Telehealth is a hot topic. Although its recent rise is partially linked with the decline in in-person visits during the coronavirus pandemic, telehealth has in fact been heralded as the ‘next big thing’ in healthcare for more than a decade. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has announced its commitment to advancing the use…
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However, there are measurable differences between night terrors and nightmares. Nightmare vs night terror: What’s the difference? In our recent discussion at this blog regarding parasomnia, we introduced the idea that there are nonREM and REM parasomnias to help differentiate certain unusual behavior patterns that occur during sleep. Nightmares What is a nightmare, exactly? Most…
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What is parasomnia? This category of unusual sleep disorders generally occurs during arousals between sleep stages. Its behaviors are considered disruptive or undesirable, even dangerous, and may lead to physical harm to either the person suffering the disorder or their bed partner. Imagine someone suddenly jumping out of bed, shouting orders… or someone (a child…
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All human beings follow a specific pattern of activity and rest that more or less corresponds with the 24-hour period of the day. This specific pattern is guided by our circadian rhythms. What are circadian rhythms? These are the natural rhythms by which our body processes are tuned. Both internal and external factors play a…
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This unique cycle in our sleep architecture has a form and function distinct among the other nonREM stages of sleep. We cycle through all the stages of sleep in a progression from the beginning (stage 1 nonREM) to the end (REM sleep) several times over the course of the night (see the chart below). Adults…
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What is cataplexy? Cataplexy occurs in narcoleptics when the body experiences a sudden loss of voluntary muscle tone for a brief periodless than 2 minutes which is usually triggered by an emotional episode such as laughter, outrage, or sudden panic. Its important to point out that, during a cataplectic episode, the person having the episode…
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You recently learned about the sleep disorder, narcolepsy, here at Sound Sleep Health ( Narcolepsy: Signs, Symptoms, and Diagnosis ). Critical to arriving at a diagnosis is the use of a specific kind of daytime sleep test known as the MSLT, or the multiple sleep latency test, to confirm a suspicion of narcolepsy, as well…
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However, a third practice getting enough sleep cannot be ignored if these other goals are to be met with success. Even with healthy eating and exercise, we still cannot thrive without adequate sleep. In 2015, the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) made revisions to its guidelines listing recommended hours of sleep by age. Where do you…
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Prior to Flygare’s emergence as an advocate for narcolepsy research and awareness, Americans had no real spokesperson to put a humanizing face on this perplexing neurological disorder, except perhaps the classic cartoon character, Mr. Magoo, well known for falling asleep at odd times during the day. Flygare has since shown that narcolepsy is not the…
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Restless leg syndrome (RLS) affects up to 10 percent of all Americans; according to the National Institutes of Health, as many as five million individuals suffer moderate to severe cases. Also referred to as restless legs syndrome or Willis-Ekbom Disease, it strikes regardless of gender and can start at any age. What is Restless Leg…
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Americans spend millions of dollars on anti-aging efforts these days. This seems to have changed what we think of as “beauty sleep.” Today, the phrase has come to suggest the nightly ritual of applying facial products at bedtime, and not the act of sleeping itself. But what about swapping that extra time at night, spent…
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