November 8th, 2011 amogell
The symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea can sometimes mimic those of mental illness – lethargy, irritability, forgetfulness. When those suffering from depression or another form of mental illness also have obstructive sleep apnea it can make the mental illness worse and possibly contribute to manic episodes. Unfortunately, screening for sleep disorders in psychiatric patients is rarely done.
A new study from the University of Utah suggests that using a simple questionnaire to screen patients may be helpful. “Sleep problems are so integral to psychiatric problems, we wanted to make sure that along with psychiatric disorders we were treating obstructive sleep apnea too,” said Dr. Vanita Jain. Because many medications used in treating psychiatric conditions are also respiratory depressants it is especially important for these patients to be screened.
The questions asked included: Do you snore loudly? Do you often feel tired, fatigued or sleepy during the day? Has anyone observed you stop breathing during your sleep? Do you have high blood pressure? Are you over 50 years of age? Are you male? Other questions include a large neck circumference and high body mass index (BMI).
If you answer yes to several of these questions you may be suffering from obstructive sleep apnea or another sleep breathing disorder. To schedule your consultation please contact StoneRidge Dental Care in Gahanna, OH today at 614-476-6696. We will discuss testing for a correct diagnosis and treatment options available.
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November 4th, 2011 amogell
Sleep disordered breathing such as sleep apnea has been shown to increase the risk of heart arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation (afib). A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed that the risk of having an abnormal heartbeat were 18 times higher immediately after an apnea episode compared to during normal sleep breathing.
The apnea did not have to be severe to raise the risk of afib. “Our focus was on individuals with mild to moderate apnea since it is those people we could compare periods of sleep where there were no apneas to periods where apneas occurred,” said coauthor Dr. Susan Redline of Case Western Reserve University. This work “underscores the tight link between heart disease and sleep apnea dn the need to further evaluate the impact of sleep apnea treatment on reducing heart disease burden.”
Sleep apnea treatment is vital for maintaining a healthy heart. The gold standard for treating the disease is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), however studies show that about half of patients discontinue CPAP within one year and those that do continue average only about 3 hours per night. Another treatment that has been declared effective by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine is oral appliance therapy available from a dentist who is trained in dental sleep medicine. An oral appliance is a small mouthpiece that is worn while sleeping and it works by gently placing your lower jaw in a position that keeps the airway open during sleep. No more blocked airway – no more apnea events.
To find out more about oral appliance therapy to treat your sleep apnea please contact StoneRidge Dental Care of Columbus, OH at 614-476-6696 today.
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October 27th, 2011 amogell
Former Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell talked to Sports Illustrated about the twists and turns his career has taken. One important item that came out of the discussion – Russell suffers from obstructive sleep apnea.
“In the NFL, my first year, I had to be there at 6:30 before practice and be on the treadmill for an hour. Then meetings come, I sit down, eat my fruit. We watch a film and maybe I got tired. Coach Flip (quarterback coach John DeFillippo) pulled me aside and said, ‘What are you doing for nightlife?’ I said, ‘Coach, I’m just chilling.’ He said, ‘I need to get you checked out.’ I did the sleep test and they said I had apnea.”
Sleep apnea causes extreme daytime fatigue and sleepiness which can cause anyone’s work performance to suffer — not only the performance of world class athletes. Decision making abilities and physical coordination are adversely affected by this disease in which the sleeper stops breathing during sleep. Breathing stops because the soft tissues of the mouth and throat relax and block the airway. This can occur dozens of times each night and each episode causes the sleeper to briefly waken, gasp for breath and return to sleep. The following day they are exhausted but have no recollection of the breathing problems of the night before.
Mr. Russell is not the first NFL player to be diagnosed with sleep apnea, nor will he be the last. What is so surprising – these athletes are constantly supervised by physicians and these sleep disorders are usually not diagnosed for quite some time.
Most of us don’t have physically demanding jobs, nor do we have a medical staff on call. What we do have is our sense of well-being. If you have been feeling unusually sleepy during the day, if you no longer have the energy that you used to, if you are gaining weight and especially if you have been told you snore, you may suffer from sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea has been linked to heart disease, stroke, increased risk of accidents and obesity. Diagnosis and treatment are readily available including treatment using an oral appliance. Please contact StoneRidge Dental Care to arrange your sleep apnea consultation today. Conveniently located to serve the Columbus, OH area we can be reached at 614-476-6696.
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October 20th, 2011 amogell
OSA stands for obstructive sleep apnea which is a condition associated with snoring and daytime sleepiness. OSA sufferers stop breathing many times each night because their airways collapse and stop the passage of air. It is estimated that almost 90% of people who suffer from this disease have not been diagnosed.
A group of researchers in India found that OSA patients were three times more likely to suffer from obesity, hypertension, diabetes and a condition called hyperlipidemia. People who hae hyperlipidemia have high cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The results of the study strongly suggest that sleep disordered breathing such as OSA is strongly associated with metabolic syndrome.
Weight loss has been shown to lessen the severity of OSA but we all know how difficult it is and how long it takes. When OSA is diagnosed the first therapy offered to patients is typically CPAP. Many patients find sleeping with the device difficult and abandon the machine and treatment of their OSA. Another highly effective treatment is oral appliance therapy from a dentist who is specially trained in Dental Sleep Medicine. An oral appliance is a small mouthpiece worn during sleep that allows the airway to remain open. Oral appliances reduce or eliminate snoring and apnea events.
To schedule your consultation please contact Dr. Mark Levy in Gahanna, OH at 614-476-6696 today. Your health depends on getting a good night’s sleep.
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October 4th, 2011 amogell
Gastro-esophageal reflux disease, more commonly known as acid reflux, is common among patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Choosing to treat obstructive sleep apnea with oral appliance therapy may allow patients to “kill two birds with one stone” as they say. It appears that using an oral appliance may also reduce acid reflux symptoms.
A small study looked at dental patients who wanted to use an oral appliance to treat their obstructive sleep apnea. Patients answered a questionnaire about acid reflux symptoms. Once patients began using the oral appliance they were given the same questionnaire. Using the oral appliance reduced the amount of acid reflux symptoms reported. The reason why an oral appliance would help reduce acid reflux is unclear due to the nature of the study.
Untreated obstructive sleep apnea is not only linked to acid reflux. Symptoms and side effects include daytime sleepiness, lack of energy, weight gain, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and a high incidence of accidents. If you snore loudly, feel exhausted all of the time and are steadily gaining weight you may have obstructive sleep apnea.
To find out how you can get diagnosed and to discuss your treatment options please contact Mark Levy, D.D.S. in Gahanna, OH at 614-476-6696 today.
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October 1st, 2011 amogell
I have talked about the health hazards that come along with not getting enough sleep or when living with an untreated sleep breathing disorder like obstructive sleep apnea. A new research study reinforces the idea that getting a good night’s sleep is important.
Resarchers reported in the Journal of Experimental Psychology that people may be learning while they are sleeping. This is an unconscious form of memory that is still not understood. According to Kimberly Fenn of Michigan State University “We speculate that we may be investigating a separate form of memory, distinct from traditional memory systems. There is substantial evidence that during sleep, your brain in processing information without your awareness and this ability may contribute to memory in a waking state.” The results of this sleep memory seem to vary greatly from person to person but that most people show improvement.
“This is the first step to investigate whether or not this new memory construct is related to outcomes such as classroom learning” said Finn. She continued “simply improving your sleep could potentially improve your performance int he classroom.”
The majority of Americans report that they don’t feel that they are getting enough sleep each week. Reasons for this vary but for an increasing number of people the reason is obstructive sleep apnea. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea may feel groggy and sleepy during the day, even following a full night of sleep. This is because their sleep has been disrupted during the night by stoppages in breathing which then cause them to waken briefly. Sleep is fragmented and the body is not receiving the oxygen it needs. Left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea has been linked to heart disease, stroke and a greatly increased risk for accident. Obstructive sleep apnea can be treated using an oral appliance created by a specially trained dentist thus avoiding the masks and hoses associated with CPAP.
If you would like more information about oral appliance therapy or would like to schedule a consultation to see if oral appliance therapy is right for you please contact Dr. Mark Levy in Gahanna, OH today at 614-476-6696.
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September 23rd, 2011 amogell
Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night to visit the bathroom? This is called nocturia and new research suggests that nighttime urination frequency can help doctors screen for sleep apnea. Nocturia and sleep apnea have been linked before but this is the first time researchers have sought to discover whether it can predict if someone suffers from sleep apnea.
The researchers looked at over one thousand patient charts from two New Mexico sleep centers. Data collected from the patients included nocturia, snoring, weight, sex and age. Snoring is typically a sign that someone may have sleep apnea but it turns out that self-reported nocturia was just about as accurate in predicting who would test positive for sleep apnea.
If you are waking in the morning feeling just as tired as when you went to sleep, if you snore or if you find yourself waking throughout the night to visit the bathroom you may suffer from sleep apnea. Treating your condition can give you back your energy and help you avoid the serious side effects that come with untreated sleep apnea such as high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
Oral appliance therapy treats obstructive sleep apnea without masks or hoses. A small, custom mouthpiece is worn during sleep and gently places the jaw in a position that keep the airway open during sleep. No more snoring and no more stoppages of breath.
Please contact our Columbus, OH office at 614-476-6696 today to find out more about oral appliance therapy for treating obstructive sleep apnea.
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September 22nd, 2011 amogell
Three out of four high school students report that they don’t get enough sleep. Now researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have shown that obese teenagers who don’t get the proper amount of sleep may have changes in blood sugar levels and insulin secretion. This study suggests that these teens may be able to prevent or slow the development of type 2 diabetes by getting proper amounts of sleep.
According to Dr. Dorit Koren “Our study found to keep glucose levels stable, the optimal amount of sleep for teenagers is 7.5 to 8.5 hours per night”. She added that research in adults has also shown a link between sleep deprivation and increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
Both teens and adults are missing out on proper amounts of sleep due to school and work schedules, extracurricular activities and the lure of the internet. For teens it may be one last look at Facebook or their Twitter feed before bed — which turns into hours of electronic chats with friends. Adults may be tempted to check their email one last time and end up surfin’ the night away.
For many, especially those who are overweight or obese, sleep can be disrupted by conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea. Even if the proper amount of time is spent in bed, the night time awakenings caused by sleep apnea do not allow for a healthy, full night of sleep.
For more information about sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea and how oral appliance therapy can help you breathe all night long please contact StoneRidge Dental Care in Gahanna, OH at 614-476-6696. A good night’s sleep leads to a healthier life.
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September 14th, 2011 amogell
You might have inherited your red hair and green eyes from dear old dad but his sleep disorder could run in family as well. A study presented at the 4th World Congress on Sleep Medicine showed that the risk of insomnia was 67% higher in patients who had family members who were also insomniacs.
The study was done using a survey of 3485 people over the course of 12 months. The data showed that 40% of study participants had at least one family member who suffered from insomnia. About three-fourths had one insomniac in the family but some had two (21%) or even three (3%). The respondents risk of insomnia increased according to the number of family members with the disorder. According to researcher Charles M. Morin, “There is very probably a genetic factor behind the family aggregation we observed. However, we don’t know if the mechanism is a physiological process that interferes with sleep or a predisposition to anxiety.” Dr. Morin continued “When we see a member of the family react strongly to an episode of insomnia, we may have the same reaction when faced with the problem ourselves. Our study’s results suggest that early psychological treatment could benefit people from families with chronic insomnia sufferers.”
Patients who suffer from insomnia realize why they feel so tired. Patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea wake each morning feeling unrested and groggy and do not know the reason for their chronic fatigue. If you no longer have the energy you once had, feel exhausted after a full night of sleep or suffer from frequent headaches you may have obstructive sleep apnea.
Please contact StoneRidge Dental Care today at 614-476-6696 to schedule your screening appointment. Once obstructive sleep apnea has been diagnosed treatment using an oral appliance may be all that is needed to allow you a full night of restful sleep.
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August 30th, 2011 amogell
Researchers have discovered that getting enough of a specific type of sleep is linked to high blood pressure risk in older men. The slow wave sleep is one of the deeper stages of sleep and individuals in this stage are very hard to wake up. According to researchers from Harvard Medical school elderly men who are not getting enough of this slow wave sleep have dramatically higher risk of high blood pressure (hypertension).
The reasons for older men having decreased slow wave sleep include shorter sleep times, more frequent wakening during the night and severe sleep apnea. Susan Redline, MD and Professor Peter C. Farrell said “Our study shows for the first time that poor quality sleep, reflected by reduced slow wave sleep puts individuals at significantly increased risk of developing high blood pressure, and that this effect appears to be independent of the influence of breathing pauses during sleep.”
Researchers also explained that slow wave sleep has been linked to memory and learning as well as diabetes and metabolism problems. “People should recognize that sleep, diet and physical activity are critical to health…Poor sleep may be a powerful predictor for adverse health outcomes” said researchers.
If you are experiencing sleep problems such as snoring or if you have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea but are not treating your disease because you hate the CPAP machine please contact StoneRidge Dental Care in Columbus at 614-476-6696 today to find out more about oral appliance therapy for obstructive sleep apnea.
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