New professional guidelines have provided further support for what both Dr. Sullivan and his patients already know: oral appliances, which are similar in appearance to an orthodontic retainer or a sports mouthguard, are an excellent treatment option for patients with mild to moderate sleep apnea.

The practice parameters, which were created by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and published in the journal SLEEP, were written by an expert task force and were based on an accompanying review of scientific evidence. Although the parameters recommend continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) as the first line of treatment for patients with severe cases of OSA, they state that oral appliances may benefit a percentage of patients with more severe levels of airway obstruction. The task force also concluded that it is appropriate to use oral appliances to treat snoring patients who do not respond to behavioral interventions such as losing weight or changing sleep positions.

“These guidelines support what I have seen first-hand in my practice,” said Dr. Sullivan. “A professionally fitted oral appliance can be the best treatment option for many people who suffer from sleep-disordered breathing. Oral appliances are less expensive and more convenient than other available treatments, and they have a high rate of success in mild and moderate cases of sleep apnea.”

While snoring is common and often harmless, it can also be a warning sign for OSA, a serious medical condition that affects an estimated 18 million people in the United States. Dangers related to OSA include severe daytime sleepiness, an increased risk of high blood pressure, and higher rates of heart attack and stroke.

“Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the tongue and soft tissues in the back of the throat collapse and block the airway during sleep, which produces pauses in breathing that prevent air from getting to the lungs,” explained Dr. Sullivan. “These pauses can occur a few times or several hundred times per night.”

When worn during sleep, an oral appliance maintains an open and unobstructed airway in the throat by repositioning or stabilizing the lower jaw, tongue, soft palate or uvula. There are many types of oral appliances, with some designed only to treat snoring and others for both snoring and sleep apnea therapy.

The new practice parameters recommended that patients with mild to moderate OSA use an oral appliance when they prefer it to CPAP, which is the most effective treatment for sleep apnea. An oral appliance should also be considered by patients who are unable to successfully use CPAP or who fail surgical intervention. Patients with severe cases of OSA may also benefit from an oral appliance when either CPAP or surgery is unsuccessful.

According to Dr. Sullivan, the most common warning signs for OSA are frequent and loud snoring, daytime sleepiness, and waking up during the night with a choking sound or gasping for breath. Often it is the bed partner of a person with OSA who first recognizes these symptoms. Men and women who are obese are also at a higher risk for this sleep disorder. Medical treatment is necessary to prevent OSA from having a detrimental impact on an individual’s physical health.

“Anyone who suspects that he or she might have sleep apnea should consult a sleep specialist right away,” said Dr. Sullivan. “If testing reveals that sleep apnea is present, then the Northern California Dental Sleep Therapy Center can work with the sleep specialist to determine which treatment option is best for that person.”

Dr. Sullivan is a 1985 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Dentistry. After graduation Dr. Sullivan spent two years in the US Navy Dental Corps where he practiced all aspects of general dentistry. Dr. Sullivan has attended hundreds of hours of advanced postgraduate continuing education courses throughout the country. He has a special interest, expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of facial pain and TMJ disorders as well as in the field of sleep dentistry. He currently limits his practice TMJ disorder diagnosis and therapy and oral appliance therapy for Snoring and Sleep Apnea. He really understands your sleep apnea and snoring problems because he also suffers from obstructive sleep apnea.

The Full Breath Solution is a dental mouthpiece invented by Dr. Bryan Keropian. While continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is the most commonly recommended treatment for sleep apnea, some people find the machine to be very invasive—it uses a mask that can be obstructive for some individuals.

The dental mouthpiece, on the other hand, is worn by sufferers whenever they sleep and is said to be an effective solution for snoring and mild to moderate sleep apnea.

“Rather than pulling the tongue forward by advancing the jaw, the Full Breath Solution works by utilizing a tail that restrains the tongue from moving upward and backward,” said Dr. Keropian. “The tail lightly depresses the tongue and prevents its movement backward, keeping the airway unblocked. The length of the tail is custom-fitted to each person [by] using advanced 3D dental imaging for precise diagnostics to ensure the most comfortable and effective placement.”

The device does not open the jaw of the individual wearing it, which removes most of the associated side effects of other devices.

Source: FleetOwner

Studies have proven that its not only sleep hours that matter, it’s also when and what time you sleep.

Sleep specialist Muqdad Zuriqat says that sleep disturbances occur in hormonal levels. This means that some hormones are only secreted during sleep. Thus, night shifts can disrupt the body clock due to hormonal imbalances.

Working instead of sleeping during night can cause abnormal hormonal secretions, and can even increase a person’s appetite.

Zuriqat says that the best way to avoid sleep disorders is to have a sleep schedule, a cool bedroom, and not to have distracting lights in the bedroom.

Source: KTEN

A team of University of Pennsylvania, University of Rochester and VA Center of Canandaigua researchers conducted a pilot study on the sleep habits of 15 older adults. The adults drank 8 ounces of tart cherry juice beverage (CheriBundi ™ www.cheribundi.com) in the morning and evening for 2 weeks, and a comparable matched juice drink, with no tart cherry juice, for another 2 week period. There were significant reductions in reported insomnia severity and the adults saved about 17 minutes of wake time after going to sleep, on average, when drinking cherry juice daily, compared to when they were drinking the juice drink.

Ongoing sleep issues plague more than 40 million adults and another 20 million experience occasional sleep disruptions, putting their health and wellbeing at risk, and leaving many Americans on a quest for sleep solutions, according to the National Institutes of Health. Americans spend more than $84 million on over-the-counter sleep aids each year(2).

The researchers suspect tart cherries’ natural benefits could be due in part to their relatively high content of melatonin – a natural antioxidant in cherries with established ability to help moderate the body’s sleep-wake cycle. Produced naturally by the body in small amounts, melatonin plays a role in inducing sleepiness at night and wakefulness during the day.

Russel J. Reiter, Ph.D, a biomedical scientist at the University of Texas Health Science Center and one of the world’s leading authorities on melatonin, says while melatonin supplement pills have been heavily promoted as a sleep aid, foods such as cherries – available year-round as dried, frozen and juice – may be a better alternative for boosting the body’s own supply of melatonin.

“When consumed regularly, tart cherries may help regulate the body’s natural sleep cycle and increase sleep efficiency, including decreasing the time it takes to fall asleep,” says Reiter.  “And, because cherries are so rich in other antioxidants, such as anthocyanins, you get other important health benefits.”

The Power of Red

Not only is melatonin linked to sleep, but research suggests melatonin can be a powerful antioxidant, helping reduce age-related inflammation and fighting free radicals in the body. Beyond melatonin, cherries are packed with other powerful antioxidant compounds, including anthocyanins – the compounds responsible for cherries’ bright red color. A growing body of science indicates that cherries may help reduce inflammation, aid muscle recovery and reduce risk factors of age-related conditions.

To learn more about choosing cherries and for easy-to-follow recipes, visit choosecherries.com.

The Cherry Marketing Institute (CMI) is an organization funded by North American tart cherry growers and processors.  CMI’s mission is to increase the demand for tart cherries through promotion, market expansion, product development and research.  For more information on the science supporting the unique health benefits of cherries and for cherry recipes and menu ideas, visit www.choosecherries.com.

Sources:

1. Pigeon WR, Carr M, Gorman C, Perlis ML. Effects of tart cherry juice beverage on the sleep of older adults with insomnia: a pilot study. Journal of Medicinal Food. 2010;13:579-583.
2. Hossain JL, Shapiro CM. The prevalence, cost implications, and management of sleep disorders: an overview.  Sleep and Breathing. 2002;6:85-102.

Cooke has a service dog named McGovern, but she is not physically challenged in any way.
She just sleep walks.

She has walked out of her home during sleep, which is seriously dangerous. That’s why she decided to get McGovern.

Now, before sleeping, she fastens a harness to McGovern and the other end to herself. When she sleep walks, McGovern guides her and even licks her face to wake her up.

“He saved me from getting seriously hurt,” said Cooke. “I got to the point where I was breaking a lot of bones.”

Most of the time, professionals would advise people with particular conditions not to sleep with their pets. However, each case is still subjective. Selected approaches work for some people and don’t work for others.

Cooke credits her improvement to McGovern and Canine Partners for Life, a non-profit organization that trained the dog.

“They changed my life,” comments Cooke. “They gave it back to me.”

Source: MyFoxHouston

Common symptoms are pauses in breathing during sleep, along with heavy snoring. People who suffer from this sleep disorder usually wake up because they feel they are being choked during sleep. Other symptoms include: daytime drowsiness, headaches, memory loss, and difficulty in concentrating.

What can you do if you suffer from OSA? Well, people usually undergo continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatments. Apart from that, there are several lifestyle changes that can greatly reduce the condition’s effects.

First is losing weight. OSA is often linked to obesity. Excess fat can cause the walls of the trachea to thicken, resulting in an airway obstruction. This causes the temporary lapses in breathing during sleep.

Another tip is to avoid alcohol. Alcohol consumption makes it harder for the throat to remain open, especially when you’re sleeping on your side.

Stop smoking. Not only does nicotine stimulate your body, it can actually worsen your sleep apnea if you already have it.

Children who are sleep-deprived often exhibit ADD symptoms and they become misdiagnosed. OSA is often related to behavioral problems in the work place, materialized by lower productivity and mood disorders.

To treat OSA, experts are now advising the most unlikely expert: the dentist!

Some experts advise seeing a dentist rather than a primary car physician. Dentists and dental hygienists reportedly have a better chance of diagnosing the disorder compared to other primary care specialists. However, dentists are not board-certified to diagnose OSA, but they do offer some screening provisions. If diagnosed, a patient should head to the closest accredited sleep center.

Swollen tongue, high-blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, enlarged tonsils, and obesity are all possible symptoms of OSA.

A new study proposes that throat exercises could help people who have sleep apnea.

“A good deal of the problem relates to how the muscles relax when we fall asleep,” explained Dr. Mike Nelson from the Shawnee Mission Medical Center. “A good deal of the problem relates to how the muscles relax when we fall asleep. All of the muscles in our body will get less toned as we fall asleep and the muscles of your throat, that help keep the throat pen, are similar to every other muscle in your body.”

The study focused on individuals with moderate sleep apnea. Dr. Nelson says that throat exercises will not remove the condition entirely, but it significantly reduces its severity.

He described some of the exercises: “Suck in your cheeks. Another one is to take your finger, stick it in your mouth and suck in very hard. Another one is to take and smile with half your face. Each of those (exercises) use another set of muscles.”

Typically, sleep apnea patients are treated with CPAP machines. While throat exercises are proven to work, it still hasn’t established itself as a viable replacement for CPAP treatments.

Source: KMBC

Dr. David Baratz, a Phoenix-based sleep specialist, says that paused intervals of breathing during sleep is caused by the tongue—it flops and becomes an obstruction for the airway.

In a recent study, published in The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, experts say tongue exercise can reduce the effects of sleep apnea by as much as 40 percent.

Other experts even recommend playing the didgeridoo, an Australian flute-like instrument.

“It is an instrument that actually produces a very long bass-like tone that increases the strength of the tongue and actually changes the airway shape and allows the airway to remain open during sleep,” explained Dr. Baratz.

However, he still believes that the CPAP is the best treatment for sleep apnea.

He further explained: “The problem with doing these exercises is that you have to do them frequently — at last three to four times a week in the correct manner — and as soon as you stop doing them, the tongue obviously will lose its muscle tone and will revert back to the old way that it was and the old severity of your apnea.”

Source: KTAR.com

The company provides comprehensive OSA therapy in over 90 communities with board-certified sleep experts handling care, diagnosis, therapy, and clinical support.

“Most obstructive sleep apnea patients have visited a doctor or sleep center and have used CPAP machines and masks before,” explained Timothy Lebens, VP of marketing for
CPAP-supplies.com. “They don’t need a lot of hand-holding or medical direction because they have already been instructed in the proper use of the equipment. They will find they can order the exact same supplies online with a significant savings.”
CPAP-supplies.com has board-certified respiratory therapists that are readily available to answer patient questions.

“Our objective is to provide optimum solutions for patients at the lowest cost,” explained Lebens. “We can provide the same products and services without having to provide the intensive level of care of a sleep center.”

Source: Truckinginfo