Why too much sleepiness is a dangerous symptom

MANILA -- Do you feel sleepy all throughout the day? You might think it's just because of lack of sleep, but it can also be red flag for something more serious.

In an interview on dzMM's "Magandang Gabi Dok," Dr. Mike Sarte, a sleep medicine specialist, explained the symptoms and causes of sleep apnea, and how it can cause death.

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing. Although it does not cause immediate death, it can trigger serious health problems.

Symptoms

Sarte said that the symptoms of sleep apnea include snoring, witnessed apnea, and daytime sleepiness. He added that all these symptoms are experienced by a person before he or she can be diagnosed with sleep apnea.

He explained that snoring is normal, but habitual snoring is not.

"Ito yung kapag madalas na humihilik, yung tuwing matutulog, naghihilik. Tapos sobrang lakas humilik, na kahit isarado mo na ang pinto, pakinig mo pa rin."

"Yung witnessed apnea, iyun yung nakikita ng ibang tao, pwedeng iyung bed partner mo, na bigla na lang tumitigil ang paghinga mo. Iyung humihilik ka, tapos biglang titigil, tapos hihilik ulit," Sarte added.

Daytime sleepiness is when a person feels sleepy or falls asleep any time within the day.

"May mga tao na biglang nakakatulog. Ang tawag dun, microsleep. Delikado yun kasi sa US, isa ito sa causes ng motor vehicle accidents, yung falling asleep while driving."

Sarte added that people who are diagnosed with sleep apnea shouldn't be allowed to drive.

What happens when we sleep?
Sarte explained that people normally go through different cycles of sleep, known as the non-REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and REM sleep.

Non-REM sleep is the transition from being awake to being asleep. REM is when people go on a deep sleep, when they start dreaming.

People with sleep apnea do not reach both cycles.

"Kung may sleep apnea, hindi ka umaabot sa REM or non-REM stage. Tumunog lang ang cellphone mo, magigising ka kaagad. Hindi talaga nakakatulog," Sarte said.

He added that what's important for people is the quality of sleep, as the duration differs from person to person.

"Una, yung quality. Pangalawa, yung duration, pero depende yun sa tao. At least 5 to 8 hours, pero may mga taong okay na sila sa 5 hours of sleep."

Causes
Sarte said that sleep apnea can be caused either by genetics, or by excess weight.

People who experience soft tissue collapse in their nose and throats may suffer from sleep apnea, as their airways may be obstructed.

Having large tonsils can also obstruct airways.

"Karamihan sa mga humihilik, nakabukas ang bibig kasi naba-block ang ilong. We are preferential nasal breathers."

Sarte added that some children have excess tissues in their throat and nose, which make sound when they breathe.

Men who are overweight are also more prone to sleep apnea, as the excess weight in the body puts more pressure on the area around the nose and throat.

"Kapag humihinto sa paghinga, bumababa ang oxygen level at nagkakaproblema ang puso. It also causes arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat)."

What makes sleep apnea deadly?

Although sleep apnea as it is does not cause sudden death, it can be deadly as it causes complications like hypertension, Type II diabetes, congestive heart failure and stroke.

Sarte said that losing weight can help a lot in preventing sleep apnea.

He also advised against eating heavy dinner, drinking too much alcohol, and smoking a lot before sleeping.

Those who suffer from sleep apnea because of genetic causes can undergo surgery to remove excess tissues that block the airways.

He added that sleeping on one's side can help clear the airways and can prevent snoring.

One can also use a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine, which is attached to a mask worn over the mouth and nose that pushes air through the nose and airways.

This machine facilitates continuous sleep, and prevents pauses in breathing.

Sarte said that this machine is locally available, and can be bought for about P40,000 to P45,000.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Mid-life job stress linked to later health problems

NEW YORK - More strain at work might mean more illness in old age, according to a new study from Finland. The study found both physical and mental job strain were tied to hospital stays later in life.

Mental job strain can come from tight deadlines, high demands and having little control over one's work. Physical strain includes sweating, breathlessness and muscle strain.

"Job strain is something that is individually perceived, so persons working in similar jobs can report different amounts of job strain," lead researcher Mikaela von Bonsdorff said. "When talking about job strain it is important to remember that occasional feelings of job strain are not necessarily a bad thing, but persistent high job strain has been identified as a health hazard."

Recent studies have linked long-term job strain to lower functioning that lasts into old age, added von Bonsdorff. She is a gerontology researcher at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland.

The new findings come from a study of more than 5,000 middle-aged Finnish public sector employees who were initially surveyed about stress at work in 1981.

The researchers combined that information with data from national hospital records spanning the next 28 years.

With higher strain in midlife, days in the hospital tended to increase, especially for physical strain.

For instance, for every 1,000 men with low physical job strain, about eight days were spent in inpatient hospital care every year, on average. That compared to almost 13 days for every 1,000 men with high physical job strain, according to findings published in Age and Ageing.

"What was interesting was that these associations were clear also when we looked at hospital care that took place after the individuals had turned 65, indicating that these associations were also robust in older age and not that the association was due to hospital care that took place immediately after the baseline assessment of job strain," von Bonsdorff said.

For both men and women, hospital days increased as physical strain increased. But for mental strain, the link was only clear among men.

"Job strain of some sort can occur in basically any type of employment," Loretta Platts told Reuters Health.

"Although physical job strain is confined to certain sorts of occupations, such as manual occupations or low-level service occupations like being an electrician, caretaker, driver, builder, cleaner, waiter, waitress, cook or shop assistant," she said.

Platts is a doctoral candidate at Imperial College London. She studies how various factors influence quality of life after retirement and was not involved in the new research.

"The mechanism might be the development of musculoskeletal disorders from high physical strain jobs, which are often irreversible and painful, and can lead to osteoarthritis, a leading cause of hospital admissions in older people," Platts said. "In addition, immobility can be related to weight gain, which in turn leads to heart failure, high blood pressure and diabetes."

Mental strain has been linked to heart disease, another cause of hospital stays.

Still, the study can't prove that job strain causes poor health and more hospital stays, Platts pointed out.

High-strain jobs might be undesirable for many people, so it's possible people working those kinds of jobs were unable to get less stressful jobs for an unknown, but relevant, reason. That reason could also be connected to their healthcare use.

It's also possible that 28 years later, the people spending the most time in hospitals happened to think more negatively about their work in 1981, she said.

"This study was only of public sector employees and came from a country with a very developed welfare state. The consequences for people working in the private sector and in countries with less generous welfare states are likely to be worse," Platts said. "The public sector in Finland is probably a best-case scenario."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

NFL players union funds $100M Harvard study on injury

BOSTON - The union that represents U.S. professional football players has given Harvard University a $100 million grant for a study of the range of health problems, from brain damage to heart conditions, that affect current and former players.

Researchers with Harvard Medical School plan to spend a decade studying hundreds of former players who are members of the National Football League Players Association, university officials said on Tuesday. The aim is to develop strategies to limit the long-term damage that players suffer from years of hits on the field.

The recent suicides of a spate of former NFL players, including 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker Junior Seau, have raised concerns about the toll that blows to the head take on the brains of current and former players.

Scientists have found that years of steady, small hits can lead to a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which at its start can cause victims to have a hard time concentrating on small tasks and eventually can lead to aggression and dementia.

The worries are not limited to the pros, who are part of a $9 billion U.S. industry. Parents of players, from peewee leagues to college, have raised concerns about the game and leagues have changed rules to limit hits to the head.

Those concerns reach all the way to the White House.

"I'm a big football fan, but I have to tell you if I had a son, I'd have to think long and hard before I let him play football," President Barack Obama said in an interview with the New Republic magazine published on Sunday, a week before the Super Bowl championship will be played in New Orleans.

Harvard Medical School Dean Jeffrey Flier said the research would aim to address health concerns at all levels of play.

"Millions of kids and college athletes play football, formally and informally," Flier said in a statement on the school's website. "We cannot afford to ignore the health risks associated with this sport."

Harvard researchers plan to identify a group of at least 1,000 retired NFL players from around the country and focus their study on 100 healthy and 100 unhealthy former players.

The NFL lauded the move.

"We look forward to learning more about the Harvard study and hope that it will play an important role in advancing medical science," league spokesman Brian McCarthy said.

The league faces lawsuits from more than 2,000 former players who say NFL management concealed information about the risk of chronic brain injury to players. It has begun to change the rules of the game to lower the risks, including sharply penalizing the most dangerous helmet-on-helmet hits.

Seau's family sued the NFL this month, saying brain damage he suffered during his 20 years in the league led to his suicide. A study by independent researchers found that Seau, 43, suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy - the same debilitating brain disease diagnosed in at least two other former NFL players who committed suicide.

The NFL has said the findings about Seau's brain underscored "the recognized need for additional research to accelerate a fuller understanding of CTE." League teams have donated $30 million to the National Institutes of Health for research.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Dan Grebler)

source: abs-cbnnews.com