Overweight men are most likely to have sleep apnea, but no one is immune. Genetic factors are being teased out. Any person with a neck larger than 17, such as pro football linebackers or summa wrestler, or any average worker, may be at risk. Sleep disorders are a special difficulty for soldiers. Readjustment on return from duty can also cause sleep difficulties. More facts are being uncovered every day.
Some good news? Treatment of sleep disorders actually saves money. The overall health costs of a patient suffering from sleep disorders can be cut in half by effective treatment of the sleep disorders. The SOTA scientist emphasised that in an era of health reform and scarce resources, preventive medicine must take priority. Major studies show the savings in heart medications, blood pressure medications, anti-depressants etc more than pays for the cost of treating sleep. The nation can not afford to avoid treating sleep problems. Again from Burgess, "We can destroy what we have written, but we cannot unwrite it."
Tantalizing new advances in the genetics, immunology and neurobiology were reviewed by the SOTA conference. Members will take this knowledge back to their nations and throughout the US.
Notably, Burgess is just one of hundreds of historical authors to write about sleep. For fun, a list of the top 100 movies concentrating on sleep was compiled: http://www.sleepfoundation.org/top-100-sleep-movies
What can you do? There are seven simple questions your can assess your risk of sleep disorder. Take the simple test at http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/epworth.html . What could be a better use of a few minutes of your time? These few questions can tell you if you need attention from a sleep specialist.
"We are such stuff/ As dreams are made on, and our little life/ Is rounded with a sleep." Shakespeare wrote. How true! As you wind your clock forward, take care to avoid the Clockwork Orange horrorshow of sleep deprivation. Take the the simple screening test. The life you save may be your own, or it may be a loved one.
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