Adrian Pristas, M.D. talks with Two River Times about sleep apnea severity and treatment

According to the National Sleep Foundation, some 18 million Americans now struggle with sleep apnea - a serious, potentially life-threatening condition that has been linked to heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, blood clots and diabetes.

Two River Times recently spoke with Adrian Pristas, M.D., Medical Director of Sleep Medicine for Hackensack Meridian Health, to help convey both the severity of sleep apnea and the scope of treatment options available to patients.

“Sleep apnea is a relatively common disorder of breathing that occurs during sleep where the posterior air way collapses during certain stages of sleep and causes a cessation of breathing for at least 10 seconds or more,” says Dr. Pristas in the Two River Times piece, "A Snorer's Alarming Affliction: Sleep Apnea."

Read the complete Two River Times piece featuring Adrian Adrian Pristas, M.D., Medical Director of Sleep Medicine for Hackensack Meridian Health, here.

CDC Study Examines Social Patterns Among Healthy Sleepers

Featuring Carol Ash, D.O.
Director of Sleep Medicine
Meridian Health

Inadequate sleep has been linked to conditions that include obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, anxiety, and depression.

Now, with an increasing number of Americans stressing more and sleeping less, the need has never been greater for us to challenge traditional answers to an age-old question: What is really keeping us up at night?

According to a recent CDC report, 35% of U.S. adults are getting less than the essential seven hours of sleep, and 12% of Americans are sleeping less than five hours per day. The report includes a demographic breakdown of healthy sleepers in each of the 50 states — revealing patterns which beg further questions about the nation’s sleep epidemic.

These trends hint at deeper, social connections to this potentially life threatening health condition, and they are a further reminder that the difficulties that Americans struggle with during the day don’t simply disappear when the lights go out.

Key points from the CDC’s findings include:
· Lack of sleep is more prevalent in urban, densely populated areas
· Married and unmarried couples get more sleep than people who are divorced, widowed or separated
· People with a college education get more sleep
· The unemployed have the lowest average of healthy sleepers (51%)

“Look at the trends, and then ask yourself ‘Why?’ What’s the connection?” says Carol Ash, D.O. “When we’re fighting to make ends meet — whether it’s due to unemployment, poverty or problems with a spouse — it plagues our mental, physical and emotional health. People need stability, and when we’re struggling with economic and/or social turmoil, the stress, anxiety and depression can be overpowering, even when the lights go out.”

Dr. Ash believes the solution lies in a push toward education and an emphasis on every day, healthy minded practices. She credits groundbreaking research initiated in 1965 involving nearly 7,000 residents of Alameda County, California, which concluded that sleep was one of seven health habits, a.k.a. the "Alameda 7," revealed to be key determinants of good health and, ultimately, a longer life.

“The key is education on the importance of simple, everyday lifestyle adjustments, empowerment from the knowledge that, yes, you are in control,” Ash says.

Simple behaviors proven to have a positive impact on sleep include:
· Eat healthier
· Exercise. 30 minutes a day is optimum, but starting at even less is still a start.
· Mindfulness and/or breathing exercises
· Maintain a consistent bedtime and wake up time

Read the full CDC report here for more information.

Dr. Ash on CBS This Morning: When Sleep Suffers, Illness Spikes

Meridian Health Director of Sleep Medicine Carol Ash, D.O., was recently featured on CBS This Morning, where she discussed a recent sleep study that points to a correlation between illness and lack of sleep.

Watch Dr. Ash's segment here:

Don't "Ignore the Snore"

Ignoring Snoring?

Check out Dr. Carol Ash on "CBS This Morning" discussing sleep related health issues, and why simply "ignoring the snoring" could have serious consequences.

Athlete's Decision to Undergo Facial Surgery Draws Further Attention to Seriousness of Sleep Disorders

According to an article on ESPN Boston, Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli will undergo surgery in early November to treat his sleep apnea.

The decision is yet another call to action for public discourse on the seriousness of sleep apnea and the ongoing struggle roughly 18 million Americans have with this potentially life threatening disorder, characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep.

The procedure Napoli will undergo is called bimaxillary advancement surgery, which separates the front portions of the lower and upper jaw and moves them forward to allow more room behind the tongue, reducing the chances of obstruction.

 Carol Ash, DO, Director of Sleep Medicine for Meridian Health, had this to say during a recent interview with CBS This Morning:

"When we go to sleep at night, our muscles lose tone and our airways start to narrow. This is true of all of us, but we can continue to breathe."

"But in people with sleep apnea, when they lose that muscle tone, their airway collapses all the way down. Airflow is compromised and oxygen can't get in."

Bimaxillary advancement surgery is just one of a range of treatment options used to treat sleep apnea, which include Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP).

CPAP utilizes an air splint, which blows air to the back of the throat, splinting the airway open so it can't collapse.

During the interview, Dr. Ash discussed another potentially game changing advancement in sleep technology, currently awaiting FDA approval, called a pulse generator. By sensing the body's effort to breathe, the device stimulates nerves in the neck contriving the muscles that keep the airway open.

"When you look at the range sleep disorders, and how we are just not getting enough sleep, this is the biggest public health issue facing society today," Ash says.