Dr. Suhaib Haq is a family physician and sleep medicine specialist with University Health. He speaks on the importance of being well-rested and the steps you can take to take to fix your sleeping disorder.
According to the American Sleep Association, one-third of American adults are sleep deprived, and as many as one in five suffer from a sleep disorder. That’s why diagnosing it with a sleep study, which usually only takes one night, is so important.
Sleep Studies Can Diagnose:
- Sleep-related breathing illnesses
- Sleep-related movement disorders
- Insomnia
- Restless leg syndrome
- Sleep related seizures
Dr. Haq says we need sleep to help our bodies relax, repair and replenish from the day’s activities.
“Anybody who has poor sleep or any health condition that interferes with good, continuous sleep will end up waking up the next day tired,” Dr. Haq said.
Four Sleep Stages
To achieve healthy sleep, you must experience the four stages of sleep, which are:
- Non-REM 1 where you are falling asleep, which lasts a few minutes
- Non-REM 2 is light sleep and typically lasts half an hour
- Non-REM 3 is slow wave sleep and is the deepest sleep state
- REM sleep is your primary dream stage
Sleep studies commonly help diagnose sleep apnea, a condition in which your breathing is regularly interrupted while you sleep. It can lead to high blood pressure, stroke and changes in mental function. “Our technicians may connect them to this CPAP or a BiPAP machine to help them breathe and alleviate their sleep-related breathing disorder,” Dr. Haq said.
And if you’re concerned that a sleep lab won’t be the best environment to sleep comfortably, University Health has sleep labs at two hotels.
“Our sleep labs provide an environment where you can have a comfortable sleep, although it’s not the same as your regular bed, but our staff makes sure you’re comfortable,” Dr. Haq said.
Sleep Studies at University Health
The sleep medicine specialists at University Health offer sleep studies at two hotels to make you more comfortable – La Quinta Inn & Suites at the Medical Center and at the Marriott Hotel downtown.
