Regardless of the time of year, maintaining a consistent bedtime routine optimizes not only your mental health but physical health as well.

While the summer months extend our days and winter brings longer nights, a well-maintained sleep-wake cycle will ensure we’re receiving the full amount of rest no matter how long or short each day. Without it, we run the risk of developing a plethora of health conditions, from high cholesterol to diabetes or exacerbating mental health ailments to disrupting our immune system’s ability to do its job (read the connection between COVID-19 and sleep disorders). For many, especially people already impacted by a sleep disorder, establishing and maintaining a sleep routine can be challenging. Here’s how the experts recommend getting starting and making your routine a habit:

Approximately 70 million people in the United States suffer from a sleep disorder. Sleep disorders can stem from a variety of places: mental illness, body anatomy, health conditions, and living environment, just to name a few. Regardless of the source, managing a sleep disorder is essential to regaining control over one’s rest and overall health. 

While some sleep disorders do take professional intervention to treat, there are a handful of measures people can take to improve their rest. Here are eight of those measures that sleep doctors recommend everyone make a part of their sleep routine:

Did you know that sleep studies can be conducted at home? While some still imagine the uncomfortable process of laying in a doctor’s office or lab overnight, this is simply no longer the only option. Now, you can complete a sleep study in the comfort of your own home, in your own bed. Home sleep studies can effectively diagnose obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and, potentially, save a life from this harmful disease. 

Two years ago, the world experienced the start of a global pandemic that affected every industry and every facet of our lives. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still ongoing with many people altered by the stress and trauma of these events. 

Have you experienced declining sleep health since the onset of the pandemic? In 2020, researchers began working to understand how this global event has altered the human psyche. Now, continuing research has revealed to us a concerning connection to sleep disorders, like insomnia.

Like many others who find their way through Sleep Dallas’ doors, Oscar Cano found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. Having gone through three CPAPs, Oscar still could not find relief: “I never could sleep with [CPAPs], very cumbersome and didn’t like using them.” 

Oscar didn’t believe he would ever find a successful therapy for his sleep apnea. A few years back, oral appliance therapy (OAT) had even been brought to his attention—but Oscar brushed it off, not wanting to sleep with a device in his mouth and worried it wouldn’t be covered by his medical insurance. Last year, that all changed.

March 2022 Update

In light of the most recent COVID-19 guideline updates for the Dallas-Forth Worth area, we have updated our mask policy for both of our office locations. We recommend all unvaccinated and high-risk visitors wear a mask in public spaces of our offices, but will no longer require mask-wearing. We encourage all of our patients and staff to continue to follow all CDC guidelines, including continuing to distance indoors where possible.
Your health & safety continues to be our priority. All public spaces are regularly disinfected and all Sleep Dallas staff members continue to take daily precautions. As always, if you experience any symptoms associated with COVID-19 or come into contact with an infected person, please reschedule.

It’s estimated that nearly 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, with 80% of moderate-severe cases remaining undiagnosed. The most common form of sleep apnea is known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which is characterized by a blockage or collapse of the airway, causing cessation of breathing for a short period of time during sleep. These cessations of breathing or “apneas” range from a few seconds up to several minutes and can occur up to 30 times per hour.

Common symptoms of sleep apnea include snoring, frequent breaks in breathing, daytime sleepiness or fatigue, morning headaches, insomnia, depression, frequent nighttime urination, acid reflux, and uncharacteristic irritability.

OSA negatively impacts both the quantity and quality of sleep that you get, putting you at a higher risk for experiencing negative events like a car crash or developing a potentially life-threatening condition, such as diabetes or heart disease. These risks make it very important that those with sleep apnea get treated for their condition.

Our hearts are our lifelines—quite literally. The heart ensures that our bodies receive oxygen and other nutrients that we need in order to survive. Without the heart, our vital organs—including the brain—don’t receive blood, which will cause them to stop working.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, followed by cancer and COVID-19. When talking about heart disease, it’s important to understand that heart disease simply refers to several different heart conditions. The most common type of heart disease is CAD (coronary artery disease). CAD most typically leads to heart attacks. 

All humans need sleep—it’s a biological necessity. Without appropriate and healthy sleep, we place ourselves at risk for developing potentially life-threatening health ailments, and worsening current conditions. Why? Because the body recovers during sleep. Without it, we miss out on vital processes that our bodies depend on.

Generally, it’s recommended that the average person receive 7-9 hours of sleep a night; but what if you’re not average? What if you consistently push your body to limits that the “average” person doesn’t? That’s what sports legend Lebron James does, and it’s why he sleeps an average of 12 hours each night.

In fact, many athletes are known to sleep many more hours a night than the average person—for example, Usain Bolt, Venus Williams, and Maria Sharapova sleep an average of ten. All are athletes who have accomplished incredible feats, and who therefore also need incredible sleep.

Although it feels like 2021 just began, the year is officially winding down and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Thankfully, many of us will once again be able to enjoy time with family, cooking and drinking, and reflecting on all that 2021 brought our way. For some of us, though, the holidays reignite a particular kind of anxiety: being the family snorer.