Category Archives: Sleep

The Lazy-man?s Diet: Losing Weight by . . . Sleeping?


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I used to joke with calorie-counting clients that, if they were “out” of calories, it was time for bed. They joked back that they really couldn’t imagine going to bed when the sun hadn’t set.

Increasingly though, I began to recognize that it was no joke. A very common problem for people trying to lose weight was late night eating. They just couldn’t seem to close down the kitchen, particularly when they weren’t getting enough sleep.

Finishing what should have been a perfectly satisfying dinner, they would find themselves, an hour or so later, succumbing to late night eating—poking around the cupboards in search of that one-more-thing that would finally gratify them.

It didn’t take a genius to hypothesize that if someone isn’t getting enough sleep, a logical reaction of the body would be to look for more fuel, hence late night eating. But fuel equals calories.  Read more...

Discussing The Different Types Of Sleep Disorders


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There are many different types of sleep disorders. No matter what type you are diagnosed with, it still affects your life drastically. Every person has a different need when it comes to sleep. Not everyone needs a full eight hours of sleep to be productive.

There are symptoms associated with sleep disorders. With insomnia, one of the most common forms of sleep disorders, the ability to function is impaired. Concentration is affected and can cause the person to become irritable.

Narcolepsy is a very dangerous disease because the person affected is so tired that they fall asleep at any time. The person is overwhelmed by fatigue even if they have a full nights sleep.

Another very common sleep disorder is sleep apnea. This is when the person who is afflicted stops breathing in their sleep. This can be potentially fatal if the person is alone and does not start breathing on their own. The most pronounced symptom of sleep apnea is loud constant snoring.  Read more...

Sleep Apnea and Oximeter


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Apnea, or ‘Apnoea’, is a technical term for suspension of breathing. An apnea event is defined as a breath cessation for a minimum of 10 minutes, with a neurological arousal and/or a blood oxygen desaturation of three to four or greater. Sleep apnea is a breath disorder during sleep which may cause serious consequences such as heart failure.

There are three types of sleep apnea are central sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea and complex sleep apnea (the combination of the two types). Central sleep apnea is caused by the imbalance of brain respiratory control center, while obstructive sleep apnea is caused by the obstruction of airway by decreased muscle tone or increased soft tissue around the airway (e.g. obesity or aging). Obstructive sleep apnea makes up about 84% of sleep apnea cases; the complex sleep apnea makes up about 15% and the central sleep apnea makes up 0.4%. [1]  Read more...

Insomnia And Sleep Deprivation


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By definition, a sleep disorder is a a disturbance that interferes with or interrupts the normal sleep pattern. It may also be something that occurs due to the individual’s inability to sleep well. Some common types of sleep disorder are bruxism, insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and sleep deprivation.

Bruxism

Bruxism is alson known as “teeth grinding.” Teeth grinding may have any of a range of causes. However, teeth grinding may cause enough pain or discomfort during sleep, leading to disrupted sleep. In addition to making daytime tasks difficult to accomplish, bruxism may also:

- wear away the enamel of the teeth
- grind the teeth down
- cause cuts to or swelling of the gums
- cause pain in the jaw

Insomnia

Insomnia has several forms. It is frequently associated with depression and is more common in women than in men. Insomnia may be characterized by  Read more...