Metabolic Syndrome and Sleep Duration Study

Short sleep time or long sleep time has been linked to metabolic syndrome.  This condition predisposes development of several things including diabetes, stroke and heart disease. These findings are found in a new study entitled, “Association between sleep duration and metabolic syndrome: a cross-sectional study,” which was recently published in BMC Public Health. The researchers at Seoul National University College of …

Obstructive Sleep Apnea linked to Dementia

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and structural changes in the brain are found to be linked.  These changes are seen in early dementia.  This information is found in a study published in the European Respiratory Journal.  In OSA, the airway narrows during sleep, obstructing breathing.  It reduces oxygen levels in the blood which may be linked to a reduction in the size …

Obstructive Sleep Apnea linked to Cancer

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a common disorder that causes snoring, fatigue, daytime tiredness and dangerous pauses in breathing at night, has been linked to cancer. About 28 million Americans have moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea; and about 90 percent of these people are not even aware that they have it. The “Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study” results were published on …

Sleep Problems and Your Sex Life

Sleeping — the most important part of your 24-hour day. It helps restore and maintain our body’s immune, musculoskeletal, and nervous systems. It also helps to maintain mental health including performance at our daily tasks, our mood, our memory, and our sexual health. If you live to be 90 years old, you should have spent 30 years asleep. That’s the …

Sleep Apnea Linked to Gout

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have been found to have an increased risk of gout, according to research results published in an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology.  The researchers were led by E. Roddy, DM, and M. Blagojevic-Bucknall, PhD, at Keele University in the UK An increased risk of gout was found for all OSA patients …

Snoring & Sleep Apnea Treatment

The Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) has been considered the “gold standard” to treat people that have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and is usually the first choice prescribed by medical doctors. But is it the “best” treatment for you?? The patient has to wear a specially designed mask that covers the face or nose or an insert …

Hate Your CPAP?

Of the ten problems listed by Mayo Clinic that people who use CPAP for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) commonly have with their CPAP, none address the power source problem!  Where do you plug the machine in?  Camping, backpacking, hunting, etc. — a small custom-made oral device may be your answer. Below are Mayo Clinic’s list. First is the wrong style …

Is It ADHD or Sleep Apnea?

One of the most commonly diagnosed disorders in children is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is a condition that varies widely in kids. Over 6 million children in the US have been diagnosed with ADHD. There are three types of ADHD: inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and combined. The condition can also vary from mild to severe and can affect adults as …

Can A Baby Have Sleep Apnea?

If you watch a baby sleep, you will see that its breathing is very regular at about 20-30 times a minute.  But be aware that babies can have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). And babies that have sleep apnea do not have reflexes as well developed as adults.  That means that we have to be more careful with our children and …

Silent Strokes & Small Brain Lesions

A study done at Germany’s Dresden University Stroke Center showed that patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may experience an increased risk for silent stroke and small white matter lesions in the brain. Severe OSA patients experience pauses in breathing more that 30 times per hour on average and the length of time of the pauses is 10 seconds …