Iowa Sleep Blog

Happy American Heart Month

Friday, February 07, 2014
Happy American Heart Month!  February is great time to think about our heart and the effect of sleep disordered breathing on our cardiovascular system.  As this study indicates, snoring is not always something that is just a nuisance to us.  This study is located in the Sleep Journal- of medicine.   SLEEP, Vol. 31 No.9, 2008 – Heavy Snoring as a Cause of Carotid Artery Atherosclerosis.       …

September Presentation – Pediatrics

Monday, August 26, 2013
September Topic: Sleep and Your Child: Toddler, Tweens and Teens September 9th, 2013 4040 Westown Parkway, West Des moines Seating is limited.  Please RSVP to info@iowasleep.com or by phone at 515-225-0188 ext. 2 No cost to attend and refreshments will be served.

Sleep and Exercise

Tuesday, July 16, 2013
The National Sleep Foundation has just completed a poll entitled Sleep in America that enables us to note a direct correlation between exercise and better sleep. Individuals that state they moderately exercise, show they had an increased quality of sleep even with sleep periods of the same length.  Individuals who reportedly exercise vigorously, note they were twice as likely to have good…

Learning While Asleep

Friday, July 12, 2013
The Weizmann Institute published a study in Nature Neuroscience that has suggested people can actually learn as they sleep which indeed alters their behavior when they are awake. This study consisted of allowing the individuals to fall asleep.  Once noted that they were asleep a tone would be played with a certain odor following.  Both pleasant odors and unpleasant odors were presented, each with…

Behind the Scenes with News Channel 5

Friday, July 12, 2013
ABC news channel 5 took a look at what it is like to have a sleep study.   ABC5 News Des Moines, IA

Daylight Exposure and Productivity

Friday, June 21, 2013
The most recent Journal of Sleep published an article that discussed the findings of a link between workplace daylight exposure and quality of life and sleep.  Forty nine day shift office workers were examined during this study.  Twenty seven individuals were in windowless workplaces and 22 worked in areas with windows. Quality of life was measured using the Short form-36, and sleep quality was…

Is Simple Snoring Simply Snoring?

Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Here Is a study I recently found on a Medical News website.  This study examined individuals that had untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea and individuals that had simple snoring.  Much more than just an irritation to bed partners, snoring can be a precursor to more severe issues. Researchers at the Henry Ford Clinic have found that individuals who snore may be at an even higher risk of…

Making CPAP a Habit, Study Findings

Monday, June 17, 2013
Researchers at Penn State have found that consistent bedtime routines definitely help with adherence of prescribed OSA treatments. In this study, CPAP adherence is defined as an individual using the treatment for at least four hours each night.  The researchers found that if a patient’s bedtime was consistent within 45minutes, they were significantly more likely to use the CPAP machine for at…

Sudden Cardiac Death

Saturday, June 15, 2013
The American Academy of Cardiovascular Sleep Medicine reported today on a long term study done by a noted electrophysiologists (heart doctors who specializes in cardiac rhythms) on the increased risk of sudden cardiac (SCD) death in people with sleep apnea.  450,000 people die annually of sudden cardiac death (caused by a leathal heart rhythm). The 3 major predictors of SCD are age 60 or older,…