Obesity In Children Linked to Lack of Sleep and Breathing Problems

March 7, 2015

A child’s difficulty to sleep and breathing problems can influence the risk of your child from getting obese. The recent research study published in The Journal of Pediatrics revealed that these two conditions may double the risk for obesity of a child as he reaches the age of 15. The lead researcher, Prof. Karen Bonuck, indicated that sleep and breathing problems are correctable conditions, but when not treated accordingly can increase the risk of the child to become obese.

Sleep disordered breathing

Sleep disordered breathing is considered to be a risk factor to child obesity. The condition includes sleep apnea and snoring. Parents of children in the study were asked to provide information involving their child’s sleep duration and sleep disordered breathing symptoms since birth until the child reaches the age of 6 years. Data on body mass index(BMI) were also obtained. The study showed that those with a higher BMI and with severe sleep disordered breathing symptoms are at the greatest risk of getting obese. Their chance to become obese as they reach the age of 7 to 15 years old is twice as much as those who are symptomatic with sleep disordered breathing condition. A study made in Hong Kong revealed that children with an excess weight tend to have a breathing problem because it causes the narrowing or congestion of the child’s airway while sleeping. Children with sleep disorders also tend to have enlarged tissues at the back of their throat, increasing their chance to getting obese later on.

Sleep duration symptoms

Children with a shorter sleep duration at the age of five or six have about 60 to 100 percent of getting obese upon reaching the age of 15. This finding, however, is interestingly not consistent among children of other age group. Short sleep duration in children refers to sleep that is less than 90% than the other children of their age. Parents are advised to help their children get enough sleep at an ideal duration, considering that about 25 to 50 percent of preschoolers suffer from lack of sufficient sleep.

In a research study published in Pediatrics that was conducted by the University of Chicago researchers, the sleeping patterns of about 308 children between the age of 4 and 10 were tracked down using a special wrist device. These children were categorized with normal, overweight and obese according to their respective body mass index. The study revealed that obese children in the group have variable sleep patterns and they tend to have short duration sleep as the other children. They were also identified to have the unhealthiest blood profile during blood extraction.

Additional findings of the researchers show that those children having the tendency to become obese are more protected when they get adequate sleep. Additional observation was added by Dr. Phyllis Zee, a sleep researcher, where he agreed there is a correlating link between sleep and obesity, but also signifies that the variability of sleep-wake timing in children can also be a contributing factor in regulating weight.

Other researches were also focusing on the resulting interrupted or disordered activity of the body’s metabolism and endocrine system caused by the lack of sleep. This is especially significant among children whose body are still growing. Another relation to sleep and obesity are the changes in the levels  of two hormones named leptin and gherlin, which are responsible for appetite and hunger regulation. The body often misinterprets sleep cravings as a hunger that causes an increase in the activities of these hormones that makes a child overeat.

The Drowsy Driving Epidemic [Infographic]

February 11, 2015 | Daniel R. Rosen


The Cost & Consequences of 168 Million Sleep-Deprived Drivers

There are countless driving hazards every time we get behind the wheel of a vehicle. But one of the most common can also be the most deadly: driving while drowsy.

While texting and driving and drinking and driving are widespread and deadly problems, drowsy driving is even more pervasive in the U.S. More than a third of Americans fell asleep behind the wheel of a car last year, and there are 42 drowsy drivers for every one drunk driver on the road.

Drowsy driving accounts for hundreds of thousands of auto accidents, injuries and deaths, as well as billions of dollars in monetary losses every year. Driving while sleep deprived can even cause impairment that rivals driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The infographic below explores the costs and consequences of drowsy driving across the U.S.


Source: Law Offices of Daniel R. Rosen.

Israeli Researchers Develop Groundbreaking Approach To Evaluate Sleep Disorders.

Mon, Mar 16th, 2015

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have developed a groundbreaking approach to determine sleep quality using their new breath sound analysis (BSA). This is less expensive and invasive than current polysomnography (PSG) technology, according to a new study published on PLOS Online.

“One of the main goals of sleep medicine today is to improve early diagnosis and treatment of the ’flood” of subjects presenting with sleep disorders,” says Prof. Yaniv Zigel Ph.D., head of the Biomedical Signal Processing Research Lab in BGU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering.

“We’ve developed a non-contact ‘breathing sound analysis’ algorithm that provides a reliable estimation of whole-night sleep evaluation for detection of sleep quality, snoring severity and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). It has the potential to reduce the cost and management of sleep disorders compared to PSG, the current standard of treatment, and could be used at home.”

PSG requires a full night sleep center stay and subjects are connected to numerous electrodes and sensors that are attached to the patient to acquire signals and data from electroencephalography (EEG), electrooculography (EOG), electromyography (EMG), and electrocardiography (ECG) tests. The data is processed and visually examined or mathematically transformed manually in order to reveal insights about sleep/wake states and many aspects of physiology. “This procedure is time-consuming, tedious and costly due to complexity and the need for technical expertise; the market is begging for a better solution,” says Eliran Dafna who conducted this study as part of his Ph.D. research.

In the study, the researchers measured whole-night breathing sounds from 150 patients using both ambient microphones and PSG simultaneously at a sleep laboratory. The system was trained on 80 subjects and a validation study was blindly performed on the additional 70 subjects. A set of acoustic features quantifying breathing patterns was developed to distinguish between sleep and wake segments. Sleep quality parameters were calculated based on the sleep/wake classifications and compared with PSG for validity.

When comparing sleep quality parameters, there were only minor average differences in the measurements between PSG and BSA. Measuring 150,000 individual time segments (epochs), the BSA epoch-by-epoch accuracy rate for the validation study was 83.3 percent with 92.2 percent sensitivity measuring sleep as sleep.

“The results showed that sleep/wake activity and sleep quality parameters can be reliably estimated solely using breathing sound analysis,” says Prof. Ariel Tarasiuk of BGU’s Department of Physiology and head of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Unit, at Soroka University Medical Center. “This study highlights the potential of this innovative approach to measure sleep in research and clinical circumstances. Clearly, the transition of this technology to at-home sleep evaluation depends on third party reimbursements for the use of home study equipment.”

The Biomedical Signal Processing Research Laboratory was established in 2007 by Prof. Yaniv Zigel. The lab’s team are experts in physiological signal processing and pattern recognition.

The for the Study and Diagnosis of Sleep Disorders was established in 1994 by Prof. Ariel Tarasiuk. The unit’s team of experts evaluate sleep disorders in children and adults and operates in conjunction with specialists in respiratory diseases, neurology, ENT, and gastrointestinal diseases.

WHAT SYDNEY LEROUX DOES TO HER NEW HUSBAND IF HE'S SNORING.

By D'Arcy Maine | Mar 16, 2015



Unless you've been living in an underground tunnel somewhere with no WiFi signal or cell service, you're aware that soccer stars Sydney Leroux and Dom Dwyer were recently married. In fact, if you follow either of them on social media, you probably already know more about their relationship than that of people you -- GASP -- actually know IRL.

And just when you thought you knew everything about their lives, Leroux documented her new husband's annoying sleep habit and maybe her attempt at killing him. So that's a new development.

After having her sleep disturbed by Dwyer's snoring, Leroux did what anyone would do and pinched his nose. It worked ... temporarily. She posted the video of her efforts on Instagram with the caption: "When you try to kill bae."

For those concerned: Dwyer is still very much alive and well. Although he might want to find a way to get his snoring in check ... before it's too late.

5 Reasons You Should Never Share Your Bed With Your Cat

• by Judy Molland
• March 14, 2015
• 11:30 am

Do you let your cat into your bedroom at night?

Sleeping with your feline friend isn’t unusual in the United States. According to a recent survey of pet owners by the American Pet Products Association, 62 percent of cats sleep with their adult owners, and another 13 percent of cats sleep with children.

It’s a great idea, right? Cats are wonderfully therapeutic; they can help calm nerves, lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. However, that doesn’t mean you should allow your cat into your bedroom.

Here are five really good reasons to never share your covers with your kitty.

1. Cats Disturb Your Sleep

The last time I let my cat Sargent Pepper into my bedroom, she decided at 3 am that it was time to get up and have fun. First she jumped on and off the bed a few times, then she poked at my hair, and finally she stuck her paw against my mouth.

A study released by the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center found that 41 percent of the sleep-deprived pet owners said the disturbances in their sleep come from letting their pets share the bed, while 58 percent said letting them sleep in the same room caused problems due to snoring and other interruptions.

And snoring isn’t just a people problem. The study also found that 21 percent of sleep clinic patients had snoring dogs and 7 percent had snoring cats.

2. Cats Are Nocturnal; Humans Are Not

The problem is that cats are nocturnal, mostly because they spend much of the time sleeping all day. Humans, however, are not. Enough said.

Cats just like to be active all night long: there’s the midnight stare, for example, and the endless meow. Then there’s the human mattress: cats just deciding to sleep on your chest, or on your stomach.

And the “Look what I caught” game can take a strange turn in the middle of the night. My friend Ellen was woken at 2 am last week by her kitty bringing her a paint brush, and thrusting it towards her. Huh? What was the kitty trying to tell her?

3. Cats Make Your Asthma And Allergies Worse

Over 8 percent of adults, along with 9 percent of children, suffer from asthma; if you’re one of those people, bringing a cat into the bedroom will only make you suffer more.

If you have asthma or allergies, you’re better off with no cat presence, but maybe you already have a feline friend, or  your kids have fallen in love with an adorable kitten? If the cat has to stay, limit your exposure to the kitty and restrict her to certain sections of your home. Above all, keep the cat out of your bedroom at all times. Instead, install a high-efficiency particulate arrestance (HEPA) filter in your sleeping area to clear the air and give your nose a few hours a day to recover.

4. Cats May Pass On Infectious Diseases

Emerging Infectious Diseases, in conjunction with the CDC, released an article called “Zoonoses in the Bedroom.” These are diseases that animals can spread to people. In this article they give a few scary examples, including a young boy who got plague after having his flea-infested cat sleep with him.

Approximately 60 percent of all human pathogens could have been transmitted by an animal: rabies, ringworm, hookworms, toxoplasmosis, roundworm, giardia, even bubonic plague.

Ugh! Who wants to risk getting any of those?

5. What About Sex?

Can having a cat in your bedroom interfere with your sex life? I don’t know about you, but for me the idea of sexual intimacy while my cat is on the bed, or even in the bedroom, creeps me out.

However, not all cat lovers agree with me. Elizabeth and Charles Schmitz, love and marriage experts who wrote “Golden Anniversaries: The Seven Secrets of Successful Marriage,” report that many of their successful couples have pets and many sleep in the same room as those pets. But when it comes to being intimate, “Some put them outside the bedroom because they don’t want them to watch,” Elizabeth Schmitz says. “Some give them a treat to distract them. Some don’t mind if the pet stays on the bed.” So it all works out as long as you both agree on how you feel about your cat being in your bedroom.

Of course, just because you don’t allow your cat into your bedroom doesn’t mean she won’t object. Almost every morning, around 5:30 am, I am woken by a loud thumping and scratching on the bedroom door, Sargent Pepper’s way of informing us that she is wide awake and ready for breakfast.

What do you think? Do you let your kitty friend into your bedroom?

SDB Treatment May Reduce Hospital Admission Rates in Chronic Heart Failure Patients

Published on March 12, 2015

ResMed today announced data from two studies about sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in chronic heart failure will be presented at the 64th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology, from March 14 through 16.

“The data we are presenting are important because they point toward a connection between breathing disorders in sleep, like sleep apnea, and chronic heart failure,” says ResMed chief medical officer, Glenn Richards, MD, in a release. “We look forward to learning the results of our landmark clinical study called SERVE-HF, that examines whether addressing sleep-disordered breathing in people with chronic heart failure improves survival.”

Final data from nearly 7,000 patients in a German registry of more than 10,000 patients with stable chronic heart failure showed that SDB was present in nearly one out of two people (46%). Prevalence of SDB increased rapidly with age. Other risk factors include male gender, more severe heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and increased weight.

This data will be presented in a poster session by Olaf Oldenburg, senior cardiologist in the Department of Cardiology at the Heart and Diabetes Center North Rhine-Westphalia, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, on March 16 from 9:45 AM to 10:30 AM. (Session 1252, Poster 212; Prevalence and Predictors of Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Patients with Stable Chronic Heart Failure: Final data of the SchlaHF Registry; Poster Hall B1)

Data from an American study suggests that treatment of SDB may reduce hospital admission rates in patients with chronic heart failure. Patients compliant with PAP therapy had significantly reduced hospital visits in the 6 months after starting therapy compared to the 6 months before therapy. A comparable group who were not compliant with PAP therapy had no change in frequency of hospital visits.

This data will be presented in a poster session by Dr Sunil Sharma, associate professor in the Department of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University on March 14 from 3:45 PM to 4:30 PM. (Session 1145, Poster 192; Treatment of Sleep Disordered Breathing in Patients Admitted for Decompensated Heart Failure Reduces 6 Months Hospital Visits, Poster Hall B1)

Sleep deprived? Naps might help your immune system.

Published March 06, 2015 - Reuters

Getting too little sleep is linked to poor health, but short naps might partly offset that effect, a small study suggests.

Sleep deprivation can have a negative impact on brain function, metabolism, hormones and the immune system. While research has shown that a 30-minute afternoon nap can restore alertness, the current study is the first to examine whether napping has any impact on stress or immune system function, said Brice Faraut, a sleep researcher at Université Paris Descartes-Sorbonne Paris Cité in France.

Faraut and colleagues studied 11 healthy young men who typically slept seven to nine hours each night, didn’t smoke and didn't normally take naps.

Two separate times, each man participated in a three-day session of sleep tests in a laboratory where food intake and lighting were strictly controlled and no alcohol, caffeine or medications were allowed.

During one session, they slept normally for one night but then were only allowed to sleep for two hours the next night. The men could sleep as much as they liked on the third night.

The other session was the same - except the men were allowed to take two 30-minute naps the day after their sleep was restricted.

The study team collected urine and saliva samples each day to measure levels of norepinephrine, a substance that's typically released when the body is under stress. It increases heart rate, constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure and blood sugar.

The men’s norepinephrine levels were more than doubled in the afternoon after the night of sleep restriction, compared to the day after they had slept normally. But there was no change in norepinephrine when participants were allowed to nap.

Lack of sleep also affected an immune-regulating molecule called interleukin-6, which dropped when the men were sleep-deprived but stayed normal when they were allowed to nap.

This relatively short nap duration can be a "powerful countermeasure to sleep debt," Faraut said in an email, adding that the findings need to be tested in real-life situations.

Michael Grandner, a sleep researcher at the University of Pennsylvania who was not involved in the study, said the immune findings were somewhat contradictory to the existing literature.

“But these are complicated processes, and studies like these, that examine what happens during partial recovery, (help) us understand all of the ways that sleep is important for health and functioning,” Grandner told Reuters Health by email.

Grandner differentiates between two types of napping.

“First are naps that you take because you are so exhausted that you cannot stay awake,” Grandner said. “A nap in this case may help a little, but being that exhausted is a sign of insufficient sleep or a sleep disorder and it's unlikely that the nap can completely fix the problem.”

“You might have a sleep disorder like sleep apnea (which is a very common cause of sleepiness) or you may be sleep deprived," he said, "which has been shown to be an important risk factor for weight gain and obesity, heart disease, poor performance, and many other outcomes.”

Grandner said the second type of nap is one you take to refresh yourself.

“Rather than a nap by necessity, this is a nap by choice,” he said. “These naps, since they are not in the context of exhaustion, have the opportunity of boosting your performance (rather than simply making up for lost sleep).”

Sleep Apnea More Than Doubles Risk For Car Accidents: The Dangers Of Drowsy Driving

Mar 11, 2015 11:57 AM By Chris Weller

New evidence adds to the already compelling case that driving a car while not properly rested produces similar risks as driving drunk.

The recent study was published in the journal Sleep and found people with obstructive sleep apnea were 2.5 times more likely to be the driver in an accident than people without the sleep disorder. Fortunately, the study also found continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, therapy was effective at reducing the rates by up to 70 percent if the person used the technique for an average of four hours every night.

"Excessive daytime sleepiness is a common symptom of obstructive sleep apnea, which can cause you to awaken in the morning feeling tired and unrefreshed despite a full night of sleep," said Dr. Timothy Morgenthale, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, in a statement.

Insufficient sleep has been officially classified as a public health epidemic by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as nearly 40 percent of people report unintentionally falling asleep at least once in the past month. On their own, the dangers of sleep deprivation include a suppressed immune system and moderate cognitive impairment. But the risks increase even further when those setbacks are applied to a complex activity, like driving a car. In 2010, a study found 20 to 25 hours of sleep loss resulted in the same levels of depleted brainpower as a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.10.

Obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the body’s airway gets blocked and results in difficulty breathing, may produce many of the same effects. In the latest study, Swedish researchers used data from the long-term data collection project STRADA, the Swedish Traffic Accident Registry. The team looked at 1,478 sleep apnea patients with an average age of 54 years. Comparing accident rates among a control population of more than 635,000, they found drivers in accidents were significantly more likely to suffer from sleep apnea. People who got only five hours of sleep, experienced daytime sleepiness, and regularly took sleeping pills also faced greater accident risks.

"Effective identification and treatment of sleep apnea is essential to reduce avoidable, life-threatening accidents caused by drowsy driving," Morgenthale said.

Obstructive sleep apnea is decidedly less common than general sleep deprivation. Roughlyone in five American adults has a mild case, while one in 15 has a moderate to severe case. Meanwhile, a recent Gallup poll found 40 percent of the country gets less than the recommended amount of sleep each night. Collectively, these missed hours account for 6,400 traffic-related deaths, which make up 21 percent of the U.S. total, according to a 2014 report. This is an increase from the 16.5 percent of deaths a previous 2010 study found.

For the dangers of drowsy driving, drunk driving still remains the greatest danger to motorists. The CDC reports that in 2012, alcohol-impaired drivers led to 10,322 deaths, which accounted for nearly a third of all traffic-related deaths in the U.S. Drunk driving’s annual cost is roughly $59 billion.

Drowsy driving, however, seldom receives a proportional amount of attention as drunk driving, which only adds to the risks. A deepening culture of casual sleepiness may account for Americans’ reluctance to sit passenger just because they feel a little groggy. For people with legitimate sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea, the latest research suggests people can dramatically cut their chances of an accident if they can identify their symptoms and take action.

For everyone else, the prescription is as simple as investing an extra hour or two of sleep each night. Given that 90 percent of the U.S. population drives a car to and from work, it’s a quick fix that can end up keeping everyone safe.

Snoring can lead to glaucoma: Experts

T Ramavarman,TNN | Mar 8, 2015, 06.15 AM IST

Snoring cuts off oxygen supply to your lungs and vital organs including the eyes. In glaucoma, already the opticval nerve cells are dying due to the increased pressure. Lack of oxygen accelerates the decay.

THRISSUR: Besides creating nuisance to those around you, snoring can aggravate glaucoma-optic nerve damage associated with the buildup of pressure in the eye-leading to loss of vision, experts said.

Studies reinforced the belief that those who snore were at the risk of developing glaucoma, ophthalmic surgeon Dr Rani Menon said.

"Snoring cuts off oxygen supply to your lungs and vital organs including the eyes. In glaucoma, already the opticval nerve cells are dying due to the increased pressure. Lack of oxygen accelerates the decay. So snoring is a very serious risk as far as glaucoma is concerned,'' she said.

When pressure builds up, the nerve cells inside the eye get strangulated and they start dying. There are about five million nerve cells in the human eye, and vision would be affected when about 30% cent of them are lost.

According to statistics, one in 200 of those aged above 40 stand the risk of getting glaucoma affected, while one in 100 aged above 65 were at risk. In India, about 11.9 million people are glaucoma-affected.

Though early detection is critical in treating glaucoma, patients seldom perceive any clear symptom, said Dr Babu Krishnakumar, secretary of the Kerala society of ophthalmic surgeons.

'Glaucoma Week' is being organized across the world from March 8.

For Teens, Sleep Habits Can Run In The Family

(FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 2/17/15) 
By Ann Lukits

To understand teenagers’ sleep habits, look at their parents, a study suggests. When parents go to bed, how long they sleep, and when they wake up may help to shape their children’s sleep patterns during adolescence, according to the study, in the February issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Lack of sleep has been linked to obesity, accidents, substance abuse and other health problems during high school, researchers said. Efforts to improve teen sleep should consider the sleep routines of parents and possibly other family members, they said.

The study, at the University of California in Los Angeles, involved 336 pairs of teens and parents, ages 15 and 42 years old, on average, respectively. Most of the teens, 87%, were born in the U.S. while 81% of parents, mostly mothers, emigrated from Mexico.

The researchers said family togetherness is emphasized in Mexican-American families but it wasn’t known if that was a factor in the sleep patterns of parents and teens.

Over a two-year period, teens and parents documented their sleep habits and daily activities nightly for two weeks in each of the years. Parent-teen relationships also were assessed.

On average, teens slept 8.6 hours on nonschool nights and about 30 minutes less on school nights. Parents went to bed and woke up earlier than teens and slept about 17 minutes less on school nights.

Although parents and teens didn’t always go to bed at the same time, the similarity in their sleep habits was significant: If parents stayed up later or went to bed earlier, teens also stayed up later or went to bed earlier.

The variability in parental bedtimes was more closely related to variability in girls’ bedtimes.

The association between the sleep habits of parents and teens remained significant after adjusting for other factors such as studying, suggesting family sleep routines may shape adolescent sleep over and above other events in their life, researchers said.

The relationship between parent-teen sleep was strongest in larger families and those with greater parental support.

Caveat: The size of the home, type of neighborhood, lighting, noise and family members’ morning and evening preferences weren’t known. It isn’t known if similar sleep patterns would be seen among other ethnic groups, researchers said.

Snooze and lose: Getting more sleep may be the key to weight loss

Registered dietitian Caryn Alter talks to her "Lighten Up Weight Loss" class in Freehold. Alter is one of a growing number of health professionals who agree that sleep deprivation can hinder weight loss. (Noah K. Murray | For NJ Advance Media)

By Susan Bloom | For The Star-Ledger 
on March 05, 2015 at 3:57 PM

Frustrated about that extra weight you've put on or those few pounds you just can't seem to lose? Put down that iPad and plump up your pillow instead -- a growing body of research has shown a strong connection between sleep duration and weight in adults and children, and suggests that a little more sleep might be just what you need to kick your body into natural weight loss or weight management mode.

With the hustle and bustle of 21st century life leading the average American to get up to two hours less sleep per night while tipping the scales at over 20 pounds more than they did 50 years ago, a variety of studies have explored the powerful correlation between sleep and weight. Among their findings, a Mayo Clinic study recently found that women who slept less than six hours or more than nine hours per night were more likely to gain 11 pounds than women who slept seven hours per night, while researchers at the Harvard-affiliated General Hospital for Children determined that, of the 1,000 children they tracked from the age of six months to seven years old, those who were the most sleep-deprived were about 2 1/2 times as likely to be obese as the children who consistently got enough sleep.

The average American requires 7-9 hours of sleep each night to function optimally, according to the National Sleep Foundation in Arlington, Va.

"But an estimated one-third of Americans are sleep-deprived in some way, which is an issue because a lot of important things happen as we sleep, " said Dr. Priyanka Yadav pediatrics and sleep medicine specialist at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital's Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center in Hillsborough.

State of Check

In addition to providing the body with critical restorative time and supporting focus, retention, and memory consolidation of what we learned during the day, she said, the process of sleep keeps the body in an important state of check and balance and sleep deprivation can absolutely affect metabolism and appetite.

That's because sleep-deprived individuals have been found to possess both higher levels of ghrelin, a hormone which drives feelings of hunger, as well as lower levels of leptin, a hormone which triggers feelings of fullness and satisfaction after we eat - a dangerous double whammy for weight gain.

"Many patients I treat for sleep issues also have weight management issues - these seem to go hand in hand because sleep deprivation can cause glucose intolerance, hormonal imbalances, and other metabolic conditions, " Yadav said. "In addition, when you're sleep-deprived, the frontal cortex of the brain - which controls our ability to plan, problem-solve, and make decisions and naturally blunts the impulse to eat more fatty, carbohydrate-heavy, and caloric foods - is less active, " she said.

Caryn Alter, a registered dietitian at CentraState Medical Center's Health Awareness Center in Freehold, agrees that sleep-deprived individuals can gain weight because of poor dietary choices they make - consciously or unconsciously.

"Carbohydrates tend to raise the body's levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which makes people feel sleepier and calmer, " Alter explained. "So when they're tired or stressed out, people often eat with less self-control and reach for carb-laden foods like ice cream, cookies and potato chips. The hitch is that these 'comfort foods, ' in large portions, can cause weight gain."

Her message for the tens of millions of Americans struggling with weight issues? "It's not necessarily that you don't have willpower or mindfulness, but rather that there may be a chemical event in the brain causing you to feel hungrier because you're simply tired, " she said.

"If you seem to have more of an appetite or find yourself nibbling more, it could be stemming from a physiological cause - too little sleep - rather than a psychological one."

At the "Lighten Up"weight-loss classes that she conducts weekly at CentraState, Alter instructs attendees on nutrition, exercise, and body chemistry but is also quick to advise on the importance of sleep to an overall healthy lifestyle and recommends a few extra hours of sleep each week for those getting less than six hours per night.

When it comes to weight loss, "getting more sleep and/or regulating your sleep pattern, in addition to mindful eating and exercising, may just be the missing link, " said Alter, who noted that it can be difficult to motivate yourself to exercise if you're tired, another factor increasing the likelihood for sleep-deprived individuals to pack on pounds.

Don't go too far

Yadav agreed that for many people, getting more sleep can be an easy way to feel better and start losing weight - to a point.

"Too much sleep causes people to burn fewer calories and is associated with an increased risk of mortality, " she said.

Colts Neck resident and former nurse Kathie Nolte, 64, said she experienced some of the diminishing returns of too much sleep following her retirement two years ago.

"When I was working a 7 a.m.-3 p.m. shift, I was waking up at 5:30 a.m. and going to bed at 9:30 p.m. and I was able to maintain my weight, " she said.

"But after retiring, I found myself going to bed later, reaching for a lot of carbs late at night, and waking up late after sleeping for 10 hours. I didn't have the same energy level as I did when I was working and it made me get down on myself, " she said of the way her new sleep pattern threw off her eating schedule, made her less productive throughout the day, negatively impacted her mood, and ultimately contributed to a 30-pound weight gain.

Sleep and slimming down

Nolte said she is already several pounds down since changing her sleep schedule and joining Alter's "Lighten Up" class in January.

"I feel much better about myself now - more put together and organized," Nolte said. "And I learned that getting good-quality sleep and the right amount is as important to your health as eating a proper diet or exercising."

"Most people know that diet and exercise are important to health, but many forget that sleep is the missing, third component of a healthy life cycle, " agreed Natalie Dautovich, National Sleep Foundation Environmental Scholar.

"Not only is adequate sleep necessary for healthy cognitive functioning, but because sleep is rejuvenating, a good night's sleep can help you slim down and maintain an ideal body weight. This rejuvenation can lead to more enthusiastic and longer workouts, which in turn can also lead to increased weight loss and better quality sleep. Sufficient, high-quality sleep also leads to a greater ability to self-regulate and select healthy food choices, which in turn helps with maintaining a healthy weight, " she said.

"It's great to see more awareness of the importance of sleep to our overall health and to our weight in particular, " said Yadav, who advises people to tap into the body's natural rhythm and enjoy the benefits of even an hour more sleep a night if they've been getting short-changed.

"The body is intuitive and is designed to survive. So we should just let it do what it needs to do and stop getting in the way of ourselves."

Alternative Snoring Treatment Getting Rave Reviews

Posted: Mar 03, 2015 2:12 PM CSTUpdated: Mar 04, 2015 3:28 PM CST


http://www.waff.com/clip/11199609/newer-remedy-helps-snoring-sufferers

Norman Roby's dentist helped him find a new snoring treatment. (Source: WAFF)

DECATUR, AL (WAFF) -

Norman Roby says his snoring was pretty bad. He says he never felt rested and had a tendency to nap during the day. Finally he sought help.

"I did a sleep study over at Decatur General, at the time, and they determined that I was suffering from Sleep apnea, so I used a C-pap for a long time."

C-pap, or continuous positive airway pressure machines, have long been the standard treatment for slumberers who snore. But those machines come with some caveats.

Roby says he was miserable. "I didn't like being put in a bridle. I couldn't roll and turn and (it) had a noise going, and if I had any kind of a head cold I couldn't use the Cpap. I had to take it off. I slept worse with it than I did without it."

His friend Dr. Randall Sandlin, a Decatur dentist, helped him. "But, unfortunately it's not all that comfortable and there is a pretty high percentage, maybe half or more, of patients who just can't tolerate c-pap, because you're tethered to a machine and you're limited in your sleep position," Sandlin explained.

Sandlin says the oral appliance he recommended works differently. "It all fits within the mouth. It fits like a kid's retainer after braces." 

SomnoDent is a two-piece oral appliance that works to hold the lower jaw slightly forward. 

"The tongue is actually attached to the lower jaw, and when you bring the lower jaw slightly forward, you are bringing the tongue just a few millimeters slightly forward - which helps it open up the airway and keep it from collapsing," the dentist said.

Sandlin says you can speak, yawn, drink water with the device, so small, it can fit in your pocket. He says this device is a medical-grade acrylic appliance which will not "hold odor".

Roby says he can finally catch some "Z's.

"I was sleeping better than I had in years... sleeping like a fat baby," he laughed

And he says he's not the only one. "My wife is sleeping a lot better too ."