Are you tired all the time?  Does snoring keep you awake all night?  Do you ever wake up gasping for breath?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 40 million Americans suffer from some type of sleep disorder. 

Diagnosing and treating sleep disorders can reduce your risk for health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and depression.

The Sleep Center at Blake Medical Center has a credentialed staff and an established facility to diagnose and treat your chronic sleep disorder including some of the most common disorders:

• Sleep apnea: an interrupted breathing pattern during sleep. It can occur as many as several hundred times per night, causing a lack of oxygen and resulting in poor quality sleep.
• Narcolepsy: frequent attacks of drowsiness and sleep throughout the day. These “sleeping spells” are uncontrollable.
• ·         Nocturnal Myoclonus: characterized by fragmented sleep, patients usually experience spastic leg movements during sleep.
• Insomnia: difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep. The reasons for insomnia are varied including psychological factors, such as stress or depression; environmental factors such as noise; or physiological factors which could include difficulty in breathing or physical pain.
• Parasomnias: this disorder can masquerade as bedwetting, night terrors, sleepwalking and sleep talking because it occurs at random times during the night.

“Sleep disorders are grossly underdiagnosed,” said Laura Lenzen, MBA, director of respiratory therapy and the Sleep Center at Blake Medical Center. “If you are tired all the time, wake up gasping for breath, snore heavily, or have a family history of sleep disorders, talk to your physician about being tested for a sleep disorder.”

The Sleep Center conducts overnight sleep studies—or daytime studies for third-shift workers. Patients will sleep in one of four bedrooms with amenities like private baths while blood pressure, brain activity, eye movements, heart rate, and other data are recorded.

American Academy of sleep medicine board-certified sleep specialists and registered polysomnographers conduct and analyze each test. A diagnosis of sleep apnea may require additional testing to ensure proper functioning of the most effective treatment: sleeping with a continuous positive airway pressure machine.

So don’t let sleep disorders keep you awake!   For a physician referral or to learn more, call 1-877-4-HCA-DOCS or visit our website at www.blakemedicalcenter.com.