SLEEP Dr Liam Doherty Main Points on SNORING:

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Leslie French
5 years ago
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1 SLEEP Dr Liam Doherty Main Points on SNORING: 100% of people snore at some point in their lives. 40% of people have problematic snoring. More men than women. Snoring anti-social when it wakes the other person in the bed. Snoring interferes with marriages separate bedrooms separate holidays. Often the snorer isn t the patient it s the sufferer. Get woken, feel tired irritable, have to do school run etc. Cure snoring and you improve the quality of life for the sufferer too. Do simple stuff first to try to stop snoring. Get person to sleep on side and stay on side. DIY anti-snoring measures tennis ball under the bedclothes; pop them on side with cushions; Velcro belts. If snoring continues may be a local problem chronically blocked nose those nasal strips the footballers use are not useful. Do sleep study to see how bad the problem is and if simple solutions will work. Try mouthpiece or mask to stop the snoring. If problem persists it s an obvious Ear, Nose and Throat problem. Need to find out where the problem is where are you snoring from nose, soft pallet or from back of tongue. This is done by having a nasal endoscopy person put to sleep and camera into nasal passage to see where the snoring is coming from Surgery is the last option whip out huge tonsils; remove large nasal polyps; some people need to get soft pallet removed or swollen uvela

2 WHAT YOU SHOULD AND SHOULDN T EAT Poor sleepers get up in the morning and crave the wrong food. Poor sleep increases appetite hormones come off TransAtlantic flight and you want a big fry-up. Fight that and try and go for the apple. Quick food is generally the wrong food. Old myth - Cheese giving you dreams certain cheeses some blue cheeses do give you wild dreams. It contains chemicals that give you these dreams. Our grandparents /parents lifestyle of main meal in the middle of the day, home-cooked food with maybe warm milk at night great for sleep but life s not like that now with people working, ferrying kids about etc. Eating healthily main meal during the day or at night 3 hours to digest your food. TIME of meal is crucial. Advice is to eat earlier and properly 6pm is ideal. Avoid the quick food as it s usually got hidden caffeine and hidden calories. If you re going to eat anything before bed, eat a banana produces serotonin it s good for sleep. Even warm milk that s good too. Going to bed hungry will also interfere with your sleep. Don t have to be goody-goody 2 shoes eat at 6pm not 8 or 9pm increase night s sleep as sleep deprivation leads to heightened appetite wrong food is quick food victims. ALCOHOL Night-caps are a No-No. Alcohol great at putting you to sleep and not keeping you asleep. Causes snoring and possibly apnoea. This applies to people who have a sleep problem. Have to live too go out and have your couple of glasses with your dinner at the weekend my advice is for people who have sleep problems. Steer clear of alcohol if you have a problem with sleep. Heavy drinking linked to snoring and sleep apnoea.

3 MAIN POINTS DEIRDRE MCSWINEY ON NIGHT TERRORS Nightmares arise out of our REM sleep Pattern of sleep Stage 1 transition from awake to falling asleep; Stage 2 deeper into sleep; Stage 3 absolutely fast asleep ; REM sleep when we have nice pictures in our mid. Stage 1 accounts for 5 % of our sleep; Stage 2 55%; Stage 3 20% and REM 20% of our night s sleep. Move through Stage 1 REM several times throughout the night REM 6 times a night. Group of 'abnormal' activity or otherwise in our sleep are called parasomnias. Cover everything from teeth grinding to sleepwalking. Disorders of arousal, partial arousal and sleep stage transitions. a)confusional arousals, sleepwalking, sleep terrors b) Sleep starts, nocturnal leg cramps, sleep talking c) Association with REM sleep: Sleep paralysis, Nightmares, REM Sleep behaviour disorder. d)bruxism (teeth grinding often spotted by dentists), eneurisis (bedwetting in both children and adults). Night Terrors affect children mainly. The child is often found curled up in a state of terror in their room very frightening for parents. Usually passes after 10 minutes or so. Child remembers nothing the next morning unlike nightmares... Confusional, no memory, common in childhood and usually decrease with age. Often family history, no memory, no treatment. Very unusual for adults to get night terrors - result of stress, sleep deprivation, victim confused on awakening. Night terrors don t need treatment affect under-5s and under-8s. Children usually grow out of them. Regular traumatic nightmares causing extreme distress need treatment talking therapy.

4 DIET Food and sleep huge topic: NO PARTICULAR foods help us sleep. interest at moment is rise of obesity and sleep disruption/deprivation link. Studies showing less sleep indicates evidence of different dietary choices, i.e. more energy rich foods, less fruit and vegetables Supper(!) before bed can be part of a bedtime ritual, but common sense approach required. Exercise must also be mentioned in connection with sleep: timing, light, age etc. ALCOHOL Alcohol and sleep also huge topic: definite higher the dose the more increased wake periods/ stage 1 sleep. Consistently affects proportion of sleep stages. Knock on daytime effects. Adenosine is the sleep regulator or homeostatic. Short sleep is associated with heavy drinkers. BACKGROUND INFO ON SLEEP APNOEA Sleep Apnoea is a sleep disorder where the sufferer frequently stops breathing during their sleep. Breathing can stop repeatedly for ten seconds and longer in extreme cases. Everyone can get an apnoea. Severe apnoea is a problem. The disorder can be a major source of daytime sleepiness and tiredness, which can be especially lethal for vehicle drivers. 3 types of sleep apnoea Obstructive sleep apnoea the most common. (OSA). Other 2 - Central Sleep Apnoea, where part of the brain that controls ones breathing fails to function routinely, and mixed apnoea, a combination of the two, are less common. Symptoms usually noticed by partner/spouse. Loud, frequent and irregular snoring. Not everyone who snores has apnoea, by any means, and not everyone with apnoea necessarily snores (though most do). This is probably the best and most obvious indicator.

5 Other Symptoms partner witnesses choking/not breathing; excessive daytime sleepiness; forgetfulness; bouts of irritability and depression can be common. 24% of men have a touch of sleep apnoea. 4 8% chronic sleep apnoea According to the Irish Sleep Apnoea Trust some 6,500-7,500 patients diagnosed in Ireland with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA). The ISAT says European Union medical research indicates that somewhere in the region of ,000 people in Ireland actually suffer from the disorder, ranging from mild to severe. OSA usually affects males between 30 and 50, anyone can suffer from the disorder and people who smoke, drink alcohol or are obese are at much higher risk. Sleep Lab in the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork open 6 7 years. Do sleep studies. 2 beds per night. Screening for sleep apnoea etc and normality of sleep monitor rapid eye movement for instance Treatment for Sleep Apnoea CPAP therapy Continuous Positive Airways Pressure. Mask over nose. Can also use mouth pieces THEY CAN ALSO STOP SIMPLE SNORING!

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Introduction Obstructive sleep apnea is an interruption in breathing during sleep. It is caused by throat and tongue muscles collapsing and relaxing. This blocks, or obstructs,