NeuroNews

Extra Hour of Sleep and You’re Still Tired?

  

  

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Daylight savings time ends this weekend and along with the reminders to replace batteries in your smoke detectors, you are certain to see and hear the obligatory news stories about getting enough sleep.   

Sleep Quality vs Sleep Quantity
While the amount of time we spend sleeping is important, most of these daylight savings time stories will ignore the health consequences that poor quality sleep plays in lives.  Also, disorders such as sleep disordered breathing, has ill-effects on the heart and the brain.  As a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist, I see people in clinic every day that are getting 7 to 8 hours sleep nightly but are still chronically tired.  There are times when patients need to undergo a polysomnography (sleep study) so that we can understand what is affecting their sleep. 

What is a Sleep Study?
Some of the problems uncovered during a sleep study are obvious ones that a bed partner could have (and probably has) observed.  Snoring, a symptom of sleep apnea is one example.  Other sleep disorders are only perceived by the sensitive measurements of a polysomnogram, read by a board certified sleep medicine physician.  A sleep study is a complex integration of multiple tests that are all related to sleep. 

Some of the key components of a sleep study are:
• Sleep Stages
• EEG (electroencephalogram)
• Oxygen Saturation
• Sleep Position
• Respirations
• Heart Rate
• Respiratory Events
• Eye Movements
• Limb Movements

By observing the interrelated results of the polysomnogram, often we can determine what is robbing the patient of restful sleep and prescribe an appropriate therapy.  With solutions is place, patients return to normal, restful sleep and typically report improved quality of life in just a few weeks.  So while you're checking your smoke detector batteries this weekend, check your quality of sleep… ask yourself if your energy level matches the hours you spend sleeping.

-Kenneth VanOwen, MD