• State-of-the-art four bed sleep disorder diagnostic Facility
• Nationally credentialed registered sleep technologists on staff
• Medical director is board certified in sleep medicine
• Offers full line of diagnostic sleep studies
• Conveniently located inside the hospital

Nothing Life Can Attain Is Quite So Desirable As Sleep
I practiced the art of being king of procrastination last week.  I stayed up all night getting ready for an out-of-town lecture presentation.  With heavy eyes I traveled 50 miles the next morning to my lecture destination.  I pulled it off but I paid the price.  Life’s textbook onceagain taught me an important lesson.  You are not a youngster anymore.  And as you already know, staying up all night is not the healthy thing to do!  It took me a week to bounce back from the sleep debt that I had created.

As I reflected on how tired I was, I thought of Charles Lindbergh.  On the morning of May 20, 1927 he started the first solo nonstop New York to Paris flight in the Spirit of St. Louis.  33 hours and 30 minutes later he touched down in Paris.  He had covered a distance of 3,610 miles.  The young barnstormer and air mail pilot wrote the following about his experience:  “My mind clicks on and off…I try letting one eyelid close at a time while I prop the other open with my will.  But the effort’s too much.  Sleep is winning.  My whole body argues dully that nothing, nothing life can attain, is quite so desirable as sleep.  My mind is losing resolution and control.”  At that moment in his life, Mr. Lindbergh knew all to well the value of sleep.  I know what he was talking about.  The 50-mile trek back home from my lecture appointment was almost more than I could accomplish.  As I traveled down Eastbound I-40 after my presentation, I realized that my sleep debt had grown to such a level that nothing I might try would extinguish the strong call for sleep.  You’ve been there.  Turn the windows down.  Turn on the radio.  Stop, get out and walk around the vehicle.  Sing.  Eat junk food.  No matter what you do, you still get sleepy and you certainly shouldn’t be behind the wheel of the vehicle. 

It has been scientifically established that sleep loss or sleep debt results in significantly degraded performance, alertness, and mood.  On average most humans physiologically require about eight hours of sleep per night.  However, individual requirements vary, so long as the required amount equates to the amount of sleep necessary to achieve full alertness and an effortless level of functioning during waking hours.  Some people may only need six hours.  But others require 10 hours to feel wide-awake and to function at their peak level during wakefulness.  An individual who requires eight hours of sleep and obtains only six hours on a particular night is essentially sleep deprived by two hours.  If that individual sleeps only six hours each night over four nights, then the two hours of sleep loss per night would accumulate into an eight-hour sleep debt.  Estimates suggest that in the United States today, many adults obtain one to 1.5 hours less sleep per night than they actually need.  During a regular workweek this would translate into the accumulation of five to seven and one-half hours of sleep debt going into the weekend.  Hence, the common phenomenon of sleeping late on weekends to compensate for the sleep debt accumulated during the week.

Modern sleep research began in the mid-1950’s with the discovery of two distinct states of sleep.  Over the past 45 years, there has been extensive scientific research on sleep, sleepiness, circadian rhythms, and the effects of these factors on waking alertness and performance.  Today, one doesn’t have to go far to find a sleep disorders diagnostic center.  The bottom line is that sleep is such a good thing!  And we Americans are experts at robbing ourselves of it!

Are You Tired of Being Tired?
What about you?  Are you tired of being tired?  You may be burning your candle at both ends and think that you are just not getting enough sleep.  However, your sleepiness may not be from sleep deprivation alone.  You may be experiencing excess sleepiness because you are being affected by one of the more than 100 sleep disorders that has an impact on millions of lives each year. One of the most common sleep disorders is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).  You may already know something about OSA.  You may have a friend or family member that uses nasal CPAP to treat their OSA.  What about your spouse that snores with a vengeance?  Seems like he/she is sleeping!  But if the truth were known, you would find that your snoring loved one is waking up several hundred times per night because his/her airway is obstructing and shutting off the vital oxygen supply so needed by the body!  If that snoring loved one is dealing with excessive sleepiness/tiredness during his/her waking hours, he/she may not be getting adequate amounts of the stage of sleep that rests and revives the body.  Let it go on long enough and it will cause significant health problems such as congestive heart failure.  And remember, this is only one of the many sleep disorders that exist!

Only your doctor and Sleep Disorder Center can tell you for sure!Share your concerns with your doctor.  If he/she determines that you need to be checked out for one of the many sleep disorders, an appointment can be made for you to visit Cumberland Medical Center’s Sleep Disorder Center.  A state-of-the-art four bed sleep disorder diagnostic facility conveniently located inside the hospital. The facility is staffed with nationally credentialed registered sleep technologists and the Medical Director is board certified in sleep medicine.  Cumberland Medical Center’s Sleep Disorder Center offers a full line of diagnostic sleep studies. With a fully trained staff and state-of-the-art technology, CMC offers you the best sleep diagnostic services available.

Remember that old saying:  “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”   Well, now we can add:  “Eight hours of sleep every night keeps you wide-awake every day”.  Wishing you the best sleep ever!