by Dr. M. Jamil Hyder, F.R.C.S.

Approximately 40% of adults are moderately to severely sleep deprived, according to the National sleep foundations 2002 "Sleep in America polls". Not just a little tired but so tired it interferes with your performance at work, your relations with your spouse and how you are raising your children. A significant number of adults worldwide experience insomnia at least a few nights a week .Insomnia means you cannot go to sleep when you want or maintain sleep or you wake up prematurely.

UNDERSTANDING SLEEP

Sleep is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Even modest sleep deprivation affects your alertness, energy, thinking, productivity and general health. To operate at peak performance, you must invest a third of your life sleeping.

SLEEPING BETTER

There are four steps you can take to sleep better.

1. DETERMINE HOW MUCH SLEEP YOU NEED.
Try a sleep experiment. Go to bed 15 minutes earlier every night for a week. If at the end of the week, you are not fully alert all day long with no midday dip (a sudden period of low energy and sleepiness in early afternoon), add another 15. Most of you will have to add one hour until you do not have any significant mid day dip. You will be surprised at how much energy you have and how much better you feel.

2. ESTABLISH SLEEP PATTERN.
Keep to a sleep cycle seven days a week you do not have a separate biological clock for the working week and the weekends so do not disturb your biological clock every now and then.

3. SLEEP CONTINUOUSLY.
Fragmented sleep is not as effective as continuous sleep because it reduces the total hours of deep (R.E.M) sleep. To ensure continuous sleep avoid caffeine after 2 pm. Don't smoke within 3 hours of bedtime. Take proper medications for chronic illnesses like arthritis which can interfere with sleep.

4. MAKE UP FOR LOST SLEEP.
Start paying back the hours of sleep "debt" or lost sleep .It takes one hour of sleep to get rid of every two hours of sleep debt.

SNORING

Research suggests that one out of 4 adults suffer from habitual snoring. Habitual snorers snore almost every night at noise levels that would be considered disturbing to others in the same room.

WHY DOES SNORING OCCUR

As we doze off and pass from shallow sleep to deep sleep, the muscles in the roof of the mouth (soft palate), tongue and throat relax. If these tissues are bulky and relax enough they sag inwards and vibrate with passage of air during breathing. These lax, sagging tissues may also partially obstruct the airway. The narrower the airway becomes the more it vibrates and the snoring grows louder. Having a thick, short palate, enlarged tonsils and adenoids (tissue at the back of nose) can cause snoring. Likewise an elongated uvula (a triangular piece of tissue hanging from the soft palate) can cause snoring.

Factors contributing to habitual snoring include obesity, alcohol consumption, smoking and use of tranquilizers or muscle relaxants. Snoring can be associated with frequent arousals from sleep. This may affect a person's health and productivity during the day.

OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNOEA

Snoring can be a precursor to or associated with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. This is a condition in which the snorer stops breathing for a few seconds (10-30 seconds), long enough to deplete oxygen in blood and brain. This is followed by long snorts. This cycle occurs many times during sleep. This is a potentially serious condition and contributes to high blood pressure, fatal heart disease, psychological problems and excessive day time sleepiness. The poor oxygenation of the brain leads to fatigue, loss of memory and concentration. Daytime somnolence can be so severe that individuals may sleep while driving.

SNORING & SLEEP APNOEA CAN BE TREATED BY SOMNOPLASTY

What is Somnoplasty?

It is a relatively new treatment to reduce snoring and relieve obstructive sleep apnoea. It uses low power, low temperature radio frequency energy to reduce the volume and stiffen the soft tissue in the airway that is the cause of the problem. Somnoplasty can be applied to the Soft Palate, Base of Tongue, Tonsils and Turbinates in the nose depending on the needs of the patient. It is a fast, effective minimally invasive procedure in which only a probe is applied to the tissue for few minutes either under local anesthetic or general anesthetic. Relief is achieved without the pain and inconvenience of traditional surgical techniques. The whole procedure takes 15-20 minutes and involves only a few hours stay in hospital.

SOMNOPLASTY treatment is available at Muscat Private Hospital using the latest radio frequency equipment for this technique.