Do you know that it is a serious medical condition? Narcolepsy affects an estimated 1 in 3,000 Americans. And living with the disease is very challenging.

You may have heard of narcolepsy before or recall a movie character hysterically falling asleep while walking. Our favorite TV dad, Homer Simpson, was diagnosed with narcolepsy in the premiere episode of the 27th season of The Simpsons after sleeping through a workplace fire that badly burned him. Homer used his doctor's note to get out of doing household chores, driving Marge to file for legal separation. The episode is hilarious, but also highlights some of the real-life consequences of this sleep disorder.

We'll look into the causes, diagnosis and treatment for this sleep disorder.

Cost of Missed Appointments

At Advanced Sleep Medicine Services, like most healthcare providers, we go through a lot of work (data entry, insurance verification, scheduling, assigning staff) before each patient appointment. It kills us when the patient makes it all the way through this process and then no-shows to her appointment.

We could focus on attracting a new patients to make up for the missed appointments, or we can look for ways to ensure that as many patients as possible arrive, as scheduled, to complete their appointments so that they can receive the diagnosis and treatment they need and we can bill (and get paid) for the service. In the past three years as reimbursement has dropped, we’ve tried different strategies. In this blog post we outline our most recent attempts, what we’ve learned from them and finally, what’s working now.

Sleep apnea has been dubbed “a silent killer”: a sleep disorder that is often overlooked or unrecognized, it incurs increased risk of road accidents due to drowsiness, fatal heart disease, as well as a range of other serious health issues.

Fifteen years ago, Fred was clueless to the cause of his chronic fatigue, until his concerned wife sent him to a sleep study. Had it not been for his timely treatment of sleep apnea, Fred’s life could have been shortened by the associated health risks, just like his forefathers'.

In his own words: “I wouldn’t be surprised if the last four generations of my family had gone through sleep apnea. They didn’t have the equipment I have now. It’s possible that sleep apnea shortened the lives of my ancestors.”

Today Fred L., 66, from Ojai, Ca. shares with us his story of the trials and benefits of treating sleep apnea.

The Affordable Care Act (also known as ObamaCare) rolled out in 2014. Since then, we've seen changes in how healthcare is administered by many insurance companies.

Here's an overview of how sleep apnea testing in-center and in-home, PAP therapy and oral appliance therapy are affected by the Affordable Care Act. 

Weariness, fatigue, tossing and turning; while it's easy to blame our modern lifestyle with all its screens and alert sounds for our bad sleep habits, sometimes the true culprit is a more natural issue. Sleep apnea affects millions of North Americans, with more receiving diagnosis daily. While your inability to reach REM sleep might be the result of watching The Walking Dead before bedtime, it could also be that your body, albeit briefly, stops breathing when you sleep. 

Whether you typically drink at night before bed or are hoping to fall asleep faster in the sleep center, you should consider this information if you're wondering whether you should have a drink before your sleep study.

Does a glass of wine (or beer) before bed help you sleep better at night?

Just because a drink before bed can make it easier for you to fall asleep doesn’t mean that it actually helps you sleep well.

Drinking alcohol can reduce the effectiveness and alter the results of your sleep study.

Have you ever noticed someone who snores worse after a couple of drinks before bed? Why does this happen?

It's normal to snore occasionally – perhaps when you are suffering from a cold or after you’ve had a few drinks at a party before going to sleep. But what if you, like millions of Americans, snore regularly night after night? Are you suffering from a debilitating sleep disorder that can significantly affect all aspects of your life, or are you harmlessly sawing logs?

If you're reading this blog, odds are, you're looking for more information about sleep and sleep disorders. That's good news for you, because the goal of this blog post is to give you an answer to ALL of your questions relating to sleep apnea, sleep studies, and the treatment that you can get afterwards. 

(Seriously, we've answered so many questions that they won't all fit in this blog post. Read on!)

Father's Day is tomorrow! We at the Sleep Better, Live Better blog hope you get a chance to spend time with your father and let him know just how much you love and appreciate him. 

One way you can appreciate your dad for all the years he spent raising and supporting you is by giving him a gift that will protect his good health for many years to come. Unfortunately, middle-aged or older men are at increased risk for obstructive sleep apnea, a serious sleep disorder that results in poor sleep and serious physical health consequences. By talking to your father about having a sleep study, you could be increasing his energy, bettering his sleep quality, improving his quality of life, and elongating his life. 

Now that's a real Father's Day gift.