Sleep Study II

Sleep Study II

I never thought I would be able to sleep with a hose connected to my nose.  I looked like an elephant to myself!  And yet, there I was Wednesday night with all the wires on my body again, only this time with the CPAP attached to my nose.  I have to tell you….it was the best night of sleep I have had in a very long time!  I slept all through the night without waking up and felt more rested than I have in months!  I walked in the door the next morning and my wife sat up and said I sounded ‘different’.  My voice was stronger and more vibrant than she had heard it in months.

Sleep science has made incredible gains over the last 20 years.  Doctors have discovered that sleep apnea can have hugely deleterious effects on your health.  People who snore are at risk.  When you snore it is symptomatic of airway blockage. 

Blockage can be anything from oversize tonsils to lack of muscle tone in your throat.  Whatever the reason, the result is that as your body relaxes during sleep, the blockage starts to occur and you eventually can’t get enough air--you can’t breathe!  The deeper and more restful sleep your body seeks, the more it relaxes.  Unfortunately your body’s desire for oxygen trumps the ability to get to the deepest level of sleep where you get the most restorative rest. The result is that you never get to the ‘REM’ state of sleep where you get the most benefit. 

If you think about it, there are lots of resultant problems:  You never feel truly rested, you fall asleep during the day, you have less energy and therefore exercise less, you are probably overweight because of it.  Overweight people have a cascade of other problems that result from that: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney problems,etc. 

I asked the technician the other night what age groups of people does she see the most.  Her answer was disconcerting to say the least!  She said in the beginning 15-20 years ago she was seeing mostly people 50 and above.  Now she says that 25% of her patients are in their 20s and 30s!  She said that most of those patients are big or overweight.   That is congruent with the national problem we are having with obesity in children and young adults.

Does that mean we are destined to be a nation of sleep deprived, unhealthy people?  People who don’t get enough rest tend to be overweight, have decreased short-term memory and a level of alertness that is below what is needed for us as a nation to be competitive on the world stage.  

Didn’t mean to go so ‘global’ on that jag, but it is kind of scary.  Sleep is still a part of life that is a mystery to most of us.  We spend a third of our lives in that state and aren’t really aware of what is going on during those times….

Anyway, I am looking forward to restful, healthy, positive pressure air clearing away the cobwebs of my mind……….