Monday, December 2, 2024
For those suffering from an undiagnosed sleep disorder, a good night’s rest can prove vexingly elusive. When sleep deprivation becomes chronic, experts warn, it can wreak havoc on your health and severely debilitate your quality of life.
“When people are sleep deprived, they are prone to more accidents,” said Fernanda Fanek, director of respiratory at Long Island Jewish Valley Stream hospital. “It affects your mood, and your ability to function on a day-to-day basis, and if you already have chronic conditions, not having proper sleep makes it harder to manage those conditions.”
LIJ Valley Stream, Fanek said, now offers its patients a way to seek treatment through its newest sleep center.
The four-bed facility is already hosting patients for overnight observation where they will be meticulously monitored during their sleep, on factors like heart rate, eye movements, and breathing patterns. The goal of polysomnography, or sleep study, is to accurately diagnose the nature of sleep conditions — with sleep apnea being the most prominent — and provide tailored treatment for getting proper shuteye.
“Maybe we’re not looking for sleep apnea, but we’re looking for hyperventilation, narcolepsy, things that you can’t do with a basic home sleep study,” Dr. Stella Hahn, associate medical director of Sleep Services, said.
Sleep labs across the region are in high demand and stretched to their limits, Hahn noted.
“The sleep centers are backed up for months and months, and there are not many sleeping centers that serve the area,” Hahn said.
The new center will not only cut down on long waiting lists but is also outfitted with a portable PSG system that will more closely mimic a typical night’s sleep for patients. Traditional PSG system monitoring systems involve a technician attaching wired electrodes to the skin. The center offers a wireless Nox A1 PSG system, which allows patients to move freely throughout the night, whether heading to the bathroom or getting a glass of water, all without the intervention of a sleep technician.
“Normally, you have long wires that kind of limit your mobility,” Hahn said. “When you go to the bathroom, you have to buzz in the tech to help you disconnect with all the wiring and things like that.”
Serious sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea affect at least 25 million U.S. adults, according to the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project. It is estimated that 26 percent of adults between the ages of 30 and 70 years have sleep apnea, according to the American Journal of Epidemiology.
“People who are at increased risk are males, of older age, and who are overweight, but it can affect people who don’t fit that demographic either,” Hahn said. “With obesity being more prevalent, we’re seeing a lot more cases of sleep apnea, but you can be normal weight and still have sleep apnea.”
Jason Tan, executive director of Long Island Jewish Valley Stream Hospital, said the sleep center is well- poised to serve the hospital’s patient population.
Given that many of the patients struggle with “obesity and respiratory disease, we experienced patients that have insomnia, and sleep apnea, and I think it would further complement our services here,” he said.
Have an opinion on this article? Send an email to jlasso@liherald.com.
