Getting a good night’s sleep isn’t just a luxury. It’s a necessity. Without one, neurologists say you actually can shorten your lifespan.
More and more doctors recommend people undergo sleep studies to address the issue rather than suffer needlessly. Virginia Neurology and Sleep Centers does an average of 50 studies every week.
As part of one, technicians place dozens of sensors on a person from head to toe. While you sleep, the technicians monitor everything from your breathing, to your heart rate, to your blood circulation.
“And, then, they let you know the next day how you did. Well, I found out I would stop, I would quit breathing,” explained Richard Boyce, who underwent a sleep study in 2017.
Boyce told 13News Now he felt tired all of the time prior to that. His lack of energy led to a breakdown of his entire body.
“I had a tendency to have high blood pressure, and I have diabetes, and I have congestive heart failure,” said Boyce.
He credits the sleep study and subsequent treatment as life-changing and lifesaving.
“Oh, life is so much better now. I wake up with a smile on my face because I know I’m not going to be sleeping in the chair,” said Boyce. “Now, I started my routine of walking, and lifting weights, and getting back into shape.”
Once the study is complete, most patients, including Boyce, receive a prescription for a CPAP machine, which hooks up to a mask that helps their breathing. (CPAP, by the way, stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure.)
“I would fall asleep at the dinner table. I would nod off from exhaustion,” said Thomas McLaughlin who recently was fitted for a new mask.
“I was not able to go out and enjoy things with my wife because I just wanted to stay in bed and sleep. I would put covers over my head all day long and just not want to move," shared McLaughlin. "If I did not get this treated, I hate to say it, but I probably would have passed on in another two or three years.”
There are three basic types of masks. They each have an extended piece of tubing that hooks up to the CPAP machine.
“In the morning, when you turn it off, it has these happy faces that come on there that mean you did good that night,’ said Boyce.
Neurologist Dr. Nishidh Barot said it’s amazing how many Americans still choose to count sheep rather than seek a medical cure when it comes to sleep.
“I don’t think people realize what an impact sleep has on quality of life and health,” said Barot. “Every few weeks some research paper comes out linking some aspect of health to sleep.”
Barot said it’s not difficult to figure out if you’re not getting the proper amount of "Zs."
One of the biggest indicators, is pretty loud and clear: snoring.
“If you snore pretty consistently you probably want to at least mention it to your primary doctor,” said Barot.
The CPAP machine eliminates snoring altogether, which is a relief for McLaughlin and his wife.
“She said you scared me sometimes because you used to bolt upright out of bed, gasping for breath, and you aren’t even awake,” McLaughlin told 13News Now.
He said the mask and CPAP machine have become regular parts of his nighttime routine. They also make travel-size CPAPs for when he goes on vacation. His wife has her own machine.
“Her mask, she looks like Darth Vader, and my mask, I look like a fighter pilot, and the two of us are hysterical together laying there,” said McLaughlin.
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