “We’re spreading the word that snoring is a symptom of a deadly disease, and that by treating it, you can vastly improve your quality of life. More than 18 million people suffer from sleep apnea according to the AADSM. In my opinion, sleep apnea is every bit as important as any specific type of cancer or multiple sclerosis. It’s just not as popular a cause.”

“I’m seeing a growing demand in my patient base, but a lot of the appliances I’m making are for CPAP patients that can’t stand their mask and whatnot, so they’re going to Google and looking for other options,” reports Dr. Mark Weiser, a Santa Barbara dentist who treats sleep apnea and snoring.

While not all of Jonathan Fashbaugh’s clients (his company is called Concerto Internet Marketing LLC) offer sleep apnea treatment, the majority do, and are promoting it as a primary service, even going so far as to have websites dedicated to sleep apnea treatment. They’re getting the word out to patients by marketing their practices on the search engines like Google, and through other online tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and an online patient management company called DemandForce. Whatever it takes, this group of dentists and others nationwide are determined to make 2011 a banner year for sleep apnea awareness.

Misericordia Health Centre’s Sleep Disorder Centre currently averages 300 patients and 100 out-patients per month. However, the current number can’t sustain the growing demand for diagnostic testing and treatment.

The clinic will be increasing its home service with another 100 patients.

Based on recent studies, more than 36 percent of Canadians aren’t getting enough sleep. This makes sleep health a serious concern in the region.

Adding to the state of the sleep industry, proposed federal regulations by the transportation industry would require safety sensitive employees be tested for a sleep disorder, more specifically sleep apnea. According to Dr. Gerson, the proposed regulations would require millions of transportation workers be tested for sleep apnea, placed on treatment, and follow treatment guidelines within three months. This increase in patient demand could be considered extremely difficult based on the number of sleep centers across the country combined with the existing backlog of clinical patients.

So what is a sleep center to do? Dr. Gerson says to accept the use of at-home sleep apnea testing. Sleep centers should begin researching devices that can fit into their practice model, market these capabilities to referring physicians, and view this new technology as a way to decrease patient backlog and increase report turnaround time. This approach may be applied in clinical sleep medicine as an alternative to the fixed site sleep center, weight management/wellness programs, or to meet the demands of transportation company workers.

ABOUT UNIVERSITY SERVICES
University Services, a multi-specialty medical services organization, provides sleep diagnostic and treatment to patients through American Academy of Sleep Medicine accredited sleep centers as well as convenient at-home sleep testing. Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (RPSGTs) score the study data and Board Certified Sleep Physicians provide diagnosis and recommendations, providing the highest standard of patient care night after night.