The National Sleep Foundation is celebrating its annual Sleep Awareness Week ^© March 6th through March 13th, to raise awareness of the health benefits of sleep and its importance to safety and productivity. We’ve compiled a list of ten of the most important things you should know about sleep. Learn more and spread awareness about sleep health with your family, friends and colleagues.

1. Sleep is as important as diet and exercise.

Lack of sleep causes people to exercise less
If you sleep less, you eat more the next day
Even if you eat well AND exercise, you lose less fat when you’re not getting enough sleep

Here’s a great article from Shape Magazine that review the relationship between sleep and exercise and diet with recent research.

2. Drowsy driving causes 100,000 crashes, 71,000 injuries,and 1,550 deaths every year.

We all know that drinking and driving is a big no-no…but did you know that driving sleepy is just as dangerous as driving drunk? Not only do car accidents pose a serious threat for people with chronic sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, but anyone who gets behind a wheel with less than optimal rest could be putting themselves in danger. With a majority of the population admitting to steering while exhausted, that makes for a lot of potential accidents. Read more 여기.

3. New guidelines suggest that adults get between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night.

The National Sleep Foundation, along with a multi-disciplinary expert panel, issued its new recommendations in 2015 for appropriate sleep durations. The report recommends wider appropriate sleep ranges for most age groups. Where do you fall?

4. Sleep disorders affect 40 million Americans.

Chronic, long-term sleep disorders affect at least 40 million Americans each year, and an additional 20 million experience occaisional sleeping problems. There are more than 100 sleep disorders and many can be diagnosed with a sleep study. Learn more 여기.

5. Snoring can be more than just a nuisance, it can be a sign of a sleep disorder.

Snoring, which affects about 45% of adults in the US, can be disruptive for the snorer and his/her bed partner. More importantly, snoring can indicate a more severe sleep disorder such as sleep apnea. Learn more from our guest post by Clark O. Taylor, M.D., D.D.S.

6. Sleep apnea affects 20 million Americans.

Is that you? Your bed partner? Your child? Your parent?

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder defined as the cessation of breath during sleep. This leads to reduced oxygen flow and poor sleep quality. When oxygen levels dip during sleep apnea, the brain signals the body to partially wake up. The person’s sleep is disturbed and he is never allowed to sink into deep, restorative sleep stages. People with severe sleep apnea can go through this process hundreds of times each night. Often, people do not remember this happening and think that they have slept as normal. However, they wake up feeling exhausted, groggy, and unrested.

People suffering from sleep apnea deal with not only the negative effects of sleep deprivation, but also the strain of trying to cope with oxygen deprivation at night. This puts serious strain on the brain, the heart, and the rest of the body.

Learn more, talk to your doctor and get tested.

7. 80% of the people with obstructive sleep apnea don’t know they have it.

As described above, many people suffering from the disruption of apnea during the night don’t remember and think they’re sleeping fine. Many times their bed partner is the first person to notice a problem. Other times, you may be suffering other symptoms:

Excessive sleepiness during the day. 수면 무호흡증이 있는 사람은 편안한 수면을 취할 수 없으므로 침대에서 아무리 오래 자도 만성적으로 수면 부족에 시달리게 됩니다. 지속적으로 피곤하다면 수면 무호흡증이 원인일 수 있습니다.
Decrease in attention, lack of concentration, lack of energy, irritability. 수면 부족과 관련된 많은 기분 및 집중력 문제는 수면 무호흡증의 지속적인 특징입니다.
Decrease in memory. 수면의 질이 나쁘면 기억력이 저하됩니다. 또한 장기간의 산소 부족은 뇌를 손상시킬 수 있습니다.
Poor sleep at night. 밤에 잠을 잘 못 자거나 화장실을 가기 위해 자주 일어나야 한다면 수면 무호흡증으로 인한 수면의 질이 좋지 않다는 뜻입니다.
Snoring. People who snore are more likely to suffer from OSA.
Choking sounds or periods of not breathing at night. 무호흡이 발생하면 호흡이 멈추고 헐떡거리거나 질식하거나 코를 골기 시작할 수 있습니다. 동침 파트너에게서 이런 증상이 나타나거나 밤에 숨을 헐떡이며 잠에서 깬다면 심각한 경고 신호입니다.
Waking up with a dry mouth, sore throat, or headache. 이는 모두 힘든 밤의 수면으로 인한 후유증입니다.
Other health conditions. Sleep apnea is strongly correlated with several other health problems, most notably heart disease and high blood pressure. If you have these conditions, sleep apnea could be contributing.

8. 2-3% of children have sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea occurs when throat tissue obstructs a person’s airway while they are asleep, blocking their breath, which leads to restless sleep and unhealthy strain on the body. Thus, one of the most obvious symptoms that your child has this condition is heavy snoring, gasping, snorting, choking, or uneven breathing during sleep. Frequent bed wetting or 악몽, strange posture while sleeping, and waking up with headaches or a dry throat could also betray troubled sleep.

There are several behavioral clues that could also indicate that your child’s sleep is not as sound as it could be. A child might seem excessively sleepy during the day. Other possible side effects could include behavioral problems like hyperactivity or learning difficulties. Thus, children who unknowingly suffer from sleep apnea are often misdiagnosed with ADHD. Learn more about testing and treating sleep apnea in children 여기.

9. Around 1 in 3 people have at least mild insomnia.

The causes of insomnia are potentially infinite. Acute insomnia–a brief disruption in sleep for a few nights–is common, and there are many factors that impact the quality of your sleep on a daily basis. Everything from stress or anxiety, to spending too much time on your laptop before bed, to taking too many naps, to using cold medicine could lead to a bout of restless nights.

Chronic insomnia, or a frequent sleep deficit, can be caused by a wide variety of issues. Here are some examples:

Medical conditions. These include nasal allergies, arthritis, asthma, or chronic pain.
Emotional distress. There is a proven link between depression and insomnia. People with depression are at much higher risk of developing the sleep disorder, and lack of sleep can worsen depression symptoms. Anxiety and stress also lead to sleeplessness.
Lifestyle/sleep patterns. If you have irregular or untraditional sleep patterns, you might be finding it hard to nod off at night. Naps, an irregular sleep schedule, or shift work can mess up your circadian rhythms.
Sleep disorders. This is a big one! If you’re chronically not getting the sleep you need or feel tired in spite of having a full night’s sleep, this could be a sign of a sleep disorder, like 하지 불안 증후군 or sleep apnea, that’s disrupting the quality of your rest.

10. Sleep problems are linked to infertility.

According to Michael J. Breus, Clinical Psychologist and Board Certified Sleep Specialist, sleep has a “powerful influence on the body’s hormonal system, which controls a woman’s cycle and regulates ovulation.” Persons who suffer from a lack of sleep have a substantially higher level of the stress hormones adrenocorticotropic and cortisol, both of which are known to inhibit a healthy fertility cycle. Learn more about the link between sleep disorders and fertility 여기.

If you think that you or a loved one may have a sleep disorder, click below to request more information about having a sleep test.

Request a Sleep Study

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10 of the Most Important Things You Need to Know About Sleep