The Sleep Center: In Search of a Good Night’s Sleep

from BestHealth, October 2004

A good night’s sleep is not just refreshing—it’s important to your health. For 40 million Americans with sleep disorders, sleep poses a serious challenge.

At Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, the sleep-challenged can find help at the Sleep Center, an accredited program that includes a specialized sleep lab and a multidisciplinary evaluation and treatment team.

“As a full-service sleep center, we can address just about any sleep-related problem that patients may experience,” says W. Vaughn McCall, M.D., medical director of the Sleep Center.

While some sleep disturbances can be evaluated in a clinic, certain sleep disorders can be diagnosed only with polysomnography, a series of readings taken during sleep in a sleep lab.

David Patterson, 46, a Wake Forest Baptist hospital executive, was referred to the sleep lab by his neurologist. He recalls feeling like the “bionic man” as he was prepped for a night in the private, hotel-like room, one of eight in the lab. He was wired with more than 20 sensors to record physiologic data as he slept, observed on camera throughout the night by a specialist and videotaped to capture any unusual sleep behaviors that might be responsible for the sleep disturbances he was experiencing.

“You would think that it would be difficult to sleep in this situation, but there was nothing uncomfortable about it—it was actually a pleasant night,” said Patterson.

Most patients seen in the sleep lab are diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, a potentially dangerous breathing disorder. In Patterson’s case, polysomnography ruled out serious sleep disorders and he was counseled on behavioral tips to enhance his sleep habits.

Snooze-bar

• About 60% of adults in the U.S. report sleep difficulties several nights each week, and about 40% say daytime sleepiness interferes with daily activities.

• Consult your physician if you have: inappropriate and excessive daytime sleepiness; uncontrollable, unexpected lapses into sleep (while driving, for example); loud snoring with breathing pauses, especially if you have cardiovascular disease; longstanding trouble falling asleep and staying asleep through the night.

• Solutions to sleep problems range from surgical corrections for breathing problems, to special airway-opening sleep masks, sleeping pills, and behavioral therapies that stress proper “sleep hygiene,” behaviors to encourage sleep.