Wile, the seven-year-old son of photographer Magnus Wennman, watches cartoons on his iPad— a modern bedtime ritual for some. The stimulation may drive off sleep, but so does the backlit screen: Light at night inhibits the production of melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate our daily biological rhythms.
 

Joe Diemand, 76, has spent the past 20 years as a truck driver, sometimes driving all night. Such work, he says, leaves you “so tired that you can’t sleep.” The World Health Organization has described night shift work as “probably carcinogenic to humans.

This blog began with me reading stories from women (many in their 30s and 40s) who suffered from serious heart attacks.  As I read through the entire post, I knew it was pertininet to share the findings with Alaska Sleep Clinic's blog readers. We know that younger women can have heart attacks, and it’s acknowledged that doctors are not good at picking up heart attack symptoms in younger women.

For people living with cancer, sleep doesn’t always come easy.

Sleep apnea is one of the most common sleep disorders afflicting approximately 20 million adults in the U.S. with an estimated 80% of cases going undiagnosed. Many people may be unaware that a sleep disorder is the underlying cause of their health problems, and others may be aware of their sleep disorder but uninformed of the severe consequences of untreated sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is characterized by frequent breaks or pauses in breathing during sleep. There are 3 forms of sleep apnea: Central sleep apnea (CSA) in which the pauses are due to the brain failing to signal the respiratory system to breathe; obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in which breathing is interrupted by a physical blockage in the upper airways, often caused by soft tissues of the throat and tongue collapsing into the airway; and complex/mixed sleep apnea which is a combination of central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea.

  Oh, the dreaded 4-month sleep regression.  Chances are, if you’re reading this, then you’re probably in the midst of one yourself and have no idea where it came from, how long it’ll last or what to do about it.  Every parent experiences the challenges of their newborn no longer sleeping like before, resulting in drastic changes to their little one’s sleep. 

Adequate sleep is part of many healthy eating plans for a good reason. With less than seven hours of sleep, the body changes the way it releases appetite-controlling hormones. Though it might be tempting to stay up late to watch an extra episode of your favorite TV drama, you’ll be affecting more than just your energy level the next day. Committing to a healthy lifestyle requires making adequate sleep a priority, and the best way to do that is through developing healthy sleep hygiene - the habits, and behaviors that affect your sleep quantity and quality.

 We all know the old adage eating for two. But what about sleeping for two? As baby grows, Mommy grows. And sleep is a luxury Mommy cannot afford to take for granted during those short 40 weeks. But with sciatic pain and baby kicks can make for long, restless nights.

It’s no secret we’re sleeping less.  Our fast-paced lives demand more time, and often that comes at the expense of our sleep.  It also should be no surprise that there is a strong correlation between the amount, and more importantly, the quality of sleep we get, and the effect it has on our bodies.