HOW DID YOU SLEEP LAST NIGHT? THREE CAPE CENTERS OFFER HELP TO SLEEP DISORDER PATIENTS

If the adjustment to daylight-saving time has you yawning, imagine how it would be to never get a good night's sleep.

That is the plight of about 50 million Americans who suffer from sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy and insomnia, says the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research. Many of these people don't even realize they have a disorder or that there are treatments for the disorders, the center says.

People with sleep disorders suffer physically, mentally and socially, and have problems at work, said Jennifer Pender, a technician at the sleep lab at St. Francis Medical Center, one of three centers in Cape Girardeau that diagnose sleep disorders. The others are Southeast Missouri Hospital's Sleep Lab and Mid America Sleep Institute.

Disorders like apnea, when a person stops breathing repeatedly during the night, can cause heart, lung and other medical problems. Sleep deprivation caused by a sleep disorder can cause irritability, memory loss and depression. Excessive sleepiness can cause people to withdraw socially. And poor concentration caused by lack of sleep can cause accidents on the job or on the road.

"Sleep disorders are extremely common and can cause many problems," said Dr. Randall Stahly, a Cape Girardeau neurologist. "It is amazing the number of people who have these disorders who are unaware of it."

But awareness of sleep disorders is beginning to increase among physicians and the general public, Stahly said.

While three sleep labs may seem like a lot for a city the size of Cape Girardeau, Stahly said that may not be enough as more people learn what sleep disorders are and how they can be diagnosed and treated. He said advances in both diagnosis and treatment have come a long way in the past five to 10 years.

Sleep labs are a key component to diagnosing sleep disorders, said Brad Davis, operations manager at Mid America Sleep Institute, which began seeing patients in December.

At sleep labs, patients who have been referred by a physician go to sleep while their breathing, heart rate, oxygen level, muscle movements, head movement, eye movement and several body functions are monitored.

All the data is analyzed by technicians and physicians to determine what may be causing the patient's sleep problems and the treatment options, Davis said.

The most common problem is obstructive sleep apnea, where the soft palate blocks air flow during sleep causing not only sleep deprivation but oxygen deprivation, Stahly said.

"People stop breathing for short periods, sometimes hundreds of times during the night," Davis said. Left untreated, sleep apnea can cause heart failure, stroke, high blood pressure and other medical problems.

The most common treatment for sleep apnea is continuous positive airway pressure, CPAP, in which patients wear a breathing mask while they sleep. The device forces air to the back of the throat creating an air stint that keeps air flowing, Pender said.

While it takes some getting used to sleeping with a mask over your face, most apnea patients feel so good about getting a good night's sleep they gladly put up with the small amount of discomfort, Davis said.

The ease of treating apnea with CPAP is one reason for the increase in diagnosing sleep disorders, said Cindy Seyer, director of the Southeast Missouri Hospital respiratory care unit, which houses the hospital's sleep lab that opened in January.

Prior to the non-invasive CPAP, treatment for apnea usually involved surgery, Seyer said. Knowing that treatment is non-invasive makes more people seek help with sleeping disorders, she said.

Other common sleep disorders are restless leg syndrome, in which the person's legs move involuntarily throughout the night; insomnia, where a person has trouble falling or staying asleep; and teeth grinding, Davis said. All can be diagnosed and treated, he said.

"Finding help for a sleep disorder can make such a difference in a person's life," Davis said. "Some of these people may only be getting an hour of sleep a night, leaving no time for the body to rest and repair itself."

The most common symptom of sleep disorder is excessive sleepiness during the day, Pender said.

"If you don't get a good night's sleep, your body will take over and make you sleep, whether you are at the dinner table, at work or driving down the road," Davis said.

Other symptoms of chronic sleep problems are snoring, morning headaches and lack of concentration.

Those who think they may have a sleep disorder should see their primary care physician.

SLEEP QUIZ

Do you have a sleep disorder?

Assign to each of the following situations a 0 if you would never doze, 1 for a slight chance of dozing, 2 for a moderate chance of dozing and 3 if there is a high chance of dozing.

* Sitting and reading.

* Watching television.

* Sitting inactive in a public place (for example a theater or meeting).

* As a passenger in a car for about an hour without a break.

* Lying down to rest in the afternoon.

* Sitting and talking to someone.

* Sitting quietly after lunch when you've had no alcohol.

* Sitting in a car while stopped in traffic.

Add your scores. A score of more than 6 suggests you are suffering from excessive daytime sleepiness and may have an underlying sleep disorder. Share this information with your physician, making sure to describe all your symptoms as clearly as possible.

From Mid America Sleep Institute