How We Successfully Treat Sleep Disorders
Inadequate sleep impairs cognitive function, mental alertness, and reaction time. It is linked with depression, anxiety, low sex drive, and hyperactivity. Sleep deprivation depresses your immune response and increases susceptibility to infection. It’s associated with increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and even death. It may even make you fat! For all these reasons and more, it’s important to uncover what’s behind your sleep problem and take steps to correct it.
Far too often, conventional physicians prescribe Ambien, Sonata, Lunesta, and other drugs to facilitate sleep. More than six percent of adults over the age of 65 and a disturbing number of children and young people routinely use these medications, even though many of them are only meant for short-term use. Sleep medications are associated with very serious adverse effects, including addiction, cognitive impairment, and increased risk of falls and accidents.
One of the most common and overlooked disorders is sleep apnea. Heavy snoring is a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, and it can absolutely destroy your health. When people with this condition sleep, the soft tissues in the back of their throats relax, close off the airways, and they simply stop breathing. As oxygen levels plummet, they awake just enough to take a breath. If this cycle repeats throughout the night, normal sleep patterns are disrupted, and the deepest and most regenerative stages of sleep are never reached. In addition to daytime sleepiness and fatigue, this condition drives up risk of high blood pressure, stroke, arrhythmia, obesity, and diabetes.
Fortunately, the sleep apnea treatments and all-natural sleep remedies we use at the Whitaker Wellness Institute have impeccable safety records and are unquestionably effective.
Our Unique Therapies
Sleep Apnea Diagnosis…
Experts estimate that only one in 10 people affected with sleep apnea have been diagnosed and treated. If your Whitaker Wellness physician suspects you may have this condition, he or she will order an “unattended home sleep monitoring” test to rule out sleep apnea. Rather than spending a night in a sleep lab, this test can be done in your own bed or, for out-of-towners, your hotel room. It simply involves wearing a sensor and a small mask that are attached to a device that records pulse, blood oxygen levels (oxygen saturation), air flow, and the effort required to breathe. It’s is much more comfortable than a full-blown sleep study and is extremely accurate. Because of the close links between sleep apnea and hypertension, memory loss, stroke, heart disease, and lung disease, we also offer this test to patients with any of these conditions.
…And Treatment
If your oxygen levels are low, you may be prescribed a continuous or automatic positive airway pressure (CPAP or APAP) machine. These machines are the gold standard in the treatment of sleep apnea. CPAP/APAP consists of a nasal mask or seal that blows a continual stream of pressurized air through the nose and prevents the tissues in the back of the throat from collapsing. Most patients report immediate and lasting benefits that often start the first night they use the machine.
Sleep apnea rarely exists in a vacuum. Individuals who are plagued with this condition often struggle with weight problems, diabetes, and a wide range of cardiovascular problems. In addition to diagnosing and treating sleep apnea, the Whitaker Wellness Institute offers a number of targeted therapies for these and other coexisting conditions. These include EECP, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, IV therapies, and targeted nutritional supplements. Our medical team also identifies and treats other conditions that may disturb your slumber. Restless leg syndrome, prostate enlargement, menopause, and anxiety can leave you tossing and turning at night. The good news is that all of these conditions can be addressed, and once they are, you can say goodbye to sleep problems.
Supplements, Not Drugs
In place of side effect-riddled sleep-enhancing drugs, the doctors at Whitaker Wellness prescribe a number of safe, effective sleep aids such as L-theanine, valerian, and melatonin. These natural substances provide a sense of calm relaxation that helps patients fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. Better yet, these natural sleep aids are non-habit forming so they are safe for regular use and they won’t leave you feeling groggy when you wake up.
Personalized Lifestyle Program
Exercise is a great therapy for insomnia. Provided that you don’t exercise just before bedtime—which keeps some people awake—regular workouts relieve mental and physical tension and stress and improve sleep. Yoga, relaxation routines, and other stress- and anxiety-busters are also recommended.
Another lifestyle factor that contributes to sleep disorders is obesity, primarily because it dramatically increases risk of sleep apnea. If you are overweight, the Whitaker Wellness Institute team will work with you to develop a personalized program of diet, exercise, and nutritional supplements that will help you lose weight and possibly reverse sleep apnea. Conversely, because sleep apnea interferes with weight-regulating hormones, treatment can also help you shed unwanted pounds.
Additional Articles on Sleep Disorders
Click the links below to read about the Whitaker Wellness Institute’s safe, natural approaches to treating sleep disorders.
One-Stop Shop for Wellness
Renowned physician, author, and speaker, Julian Whitaker, MD, opened the doors of the Whitaker Wellness Institute in 1979. Since then, our clinic has helped more than 45,000 patients overcome serious health challenges and get back on the road to healthy living. We’re proud to offer nearly two dozen safe, innovative, healing therapies under one roof—that’s more than any other facility in the northern hemisphere. Just think of us as your “one-stop shop for wellness.”
To learn more about how the Whitaker Wellness Institute’s natural treatments for sleep disorders can safely alleviate sleep apnea, insomnia, and a host of other sleep concerns—without the use of dangerous drugs, click on the buttons below to schedule a complimentary consultation or contact us to learn more. You can also schedule your complimentary consultation or obtain more information by calling our friendly and knowledgeable Patient Services Representatives at (866) 944-8253.
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