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TOMS RIVER, N.J., JUNE 16, 2006 – When was the last time you got a good night’s sleep and woke up feeling refreshed, energized and ready to face the day? According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 70 million Americans – almost one-quarter of the population – don’t sleep well at night. If the occasional sleepless night leaves you feeling tired and cranky during the day, something as simple as a nap might be just what the doctor ordered.
Sleep is vital to restore our mind and body and allows us to function at our best during waking hours. Good sleep enables us to work more productively, make more thoughtful, sound decisions, avoid accidents or mishaps and enjoy better social interactions. During sleep, our bodies secrete a hormone that repairs and regenerates tissue throughout the body. Scientists believe that sleep may be instrumental in reinforcing our memories and allow our brain to process complex information and emotions – hence the expression “I’ll sleep on it.”
Thankfully, the effects of sleep deprivation can be diminished, so catching up on lost sleep with a short nap can do wonders to help refresh and restore our mind and body. The key, however, is all in the timing. While a 20-minute nap used to be the standard recommendation, new information now touts the shorter ‘cat nap’ as more effective.
A recent study demonstrated that ten minutes is the ‘magic number’ when it comes to napping. The study examined 24 healthy, young adults who were good sleepers and not regular nappers, exploring what would be most effective after a night of five hours of sleep – no nap, a five, ten, twenty, or thirty minute nap. Participants took daily naps at 3 p.m., and their performance was measured for three hours following the nap. The benefits of taking a five-minute nap were similar to those of taking no nap at all. The twenty and thirty-minute naps offered performance improvements up to an hour and a half after the nap, although immediately following these naps there was a period of sleepiness and reduced performance. In the end, the ten-minute nap yielded the most benefits with the least side effects. This brief yet effective nap triggered measurable improvements in cognitive function, reductions in fatigue and improved energy – and the effects lasted for up to 155 minutes.
“The occasional nap can be an effective way to catch up on lost sleep,” says Dr. Gerald Ferencz, MD, a neurologist on staff at Community Medical Center and co-medical director of the hospital’s sleep center. “However, if it becomes necessary for you to have that ‘pick-me-up’ in order to function properly during the day, it could indicate the need to evaluate your sleeping habits and the quality of the sleep you’re getting at night. There are a number of underlying conditions or disorders that can impact the quality of our sleep – and in turn, the quality of our lives.”
In fact, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine lists more than 80 chronic sleeping disorders – everything from sleep apnea, which causes interrupted breathing, to insomnia, narcolepsy and restless leg syndrome.
“Recognizing the signs and symptoms of a disorder of sleep is the first step toward achieving a more restful night’s sleep,” says Dr. Ferencz. Symptoms can include trouble falling or staying asleep, daytime drowsiness, excessive use of sleeping pills, leg spasms, nightmares, sleepwalking, nighttime chest pains, morning headaches, weight gain, irritability or personality changes, heavy snoring, breathing irregularities or shortness of breath at night.
“If you experience any of these symptoms, and they persist for longer than a week – or they are interfering with the quality of your life – a consultation with a sleep specialist can help identify if you have a sleeping disorder and develop a treatment plan to resolve it.”
The Center for Sleep Disorders at Community Medical Center offers a multidisciplinary team of sleep specialists – board certified physicians and highly trained sleep technologists – who utilize the latest advances in sleep technology to diagnose health conditions that can affect your sleep patterns and ultimately your ability to function during the day. The center is accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
In order to diagnose a sleeping disorder, your doctor may prescribe a polysomnogram, an overnight sleep study performed in the Center for Sleep Disorder’s private, comfortable sleep facility. During this painless test, which is performed while you sleep, registered sleep technologists monitor and record your heart rate, respiratory patterns, body movements, and sleep brain patterns throughout the night. The Center’s physicians utilize the information to evaluate sleep patterns, diagnosis underlying medical conditions and ultimately develop a treatment plan to help restore restful sleep.
Treatment options for sleeping disorders vary based on the severity of symptoms, but may include something as simple as a change in your diet or daily routine to medication, assistive technology such as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or surgery to eliminate airway obstructions.
While everyone is bound to lose sleep once in a while, and catching up with a nap can be a good solution, relying on these snippets of rest could indicate an underlying sleeping disorder. “When good sleep becomes the exception rather than the rule, and daytime sleepiness makes napping a necessity to get through the day, it can become more of a symptom than a solution,” says Dr. Ferencz, “and may indicate the need for a sleep evaluation.”
If you or someone you care about is experiencing the symptoms of a sleeping disorder, don’t lose another night’s sleep! Call your doctor, or the Center for Sleep Disorders at Community Medical Center for more information or a consultation at 732-557-2798.
CONTACT: Kristine A. Brown
Director of Public Relations
(732) 557-7167
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