Seattle in Deep Sleep This Week

Seattle wasn't sleepless this week. Not after more than 4,000 sleep experts from around the world descended upon the Emerald City for SLEEP 2015, an annual conference sponsored by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. Topics and research on all things related to sleep -- how much we need, how much we don't get, how much is disrupted by undiagnosed sleep disorders and how a better, cheaper, less obtrusive way to detect sleep apnea is needed -- were discussed. "Right now we don't have enough sleep clinics, sleep laboratories and sleep specialists in the country to address all the sleep apnea that is out there," said Dr. Nathaniel F. Watson, University of Washington professor of neurology and co-director of the UW Medicine Sleep Center. Sleep deficiency is linked to many chronic health problems, including heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity and it's associated with serious non-alcohol-related car crash injuries and death, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Pharmacy Times cites several more studies attributing higher rates of depression, stroke and other health conditions to untreated sleep apnea. While specialized overnight clinics using polysomnography are regarded as the gold standard for sleep apnea diagnosis, they are expensive, inconvenient and invasive. Sleep labs may also not replicate a person's normal sleep pattern because of the unfamiliar setting and the feeling that so...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news