This is the second post in a two-part series about women and sleep apnea.

Our first post, Why Women with Sleep Apnea are Overlooked, investigates the differences in how women experience and report sleep issues and directly addresses the stereotype that sleep apnea is a man's disease.

In this post, we look at the causes and effects of sleep apnea in women.

As it does in men, sleep apnea in women can cause serious health problems. The sleep disorder increases the risk of heart attack, stroke and early death. Also, the disorder may increase the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, obesity and other chronic health problems. Untreated sleep apnea can also lead to cognitive impairments, mood imbalances and metabolic problems.

This is the first post in a two-part series about women and sleep apnea.

The second post, The Health Hazards of Sleep Apnea in Women, looks at the causes and effects of sleep apnea in women.

In this post, we investigate the differences in how women experience and report sleep issues and directly addresses the stereotype that sleep apnea is a man's disease.

Ask the average physician to describe someone with sleep apnea and they will likely tell you that sufferers of this serious disorder tend to be middle-aged men who are also obese.

However, a large number of patients simply don't fit that profile. Thanks in part to this stereotype, women with sleep apnea are underdiagnosed and under-treated.

“There is the mistaken notion — not among sleep specialists, but among general practitioners who are the first line of defense — that sleep apnea is a disease of men,” says Said Mostafavi, M.D., the Chief Medical Officer for Advanced Sleep Medicine Services, Inc. and a sleep specialist. “When they see a patient who is a women, they don’t consider it. That is where the diagnosis gets missed.”

The California Sleep Society will hold its 9th annual educational symposium September 30 to October 1, 2016 in Anaheim, CA.  

As corporate members of this organization, we will be attending the symposium next week to learn about the latest advances in patient care and technology related to sleep medicine.

We will meet with key opinion leaders in the field of sleep medicine, sleep specialists from across the state of California, polysomnography technicians, CPAP equipment manufacturers like ResMed and Respironics and companies developing novel solutions to treat sleep disorders, like the Inspire Upper Airway Stimulation Device.

Here's more information about the history of sleep medicine in California and the vision and mission of the California Sleep Society.

In 2013, 17.8% of American adults reported smoking cigarettes, down from 20.9% in 2005 and 42.4% in 1956 (when the U.S. government first started keeping such records).

That's great news! But it's really important for people who already have sleep issues to stop or reduce their smoking as smoking affects the quality of your sleep in many different ways:

• Smoking increases your risk of sleep apnea (learn more about sleep apnea here)
• Smokers wake up more frequently during the night.
• Smokers have trouble falling asleep and feel restless in the morning.
• Smokers are more likely to suffer insomnia (read more about insomnia here).

If you're a smoker and have scheduled or are considering scheduling a sleep study, you're probably worried about how you'll make it through the night. Our technical director, Jonathan Sherrill addresses your concerns in this post.

The nail industry grew to $7.47 billion in 2012. In California alone, there were almost 8,000 nail salons.

Many of the patients we schedule for in-center and in-home sleep studies wear nail polish, gels or acrylics. 

Our customer service department is frequently asked whether nail polish, gels or acrylics will interfere with testing.

Jonathan Sherrill, RPSGT, is the technical director of Advanced Sleep Medicine Services, Inc. In this post, he answer this question and offers and some background.

Why does coffee help us start the day?

Caffeine is a tricky substance. To our brains, caffeine looks like adenosine, a compound consisting of adenine (one of the four building blocks of DNA) and ribose. As it is created in the brain, adenosine binds to the adenosine receptors, causing drowsiness by slowing down nerve cell activity.

What are the different types of sleep centers that offer diagnostic testing for sleep disorders and what are the benefits of each?

What is an IDTF?

An IDTF is a diagnostic testing facility (entity) that is independent of a physician office or hospital; ie, it is not owned by a hospital, individual physician or group practice of physicians and its purpose is to furnish diagnostic tests and not to directly use test results to treat a patient.

Busy professionals experience many pressures that impede their ability to obtain optimal amounts of sleep. Working according to shift patterns, working across different time zones simultaneously and international travel¹ are all common causes of sleep loss. In addition, the use of artificial lighting and hand-held technologies at night², ever increasing pressure to perform (and to be ‘seen’ to perform) and the lengthening of the working day all make the challenge of getting optimal sleep more difficult for employees.

In this guest post, Professor Vicki Culpin, a professor at Hult International Business School shares her recent research findings on the influence of sleep quality on work life.

A study published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine tested the effects of CPAP therapy on heart disease. 

Positive Airway Pressure devices, called PAP, deliver pressurized ambient air through a delivery system (tubing and mask), to eliminate apnea events during sleep. PAP, including CPAP, BIPAP, Auto-PAP, and ASV-PAP, is the most effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea and can potentially improve the patient’s sleep overnight, dramatically improving the quality of life for individuals afflicted with sleep apnea (learn more about PAP here).

The Sleep Apnea Cardiovascular Endpoints (SAVE) trial looked at patients with a history of coronary artery disease or cerebrovascular disease AND moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. Participants were randomly assigned to received CPAP plus usual care or usual care alone.

The results of the study showed that use of CPAP did not result in a lower rate of cardiovascular issues (for this study, they looked for deaths from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, stroke, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or transient ischemic attack). 

Does this mean that CPAP is not an effective treatment?

Do you have a new PAP machine and no longer need your old machine?

Do you have an extra mask or tubing for your old machine that you never used?

Would you like to donate your unused or gently used equipment?

Chances are, if you've been using PAP therapy for more than a couple of years, you've got an old device hanging around. We're keeping an updated list of local and national organizations that can help you sell or donate your new or gently used equipment to those in need.