TREATMENT HELPS MAKE UP FOR LOST ZZZZS

Jennings fit Lukens with a mask to ease his breathing while he slept.

The the leads connect from the patient to a control box.

Asleep at the wheel isn't just an old song. Sometimes it's an old medical condition that needs treatment.

Snoring, sleepwalking and 82 other habits make up a clinically defined list of sleep disorders. Sleep disorders are defined as behavioral or physical conditions that prevent a good night's sleep.

Dr. Randall Stahly believes that nearly 40 million people in the United States suffer from sleep disorders, and most don't recognize it.

"People still kind of snicker when you talk about someone's snoring," said Stahly, a Cape Girardeau neurologist who has studied sleep patterns since 1976. "The problem is that the public, and many physicians, are unaware of sleep problems."

Some of the costs of sleeplessness to society are hidden, but significant, Stahly said. Although it's only an estimate, law enforcement experts say as many as half of all vehicle accidents can be linked to sleepy drivers. The same can be said for errors in the world of industry and business, Stahly said.

"There is a greater cost to sleep disorders that isn't recognized," he said.

Modern sleep studies go back at least as far as the United States space program, when Dr. Vernon Pegram preformed clinical studies on chimpanzees that were put into orbit, Stahly said. But only in the last 10 to 15 years have any great strides been made in diagnosis and treatment for the public, he said.

St. Francis Medical Center opened the first sleep lab in the region in 1989, said Cindy Neely, a respiratory therapist and sleep technician. For now, it remains the only place where patients' sleep patterns can be analyzed in a hospital setting.

"By having the sleep lab here we have learned a lot over the years," Neely said.

A visit to the sleep lab usually starts with someone calling who has trouble sleeping or a spouse with complaints, Neely said.

"A lot of wives will call, saying they saw something about sleep disorders on Oprah," she said.

With the help of better informed doctors, more people are understanding that snoring does not mean someone is getting a good night's rest. It's just the opposite, Neely said.

When throat structures are too large or muscles relax too much during sleep, air passages are blocked. The worse the snoring, the more the air passages are blocked.

In the worst cases, breathing is completely stopped. This causes the sleeper to be woke up just enough to tighten muscles that allow air passages to become free. But the result is a sleepless night and a condition called sleep apnea.

Although many sleep disorders result from irregular sleep schedules caused by jobs or insomnia caused by psychological stresses, most cases likely have a physical cause, said Dr. Tony Mengwasser, director of respiratory care at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

The effect of sleep apnea on the body can be great, Stahly said. When a person doesn't rest at night, organs like the heart don't rest either. Sleep apnea is increasingly being seen as a cause of heart problems, Stahly said.

Treatments for sleep apnea vary. In most cases, Neely said, patients will get an air mask that is worn over the nose as they sleep. Called a continuous positive airway pressure device, or CPAP, it works to keep air coming into the person's throat.

The CPAP is chosen more by older patients, since can interfere with younger people's lifestyles, Neely said.

Since many who suffer sleep apnea tend to be overweight, they opt to slim down rather than use CPAP or another device.

"If you're overweight, you'll gain weight everywhere, including around the throat," Neely said. "A younger patient is more likely to be able to lose weight and get in shape."

The demographics of who seeks help for a sleep disorder has changed over the years. Almost everyone used to be overweight, older men, Neely said. Sixty percent of patients now are men, but ages and weight conditions vary more, she said.

For those who suffer from other sleep disorders, such as sleepwalking or talking, restless leg syndrome and others, medication is an effective treatment, Stahly said.

Surgery is also an option when structures in the mouth or throat are abnormally large and restricting airflow, Stahly said.

Southeast Missouri Hospital has been working on its own sleep lab for the past six years, and it should be open in early December, Mengwasser said. He said it's just a response to the demand.

At St. Francis, the sleep lab operates from Monday through Thursday, Neely said, and up to four patients can come each night for analysis. Usually the wait to get in is about two weeks she said.

A person's sleep can be monitored at home, but it isn't as effective, Mengwasser said.

"When we do it in a home, the patient can't be treated at the same time, and this lengthens the process for everyone," he said.

Although someone may have symptoms of a sleep disorder, Mengwasser said that it doesn't mean that one exists.

"If it's something that's significantly affecting your lifestyle, you should check it out," he said.