Iowa Sleep Blog

The holiday season is a joyful time of year, full of family, friends, and giving thanks for the many blessing we each have. But, it can also be stressful between the shopping, parties, events and travel, whether that’s around Des Moines or outside of Iowa. Don’t let the stress of the “most wonderful time of the year” start affecting how you sleep at night. Here are a couple…

The upcoming holidays mean final exams are on the way for Iowa high school and college students, which typically means students are staying up late studying or even pulling all-nighters. Students are already known to have poor sleep habits, so adding the stress of exams makes sleep even harder to come by. According to a study done by the Journal of Adolescent Health, more than 70…

It is so important to make sure you’re getting enough sleep each night, especially if you’re getting behind the wheel. Whether you’re a long distance trucker, shift worker, or just have a long commute in the mornings, ensuring you are well-rested behind the wheel is extremely important for your safety and others on the road. Feeling tired behind the wheel is called drowsy driving. Below…

 If you’ve ever been told you snore, or suddenly stop breathing during your sleep, you may be experiencing obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a common disorder where a sleeper experience one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths because of excess skin blocking the airway the throat while they are asleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a couple seconds to more than 30…

If any time of year will trigger nightmares, it’s probably the fall season. Autumn begins with scary movies at Halloween and continues through the stress of back to back to back holidays Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. It’s not to say that a traditionally happy time of year itself would cause nightmares, but stress can. Other major life events such as marriage, divorce, pregnancy and…

During Iowa’s colder months or periods during of stressful events in our lives, it’s natural to occasionally feel sad or “down in the dumps.” However, when that feeling seems to linger for longer periods of time, it could be a sign of depression. How does this relate to sleep? Well, individuals who experience depression are also more likely to have symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. OSA…

After a long day, there is nothing better than crawling into bed and letting your head hit the pillow. For many people though, this is not their reality, as they instead spend hours tossing and turning while sleep eludes them. This inability to fall or stay asleep is considered insomnia, and in the U.S., one in three people experience insomnia each night. It can affect almost anyone, but…

No matter what age you are, sleep is important. Making sure you are getting enough shut eye is extremely important for high school students, but it’s even more important for high school athletes. These athletes have a lot on their plates these days – hours of practices, games, training sessions, homework and keeping up with their friends and family. With all this going on, it can be easy…

Even though sleep is something that is seen as a universal, it can be hard to admit that you’re having problems with falling or staying asleep at night. Support groups are a popular method of education and support for a variety of health and wellness related topics, one in particular being sleep apnea. For many with sleep disorders, attending support groups and connecting…

Many of us wake up in the morning feeling, well, not well rested. In fact, more than 48 percent of people in the U.S. say they are not getting enough sleep at night. But, there is a difference between not sleeping well during a stressful week at work and consistently not sleeping well night after night. When you continually skimp on sleep is when your body becomes sleep deprived. …