|
|
|
If You Can’t Sleep, Check In Here
|
Business New Haven
10/16/2000
By: BNH
|
Are we becoming too busy to sleep? Maureen Lopes thinks so. But that's just one of dozens of reasons why people have difficulty sleeping, says Lopes, who is director of special projects - including the Sleep Services program - at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford. And, as she explains, counting sheep isn't a prescribed cure.
Maureen, what does Gaylord's Sleep Services program do?
We do everything from the initial evaluation of someone with a sleeping problem to diagnostic testing and helping with follow-up therapy.
Is this covered by health insurance?
The carriers do cover this, including Medicare.
Okay. Say I'm a business owner and an employee habitually falls asleep at work. If I call you about it, what will happen?
Usually the employee is encouraged to go to their physician first, and the doctor refers the patient to us. We do a history of the problem, asking the patient: Are you falling asleep at the desk? Or at the wheel of a truck or car? Or getting drowsy using equipment? Those are very scary. And how long has this been a problem?
Physicians do this hour-long evaluation in our New Haven and Wallingford locations, and based on that, we determine whether the patient needs an overnight sleep study. If so, they come to one of five locations (also, Fairfield, West Hartford and New London) from between 8 to 10 at night. The bedrooms have equipment that measures eye movements, breathing, heart rate, brain-wave activity - making a complete record of what happens while the patient sleeps. Based on that, physicians determine a diagnosis.
With all that machinery attached, I wonder if I would fall asleep?
Well, it can be difficult, but most people go through the sleep cycle. That includes periods of light sleeping, then deep sleep and REM, or Rapid Eye Movement, when people dream. Then you slowly come back up.
And what conditions do you discover?
About 60 percent have sleep apnea, where the back of the throat over the airway closes up. For 30 seconds or so no oxygen gets into the body. The body says, You gotta breathe! People who've been snoring come sort of awake with a gasping snort, and most don't even realize they're doing this. But others in the house might hear it. You want to treat this because lack of oxygen can have long-term effects on the body, including the heart and lungs.
How do you treat apnea?
The primary way is with a little air pump next to the bed. A hose connects it to a mask on the face, and continuous air goes into the body to keep that passageway open.
What other sleep problems do you find?
Insomnia. That's a behavioral problem where people get into bad habits. They take computers into the bed or watch television - doing things that stimulate the brain just before they try to sleep. Instead, they should think of bed as a place for sleep. And before going to bed, do something boring. Read something from the federal government and you'll be asleep in no time [laughs].
There is also narcolepsy, a neurology problem. Here, a person sitting at a desk suddenly falls asleep, maybe only for 30 seconds. That has drug treatment. There is also restless-leg syndrome, where the legs just don't want to stay still. In all, there are 86 different diagnoses of sleep disorders.
We're all so busy these days we think being tired is normal. But if you find yourself falling asleep at the wheel, it could be the sign of something dangerous.
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
