June 29, 2012

Women and Snoring

Snoring is common and it is not restricted to just men. Women snore even though most don’t like to admit it. Snoring is easily treatable but because it can be a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea you should be screened for this serious sleep breathing disorder before seeking snoring treatment. WebMD has a video called Women Who Snore that is […]
June 22, 2012

Dental Sleep Medicine Meetings An Educational Experience

The American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) 21st annual meeting was held  in Boston, MA June 7-9, 2012 and as always, attending this meeting was an unbelievable educational experience for all. The meeting brought together some of the country’s most distinguished practitioners of dental sleep medicine and sessions focused on current research in the field as well as the […]
June 21, 2012

Diabetes, Your Dentist and Sleep Apnea

Dentists and diabetes patients have an important relationship because of the link between oral health and blood sugar control. A new link discovered between obstructive sleep apnea and diabetic neuropathy will have us working even closer with our diabetic patients to maintain their overall health. A British study reported that patients with obstructive sleep apnea and diabetes were much more […]
June 13, 2012

Treat Your Sleep Apnea – Improve Your Sex Life

Treating your sleep apnea can reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke, give you more energy and new research shows it can improve your sex life. No, it wasn’t just because the snoring stopped! Men who have sleep apnea often complain of erectile dysfunction as well. Researchers at the Walter Reed Medical Center followed a group of men who […]
June 12, 2012

Does Sleep Apnea Put You At Higher Risk For Cancer?

Two new studies have discovered that sleep apnea patients have a higher risk of cancer. These are the first studies to show a link between the sleep breathing disorder and cancer in humans. Sleep apnea is a fairly common disorder that causes snoring and lapses in breathing during sleep. It is these stoppages of breathing during sleep that worry doctors […]
June 4, 2012

Lacking Energy? Check For Sleep Apnea

If you find yourself lacking energy to get through your day or if you experience daytime sleepiness you need to schedule an appointment to get checked for obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is a common sleep breathing disorder but the vast majority of sufferers have not been diagnosed. Obstructive sleep apnea has been linked to heart disease and stroke. […]
May 15, 2012

Sleepwalking More Common Than You Think

Sleepwalking is usually portrayed as a rare occurrence but a study published in Neurology suggests that it is more common than we think. According to researchers 8.5 million American adults have experienced sleepwalking. People who suffer from sleep apnea, depression or obsessive compulsive disorders are at higher than average risk. Some medications, including over-the-counter sleeping pills and antidepressants can also […]
May 9, 2012

Sleep Necessary Part of Controlling Your Weight

French scientists have shown that problems with a gene responsible for our internal body clocks can lead to poor weight control. Watching your sleep rhythms may be just as important for weight loss as watching your calorie intake according to Dr. Etienne Challet. “It is now clear that impairment of daily rhythms such as shift-work, exposure to artificial lighting or […]
May 1, 2012

Treating High Blood Pressure And Sleep Apnea

Have you been diagnosed with high blood pressure (hypertension) but treatments just don’t seem to be working? You might want to get checked for obstructive sleep apnea. It is estimated that 40% of people with untreated sleep apnea will develop high blood pressure and 30% of people who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure have sleep apnea but most […]
April 16, 2012

Are You Losing Sleep Because of a Snoring Spouse?

A snoring spouse is no joke. Losing sleep because of a bed-partner that snores actually has been given a name by sleep researchers – SAS or Spousal Arousal Syndrome. The health consequences of Spousal Arousal Syndrome can be significant. Spouses lose an average of two hours of sleep per night because of the snoring partner and what sleep they do […]
April 4, 2012

Truckers Asleep At The Wheel

If the thought of the trucker driving that 18-wheeler coming up behind you on the highway suddenly falling asleep frightens you – it should. A Texas woman just won a $3.25 million lawsuit against a trucking company because one of their drivers fell asleep at the wheel and rear ended a stopped car at 65 mph – the woman’s husband […]
March 22, 2012

Silent Stroke and Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea has long been linked to stroke risk but it is surprisingly common among silent stroke sufferers. A silent stroke is one that has no visible or outward symptoms and most people don’t even realize they have experienced a stroke. These strokes are typically discovered during a brain scan but are a serious risk. Silent strokes can cause […]
March 17, 2012

How Do You Know You Have Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

Did you wake up feeling exhausted? Have you ever fallen asleep during a meeting, watching TV, or at a stop light? Has anyone told you that you snore really loudly during sleep? If you answered yes to any of these questions you may have a sleep disorder known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA causes people to stop breathing during […]
March 15, 2012

Treating Sleep Apnea May Prevent Heart Failure

Moderate to severe sleep apnea has been associated with possible heart failure because of structural and functional changes in the heart. Treating obstructive sleep apnea may help reverse this damage according to a study reported in the online journal Circulation:Heart Failure. The study looked at 40 patients who were in good health but had a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea […]
March 9, 2012

Change Your Clocks March 11th

March 11th is the day we change our clocks for Daylight Savings Time – and lose an hour of sleep. Every year when we “Spring forward” it seems to take a couple of weeks to shake off the effects of losing that one hour of sleep. Sleep is considered one of the three pillars of good health. The two others, […]
March 7, 2012

How Sleep Apnea Affects Your Health

Obstructive sleep apnea is a disease that is both under-diagnosed and under-treated. Untreated obstructive sleep apnea has many effects on your health and quality of life. Which of these common effects are you experiencing? Headaches Depression Weight gain Inflammation and chronic pain Nighttime bathroom visits Heart palpitations and arrhythmias Poor memory and decision making Diabetes Heart disease and stroke Erectile […]
March 1, 2012

Sleeping Pill Use Increases Risk of Death

Using sleeping pills to get a good night’s sleep may be hazardous to your health. We are learning just how important sleep is for our overall health and well-being and our lifestyles are making getting that sleep harder and harder. More and more people are relying on sleeping pills to get to sleep or to stay asleep – about $2 […]
February 25, 2012

Can't Lose Weight? Sleep More

Having trouble losing weight? Getting too little sleep makes you more hungry than normal according to a small study from Uppsala University in Sweden. The researchers used functional MRI to look at the brains of 12 normal sized men while they looked at pictures of food. They completed the functional MRI twice, one after the men had a full night […]
February 7, 2012

Sleep Problems Affect Prostate Cancer Risks

Can sleep problems really be linked to prostate cancer risk? According to a study done in Iceland, men with the most trouble sleeping were twice as likely to develop prostate cancer as those without any sleep disruptions. The study primarily dealt with severe insomnia. This is not the first study to look at the relationship between sleep disruption and cancer. […]
January 31, 2012

The What and Why of Sleep Apnea

Two common questions I hear when talking to patients about sleep breathing disorders are: What is obstructive sleep apnea? Why is this happening to me?   Sleep apnea is a condition in which the upper airway collapses during sleep. This causes the sleeper to literally stop breathing. Each of these stoppages is called an apnea. Apneas can occur a few […]