There has been many articles written in recent months about how Americans are sleeping less than we used to. Seven to eight hours is the amount that most adults need to fully rejuvenate both body and mind. Yet, one study, reported in the National Geographic news of February 2005, shows that Americans are sleeping a full hour less than we did as recently as twenty to thirty years ago.

This same article reports that the cost of this lack of sleep, in added health care costs, is as much as $15 billion and perhaps as much as $50 billion in lost productivity.

These are staggering amounts of money. But the cost in health and quality of life are immeasurable.

All animals need sleep to repair damage done to our physical systems. Without adequate sleep our immune system becomes compromised and less effective, body temperature can decrease, and blood pressure may even rise. There is also an association between diminished sleep and diabetes.

So, how does this relate to weight management and specifically weight gain? There are two hormones that control appetite in the human body: ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is made in the GI system and stimulates appetite, while leptin is produced in fat cells and signals to the brain the feeling of fullness. Thus, they work together as a sort of  biological checks and balances.

With sleep loss, ghrelin production increases and leptin decreases. Thus, when we sleep less, we are often dramatically hungrier than we might otherwise be, and it becomes difficult to be sated. This leads to overeating. Too many sleepless nights can lead to weight gain.

So, one way to help keep weight under control is to get a good night’s sleep. It won’t do it by itself of course, but proper sleep will help, along with proper nutrition and exercise, maintain a healthy weight,

More on this later.

Sources: WebMD:  The Dream Diet: Losing Weight While You Sleep (online article)
National Geographic News  Feb 24, 2005 (online article)

Tags: Better Health, Sleep Disorders, Weight Loss

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. Episodes, called apneas, last long enough so that one or more breaths are missed, and occur repeatedly throughout sleep.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common category of sleep-disordered breathing. The muscle tone of the body ordinarily relaxes during sleep. And since, at the level of the throat, the human airway is composed of walls of soft tissue . which can collapse . it is easy to understand why breathing can become obstructed during sleep. Mild, occasional sleep apnea, such as many people experience during an upper respiratory infection, may not be important. However, chronic, severe obstructive sleep apnea requires treatment to prevent sleep deprivation and other complications. The most serious complication is a severe form of congestive heart failure called cor pulmonale.

A dentist specializing in sleep disorders can prescribe oral appliance therapy (OAT). The oral appliance is a custom-made mouthpiece that shifts the lower jaw forward, which opens up the airway. OAT is usually successful in patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea. OAT is a relatively new treatment option for sleep apnea in the United States, but is much more common in Canada and Europe.

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Tags: Dentist Discounts, Dentist Ratings, Dentist Reviews, Find a Dentist, Sleep Apnea, Sleep Disorders