Health Matters: Another Reason You’re Not Catching Enough ZZZ’s

Sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle but many Americans aren’t getting enough.

According to the CDC, one in three Americans don’t get enough sleep.

But it’s not just how many hours you’re getting, it could be a sleeping disorder.

And according to a sleep physician at Essentia, undiagnosed sleeping disorders are far too common.
 
Greg Else always thought he got enough sleep but for some reason he just couldn’t stop yawning.
 
“Sometimes I wake up with a headache and usually about two o’clock or so I get tired during the day,” says Greg Else of Fargo.
 
That was until a doctor suggested Greg spend a night at a sleep lab.
 
“Got all the wires hooked up to me and fell asleep,” says Else.
 
But for doctors, those wires are revealing some important information.
 
“So like brain wave tests, oxygen, EKG, electrical tracing of the heart, breathing measurements,” says sleep medicine physician, Shaun Christenson.
 
“Woke up and they said I had sleep apnea,” says Else.
 
Sleep apnea is when you stop breathing in the middle of the night and it comes with some serious side effects.
 
“Consequences of going undiagnosed with a sleeping disorder are not paying attention, having a depressed mood, cardiovascular consequences as well, increased risk of heart attack and stroke,” says Christenson.
 
“I have family heart disease and they say that’s a contributor so that was very beneficial to my health,” says Else.
 
A sleep study is meant to be just like a good night’s rest at home. Even I gave it a try and within a few minutes I was out like a light.
 
“We try to make it as much as like home as possible encourage people to bring in pillows, blankets, take their same medicines,” says Christenson.
 
And while a few extra snores may seem like no big deal, Greg is enjoying his extra rest.
 
“If I’m up late and I get six hours of sleep it’s probably comparable to 10 or 12 hours of sleep before,” says Else.
 
Dr. Christensen says if you’re feeling depressed, sleepy or have a short attention span, talk to your family doctor and consider if a sleep test is for you.