Snoring,
sleep apnea and other causes of sleepiness are common.
-Sleep apnea and snoring
are worsened by obesity and nasal congestion--both unusually widespread
in Ohio.
-Columbus ranked seventh among U.S. cities for obesity in one survey, and
Ohio ranked fourth among states.
-"Sinus problems" and allergies are relatively severe in Ohio.
-It is not surprising that sleep apnea and snoring are major problems for
many Ohio residents.
Snoring
is often not just a "social problem"!
Instead, it can be an indicator of sleep apnea and other serious breathing
problems in sleep.
-If snoring is loud enough
to drive a bedpartner to another bedroom, a medical problem is
usually present.
-Sleep apnea is usually but not always recognizable by irregular snoring,
with pauses followed by gasping or snorts.
-Many sleep apnea patients experience as severe problems from partial, rather
than complete, throat collapse.
-Even regular snoring can be dangerous, when struggling for each breath causes
sleepiness at the wheel.
Sleepiness
can be dangerous!
-Sleepiness is usually
underestimated or not even sensed by the sleepy person.
-This situation is common in sleep apnea.
-Lack of warning symptoms of sleepiness result in high speed highway crashes
and injuries and accidents in the workplace
-Sleepiness, whether from sleep
apnea or other causes like narcolepsy and sleep deprivation, causes trouble
with thinking and memory as well as mood swings, depression and irritability.
-Both jobs and marriages can be placed at risk.
-Sleepiness is on the rise as our country becomes increasingly sleep deprived.
We now have longer work hours and less vacation time than the Japanese.
Sleepiness,
sleep apnea, snoring, narcolepsy, insomnia and other sleep disorders
are almost always treatable!
-With skilled assessment,
individualized care and follow-up support, sleep-related illnesses
can usually be brought under good, ongoing control.
-The Columbus
Community Health Regional Sleep Disorders Center in Columbus,
Ohio, achieves high levels of sustained effective treatment for patients from throughout the United States and other countries.
|