Your New Year’s Resolution: Better Sleep
Denver, Colorado (PRWEB) December 30, 2013 -- Now that the hectic holiday season is behind us, most people will now look ahead to New Year’s Eve. More specifically, they’ll create a plan for how they’re going to become a better, more productive person in 2014 through the annual formation of a New Year’s Resolution.
There’s one resolution that could perhaps be the most important thing a person could do to better their well-being in 2014, and that’s getting more and better sleep. In a world full of tablets, light pollution, and rampant sleep apnea, getting a full eight hours of sleep per night has never seemed more unattainable. But given the role that sleep plays in overall health, there is no better time to prioritize sleep than now.
Dr. Stephen D. Ochs, Chief Medical Director and Founder of Sleep Apnea Surgicure, has a deep understanding of the importance of sleep. The physicians of Sleep Apnea Surgicure have been helping sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) get past their condition for years, and in that time, they’ve seen firsthand the positive impact that an undisturbed night of sleep can have on a person’s overall health.
“Many people will choose to exercise more, eat healthier, and get away from bad habits as part of their New Year’s Resolutions,” said Dr. Ochs. “And while these goals should certainly be commended, one of the best ways to improve health is also one of the most overlooked. Just a little extra sleep per night can make all the difference in the world to how an individual feels during the day.”
With that in mind, Sleep Apnea Surgicure has put together tips focused on how persons across the country who smartly choose to make better sleep their New Year’s Resolution can go about meeting the goals they set for themselves.
•Get Sleep Apnea Treated- One can’t hope to secure a proper night’s sleep if an underlying medical issue like sleep apnea goes uncorrected. By filling out the Stop Bang Questionnaire at this link, persons will be able to determine if they’re at risk for the condition, and a sleep study can confirm the diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. At that point, individuals can submit to treatment in the form of a maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) surgery, which can cure sleep apnea without the need for a bulky CPAP mask and machine.
•Screen The Screens- Many American households are filled to bursting with multiple televisions, computers, tablets, smartphones, and video game systems. Even some refrigerators have screens now. The problem is that interaction with these screens and the myriad apps they open up to us can create distractions and stress that keep a person from being able to fall asleep. The intense white light emitted from these same computer screens has been shown at night to decrease the normally rising evening circulating levels of melatonin which induces the onset of natural sleep cycles.
Set some ground rules for device usage: maybe turn videogames, phones, and tablets off two hours prior to bed, shut down the television and the computer an hour before, and don’t interact with these until you awake in the morning.
•Stop Smoking and Drinking- Although these can stand as resolutions all on their own, the role they play in sleep shouldn’t be underestimated. Both of these habits can make it hard for a person to secure a decent night of sleep: smoking causes mouth dryness, and while alcohol consumption may make falling asleep easy, it tends to make the quality of that sleep less than restful, natural and restorative.
Quit smoking now, and when it comes to alcohol consumption, save the after-work drink (notice we said drink, not drinks) for right after work instead of late at night before retiring.
•Don’t Go Wild On The Weekends- The human body cannot adjust to a sleep schedule if an individual stays out until all hours of the night or tries to recuperate their missed sleep by sleeping in on the weekend. Try to go to bed and wake up on Saturday and Sunday at the same time you would throughout the rest of the week. You might be surprised by how grogginess dissipates in the morning. Generally speaking, remember that for every two hours your brain is awake, it requires one hour of restful sleep to be fully restored to optimal levels of function, health and well-being the next day.
Sleep Apnea Surgicure is a physician-owned healthcare enterprise headquartered in Denver whose mission is to increase awareness among the general public about both the health risks of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and the surgical cure that the Get2REM MMA procedure may offer. Dr. Ochs and Dr. Robinson are well-versed in the intricacies of sleep disorders and the various ways in which patients might seek effective treatment. Persons tired of suffering through sleep apnea are encouraged to click over to Surgicure’s website and learn more about the treatment options available to them.
Stephen D. Ochs, Sleep Apnea Surgicure, http://sleepapneasurgicure.com, +1 (303) 792-2828, [email protected]
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