Sleep disorders center can help you get your ZZZZZZ

By Jan Gaillard

Correspondent

SUFFOLK

Do you spend your days yawning, even though you're not burning the candle at both ends?

If you sleep through alarms, and nod off during meetings, it could mean you are in the majority of folks who feel sleep-deprived.

In a recent Sleep in America poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, about two-thirds of Americans say they don't sleep well at least three nights a week.

And most are getting less than seven hours sleep each night.

Sentara Obici's Sleep Disorders Center can be a source of help.

The center opened in 1991. Since then, thousands of patients have been treated at the center, which has four beds, said Leah Pixley, coordinator of the center.

Sentara operates five of 11 sleep centers statewide that are accredited by the American Academy of Sleep.

"We treat patients from 12 years and up, and we do about 100 studies a month," Pixley said.

"The more the public becomes aware that of the disorders of sleep and that they can easily be tested, the more they can do to help."

"Cookie-cutter medicine," Pixley said, is not an answer to sleep problems.

And, she said, if a patient needs to use a sleep aid for more than two weeks, it's time to see a physician.

Insurance usually pays for the work done at the sleep center.

Sleep disorders can cause fatigue, irritability, depression, reduced attention, concentration and memory, more frequent illnesses, lost productivity and workplace mishaps or car crashes, according to information from the sleep center.

"The way the center works is that the majority of patients come to see a sleep specialist first," Pixley said.

"It's up to the specialist to decide whether or not a sleep study is indicated."

Sleep blockers

"Sleep hygiene" is the first thing evaluated.

"That's like going to bed with the television on, or drinking caffeine," she said.

"It could be medication, or foods. Sometimes it's just bad habits that can be taken care of easily."

For others, a polysomnogram, or overnight sleep study, is the next course of action.

"Brain waves are monitored, heart, oxygen levels, and a number of aspects, and then the data is compiled shortly thereafter," said Pixley.

"That decides whether the patient comes back, and what the treatment modality is."

Usually by the time patients check in for a night at the sleep center, "they think they will have trouble falling asleep, but they are so sleep-deprived that they don't even realize it," she said.

"Sleeping is something you can't fake, too, because there are certain brain waves and it is very obvious to the technician. You can't play possum."

Some common sleep disorders, according to Pixley, are sleep apnea, narcolepsy, chronic insomnia and restless legs syndrome.

Sleep apnea causes a person to stop breathing briefly and then start again many times during the night, while the symptom of narcolepsy is falling asleep many times a day.

Chronic insomnia hinders falling asleep and staying asleep day or night, while restless legs syndrome causes creepy-crawly feelings in the limbs and lost sleep because of it.

Comfy beds at the center promote successful sleep studies, and the problem can usually be pinpointed in an overnight stay, Pixley said.

"It's not the quantity of sleep you get as much as the quality. If you stay in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is not restive because it is active sleep, you wake up feeling tired. Also, sedated sleep is not restorative sleep."

The more common finding for many patients is sleep apnea, which is recognizable by snoring and disrupted breathing when the airway becomes blocked by the tongue or relaxed throat muscle.

"Most need a constant positive airway pressure machine," said Pixley.

The machine provides "a sensation of the wind blowing," with the patient breathing against it.

Jim MacCord, 50, wakes up with a bounce in his step, compared to how he felt before he began using a constant positive airway pressure machine about two years ago.

"My wife says this is a lot better than my snoring," said MacCord, a Suffolk resident who is also a registered nurse.

"I used to be tired all the time, and now I pretty much sleep through the night. After a couple of years, I don't want to sleep without it now. I really have sleep apnea if I don't use it."

Going through the sleep study was easy, said MacCord.

"They hooked me up to monitors, and if I had to go to the bathroom, they said they would come disconnect me," he said.

"I decided I couldn't do the (breathing) mask, but they gave me a 'nasal pillow' that just goes at the bottom of your nose, and it's not in the way at all."

The sound of the machine at night is soothing, like the hum of an aquarium, he said.

"You get used to it. If I travel, it comes with me. The insurance took care of it and it makes my sleep so much better."

For those who think they have sleep disorders, "write things down, and keep a diary if you think you have problems," Pixley said.

"We've got a great staff here with a lot of experience that have been doing this a long time who can help.

"We all need to be aware of what our bodies are telling us, and we can ward off potential problems before they get to be real problems."

Jan Gaillard, jangaillard007@yahoo.com