The Villages - February 2008 - (Page 30)

Getting A Good Night’s Sleep BY DONNA RILEY-LEIN To sleep, perchance to dream. Even Shakespeare couldn’t overstate the need for sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep is tops on the must-have list for many of us. Unfortunately, going to sleep is more complicated than shutting your eyes and falling into unconsciousness. There are stages of sleep, each critical to health, and a myriad of diseases and conditions that can interrupt or curtail those stages. Lack of sleep is implicated in weight gain and heart disease. It’s also a leading cause of trafﬁc accidents, says Dr. Juan Albino, a board-certiﬁed sleep medicine specialist and board-certiﬁed pulmonologist (a doctor that specializes in lung function) in The Villages. “People who are tired,” said Albino, “often overeat and keep eating to get the energy they are not getting from a good night’s sleep. As for the auto accidents, we ﬁnd that people get little bursts of ‘microsleep’ where they are falling asleep for a few seconds. Obviously, that’s not a good idea when you are driving a vehicle.” This is important, Albino says. “People should tell their doctor if they are falling asleep when they shouldn’t be.” Hmmm loud snoring, drops off to sleep easily and may be overweight. Sounds like sitcom material. But it’s not funny. “Severe sleep apnea can shorten a person’s life,” said Albino. “It certainly makes hypertension and diabetes worse.” Treating sleep apnea can have an effect outside of bed. “I recall getting a call, and a woman asking me what I had done to her husband,” recalled Albino. “He was dizzy and confused. It turned out that we needed to reduce his diabetes and blood pressure medicines.” According to the New England Journal of Medicine, about 9 percent of men and 4 percent of women have some sort of sleep disorder. Without treatment, sleep difﬁculties can lead to heart attacks and strokes. And obviously, these problems can also lead to car accidents. “How do you explain a single-car accident,” Albino asked, “especially if the driver fell asleep on the way to or from work?” Apnea can make trying to sleep a nightmare. And you don’t always know what is going on. “It feels like you are being strangled,” Albino said. “The brain is going crazy, so the blood pressure goes higher. Most people wake up a little, not fully, take a breath and go back to sleep. Some get up and go to the bathroom.” Fortunately, doctors are getting savvy about sleep, and don’t be surprised if he or she asks more than a few questions about your sleep habits. If a problem is suspected, your doctor may refer you to a sleep specialist. “Fortunately, most screening is simple,” says Dr. Humberto Delgado, a member of the Lake Pulmonary and Sleep Disorders Clinic in Leesburg and The Villages. He is a board-certiﬁed pulmonologist and is also board-certiﬁed in sleep medicine. “For many problems,” Delgado said, “we send the patient home with a pulse oximeter (a device that ﬁts over a ﬁnger and painlessly measures the oxygen content of the blood) and that tells us enough. For other problems, we bring the patient into the sleep center.” Health 30 FEBRUARY 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Villages - February 2008

The Villages - February 2008
Contents
The Leader of the Bands
Romance Night
Sampler
Lessons in Sports
Q&A
Health
Sports & Recreation
Food
Shopping & Dining Guide
Villages Greenery
Snapshots
Brain Exercises
Major Events
Rewind

The Villages - February 2008

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