Sleep needn't be the enemy.
In a study of 20 patients, scientists found that a combination of atomoxetine and oxybutynin reduces AHI, reports Science.
The trial turned up one potentially problematic finding: Although the drug combination reduced patients’ AHIs, their number of subconscious arousals—the subtle awakenings that leave patients exhausted—remained high.
from Sleep Review http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2018/09/drug-combo-shows-promise-for-treating-sleep-apnea/…
Couples out there can probably relate to the fact that you may love your spouse or partner to the moon and back but they can also bring out the worst in you. It may sound ironic but it is a reality of life. What’s even more annoying is the fact that when you want nothing else but to rest and grab some snooze, your partner’s snoring wakes you up and ruin a good night’s sleep for you. It can be pretty exasperating especially if you lead a busy and stressful life that one of the major things you are looking forward during the day is the time to finally rest and relax and drift off to a deep and uninterrupted sleep.
Almost 45% of snorers are men and a 28% are women according to statistics and this number is based on 60-year-old participants. Many couples fight over snoring and some even go to great lengths as sleeping in separate rooms or even separating for good because the snoring has been too much for the non-snoring partner. What most of them …
A large study has found that commencing treatment for sleep apnea as soon as possible after a stroke or a mini-stroke significantly improves speech impairment and other neurological symptoms as well as walking and other physical functioning.
“We have shown, for the first time in a randomized controlled study, that for individuals who have had a stroke or a TIA—a transient ischemic attack, also known as a mini-stroke— the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea with CPAP therapy provides significant benefits, even greater than the benefits of tPA [tissue plasminogen activator], the FDA-approved drug treatment for stroke,” says Regenstrief Institute and Roudebush VA Medical Center research scientist Dawn Bravata, MD, in a release. Bravata led the study.
“That’s a substantial clinical effect. The added good news for stroke patients is that CPAP has been used as a sleep apnea therapy for many years, and it has an excellent safety record,” she says.
“Diagnosing and Treating Sleep Apnea in Patients with Acute Cerebrovascular Disease” is in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
TIAs produce symptoms similar to
…Researchers are interested in the potential relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and its immediate consequence, intermittent hypoxia, with the appearance of tumors. A new study, led by the lecturer Isaac Almendros, PhD, from the faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona Clinic Campus and Institut d’investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, represents a step forward in our understanding of of potential effects of obstructive sleep apnea in cancer.
This new study has been conducted on young mice (equivalent ages to those of human teens) and old mice (corresponding to people aged over 65) and shows how the lack of oxygen during sleep (hypoxia) speeds up tumor growth in the youngest ones only.
The research team has related these results to a differential immune response to intermittent hypoxia in tumor-associated macrophages and regulator lymphocytes. Almendros says in a release, “We should consider the importance of the research conducted on animals aged equally to patients with respiratory chronic diseases, such as obstructive sleep apnea. Our challenge is to identify and prove sleep apnea’s physiopathological consequences and contribute to the
…A new guideline focused on the role of weight management in treating adult obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been published online by the American Thoracic Society in the Sept 15 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Being overweight or obese is a strong risk factor for OSA, and weight loss can often reduce the severity of OSA.
“This guideline expands the content of previous clinical practice guidelines addressing the care of OSA patients who are overweight or obese by offering specific recommendations for weight loss and discussing the evidence for each recommendation,” says David W. Hudgel, MD, panel chair and a specialist and investigator in sleep-disordered breathing, in a release. “In addition to these scientifically derived recommendations, the guideline reviews and discusses successful methods for practitioners to discuss weight issues and ways to interact with patients who are overweight or obese.”
The 20-member guideline panel—which included sleep, pulmonary, weight management, and behavioral experts, as well as three patients—reviewed scores of studies and rated the strength of study findings, along with the certainty of the panel’s recommendations, using
…I treat a number of patients with fibromyalgia syndrome. They often come to me with chronic insomnia, and difficulty staying asleep throughout the night. Even when they do manage to get a decent night of sleep, my patients with fibromyalgia tell me they still feel exhausted and worn out the next day.
The fatigue that comes with fibromyalgia affects their work lives, their social lives, and their relationships, and compromises their quality of life. So often, I hear these patients talk about needing to cut back on activities and commitments they want to pursue, because they’re tired and in pain.
I thought of these patients recently, as new research has been released with some promising news about how to treat fibromyalgia and its sleep problems. Two recently published studies show that a couple of sleep therapies I’m particularly interested in—mindfulness meditation and Vitamin D—may have particular effectiveness in helping people with fibromyalgia improve their sleep, as well as reducing the severity of other fibromyalgia symptoms.
Fibromyalgia basics
Before we dive into the latest news on sleep treatments, let’s
ResMed revealed its newest full face CPAP mask, AirFit F30, which adds to its AirFit mask portfolio, which is designed to help users reduce facial marks, wear glasses in bed, and curl up closer to their bed partner, according to the company.
AirFit F30’s sits below the nasal bridge, preventing top-of-the-nose red marks and irritation. ResMed states that this also means it can reduce feelings of claustrophobia for some full face wearers.
AirFit F30 also features ResMed’s latest QuietAir vent, so it’s quieter than ambient noise in the bedroom. It features magnetic clips to make the mask easier to put on and take off as well as a one-size-fits-all headgear.
In a ResMed Clinical Study of 21 Australian patients comparing ResMed AirFit F30 and Phillips Respironics Amara View conducted April-May 2018, 80% of users said AirFit F30 was easier to use. In a ResMed Fitting Study of 75 US patients comparing ResMed AirFit F30 and Phillips Respironics Amara View conducted April-May 2018, 66% of users said AirFit F30 had a more stable fit and better seal. With regard to
…It’s bedtime and your partner is nowhere to be found!
You are getting sleepier and sleepier and yet you are alone in bed, maybe the dog is next to you (or the cat is under the covers) but it’s kind of weird and lonely when you are going to bed by yourself, especially when the person you want near you, isn’t!
So, what is a healthy sleeper to do?
1 – Know Your Chronotype. What’s a Chronotype? This is your biological schedule that tells your brain when to wake up and when to sleep (among about a million other things), many people call these things like Early Bird or Night Owl. You and your bedpartner may not have similar Chronotypes, if you want to find out check out my Chronotype Quiz.
If you are an early bird (what I call a Lion) and your partner is a Night Owl (what I call a Wolf) then you may have …
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