Sleep Dunwoody Blog

It’s officially summertime! As we usher in more sunshine and longer days, our bodies take on an adjusted circadian rhythm (the natural, internal process that regulates our sleep/wake cycles). In the summer, it’s likely that you won’t feel tired until later in the day (particularly when compared to winter) and that as a result, you may find waking up in the morning a bit more difficult.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, snoring affects approximately 90 million Americans. Although it is common among both genders, men are at a higher risk, particularly if they are overweight. Further, the adverse health effects that result from snoring can increase in severity with age.

If you’ve ever had a new baby (or know a close friend or relative who has) you know that sleep deprivation is an all-too-real issue. As babies adjust to the world around them, their parents have to do some re-adjusting as well, which means, among other things, disrupted sleep schedules. It can leave any parent a little nutty and sleep-deprived!

All of us have experienced some level of inflammation throughout our lives. It’s part of the body’s natural response to stressors, including a sore throat or a scraped knee. Those two examples lead to the onset of what’s called acute inflammation – but chronic inflammation is something far different, lingering for a long period of time in the body and causing a host of issues. What’s the difference between the two, and how does inflammation tie into sleep apnea?

Have you ever thought about the fact that memory loss, depression, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may all be interconnected? We sure hadn’t until a new study by RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia was released. It’s agreed upon in the medical field that memory and depression are linked – but this new research shows that people with obstructive sleep apnea have problems recalling specific details about their lives – making them vulnerable to depression.

Good leaders tend to have a few standard traits, such as emotional intelligence, passion and charisma, and good problem-solving abilities. These traits pioneer organizational success by contributing to high individual morale while allowing leaders to make decisions that are in the best interest of the organization or company as a whole. As it turns out, many of the traits needed for effective leadership are positively boosted by sleep, or conversely, negatively impacted by a lack of sufficient sleep.

It’s a brand new year, which means countless people are hitting the gym and working out more regularly as part of their resolutions. Any fitness expert will tell you that recovering properly between each session is important to gain as much as possible from your workout and not feel worn down or become injured, but have you ever wondered what exactly it means to “recover properly”? With all of the supplements, shakes and ointments out there that claim to decrease soreness and make you 100% prepared for your next workout session, it can be daunting to really understand what your body needs. As it turns out, there may be a much simpler and far more effective solution that will propel your fitness goals: sleep.

For whatever reason, it’s been a really long week. In order to make it to the end of Friday afternoon, you down two cups of coffee in the morning. Once you’ve made it through the day, you celebrate with some greasy comfort food and one or two beers with friends — and find it really hard to fall and stay asleep that night, waking up on Saturday morning feeling not as fresh as you thought you might. What happened?

The truth is, there is a lot that goes into getting quality sleep. We often think it’s as simple as going to bed at a decent time or not drinking a Red Bull the hour before hitting the hay, but consistently achieving a good night’s rest has a lot of variables — a key one being nutrition.

It’s estimated that 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, with 80 percent of cases being undiagnosed. While there are plenty of options available for sleep apnea treatment in Atlanta, is there a way to avoid developing a sleep disorder in the first place? In today’s blog, we touch on some of the underlying causes of the condition and discuss a few ways to possibly prevent the disorder from developing.

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Multiple apps have recently surfaced that claim they can solve all of your sleep troubles. Whether it’s by helping you relax so you can fall asleep faster or by tracking your sleep patterns to wake you up during light sleep and reduce grogginess (some apps even record and claim to reduce snoring symptoms) the amount of do-it-yourself solutions for sleep are seemingly endless. Do these apps provide any real value — or should they be disregarded completely?

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