Here are some key points about narcolepsy. 40 million Americans each year suffer from chronic, long-term sleep disorders. Although highly prevalent, common sleep disorders are infrequently identified by primary care providers. Narcolepsy is the second leading cause of excessive daytime sleepiness after obstructive sleep apnea. The average time from the onset of narcolepsy to diagnosis…
Is Too Much Sleep Bad for You?
by Amabelle Equio Getting too much sleep may not be good for you, according to research. A recent study confirms that people sleeping beyond eight hours may have an increased cardiovascular related death rate. According to the lead author, Linn B. Strand, their research, which had 400,000 Taiwanese adult participants, revealed that people who slept…
Childhood Sleep and School Success
by Rachael Herman New research out of Australia’s Queensland University of Technology suggests that 1 in 3 children between newborn and five years of age have trouble sleeping, leading to behavioral and emotional problems in the school setting. It was found that children who can ease themselves back to sleep in their earliest years have…
New Study Links Obstructive Sleep Apnea to the Tongue
by Amabelle Equio A new study has linked obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to the size of tonsils and the physical attributes of the tongue. Thikriat Al-Jewair, an orthodontic researcher from the University at Buffalo, discovered that oversized tonsils and tongue indentations along with obesity where the prevalent attributes among people who were diagnosed with OSA.…
Hope For Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Diabetes
by Amabelle Equio A new study brings hope for patients battling with obstructive sleep apnea and diabetes type 2 and poorly controlled blood sugar. The senior author, Francisco Garcia – Rio, MD, professor of medicine at the Autonoma University of Madrid, discovered that the use of continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, improves blood sugar…
Intense Nighttime Light Exposure is Bad for Your Sleep Health
by Amabelle Equio A recent study confirms that intense nighttime light exposure is not good for your sleep health. Maurice Ohayon, MD, DSC, Ph.D., a Stanford University scientist, said that exposure to intense nighttime light affects sleep duration, which is also linked to sleep disturbance. According to the results, approximately 500,000 urban dwellers were more…
RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE WITH HYPERSOMNIA
General (Sleep Related): American Academy of Sleep Medicine National Sleep Foundation National Center on Sleep Disorders Research National Sleep Foundation-Waking America to the Importance of Sleep Narcolepsy (with Cataplexy): Narcolepsy Network Wake Up Narcolepsy National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Stanford Center for Narcolepsy National Sleep Foundation Idiopathic Hypersomnia/Major Somnolence Disorder: National Institutes…
Narcolepsy Treatment
There are several treatments approved by the FDA for use in narcolepsy. There are no treatments approved for idiopathic hypersomnia (IHS), although it is common practice to use wake-promoting medications that are known to be effective in patients with narcolepsy to treat the sleepiness associated with idiopathic hypersomnia. These treatments have not been studied to…
Crash Course: Public School Accommodations for Children with Hypersomnia: Part 2
Posted by Hypersomnia Foundation on October 6, 2015 Part 2: Understanding 504 vs. IEP By Kate Pece, M. Ed. In this series of four articles, you will learn how to navigate the public school system for accommodations under a 504 plan. When it comes to helping students with sleep disorders, it is easy for the…
Does Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Affect Children’s Pedestrian Safety?
Posted by Hypersomnia Foundation on September 29, 2015 Background Each year, approximately 30,000 children are unintentionally killed or injured while walking outside (typically within a half mile of their homes). Many factors—including children’s thinking and reasoning abilities, attention spans, reaction times, impulsiveness, and willingness to take risks—likely play a role. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), whether…