According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, CPAP is used to keep your airway open as you sleep by providing you with a steady stream of air pressure.  It keeps your tissues in your throat from collapsing and thereby ensures that you get the oxygen you need.

Results of the study show that while weight loss and surgery to remove tissue in the throat  may sometimes effectively treat sleep apnea, the evidence behind these treatments isn’t as strong as that which supports the usage of CPAP, according to the team from the Tufts Medical Center Evidence-Based Practice Center, which prepared the report.

About 12 million Americans are known to have obstructive sleep apnea, and it’s likely that millions more are undiagnosed, according to the AHRQ. The condition, caused by the repeated collapse and blockage of the upper airway during sleep, leads to a cessation in breathing that usually occurs many times through the night typically 5-100 times per hour!

The main symptoms of sleep apnea are loud snoring and feeling very sleepy during the day. Although, many patients, even those with severe OSA, can deny daytime sleepiness. Your bed partner may notice periods when you stop breathing during sleep. Other symptoms may include tossing and turning during sleep, frequent awakenings during the night, waking up with a headache, and feeling irritated and unrested.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Obstructive sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and increased risk of accidents because of daytime fatigue.

Anyone from age 2 to 92 can suffer from obstructive sleep apnea. It was commonly thought to be a disorder of over-weight, middle-aged men, but sleep specialists are revising their opinion. Thin people often have a long narrow pharynx and that predisposes them to sleep apnea. Children have tonsils that are large relative to their small throats and they can have sleep apnea that leads to symptoms of ADHD, learning difficulties and psychiatric problems such as depression. Pregnant women often develop snoring and sleep apnea and there is ongoing research into the dangers this might pose to mothers and their unborn children.  Post-menopausal women have the same risk as men.

If you are sleepy during the day despite adequate sleep time, then sleep apnea should be investigated, especially if you’re told that you snore or stop breathing at night. Studies report that anywhere from 4 percent-24 percent of men suffer from OSA, and 2–15 percent of women. Both sexes over the age of 65 have a rate of 20–25 percent.

Only a sleep specialist can determine if you are suffering from OSA, and what the best method of treatment is for you.  Contact Northshore Sleep Medicine at 847.674.3600 if you believe you or your bed partner are suffering from Obstructive Sleep

The study involved 308 children between the ages of 4 and 10. Children’s sleep time was analyzed for a week via wrist monitors. Researchers recorded Body Mass Index (BMI) which is a measurement of weight and height.  They also tested  levels of glucose and insulin in some of the children.

Results showed that obese children got less sleep and experienced more variations in their sleeping patterns compared to children of average weight.

Researchers concluded that children who sleep for less time and have irregular sleep schedules are at the greatest risk for health problems.

According to the CDC, childhood obesity has many serious consequences, including increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and asthma. Overweight and obese children are also at a higher risk for becoming socially stigmatized and developing low self-esteem, which can hinder academic and social functioning.

Many children fail to get the sleep they need because of poor sleep hygiene, or bad habits at bedtime; however, the child may be suffering from an undiagnosed sleep disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea.

People often fail to realize that small children, as well as pre-teens and adolescents can suffer from a wide variety of sleep disorders, ranging from sleep apnea to night terrors.  Common symptoms of sleep disorders in children include

• excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS)
• disturbed, fragmented sleep
• sleep walking and talking
• confusional arousals
• sleep enuresis (bed wetting)
• snoring or heavy, labored breathing
• difficulty concentrating, paying attention and remembering
• depression and/or anxiety

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), children who are not getting the sleep they need may have developmental or behavioral problems. The AASM recommends the following guidelines for sleep times in children:

• Infants (3 to 11 months): 14 to 15 hours
• Toddlers: 12 to 14 hours
• Preschoolers: 11 to 13 hours
• School-age children: 10 to 11 hours

The article states that a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that overweight people on a reduced-calorie diet lost more weight from fat if they slept eight hours a night than those who slept less than six hours a night.

An article published by WebMD explains that new research shows that sleep disruption can negatively affect Leptin (a chemical that sends signals to indicate fullness) and Ghrelin(a chemical that stimulates the appetite).  When you fail to get the sleep you need, your Leptin levels decrease, meaning that you don’t feel full even after you’ve eaten and Ghrelin levels increase, which means you feel hungry, even if you’ve just eaten.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine reports that research shows that routine exercising can improve sleep. Exercising 4-8 hours before bedtime can help primary insomnia patients get to sleep faster, wake up less often and increase total time asleep. Aerobic exercise may help reduce anxiety at bedtime, leading to better sleep.

Research shows that poor sleep is related to many serious health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Many people fail to make sleep a priority; however, many also suffer from undiagnosed  sleep disorders. If you suffer from insomnia-like symptoms, such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, daytime sleepiness and un-refreshing sleep for more than a month, you should contact a sleep doctor in order to diagnose and treat your sleep problems.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea occurs when you regularly stop breathing for 10 seconds or longer during sleep. It can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the number of times in an hour that your breathing stops (apnea) or becomes very shallow (hypopnea).

Common symptoms of OSA include loud snoring, daytime sleepiness, unintentionally falling asleep during the day, fatigue and un-refreshing sleep and insomnia. OSA is also induced with increased risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, diabetes and stroke.

CPAP, a device used to keep the airway open in order to help patients sleep better at night while you sleep, is the most common, and most effective, treatment for OSA.

The study compared the effects of a treatment with CPAP compared to placebo treatment in 59 adults diagnosed with OSA on self-reported measures of fatigue and energy.

Results show that CPAP treatment significantly decreased fatigue and increased energy after three weeks of treatment.

Authors of the study claim that these findings are significant, as they emphasize the importance of complying with CPAP therapy.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, OSA can occur in men and women of any age, but it is most common in obese, middle-aged men. A strong relationship exists between obesity and OSA. We estimate that 80% of people with OSA are overweight or obese.  However, I see patients every day in my clinic who are quite thin, but have horrible apnea usually because they have small, narrow throats.  The disorder is easily diagnosed with an overnight sleep test.

Loud snoring, difficulty falling asleep and un-refreshing sleep were significant predictors of metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factories related to obesity. These factors increase risk for heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Snoring doubled the risk for metabolic disease, while difficulty falling asleep increased the risk by 80 percent.

The study analyzed 2,000 patients who were enrolled in an ongoing, community-based prospective heart health study. Participants ranged in age from 45 to 74 years, lived in or around Pittsburgh, and had no co-morbidity that limited life expectancy. Individuals who were either non-black or non-white, or had a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome or diabetes were excluded. The final sample consisted of 812 patients, with a group of 294 patients who agreed to undergo further evaluation at home.

Participants were evaluated for the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome at the three-year follow up. Waist circumference, fasting glucose, and lipids were measured at baseline and annually for three years.

Patients were evaluated for insomnia and sleep apnea. Researchers also documented history of smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activeness and depressive symptoms.

At the three-year follow up, 14 percent of patients had developed metabolic syndrome. After analysis, only loud snoring remained a significant predictor of the disorder.

Results of the study emphasize the importance of identifying and diagnosing sleep problems and disorders, due to their association with heart disease.

Research shows that failing to get the sleep you need can negatively affect both your mental and physical well-being. Sleep deprivation is associated with increases in the risk of heart disease, weight gain, diabetes, stroke, cancer and even death. A lack of sleep can also result in decreased mental functioning, slower reaction times and mood disturbance.

According to the Huffington Post, new research published in the journal Sleep shows that people’s accuracy on working memory tasks decreased by approximately 15 percent after staying up all night. While you sleep, your brain processes information. If you fail to get the sleep you need, your brain is incapable of storing important data that you obtained during the day.

Results of another study published in the journal Sleep shows that ‘recovery sleep’ or sleeping in on the weekend may not eliminate the effects of sleep loss. Findings of the study show that it takes multiple nights to obtain full relief from extended periods of sleep deprivation. This means that if you skip a few hours of sleep,  your performance at school or work could suffer for several days.

It is a well known fact that most Americans are not getting the sleep they need. The Seattle Times recently reported that in a Working Mother survey, 77 percent of mothers said they don’t get the shut-eye they need. A survey by Men’s Health showed that 62 percent of participants said they manage on less than seven hours of sleep a night.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that adults sleep between seven and eight hours each night in order to function at their fullest potential. Some warning signs that you may not be getting enough sleep include dependence on an alarm clock in the morning, forgetfulness and an increase in sickness.

During my lecture I will discuss the association of sleep disorders with impaired glucose tolerance, changes in appetite hormones, diabetes and weight gain/obesity.  There is a growing body of literature that shows a strong  association between short sleep durations and weight gain/obesity.

Research shows that sleep deprivation increases your risk for weight gain and obesity. The Huffington Posts reportsthat sleep restriction has been shown to increase levels of the hormone ghrelin, which makes you feel hungry while also slowing your metabolism. A new area of research focuses on how specific sleep disorders such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Insomnia, Restless Leg syndrome may lead to weight gain, either through the short sleep mechanism or other physiologic pathways.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine claims that at least 40 million Americans have chronic sleep problems, and an additional 20 million experience occasional sleep disturbances. As many as 47 million Americans have metabolic syndrome, which is a group of conditions that are shown to increase the risk of heart disease and stroke and is usually associated with overweight/obesity.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, a study published in the International Journal Obesity found that middle-aged women who suffer from sleep disorders are more likely to have problems with their weight than their peers who get eight hours of sleep per night. Results were unique, in that they demonstrated that sleep problems precede weight gain.

A study published in the May 2010 edition of the journal Sleep found that people who fail to get an adequate amount of sleep (less than six hours per night) tended to weigh more and exercise less. This group was also more likely to prefer fatty foods, snack frequently and eat out more often.

It is important to recognize the relationship between sleep and weight gain, in order to address the epidemic of obesity. Many people do not realize that sleep is as important to good health as exercise and diet. By obtaining seven to eight hours of sleep per night, you are helping your body stay strong, both mentally and physically.

The study analyzed existing national, longitudinal and panel survey data collected for 1,930 children and adolescents between the ages of 0 and 13 years. The study began in 1997 and a follow-up survey was completed in 2002. Children were separated into a “younger” group (ages 0 to 59 months) and an “older” group (ages 60 to 154 months).

Results show that short duration of nighttime sleep at baseline was associated with increased risk for children being overweight or obese.  At follow-up, 33 percent of the younger group and 36 percent of the older group were overweight or obese. In the older group, short sleep duration at baseline was not associated with weight gain; however, adolescents who obtained insufficient amounts of sleep were more likely to shift from a normal weight to being overweight at follow-up. Findings also indicated that in the older group, nighttime sleep duration five years prior had no meaningful effect on weight. This information suggests that sleep habits prior to the age of five years may be critical in determining future weight status.

Authors believe that sleep duration could be a vital and modifiable factor in obesity prevention and treatment.

The National Sleep Foundation claims that a combination of healthy sleep habits, eating together and spending less time watching television may prevent the development.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends the following nightly sleep durations for children:

• Infants (3 to 11 months): 14 to 15 hours
• Toddlers: 12 to 14 hours
• Preschoolers: 11 to 13 hours
• School-age children: 10 to 11 hours
• Teens:  9-9.5 hours

 http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=69971&sc=3053

 http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=58391&sc=3405

Laboratory research, much of which was done at University of Chicago, points to the explanation for this. When your sleep is disrupted or restricted, then your metabolic rate is slowed, your appetite hormones are not functioning properly(making you hungrier) and your ability to regulate your glucose and insulin is impaired, not to mention that you just have no energy to exercise or take the time to prepare nutritious food.  So any sleep disorder that affects the quality or quantity of your sleep, especially insomnia and sleep apnea, can lead to weight gain and obesity.

There is a growing body of research that shows that people who sleep too little or who have poor quality of sleep are more likely to be over-weight or obese.  The new research from the University of Chicago (www.uchospitals.edu) has a new and interesting implication:  that you might be able to lose weight if you are sleep deprived, but it might not be fat that you are losing. The study is limited by small sample size, but it indicates that weight loss during periods of sleep restriction may be due more to loss of lean body mass than to loss of fat. Fat represented 57% of the weight loss when the nine subjects slept 8.5 hours on average in a 2 week period , but only represented 26% of the weight loss when they slept 5.5 hours during another 2 week period.  The total amount of weight they lost in each period was practically the same.

The other study mentioned in this article showed what many population studies have showed:  Those people who sleep less, gain more weight.  There are numerous population studies that show that people who sleep fewer than 6 hours or have sleep that is disrupted by disorders such as sleep apnea are much more likely to be over-weight or obese. 

Laboratory research, much of which was done at University of Chicago, points to the explanation for this. When your sleep is disrupted or restricted, then your metabolic rate is slowed, your appetite hormones are not functioning properly(making you hungrier) and your ability to regulate your glucose and insulin is impaired, not to mention that you just have no energy to exercise or take the time to prepare nutritious food.