News

Even though the switch to daylight saving time (DST) is behind us, it might still affect your sleep and health. DST can affect your body in many ways, including sleep, mood, and risk of certain health conditions. Studies have even found an uptick in heart attacks and strokes after the March time change.

Whether you are having trouble adjusting to DST or have other sleep issues, RiverView Health's Sleep Center offers services to individuals from birth through the end of life.

Sleepiness, snoring, or an inability to concentrate may not seem like reasons to seek medical attention; however, in addition to the psychological and social effects, any of these symptoms could result from an undiagnosed medical condition.

"We want people to be aware of the risks of untreated sleep apnea that affects millions of people, including hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, strokes, and a higher risk for Alzheimer's disease," shared Lori Cayler, RPSGT. "Sleep disorders can affect your quality of life. If you have excessive daytime sleepiness, this can lead to difficulty focusing and paying attention. This can greatly impact driving safety and workplace safety and errors.

Help for Sleep-Wake Disorders

Accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, RiverView's Sleep Center provides experienced, objective, and systematic approaches to diagnosing and treating sleep-wake disorders, including

• Insomnia: Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early.
• Sleep Apnea: Disruption of breathing during sleep, with brief periods throughout the night when breathing stops. People with sleep apnea may not get enough oxygen and have inadequate sleep. The most common symptoms of sleep apnea are loud snoring, waking up feeling unrefreshed, waking with a dry mouth, having trouble staying awake during the day, headaches, waking up during the night, and feeling like you are choking.
• Narcolepsy: The need to sleep no matter how much sleep you get at night. You may fall asleep while working, talking, or driving a car, with attacks lasting from 30 seconds to more than 30 minutes.
• Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS): RLS is discomfort in the legs when sitting or lying still. Individuals with RLS feel the constant need to stretch or move their legs, which prevents them from falling asleep. Symptoms are most likely to occur during inactivity, especially while sitting.
• Pediatric and Adolescent Sleep Disorders: All sleep disorders affecting adults have a pediatric counterpart. The most common problems are related to the sleep/wake schedule (difficulty falling or staying asleep or inability to sleep at desired times). Infants and children also suffer from sleep apnea, often associated with airway problems. Narcolepsy typically begins in adolescence and may affect younger children. Unusual motor behavior during sleep may result from sleep terrors, sleepwalking, or nocturnal seizures.

RiverView's Sleep Center has offered sleep studies, officially known as Polysomnography, since 1996. These studies diagnose sleep disorders by recording brain waves, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, and breathing during sleep. They also measure eye and leg movements.

In addition to diagnosis, a sleep study can help determine a treatment plan for someone diagnosed with a sleep disorder or help determine if treatment needs adjustment.

Studies have significantly advanced over the years. While RiverView continues to offer pain-free overnight studies in a hotel-like bedroom with a queen-size bed, cable television, and private bathroom, the sleep center also offers home testing and convenient telehealth services for qualifying patients. Recently, a patient living several hours away completed a sleep study from the comfort of their own home with easy-to-use equipment mailed to their doorstep and no need to send anything back to the Crookston lab.

Cayler stated that a sleep study could also confirm that you do not have sleep apnea but may have a snoring problem or other sleep disorders, such as restless legs or insomnia, that require different treatments.

Short Study with Lasting Results

"By having a sleep study, we can oftentimes get you diagnosed and treated for sleep apnea in just one night," Cayler reported.

In the 28 years Cayler has been working as a sleep lab technologist, she said CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) has been the most effective treatment for sleep apnea. CPAP machines take in air from the room, filter and pressurize it, and then deliver it through a mask or pillows that cradle the nose to prevent the wearer's airway from collapsing while they sleep.

"The thing I hear most often from my patients is that 'I'll never be able to sleep with that thing (CPAP machine) on.' But, for so many of them, they are able to sleep, and they actually tolerate it very well. Many of these people say CPAP has been a game changer for them, and they would never sleep without it again.

"Don't let someone else's negative views on it interfere with your health. You just don't know what it's like until you try it."

If a patient cannot tolerate CPAP, Dr. Arveity Setty, medical director of RiverView's Sleep Lab, said other treatment options exist, although less convenient. One alternative is Inspire, a device implanted under the collarbone that sends mild stimulation to key airway muscles while you sleep, allowing the airway to remain open. After the device is implanted at an outside facility, the patient meets with Dr. Setty, who then activates it. The patient returns to the RiverView Sleep Center after a few weeks for monitoring and adjustments to the device, if needed. Inspire patients need to meet specific qualifications for service eligibility.

RiverView's Sleep Center also offers

• Multiple Sleep Latency Testing to diagnose narcolepsy
• Actigraphy, a watch worn for approximately two weeks to monitor a patient's sleep pattern and efficiency
• Maintenance of Wakefulness Testing to ensure that treatment is successful for patients in certain professions who've previously been diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea, allowing them to continue their duties safely

Good health starts with good sleep. If sleep, or lack of it, is a problem, talk to your primary care provider about a referral to the RiverView Sleep Center or call Rehab Services at 218.281.9463 for more information.

Pictured above, left to right: Dr. Arveity Setty and Lori Cayler, along with the rest of RiverView’s Sleep Center Team, help patients from birth through end of life who are experiencing issues with sleep.