Physicians are becoming more aware of the way that poor sleeping affects people's quality of life, performance and the way they feel about themselves.
Lack of proper sleep can be catastrophically dangerous, added James M. Walker, director of the Intermountain Sleep Disorders Center at LDS Hospital.Walker and Dr. Robert J. Farney, medical director of the clinic, will answer questions phoned in about sleep disorders, today during the monthly Deseret News/Intermountain Health Care Hotline from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"If you take a look at almost all of the major disasters - whether it's Exxon Valdez, Chernobyl, Three-Mile Island, as well as Challenger - all of these disasters related to sleep, wakefulness, doing things at the wrong time of the night," Walker said.
Anyone deprived of enough sleep and required to monitor a situation that may be boring most of the time, such as watching the dials of a nuclear power plant or driving down a freeway, may be in danger of dozing off, sleep experts agree.
Probably the most common cause of daytime sleepiness is sleep apnea, which disrupts the victim's sleep - often without the person's being aware of it.
"That's where a person stops breathing for a period, 10 seconds or longer, during the night. It's much more common than we ever expected."
Walker said an estimated 3 percent to 5 percent of Americans have sleep apnea. He calculated this means about 18 million have it in this country.
"The consequences of that can be really severe," including heart failure, hypertension and daytime drowsiness.
Several treatment strategies for sleep apnea are available. Sometimes surgery is required, if the problem is caused by a broken nose that has not healed properly.
"What's happening is that the airway is closing down, so . . . of course there's no air that can go down into the lung." The sleeper tries to breathe, air doesn't get through. After 10 to 20 seconds, the person awakens briefly, usually with a snort, resumes breathing normally and returns to sleep.
"They'll be snoring and then the snoring will cease, and then they'll end up almost snorting or gasping."
Besides interrupting sleep, the disorder causes the person's blood oxygen content to drop.
"Sometimes people can have 300 or 400 of these a night, and probably as many people die from cardiovascular (problems) associated with sleep apnea as die from breast cancer," Walker said.
A common cure is called continuous positive airway pressure, or "nasal CPAP." The device, connected to a blower, goes over or into the nose and forces in air. Ordinary air is used, not pure oxygen.
The nasal CPAP "just gently forces air down the airway. You have kind of a pneumatic splint that opens it up, and they breathe normally."
Normal sleeping is restored, and the patient's blood oxygen stays at normal levels.
"Their sleep is consolidated. They sleep very soundly, and it makes quite a difference in the way they sleep and also in the way they feel during the daytime," Walker said.
Before nasal CPAP was pioneered in the 1980s, a more radical approach might have been required, such as tracheotomy.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Free hotline offers tips on sleeping disorders
Help with sleeping disorders may be only a telephone call away, as two professionals answer questions from the public today during the Deseret News/Intermountain Health Care Hotline.
Dr. Robert J. Farney, medical director of the Intermountain Sleep Disorders Center at LDS Hospital, and James M. Walker, director of the center, will be on the phones from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., answering questions about sleep disorders. Causes, signs and cures are certain to be major topics.
From anywhere in the region, even out of state, people can call free by dialing 1-800-925-8177.
The health hotline is a free public service provided by the Deseret News and Intermountain Health Care.