Did you know that it wasn’t until 1984 that there was a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea? In a recent article in The Hartford Courant, reporter William Weir interviewed Dr. Meir Kryger, director of sleep education and research at Gaylord Hospital. Dr. Kyger entered the field of sleep disorders in the 1970s, when most people thought he studied dreams. A lot has changed.
We’ve begun to hear more about sleep deprivation on the job, most recently about air traffic controllers falling asleep. Trucking and transportation companies have also been in the news as Federal regulations grow tighter to prevent sleep deprived drivers from going out on the roads.
There’s also more effort being taken to educate folks. The American Sleep Apnea Association was formed in 1990. The ASAA “is dedicated to reducing injury, disability, and death from sleep apnea and to enhancing the well-being of those affected by this common disorder. The ASAA promotes education and awareness, the ASAA A.W.A.K.E. Network of voluntary mutual support groups, research, and continuous improvement of care.”
The National Sleep Foundation also sponsors public education programs and awareness initiatives such as National Sleep Awareness Week® and Drowsy Driving Prevention Week™ as well as other efforts including research support, outreach to healthcare providers and The National Sleep Awareness Roundtable, a national coalition of governmental, professional, voluntary, and other organizations whose mission is to raise awareness, increase the understanding of, and reduce the public health and safety impact of sleep deprivation and sleep disorders.
According to Joe Zangrilli, administrative director of sleep medicine at Gaylord, “The new awareness has a lot to do with the fact that doctors can now do more for the chronically sleepy.” Today, the most common treatment for sleep apnea is the use of a CPAP, like Transcend, in which the patient wears a mask connected to a machine which pumps air to keep the patient’s airways open during the night.
Measuring sleepiness is becoming more sophisticated too. According to Dr. Daniel McNally, medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Connecticut, a newly developed test involves measuring the velocity of the patient's blinks with special eyeglasses (the slower the speed of the blink, the sleepier the person).
McNally said he's glad that word is getting out to the general public. Sleep deprivation is far more common than people realize. And the older people get, he said, the more likely they are to suffer from it.
McNally said he's glad that word is getting out to the general public. Sleep deprivation is far more common than people realize. And the older people get, he said, the more likely they are to suffer from it.
Yes people are very aware of the sleep disorders and Sleep Deprivation. Because it is not a small problem it will leads to breathing problems if we didnt take proper treatment to cure it.
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