Lack of sleep can lead to an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, headaches, stomach problems, heart burn, acid reflex, sore joints, ect. Most people feel poor sleep is not a medical problem and don't report it to their doctors.
Cumulative Sleep Debt = when you regularly get less than 8 hours of sleep at night, you begin to accumulate sleep debt. Besides the health problems listed above, there are other sleep deprived dangers. Such as:
1. Microsleep = brief episdoes of sleep that occur during wakeful activity (2-15 seconds). I was horrible with this! At work I would rest my chin on my chest and fall asleep, yet hear what was going on around me. I don't think my boss ever caught on, thankfully!
2. Automatic Behavior = several minutes or more where a person is awake and performing routine duties, but not fully aware of surroundings. DRIVING!! I got to the point where I would not drive on road trips, it was too easy to all asleep or go into this trance like state.
Treatment for sleep apnea might include:
CPAP, oral appliances that can help snoring, surgical proceudres using lasers, radio frequency or plastic splints. CPAP is the most effective in most cases.
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