Sleep Center Accreditation

Sleep Review magazine's November issue is now available online.
It has an article about accreditation; I agree with every word of it:

http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/issues/articles/2009-11_02.asp

Medpedia

sleepdoctor is now included in Medpedia's News and Analysis Section.

Here is some more information about Medpedia:

http://www.medpedia.com/press

I encourage you to check out Medpedia:

http://www.medpedia.com/home

Here is the link for their Sleep Disorders Community:

http://www.medpedia.com/communities/148-Sleep-Disorders

SIDS and Slow Wave Sleep

There's an interesting discussion about the possible relationship between SIDS and Slow Wave sleep here:

http://sleepdoctor.blogspot.com/2009/10/osa-sleep-deprivation-and-alcohol.html

OSA, Sleep Deprivation, and Alcohol

Once a person has one sleep problem, they are less able to cope with another one. For example, persons with obstructive sleep apnea are less able to cope with the demands of shift work.

A. Vakulin and colleagues pubished "Effects of Alcohol and Sleep Restriction on Simulated Driving Performance in Untreated Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea" in this months issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. This study compared patients with untreated OSA and matched controls on a driving simulator. The study found that "Patients with OSA are more vulnerable than healthy persons to the effects of alcohol consumption and sleep restriction on various driving performance variables. "

Alcohol, Sleep, and Pregnancy

Below is a small excerpt from the article "Sleep disorders associated with alcohol use and abuse," available at Medlink Neurology:


Alcohol use should be avoided during pregnancy. The potential adverse physical and neurocognitive effects, including fetal alcohol syndrome, of maternal alcohol consumption on the developing fetus have been extensively reviewed (Wattendorf and Muenke M 2005). Recent research has clarified the effects of prenatal alcohol consumption on the child’s postnatal sleep. Maternal prenatal consumption of alcohol results in infant postnatal sleep fragmentation as well as the suppression of spontaneous movements during sleep, at 6 to 8 weeks of age (Troese et al 2008). In utero alcohol exposure results in altered neonatal autonomic control during sleep, possibly increasing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Fifer et al 2009).

References:

Wattendorf DJ, Muenke M. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Am Fam Physician 2005;72(2):279-82, 285.

Troese M, Fukumizu M, Sallinen BJ, Gilles AA, Wellman JD, Paul JA, Brown ER, Hayes MJ. Sleep fragmentation and evidence for sleep debt in alcohol-exposed infants. Early Hum Dev 2008;84(9):577-85.

Fifer WP, Fingers ST, Youngman M, Gomez-Gribben E, Myers MM. Effects of alcohol and smoking during pregnancy on infant autonomic control. Dev Psychobiol 2009;51(3):234-42.

It's been a while...

It's been over a month since I even looked at the comments on this site. Things have been busy at the sleep centers I work at; I am currently reading about 200 sleep studies a month. Also I have been writing an article for Sleep Review , as well as working with some physicians, researchers, and statisticians analyzing data from the Jackson Heart Study.

I do expect things to slow down a little for the rest of the year. My association with Hancock Medical Center is ending. Dr. Brenda Hines is working with me and seeing patients at Somnus Sleep Clinic. She has been a big help.

I do plan on posting more for the rest of the year. I will be reading the comments over the next several days. Thanks for reading sleepdoctor!

Sleep Disorders Linked to Aviation Accidents

Sleep disorders, especially obstructive sleep apnea, are common among truck drivers. USAToday reports that the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating fatigue as a cause of accidents in the aviation industry:

While efforts to reduce fatigue in aviation have focused on pilots' schedules, federal accident investigators say pilots and other vehicle operators also need to be screened for sleep disorders. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is preparing to take a stand on the issue within weeks, according to testimony at a recent public meeting.