Transcription:
The Importance of Healthy Sleep

Bill Klaproth (Host): Always tired throughout the day? Wake up feeling like you were hit by a truck? Maybe you are not getting healthy sleep. Here to talk healthy sleep with us is Susan Wynn, Director of Respiratory and Sleep Services at Schneck Medical Center. Susan, thank you so much for being on with us. Let’s start right here. Why is sleep so important?

Susan Wynn (Guest): Well, I don’t think people realize that a lot of health issues are caused by lack of sleep. Heart attacks, heart failure, high blood pressure, diabetes, strokes, weight gain, depression--a lot of health issues result from not getting enough sleep.

Bill: So, by not getting sleep, it puts stress on our internal organs and body?

Susan: Yes, it does.

Bill: So, what does sleep do at night then? It regenerates our organs; it gives them a chance to rest and rebuild?

Susan: It does. A lot of hormones are produced at night while you sleep and, obviously, they impact a lot of your organs and systems and you do double the risk of death and cardiovascular disease if you don’t get at least seven to eight hours of sleep.

Bill: Double the risk? Oh, my.

Susan: Yes, it’s a big deal.

Bill: Susan, we hear high achievers say, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead. I don’t have time for sleep. I can survive on four hours.” Really, that’s a fallacy, then, and eventually that’s going to catch up with you. Is that right?

Susan: Yes, it does and usually, unfortunately, that’s later in life that it does catch up with autoimmune issues and all of those other things I mentioned. I think that’s why people don’t address it early in life is because they don’t feel those effects until later.

Bill: So, sleep really is the function that really protects our cells from future diseases down the road. And, in fact, I would go on to say then that healthy sleep makes everyday life better, right now in the present not just for what could happen in the future.

Susan: Absolutely. Yes. It’s linked to delay in response, mental alertness, and things like that that you need every day. You need those hours of sleep to be able to function at your best.

Bill: It is interesting. There are life coaches and doctors and people such as yourself now that are coming out and people are asking them, “What is your key to success? How do you get ahead in life?” and people are starting to cite sleep. People overlook it. They take it for granted and it is so important to lead not only a healthy life but to be at your best every day.

Susan: Right.

Bill: So, what constitutes healthy sleep?

Susan: Well, one of our physicians is a big, big proponent of, the thing that he says does the best for everyone and that is to get up at the same time every morning. That resets your body clock so that you can go to sleep at night. But, getting up at the same time, even on weekends and holidays. That’s something that people tend to not want to do. They like to sleep in but that’s one of the things that can impact your good patterns of sleep the most. Getting a full night sleep, like we just discussed, on a regular basis. Eight hours is the recommended number. Avoid naps and just keep a regular schedule.

Bill: So, when we speak of healthy sleep, I know there are different stages of sleep. Can you talk about that a little bit? I believe that deep sleep is really where you get the restorative benefits. Tell us about the stages of sleep and which ones are the ones that we’re trying to get to every night?

Susan: Most people know it as REM sleep. They’ve changed some of those terms but, yes, the REM sleep is the restorative. That’s what we monitor in the sleep lab is to make sure that people are getting to that stage. A lot of people who leave in the morning and say they didn’t sleep all night never get to that point. That’s, obviously, the point of testing. It is to identify that as the issue and to deal with that however that needs to happen. So, yes, the REM sleep is the key.

Bill: For someone listening, how do you know if you’re getting REM sleep? What are the symptoms of not getting REM sleep, then?

Susan: All those symptoms we mentioned: the mental alertness, you can get headaches, you can get fatigued and things like that but we do have to monitor. An EEG is the proof that you actually get there. A lot of home sleep testing will test the breathing and the heart rate and things like that but they don’t actually test the EEG portion of the sleep and that is the key to tell what stage sleep someone actually achieves at night.

Bill: So, when should someone come see the doctor or a sleep specialist like yourself?

Susan: If they’re having symptoms of difficulty concentrating, problems functioning, any symptoms of health issues, of course, that we mentioned like the blood pressure. The blood pressure primarily is usually what alerts people the most. A lot of health professionals are not really…Sleep is a fairly new science. New in the fact that it’s not 300 years old but a lot of health professionals aren’t really knowledgeable about the effects of sleep, so that’s why it’s important to look it up yourself and to educate yourself on what sleep can do to you. If you get diabetes or especially the Type 2 diabetes, it’s something to look at and question.

Bill: And what about sleep apnea and snoring? Obviously, those are signs that someone should go see a sleep specialist.

Susan: They are. Snoring is probably one of the biggest symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea; however, everybody that snores does not have that. We do recommend that if you do snore and if you do feel un-rested after a full night of eight hours of sleep that you definitely talk to your doctor about that.

Bill: So, if you’re waking up tired every morning and you’re not a snorer, you sleep quietly through the night, you’re not snoring and you’re getting the seven to eight hours but you still wake up tired, do we all wake up tired or is that a definite symptom?

Susan: It is a pretty definite symptom and there might be something else but that’s usually a sign that something isn’t quite right. There are other things other than obstructive sleep apnea that you can have. You can have insomnia type symptoms and you can have an actual central apnea that your brain is not telling your body to breathe. So, it’s not necessarily obstructive but there are other reasons why you would need to talk to your doctor about your sleep issues.

Bill: And, what is the symptom of that? How would you know that if you are sleeping? How would you know that you have that happening? Is it up to your partner to notice that?

Susan: Well, it may be. They may not know it if you don’t make noise. The obstructive sleep apnea is usually an audible sound that you make usually, but the central apnea doesn’t necessarily do that so you wouldn’t necessarily know. Headaches in the morning are one of the symptoms but the absence of that doesn’t necessarily indicate that you don’t have it. Headache and tiredness are the main symptoms. And, blood pressure, again.

Bill: Okay and let’s talk about healthy sleep tips. You gave us one earlier: get up at the same time every morning, even on the weekends. People want to sleep in but you’re suggesting you consistently get up at the same time every morning. Can you give us some other healthy sleep tips?

Susan: Okay. They may sound real obvious but don’t consume caffeine after lunch. That’s usually difficult for people to do. Alcohol within six hours of bed time can also cause you not to be able to get into that rest sleep. Smoking before bed time can cause you not to sleep. Going to bed hungry can cause you to wake up at night. Exercising within six hours of bed time revs up your metabolism and makes your body hard to calm down and get into a good, deep sleep. Going to bed with the TV on--things like that are more disruptive than you really think they are and just not a good habit to get into. When you do go into the bedroom, just go there to sleep and don’t do other activities that might get into rituals that keep you from sleeping.

Bill: So, electronics you mentioned there. Stay away from the smart phone. Don’t be checking Facebook in bed. And, what about these sleep apps? These apps that are out now that have these soothing voices and calming tones and they tell you to let go of the day and clear your mind and breathe deep, relax. They basically coach you to sleep. Are those worthwhile?

Susan: I can’t say that I have had a lot of experience with that so I can’t really answer that but there are a lot of things that can soothe. So, I think if it works for you and it seems to help, I would be a proponent of that.

Bill: Well, that’s good advice. So, if you find something that does work for you, go ahead and use that. I just want to follow up. You had mentioned “don’t go to bed hungry”. What should someone eat, then, if they are hungry before bed? Obviously, you don’t want to have a big steak dinner. What would be something to eat?

Susan: A light snack: crackers and things like that but, again, I wouldn’t want to give that advice without physician support on that because a lot of people do have reflux and things like that. So, they’re not supposed to eat before bed. So, it’s just a general rule. Don’t go to bed really hungry. So, just a light snack: crackers and things like that.

Bill: And, why should someone choose Schneck Medical for their respiratory and sleep needs?

Susan: We feel like we give really good service and we do sleep studies seven nights a week. A lot of sleep labs don’t. We do them on the weekends and we also have the home testing option that you can take the device home and bring it back and we get the results back within three days most of the time. We have board certified physicians reading the studies. We really just appreciate your business.

Bill: So, the take home test that sounds like something new. I haven’t heard of that or is that a long-time practice?

Susan: It’s something that’s come to the forefront in that last five years, definitely in the last two years. It’s something that’s obviously more convenient for people and they feel like they can go home and sleep in their own bed and do what they typically do every night. Again, it doesn’t measure EEG, so unless it’s an obstructive sleep apnea issue, it wouldn’t necessarily indicate if there were sleep disorders but it is a good screening.

Bill: Well, for some people, it seems like a really convenient option to be able to take the test home with them. Well, Susan, thank you so much. It has been very enjoyable talking to you and learning more about healthy sleep. For more information visit SchneckMed.org. That’s ScheckMed.org. This is Schneck Radio. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.