The Sleep Disorders Center at Long Beach Memorial is committed to making a thorough assessment of your sleep issues so that we can fully understand your condition and create a treatment plan specific to your needs.
Tamera Godfrey, RPSGT, RST is a registered polysomnographic and sleep technologist, explains how using a multi-disciplinary approach, we not only look at the problems you’re experiencing with sleep, but the underlying causes – and effects – when diagnosing and treating your sleep issues. She also shares the full range of tests that we have at our disposal to help our physicians gain an understanding of your condition.
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Sleep Disorders Center at Long Beach Memorial – Helping You Get a Better Night’s Sleep
Featured Speaker:
Organization: Long Beach Memorial Medical Center
Tamara Godfrey, RPSGT, RST
Tamera Godfrey, RPSGT, RST is a registered polysomnographic and sleep technologist that serves as the Clinical Operations Manager of the Sleep Disorders Center at Long Beach Memorial. Bringing more than 27 years experience in the medical field and 13 years experience in sleep disorders, Godfrey specializes in clinical, research polysomnography (PSG) and narcolepsy studies.Organization: Long Beach Memorial Medical Center
Transcription:
Sleep Disorders Center at Long Beach Memorial – Helping You Get a Better Night’s Sleep
Deborah Howell (Host): Well, hello and welcome to the show. You’re listening to Weekly Dose of Wellness brought to you by MemorialCare Health System. I’m Deborah Howell, and today’s guest is Tamera Godfrey, a registered polysomnographic and sleep technologist who serves as the clinical operations manager of the Sleep Disorder Center at Long Beach Memorial. Bringing more than 27 years of experience in the medical field and 13 years’ experience in sleep disorders, Tamera specializes in clinical research polysomnography, or PSG, and narcolepsy studies. Welcome, Tamera. The topic today is sleep disorders, and there are so many of them. Let’s get right into it. What are some of the most common types of sleep disorders? Tamera Godfrey (Guest): Most people can identify insomnia as a sleep disorder, also narcolepsy, the disorder of sleep attacks. There are also sleep disorders that involve your limbs, like restless legs and periodic limb movement disorder. And then, there are parasomnia, like bedwetting, sleepwalking, sleep eating, unusual things you do while you’re asleep. One of the significant parasomias is called REM behavior disorder, and that’s where people can act out their dreams and punch and hit and hurt people. Deborah: Right, not so good – and, of course, sleepwalking as well. Godfrey: Yes. Deborah: Is that a real thing? Godfrey: It is. That’s a parasomnia. Anything that a person while they’re sleeping that they shouldn’t be doing is a parasomnia. That’s a sleep disorder. Deborah: Okay. Tell me a little bit more about narcolepsy. I hear that word thrown around in sitcoms and other things. Let’s get the real clinical definition of it. Godfrey: Narcolepsy is neurological disorder and the brain can’t regulate your sleep-wake cycles in a normal way. Symptoms of that can be feeling really excessively sleepy during the day. TVs like to highlight it because they can turn it into something really funny, where a person has a sleep attack and falls asleep while they’re bowling or driving, but that’s really something that can happen. Cataplexy is a sudden muscle weakness or lack of muscle tone, and it’s usually triggered by an emotional response; a person’s laughing or they’re surprised or angry and they just drop off to sleep. Deborah: Wow! That’s just got to be not only uncomfortable but embarrassing and the ramifications are -- and dangerous as well, of course, if you’re driving. Godfrey: It’s extremely dangerous. It’s also scary. They have bizarre hallucinations during the time they’re falling asleep. They can be paralyzed for even a few minutes and they’re aware of it. Yes, narcolepsy is a significant sleep disorder. Deborah: Okay. Another one that’s really common, of course, is sleep apnea. If you could, tell us a little bit more about the risk factors for sleep apnea; that would be great. Godfrey: Well, sleep apnea is a really serious sleep disorder and it can shorten our lifespan. We know more than 18 million Americans have it. This is the one where your breathing is briefly but repeatedly disrupted while you’re sleeping. This happens because the muscles at the back of the throat relax too much and they can’t hold the airway open. Most people have no idea this is happening. It’s usually discovered by a bed partner or roommate. According to the National Sleep Foundation, for these factors, they occur in all age groups, both sexes. There are a number of factors that increase your risk: having a small upper airway, a large tongue, being overweight, having a recessed chin, a small jaw, a large overbite—some of these is anatomical—a large neck size. Like everything, if we’re over 40, we seem to have more propensity to get this. Ethnicity can play a factor, African-American, Pacific [Islanders] and Hispanics tend to have sleep apnea. It also could run in some families, so there’s a genetic basis there. Deborah: What should I do if I think I may have a sleep disorder? When is it a good time to call my doctor? Godfrey: Well, you should call your doctor right away if you’re having symptoms of sleep apnea because sleep apnea can be life-threatening; it can lead to heart attack and stroke. With parasomnias, definitely as soon as someone tells you your behavior is dangerous, you should seek immediate help. And with insomnia, there are actually a lot of tips for insomnia right on the web. Deborah: Oh, let’s get that web address if you could. Godfrey: It’s the National Sleep Foundation website. Deborah: People can Google that, right? Everybody, Google National Sleep Foundation; there you go. Okay. Now, let’s get into the things where we’re helping people with these disorders. What happens during a sleep test, for example? Godfrey: A sleep test is pretty unique. We wire you up from head to toe and monitor your behaviors. We look at your breathing and your vital signs. It’s actually like spending a night in a hotel with weird wires attached to you. Deborah: And everybody watching – Godfrey: That too. It does not hurt. We don’t use needles or things that will hurt you and you get to sleep through it. Most people are telling, “There’s no way I can sleep in a sleep center with someone watching me.” Deborah: The question I had was, “How long does it usually people to finally fall asleep?” Godfrey: Yes, people can take a while to fall asleep, but I’ve been watching people sleep for about 16 years now, and only two people in 16 years have not fallen asleep, so sleep usually wins. Deborah: You, of course, can’t drug them. It has to be a naturally induced sleep, correct? Godfrey: You know what? If a person normally takes sleep meds or their physician feels that they’re anxious and need a sleep pill, it will not throw the study. Many people do take a sleep aid at the sleep center. Deborah: How interesting! I didn’t know that. I’m normal. I’m thinking, “Oh, man. It would take me hours and hours and hours, with people watching me and all hooked up and not in my own bed.” Godfrey: It depends on the type of study. Deb, if you were coming with insomnia, we probably wouldn’t give you a sleep aid because that would skew that insomnia thing. We’d want to see, how long does it take you? But for sleep apnea and other things like that, it’s okay. Deborah: Okay. Now, it’s getting into the equipment for sleeping. We’re talking about the CPAP mask. It’s dreaded in many cases, and maybe you can address the stigma about that. Godfrey: Yes. Let me explain quickly what CPAP is. It’s specifically for apnea. It holds the airway open like an air splint. It transfers continual positive air pressure and it’s not giving you oxygen; it just opens your airway. The stigma is, “I look like somebody wearing a weird mask and it makes me unattractive.” The majority of people do get used to the CPAP and most of us have bed partners and spouses who would rather us live longer than look beautiful at night, hopefully. But there is a stigma to it and there’s also a thing where people just hate to wear it. They feel like it’s uncomfortable. For the most part, people who get some specialized attention from sleep professionals can get over these things. We can help them find the right mask, one that’s comfortable, and generally, over 2 to12 weeks, somebody is able to wear that thing. Deborah: And then, do they need to wear it the rest of their lives? Or, is there a period where they’re so comfortable sleeping that things have improved, or maybe they have lost a little weight and things have changed? Godfrey: You hit one on the head. If the person has weight-related sleep apnea, which is their thing, and they lose all their weight, they can get rid of it. If they have one of those anatomical or genetical kinds of apnea, they’re looking at wearing CPAP for the rest of their lives. It’s similar to wearing a pair of glasses. When you put those glasses on, it’s reading, but when you take them off, you can’t see. Same thing with CPAP; take it off, and you’re going to stop breathing. Deborah: Okay. Can I do a sleep test at home? Godfrey: Yes. In fact, now, most and many, I should say, insurance companies are requiring home sleep testing for the apnea screening. Deborah: That’s great. Godfrey: It’s convenient. It’s cost-effective. It’s a great way to diagnose sleep apnea. We do them and a patient just picks a small unit. They take it home, wear it overnight and bring it back the next day. Deborah: Very nice. Godfrey: It is. But there is, I should say, a certain patient population that can’t have one. These people have certain medical conditions that would need some monitoring overnight. Deborah: Okay. So we need to go to the pros. Speaking of the pros, after I visit the Sleep Disorder Center at Long Beach Memorial and receive a diagnosis, how will my sleep disorder be treated? Godfrey: Depending on the disorder, the physician is going to give a recommendation on your report. If it’s an obstructive sleep apnea, typically a person is going to be treated with a CPAP machine because it’s just so effective and it’s non-invasive. But in milder cases, there could be a dental appliance used or other options your physician might suggest, but generally, it’s going to be a CPAP machine if it’s obstructive apnea. If it’s narcolepsy, there’s medication. If it’s parasomnia or other types of disorders, there could be some behavioral therapy as well. Deborah: Is there a peek into the future past the CPAP mask? Is there something on the horizon? Godfrey: Not to my knowledge. The CPAP mask is so effective and so non-invasive that, instead of really trying to find a new way, what they’re doing is finding more comfortable, lighter, easy-to-use mask, and quieter machine. Deborah: Okay, that’s fair enough. Where can our listeners learn more about the Sleep Disorder Center at Long Beach Memorial? Godfrey: We have two locations for our patients. We have one in Los Alamitos and one right here across from the hospital. Our number to call for either is 562-933-8645. Deborah: One more time? Godfrey: 562-933-8645. Deborah: Beautiful. You should go into radio. Thank you so much, Tamera, for finding the time to talk to us today about Sleep Disorder Center at Long Beach Memorial, some of the sleeping problems and, maybe a little glimpse into the future of smaller masks. It’s been a real pleasure to have you in this show. Godfrey: It’s been my pleasure. Thanks, Deborah. Deborah: We wish you a truly good life on this day and every day to come, and a good night sleep as well to all. I’m Deborah Howell. Join us again next time as we explore another Weekly Dose of Wellness brought to you by MemorialCare Health System. Have yourself a wonderful, wonderful day.
Sleep Disorders Center at Long Beach Memorial – Helping You Get a Better Night’s Sleep
Deborah Howell (Host): Well, hello and welcome to the show. You’re listening to Weekly Dose of Wellness brought to you by MemorialCare Health System. I’m Deborah Howell, and today’s guest is Tamera Godfrey, a registered polysomnographic and sleep technologist who serves as the clinical operations manager of the Sleep Disorder Center at Long Beach Memorial. Bringing more than 27 years of experience in the medical field and 13 years’ experience in sleep disorders, Tamera specializes in clinical research polysomnography, or PSG, and narcolepsy studies. Welcome, Tamera. The topic today is sleep disorders, and there are so many of them. Let’s get right into it. What are some of the most common types of sleep disorders? Tamera Godfrey (Guest): Most people can identify insomnia as a sleep disorder, also narcolepsy, the disorder of sleep attacks. There are also sleep disorders that involve your limbs, like restless legs and periodic limb movement disorder. And then, there are parasomnia, like bedwetting, sleepwalking, sleep eating, unusual things you do while you’re asleep. One of the significant parasomias is called REM behavior disorder, and that’s where people can act out their dreams and punch and hit and hurt people. Deborah: Right, not so good – and, of course, sleepwalking as well. Godfrey: Yes. Deborah: Is that a real thing? Godfrey: It is. That’s a parasomnia. Anything that a person while they’re sleeping that they shouldn’t be doing is a parasomnia. That’s a sleep disorder. Deborah: Okay. Tell me a little bit more about narcolepsy. I hear that word thrown around in sitcoms and other things. Let’s get the real clinical definition of it. Godfrey: Narcolepsy is neurological disorder and the brain can’t regulate your sleep-wake cycles in a normal way. Symptoms of that can be feeling really excessively sleepy during the day. TVs like to highlight it because they can turn it into something really funny, where a person has a sleep attack and falls asleep while they’re bowling or driving, but that’s really something that can happen. Cataplexy is a sudden muscle weakness or lack of muscle tone, and it’s usually triggered by an emotional response; a person’s laughing or they’re surprised or angry and they just drop off to sleep. Deborah: Wow! That’s just got to be not only uncomfortable but embarrassing and the ramifications are -- and dangerous as well, of course, if you’re driving. Godfrey: It’s extremely dangerous. It’s also scary. They have bizarre hallucinations during the time they’re falling asleep. They can be paralyzed for even a few minutes and they’re aware of it. Yes, narcolepsy is a significant sleep disorder. Deborah: Okay. Another one that’s really common, of course, is sleep apnea. If you could, tell us a little bit more about the risk factors for sleep apnea; that would be great. Godfrey: Well, sleep apnea is a really serious sleep disorder and it can shorten our lifespan. We know more than 18 million Americans have it. This is the one where your breathing is briefly but repeatedly disrupted while you’re sleeping. This happens because the muscles at the back of the throat relax too much and they can’t hold the airway open. Most people have no idea this is happening. It’s usually discovered by a bed partner or roommate. According to the National Sleep Foundation, for these factors, they occur in all age groups, both sexes. There are a number of factors that increase your risk: having a small upper airway, a large tongue, being overweight, having a recessed chin, a small jaw, a large overbite—some of these is anatomical—a large neck size. Like everything, if we’re over 40, we seem to have more propensity to get this. Ethnicity can play a factor, African-American, Pacific [Islanders] and Hispanics tend to have sleep apnea. It also could run in some families, so there’s a genetic basis there. Deborah: What should I do if I think I may have a sleep disorder? When is it a good time to call my doctor? Godfrey: Well, you should call your doctor right away if you’re having symptoms of sleep apnea because sleep apnea can be life-threatening; it can lead to heart attack and stroke. With parasomnias, definitely as soon as someone tells you your behavior is dangerous, you should seek immediate help. And with insomnia, there are actually a lot of tips for insomnia right on the web. Deborah: Oh, let’s get that web address if you could. Godfrey: It’s the National Sleep Foundation website. Deborah: People can Google that, right? Everybody, Google National Sleep Foundation; there you go. Okay. Now, let’s get into the things where we’re helping people with these disorders. What happens during a sleep test, for example? Godfrey: A sleep test is pretty unique. We wire you up from head to toe and monitor your behaviors. We look at your breathing and your vital signs. It’s actually like spending a night in a hotel with weird wires attached to you. Deborah: And everybody watching – Godfrey: That too. It does not hurt. We don’t use needles or things that will hurt you and you get to sleep through it. Most people are telling, “There’s no way I can sleep in a sleep center with someone watching me.” Deborah: The question I had was, “How long does it usually people to finally fall asleep?” Godfrey: Yes, people can take a while to fall asleep, but I’ve been watching people sleep for about 16 years now, and only two people in 16 years have not fallen asleep, so sleep usually wins. Deborah: You, of course, can’t drug them. It has to be a naturally induced sleep, correct? Godfrey: You know what? If a person normally takes sleep meds or their physician feels that they’re anxious and need a sleep pill, it will not throw the study. Many people do take a sleep aid at the sleep center. Deborah: How interesting! I didn’t know that. I’m normal. I’m thinking, “Oh, man. It would take me hours and hours and hours, with people watching me and all hooked up and not in my own bed.” Godfrey: It depends on the type of study. Deb, if you were coming with insomnia, we probably wouldn’t give you a sleep aid because that would skew that insomnia thing. We’d want to see, how long does it take you? But for sleep apnea and other things like that, it’s okay. Deborah: Okay. Now, it’s getting into the equipment for sleeping. We’re talking about the CPAP mask. It’s dreaded in many cases, and maybe you can address the stigma about that. Godfrey: Yes. Let me explain quickly what CPAP is. It’s specifically for apnea. It holds the airway open like an air splint. It transfers continual positive air pressure and it’s not giving you oxygen; it just opens your airway. The stigma is, “I look like somebody wearing a weird mask and it makes me unattractive.” The majority of people do get used to the CPAP and most of us have bed partners and spouses who would rather us live longer than look beautiful at night, hopefully. But there is a stigma to it and there’s also a thing where people just hate to wear it. They feel like it’s uncomfortable. For the most part, people who get some specialized attention from sleep professionals can get over these things. We can help them find the right mask, one that’s comfortable, and generally, over 2 to12 weeks, somebody is able to wear that thing. Deborah: And then, do they need to wear it the rest of their lives? Or, is there a period where they’re so comfortable sleeping that things have improved, or maybe they have lost a little weight and things have changed? Godfrey: You hit one on the head. If the person has weight-related sleep apnea, which is their thing, and they lose all their weight, they can get rid of it. If they have one of those anatomical or genetical kinds of apnea, they’re looking at wearing CPAP for the rest of their lives. It’s similar to wearing a pair of glasses. When you put those glasses on, it’s reading, but when you take them off, you can’t see. Same thing with CPAP; take it off, and you’re going to stop breathing. Deborah: Okay. Can I do a sleep test at home? Godfrey: Yes. In fact, now, most and many, I should say, insurance companies are requiring home sleep testing for the apnea screening. Deborah: That’s great. Godfrey: It’s convenient. It’s cost-effective. It’s a great way to diagnose sleep apnea. We do them and a patient just picks a small unit. They take it home, wear it overnight and bring it back the next day. Deborah: Very nice. Godfrey: It is. But there is, I should say, a certain patient population that can’t have one. These people have certain medical conditions that would need some monitoring overnight. Deborah: Okay. So we need to go to the pros. Speaking of the pros, after I visit the Sleep Disorder Center at Long Beach Memorial and receive a diagnosis, how will my sleep disorder be treated? Godfrey: Depending on the disorder, the physician is going to give a recommendation on your report. If it’s an obstructive sleep apnea, typically a person is going to be treated with a CPAP machine because it’s just so effective and it’s non-invasive. But in milder cases, there could be a dental appliance used or other options your physician might suggest, but generally, it’s going to be a CPAP machine if it’s obstructive apnea. If it’s narcolepsy, there’s medication. If it’s parasomnia or other types of disorders, there could be some behavioral therapy as well. Deborah: Is there a peek into the future past the CPAP mask? Is there something on the horizon? Godfrey: Not to my knowledge. The CPAP mask is so effective and so non-invasive that, instead of really trying to find a new way, what they’re doing is finding more comfortable, lighter, easy-to-use mask, and quieter machine. Deborah: Okay, that’s fair enough. Where can our listeners learn more about the Sleep Disorder Center at Long Beach Memorial? Godfrey: We have two locations for our patients. We have one in Los Alamitos and one right here across from the hospital. Our number to call for either is 562-933-8645. Deborah: One more time? Godfrey: 562-933-8645. Deborah: Beautiful. You should go into radio. Thank you so much, Tamera, for finding the time to talk to us today about Sleep Disorder Center at Long Beach Memorial, some of the sleeping problems and, maybe a little glimpse into the future of smaller masks. It’s been a real pleasure to have you in this show. Godfrey: It’s been my pleasure. Thanks, Deborah. Deborah: We wish you a truly good life on this day and every day to come, and a good night sleep as well to all. I’m Deborah Howell. Join us again next time as we explore another Weekly Dose of Wellness brought to you by MemorialCare Health System. Have yourself a wonderful, wonderful day.