Sleepiness | Suite101.com

&quot;SLEEPINESS&quot;: What Does It Mean?
Sleepiness, as a word, has a common meaning that falls short of the precision required for its use in describing a medical symptom which everyone can agree on. This is becoming apparent from some recently published research. How we should define sleepiness in an objective and precise way represents a complex issue.
sleepiness • drowsiness • tiredness • fatigue • sleep deprivation

To Nap or Not to Nap: Is That the Question?
Discussion of the different roles of different types of napping in normal people, those sleep deprived by habit or choice, and those who suffer excessive daytime sleepiness and nap as a result of common sleep disorders.
naps • sleep • sleep deprivation • sleep apnea • obstructive sleep apnea

How to Live with Hypersomnia and Excessive Daytime Sleepiness
The author, a physician afflicted with obstructive sleep apnea and chronic hypersomnia (excessive daytime sleepiness), recounts his own strategies and those of others for dealing with such a disabling symptom.
coping • chronic illness • sleep disorders • hypersomnia • hypersomnolence

Turkey Tryptophan and Sleepiness
A popular Thanksgiving myth is that consumption of turkey leads to enhanced sleepiness and that this is due to the presence of large amounts of the amino acid tryptophan.
tryptophan makes you sleepy • turkey and tryptophan • sleepy after eating turkey • essential amino acids • tryptophan in turkey

Can Your Bed Partner's Snoring Make You Sick?
A new study claims to be the first to show that wives of snorers suffer symptoms of sleep disturbance and the consequences of sleep deprivation, two to three times as often as women with husbands who do not snore. The same finding should prove to apply to men living with women who snore. While snoring is more frequent in men than women (41% vs. 28%), together male and female snorers make up one-third of the population--an extremely common problem!
snoring • sleep • illness • sleep disturbance • insomnia

Dickens' "Fat Boy:" A Classic Case of What?
The "Pickwick Syndrome," named after a character named Joe in <B><I>The Pickwick Papers</I></B> purports to describe a prototypical case of sleep apnea, but in reality represents nothing of the sort. The fat boy who falls asleep constantly and immediately in the midst of any kind of vigorous activity resembles, if anything, a case of narcolepsy. However, Dickens did not attempt to portray a real-life clinical syndrome; like most fictional characters, that of Joe need only convince the reader to suspend disbelief, not to reflect some authentic illness. The use of stereotypical "classical cases" in medicine militates against identification of the many people with the disease who do not fit the stereotype.
apnea • sleep apnea • sleepiness • obesity • pickwickian syndrome

Did Sleep Apnea Afflict Johannes Brahms?
Johannes Brahms had many signs and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea--frequent napping under inappropriate circumstances, falling asleep with extraordinary rapidity, heroic snoring. His success despite this deserves our admiration and emulation in the face of other disabling diseases. Moreover, current epidemiologic data suggests that OSA must affected many others, in times when it could not be diagnosed or treatment, but might have drawn ridicule or even accusations of character defects, like "laziness."
brahms • composer • obstructive sleep apnea • sleepiness • naps

Drowsy Drivers Beware!
Describes a scenario that might happen in the very near future: a law against drowsy driving, which has proven to be as major a factor in accidents as alcohol. Moreover, there is ample evidence that sleep deprivation and resultant sleepiness impair concentration and memory, slow reflexes, and even cause poor coordination. Already doctors aware of patients with illnesses like sleep apnea causing excessive daytime sleepiness sufficient to affect their driving, have begun to contact the Department of Motor Vehicles to have that patient's license suspended or revoked.
sleep • sleep deprivation • sleepiness • concentration • memory

Ignoring Snoring: A Dangerous Truce
This article is geared to alerting people who sleep with annoying snorers as to the danger of trying to "live with" the problem, and the importance of pursuing the possibility of diagnosable, dangerous, yet treatable Sleep Apnea.
snoring • sleep apnea • obstructive sleep apnea • osa • sleep-disordered breathing

Damaged Brains?
Research findings showing neuropsychological impairment of the type commonly associated with brain disease in patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea, even under treatment with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, raise fears of irreversible "brain damage" as a consequence of OSA. However, research has yet to separate continuous impairment from state-dependent impairment related to varying levels of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness. Until such studies show otherwise, patients should maintain an attitude of concern enough to keep track of new findings, but resist counterproductive worry and anxiety over the issue.
obstructive sleep apnea • osa • continuous positive airway pressure • cpap • brain damage

Hypothyroidism in Children
Hypothyroidism can affect one in 3,000 children born in the United States today. Do you know the warning signs?
hypothyroidism • mayo clinic • infants • early sexual development • excessive sleepiness

What is Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that affects a person's ability to regulate sleep-wake cycles. About 1 in 2,000 Americans is afflicted by this misunderstood disease
narcalepsy • what is narcolepsy • cataplexy • narcolepsy drugs • excessive daytime sleepiness

SDB &amp; PLMS: What Does It Mean?
SDB and PLMS, two different causes of sleep disruption, appear to be associated in individuals, and in time. This shows one example of the multifactorial nature of sleep problems.
uars • sdb • sleep apnea • cpap • plms

When Sleep Is Unwelcome
Australian researchers have recently unraveled a significant part of the narcolepsy puzzle.
narcolepsy • suite101 • kylie carberry • cataplexy • hypnagogic hallucinations

Knowledge is Power
This is what every new parent should know about CHD. Recognizing the ten warning signs of heart failure could save your child's life.
chd • congenital • heart • disease • symptoms

Exercise &amp; Apnea: Blessing or Curse?
A recent study has shown that a modest exercise program improves symptoms of sleep apnea. Aside from the good news that a little increase of activity can help, there is the danger that such findings will encourage doctors to perpetuate the already too prevalent practice of "blaming the victim" of apnea for being overweight and out of shape, which are consequences of as much as contributors to the disease. A solution to these problems may lie out of reach of many symptomatic apnea patients.
apnea • sleep apnea • obstructive sleep apnea • exercise • conditioning

An Overview Of Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a chronic condition that disrupts normal sleeping patterns. It causes sufferers to fall asleep suddenly, and without warning.
overview of narcolepsy • how to manage excessive drowsiness • symptoms of cataplexy • symptoms of narcolepsy • narcoleptic behaviour

Fibromyalgia - Myth or Reality
Fibromyalgia has only recently been accepted as a true disease. This article characterizes the disease and offers information regarding current treatments.
treatments for fibromyalgia • chronic pain syndrome • body pain • lyrica • cymbalta

Mechanical Effects of Obesity
Obesity is associated with cardiovascular conditions, but it also has consequences related to the heavy weight of fat tissue. What else can obesity do to the body?
obesity • sleep apnea • obesity hypoventilation syndrome • gastroesophageal reflux disease • osteoarthritis

Sleep Disorder Treatments
Some helpful information on drugs which doctors prescribe for insomnia and what you should know about them. There are many considerations you should know about before you resort to drug therapy.
sleep • medications • anti-depressants • degenerative • disease

Treating ADD With Medication
With the plethora of medications available to treat Attention Deficit Disorder, it is no wonder parents are unsure what to use - if they use them at all.
add medication • treating add with medication • medical management of add • how add medication works • deciding to medicate your add child

Yoga in Disease Treatment
Yoga, like meditation, thoughts of gratitude, and acts of kindness can bring you near-instant improvement in attitude, stress-relief, and peace of mind.
yoga • medicine • health • healing • disease

Bach Flower Remedies for Beginners - Review
Summer's here and it's book review time! An older release from author/practitioner David Vennells...
bach • remedies • flowers • herbals • healing

How Serious Are Those Mid-Winter Blues?
This article states what Seasonal Affective Disorder is, including the systems and potential cures.
winter • blues • depression • moodiness • fatigue

Sleep on It
Getting to REM can mean more than just a good night of sleep. Find out how to use essential oils to make you a smarter person!
sleep • rem • essential • oils • aromatherapy

New Drug for Insomnia After Sleep-Time Shift
A recent study shows that Tasimelteon, an agonist of melatonin, can be highly effective for treating symptoms of sleep disorders due to jet-lag or shift-work
insomnia and drugs • insomnia time shift • insomnia work shift • circadian rhythm • circadian cycle

New Jet Lag Remedy Getting Ready for Take-off
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave listless air travelers a jolt of potentially good news in September by granting a speedy review of a jet lag treatment.
jet lag remedy • fatigue • air sickness hydration exercise • alternative medicine • sleep disorders

Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is a problem with breathing and sleeping that can have serious consequences.
sleep apnea • obstructive sleep apnea • osa • continuous positive airway pressure • cpap

Sleep Disorders Explained
A sleep disorder is a state of being where there is a disturbance of sleep.
sleep disorders • insomnia causes • hormones • sleep tests • sleep statistics

Snow Shoveling Health Risks and Precautions
People who are not in peak physical condition or at risk for heart attack should think twice and consult a doctor before shoveling snow in cold winter weather.
american heart association • heart attack risk • snow shoveling • cold winter weather • safely precautions

Headache as a Symptom - Meningitis
Meningitis is one of many diseases with which severe headache is one of the early symptoms. When should you consult your doctor about a headache?
headache • meningitis • symptoms

Let's Talk About Sleep
The first part of a short series on sleep problems, it's treatment and why we need to sleep in the first place!
sleep • insomnia • symptom • sleeping • antihistamine

Pictures of Sleep
Drawn from the wealth of visual material available on the Internet are a select group of photos, drawings, and graphs that reveal important aspects of sleep and its disorders more readily than words could describe.
sleep • disorders • apnea • photographs • drawings

Shift Work Sleep Disorder (SWSD)
In the United States it is estimated that of the nearly twenty million people who work some form of shift work, 25 percent suffer from Shift Work Sleep Disorder (SWSD). It is even worse for those who rotate through various shifts. Read about SWSD here.
what is swsd? • what is shift work sleep disorder? • james foster robinson • sleep disorders • shift work

Sleep Deprivation in Asperger Syndrome
This article is about the sleep deprivation that some children and youth with Asperger Syndrome suffer from.
asperger syndrome • autism • asperger disorder • sleep deprivation

Some Information on Insomnia
In this last of four articles on insomnia, there's a little more detail about who it affects, how it's evaluated and some suggestions for treatments. Be sure to go back and read the first three articles on this important topic.
insomnia • natural sleep • concentration • irritability • transient

Understanding Your Sleep Study Results: RDI, Desaturation, and Sleep Architecture
The report of sleep polysomnography (also known as the overnight laboratory sleep study) plays such an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders--especially sleep apnea--that every patient who undergoes one should request a copy. It will prove much more interesting and useful if the patient can read the report with some understanding; it should not be that difficult to learn what to make of it, at least in part. Moreover, it can help a lot in relaying information to other doctors who need to know more than just a diagnostic impression given to a patient in a brief discussion with a sleep specialist.
understanding sleep study report • how to read sleep study result • apnea hypopnea index • respiratory distress index • oxygen desaturation

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