Catching some shuteye

The old adage is, "Eat, drink, and be merry." Dr. Daniel Sak from the Blanchard Valley Sleep Wellness Center says the saying should be changed to "eat, drink, sleep, and be merry, because it's hard to be merry (and) cheerful, at your absolute best, unless you're well rested." We spend about one-third of our lives catching some shuteye. The amount of sleep a person should get depends on their age, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Babies, children, and teens need more sleep, adults less so, and the elderly even fewer. Getting to sleep can be a challenge in today's fast-paced world – and sleep disorders make it even more difficult for someone to fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. Common sleep disorders Most people snore while they sleep, says Sak, depending on their weight, if they've consumed alcohol, or their sleeping position. Loud snoring can be an indication of sleep apnea, but not everyone with sleep apnea will snore. There are three types of sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type, and is when the muscles in the soft palate, located in the throat, collapse, causing the sleeper to momentarily stop breathing. The other type of sleep apnea is central sleep apnea, when the brain fails to send signals to the breathing muscles, writes the Mayo Clinic. Both types of sleep apnea cause the sleeper to briefly awaken, but these episodes are generally not remembered in the morning. "You'll always arouse yourself, not necessarily wake up, but you'll arouse yourself to breathe," explained Sak. "So nobody dies in their sleep from sleep apnea because you'll always rouse yourself to breathe." Risk factors for sleep apnea include certain medical conditions, like a history of heart failure or diabetes, age, gender, and neck thickness. One of the main treatments for moderate-to-severe sleep apnea is a CPAP device.CPAP, or "continuous positive airway pressure," is pressurized air that flows through the nose and throat to prevent the muscles from collapsing, says Sak. "A little air pump that generates a column of pressurized air. It sends it over a water reservoir to pick up some warmth and humidity. It sends it through a tube, and from the tube it goes to a small cushion over the nose," Sak explained. "That column of pressurized air is applied through the nose and throat and creates an air splint in the back of the throat. It simply keeps the throat open and prevents those tissues from collapsing on one another." Lifestyle changes for mild sleep apnea include losing weight, quitting smoking, or changing the position you normally sleep in. Waking up multiple times a night is tough enough, but being unable to fall asleep can sometimes feel even more difficult. "Virtually a hundred percent of the population has experienced insomnia at one point or another," Sak said. "I mean, if you have a sudden loss (or) death in the family, change in job situation or life or family circumstance, you might be sleepless for a while." Insomnia becomes chronic when it lasts six months or more. Risk factors for insomnia include having a mental or physical health condition, stress, age, and not having a regular sleep cycle, writes the Mayo Clinic. "(Chronic insomnia) usually involves a lot of adaptive and maladaptive behaviors. It almost ritualizes the insomnia," he said. "In other words, patients, when bedtime comes, they start to suffer something called performance anxiety (in relation) to sleep." Sleep anxiety is another name for this problem. Patients with insomnia are more likely to have sleep anxiety, writes the Cleveland Clinic. "Generally what needs to happen is what we call cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT," to treat insomnia, says Sak. Treating insomnia with CBT includes preparing for bed as soon as you wake up. "In other words, you can't drink excessive amounts of caffeine. You need to have appropriate caloric intake during the day," he said. "You need to have an appropriate amount of physical activity; you need to maintain good relationships all day, both at work, at home, and in the community." Having a routine helps People without sleep apnea or insomnia can still have a hard time with sleep. "Everybody tends to go full throttle until bedtime. If they're not working, then they're active socially until bedtime with their phones, their iPads, et cetera. Then they expect, after being at full throttle, without going through a routine of getting ready for bed, to put their head on the pillow and fall asleep," said Sak. "And they don't." Routines are extremely important to sleep health, said Sak. "What drives a regular sleep-like schedule is a regular wake up time, get up at the same time every day and that will drive your bedtime," explained Sak. "Then a regular sleep routine, winding down before you go to bed, taking a warm bath or shower an hour before bedtime, making sure you don't go to bed with a completely empty stomach." It's simple: if you don't get good sleep, you're not at your best (and you can't be merry). Both personal relationships and health are affected by the amount of sleep we get, said Sak. "Sleep is not something that people prioritize… sleep is something people tack onto the end of their day if they have time for it," he said. "Sleep is critically important."