A good night's sleep
solutions for a more peaceful slumber
By Theresa Bjork

There’s nothing better than a good night’s sleep to raise your spirits and get you ready to take on a new day.

Yet the benefits of sleep last beyond the morning hours. Researchers are discovering that sleep does wonders to improve overall health and reduce the risk of costly chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

“I like to call sleep our internal physician. It’s a time of rest and repair,” says Dr. Stephen Grant, a sleep medicine physician at the Iowa Sleep Disorders Center. “In children and young adults, it’s really necessary for normal growth and development. In older adults, it’s critical for memory consolidation.”

Unfortunately, many Iowans don’t get the sleep they need to help their bodies and minds recover, Grant says. Insomnia, respiratory problems, stress and other ailments can reduce the quality and quantity of sleep.

The Iowa Sleep Disorders Center, with clinics in West Des Moines and Ankeny, offers treatments for sleep disorders that can impact the immediate and long-term health of patients.

Inadequate or poor sleep can lead to significant health problems, Grant explains. People with untreated sleep disorders have a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke.

Poor sleep also can cause chronic fatigue, lowering a person's overall quality of life, Grant says.

“The statements I hear are: 'I feel like I sleep 8 hours a night, but I wake up as tired as I was before I went to sleep,'" Grant says. "So they don’t feel like their sleep is really constitutive.”

Many patients come to the Iowa Sleep Disorders Center at the request of a spouse worried about their snoring. Snoring can be a sign of a common sleep disorder known as obstructive sleep apnea, a respiratory condition that stops the patient’s breathing while he or she is asleep, Grant says.

“Sometimes when you see someone who is not breathing while they are sleeping, kind of like an uncomfortable silence lasting tens of seconds, that would be an example of an apnea,” Grant says.

The Iowa Sleep Disorders Center can diagnose sleep apnea by inviting patients to spend a night at the center's sleep lab. Electronic monitors measure brain wave and breathing patterns while they sleep.

Often, patients don’t realize they are waking up several times during the night because of sleep apnea, Grant explains. In severe cases, a patient wakes up 30 or more times within an hour, greatly impacting the quality of their sleep.

Treatment for sleep apnea depends on the severity of the condition, Grant says. Doctors will often recommend conservative measures, such as changes in sleeping position or weight loss.

Another common treatment for sleep apnea is a CPAP machine, which is a mask that blows air into the nose to improve breathing.

Although it may take some time to get used to wearing the CPAP, many patients report it is worth the initial discomfort, Grant says.

“When people do get that one good night of sleep, they wake up and say, 'I haven’t felt like this for years,'” he says.

Grant says doctors and patients are paying more attention to the important role that sleep plays in our overall health and well-being.

“You spend a third of your life doing it,” Grant says. “It’s surprising the number of baby boomers we see who take a sense of responsibility over their health. People want to be fit and in shape...and sleep is just one large component of that.”