Why can't I sleep?
September 24th, 2015
The Washington Post recently published an article discussing the negative impact sleep apnea may have on your health. The following is an excerpt of the article, “Why I Can’t Get a Good Night’s Sleep,” written by Barbara S. Moffet and found in the Health & Science section on September 14, 2015:
‘According to the National Institutes of Health, some 70 million Americans are “poor sleepers,” and the ramifications of inadequate shut-eye can range from grumpiness and lack of focus to heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and even a diminished life expectancy.
Research published this year in the journal Neurology concluded that people with sleep apnea — a disorder that causes a person to repeatedly stop breathing during the night, rousing them from sleep — developed problems with cognition about 10 years earlier than other people.
“It’s a much more severe disease than people recognize,” says pulmonologist Richard A. Hoffman, medical director of the Sleep Centers. “Sleep apnea is now being correlated with high blood pressure, heart rhythm problems, stroke, decreased immunity and even cancer.” ’
To read the full article, click here.
There are treatment options available to treat sleep apnea, including a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device, which delivers air pressure through a mask a person wears during sleep, and dental appliances designed to keep airways open.