Nothing to Lose Sleep Over

By Dr. Steven Warfield

You toss, you turn and suddenly you lie there wide awake in the middle of the night.  Unable to get back to sleep you try counting sheep.  Or worse, you reach for the bottle of pills by the side of 

the bed.  Anything to get a few hours of shut eye before the alarm goes off and you are forced to head back to work.  For some people, the underlying cause of the condition could be the stresses of everyday life or something that didn’t agree with them after dinner last night.  For others, insomnia is an all-too-familiar way of life.

What many people don’t realize is that insomnia affects more than half of all adults.  While the underlying triggers for this condition can include everything from stress and depression to alcohol or coffee, many people’s lack of sleep can be traced back to spinal misalignments that can block nerve impulses.  That’s right, insomnia can be caused by subluxations which are ultimately treatable.

Along with many other factors, the central nervous system controls the hormones and brain chemicals that regulate sleep.  Therefore anything that interferes with the sending or receiving of nerve signals can cause malfunctions in the body that may not only trigger insomnia but many other underlying problems including stress, depression and indigestion.  (Restless Leg Syndrome which can also keep sufferers up at night can in many cases also be attributed to subluxations.)

Far from dealing with these symptoms, many medications actually amplify the underlying causes.  Anti-depressants (like Zoloft and Prozac) and anti-anxiety medications (such as Valium and Xanax) have been known to cause such things as heartburn, constipation, headache among other side effects.

Not only can insomnia be caused by many different factors, but there are actually three different types of insomnia: Acute, Chronic and Transient.

1.      Acute Insomnia: This type of insomnia is classified as lasting for more than one week but less than one month. It is indicated by difficulty in going to sleep or staying asleep. When sleep does occur, it is characterized as fitful.

2.      Chronic Insomnia: This type of insomnia persists for more than one month. The effects of chronic insomnia can include mental fatigue, muscle fatigue and hallucinations. Sufferers of chronic insomnia may feel like everything is moving in slow motion.

            3.      Transient Insomnia: This type of insomnia lasts             for less than one week. It can be caused by                       other health conditions, alterations in your sleep               environment or changes to the timing of your                     sleep. This condition routinely occurs twice per               year when we reset our clocks.

The worst thing about insomnia is that it can have a profound effect on everything else in our lives, including performance at work or how we relate to friends and family.  By ailing to get a good night’s sleep, many sufferers find themselves dozing on the job or behind the wheel, neither of which is conducive to a healthy lifestyle.

In a study conducted by the Division of Health Sciences at Murdoch University, Perth, Australia  221 patients who suffered from insomnia were given chiropractic treatment.  Of those, 154 patients reported their sleep pattern was immediately improved and all but one patient reported some improvement during the course of treatment.

The Journal of the American Chiropractic Association states, “Many patients do not tell their doctors that they suffer from sleep disorders, but it is very common for patients to advise their chiropractors that they sleep much better after being treated for a variety of conditions not usually associated with sleep deprivation. Chiropractic treatment in general is a good alternative for those individuals who do not feel rested and who do not wish to take prescription drugs to assist them in obtaining quality sleep.”

While sleeping pills may provide a short term solution to insomniacs, these medications produce a number of side effects including the suppression of breathing, which can be dangerous to asthmatics.  While many of the latest advances in sleeping pills claim to be less habit forming, common side effects of prescription sleeping pills such as Lunesta, Sonata, Ambien, Rozerem, and Halcion may include:

·         Burning or tingling in the hands, arms, feet, or legs

·         Changes in appetite

·         Constipation

·         Diarrhea

·         Difficulty keeping balance

·         Dizziness

·         Drowsiness

·         Dry mouth or throat

·         Headache

·         Heartburn

·         Stomach pain or tenderness

·         Unusual dreams

Chiropractic treatment on the other hand produces no discernible side effect since it uses no drugs.  It is safe for children and the elderly.  More importantly, it is designed to correct the underlying conditions that are known to interfere with the optimal operation of the central nervous system.  So if you or anyone you know suffers from insomnia make an appointment to see a chiropractor right away.  After all, this is one condition that’s nothing to lose sleep over.

Dr.’s Steven Warfield and Dave Edenfield offer the most advanced treatments for back pain, sciatica, neck pain, whiplash and headaches. They also treat auto accident victims with state-of-the-art technologies.  For more information visit http://endyourpain.org or http://chiropractor-jacksonville-fl.com

Snoring is Nothing to Lose Sleep Over

By Dr. Steven Warfield

If you or someone in your household routinely spends the wee hours in an imitation of a lumber mill, don’t lose heart.  Snoring is more than mere annoyance.  It can also be a symptom of a more serious condition: Sleep Apnea.  Even though many people who have this condition purport that it doesn’t affect their ability to sleep, the truth of the matter is that those with sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during the night.  This can lead to lack of REM sleep, reduced oxygen to the brain and reduced performance during waking hours.  Even worse, if left untreated, apnea can result in a number of other health problems, including:

1.      High Blood Pressure

2.      Stroke

3.      Irregular Heartbeat

4.      Heart Failure

5.      Diabetes

6.      Depression

7.      ADHD

Side view of a typical CPAP mask hooked up to its air hose. The opening goes over the nose, the tabs press against the forehead. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Caused either by a blockage of the airway by the soft tissue in the back of the throat, by an instability in the part of the brain that controls respiration, or a combination of the two
, this condition affects not only adults, but children as well.  Since there are three types of sleep apnea, the diagnosis consists of an evaluation of the clinical symptoms and the results of a formal sleep study, which can be performed either in a clinical setting or at home.  The objective is to determine the quantity of apneic events per hour of sleep. Once the type and severity of sleep apnea is determined, then treatment can be initiated.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is the most common type of sleep disorder.  Since the muscles of the body routinely relax during sleep, the soft tissue lining the throat can partially collapse, blocking the airway.  The elderly, individuals with poor muscle tone and the obese are at higher risk for OSA.  Some treatments for this condition involve changes in lifestyle, such as avoiding alcohol or muscle relaxants, losing weight and quitting smoking.  Sleeping on one’s side as opposed to sleeping on the back is also effective, as are various kinds of oral appliances, which are all designed to keep the airway open during sleep.

In Central Sleep Apnea (CSA), the brain’s respiratory control centers experience an imbalance during sleep.  Carbon dioxide levels and the that monitor them in the body do not react quickly enough to maintain adequate respiration.   As a result, the sleeper’s breathing stops an

CPAP continuous positive airway pressure mask installed (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

d starts all night long.  Sufferers of CSA may experience episodes of rapid breathing (hyperpnea) as the body attempts to balance the books by blowing off unwanted CO2 and absorbing needed oxygen.

The long and short of CSA is that the part of the nervous system that controls oxygen and CO2 levels gets out of whack.  The brain fails to tell the lungs to breathe.  Since the brain needs oxygen to live, as a result, it signals the tries to compensate by beating faster.  Short of death, drips in blood oxygen may trigger seizures, angina, heart arrhythmia, or even heart attack.  If left untreated, CSA can cause a change in the PH of the blood itself.

Treatment of CSA involves oxygen, nasal continuous airway pressure (CPAP) or bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP), as well as certain pharmaceuticals that stimulate breathing.  Sufferers of CSA are also advised to avoid the use of sedatives.

Some people with sleep apnea have a combination of OSA and CSA.  This condition is referred to as Complex Sleep Apnea.  Patients with complex sleep apnea generally exhibit OSA, but upon application of positive airway pressure they exhibit OSA.  This condition is most commonly treated by either CPAP, BiPAP or adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) therapy.

Your Chiropractor Can Help You Breathe Easier

There are also several kinds of chiropractic treatments that can help relieve sleep apnea.  Chiropractic adjustments, massage, exercise or a combination of treatments may prove effective.  As well as employing a hands-on approach, your chiropractor can also teach you stretching and strengthening exercises for your neck.  Since another cause of sleep apnea is neck kyphosis, which is an excess curvature of the neck, your chiropractor can help you determine the underlying cause as well as an effective course of treatment. 

While there are surgical procedures that may be used to treat sleep apnea, chiropractic, lifestyle changes and other alternative treatments should be explored first.   In a 2009 study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Clinical Care Medicine found that patients who practiced a series of tongue and throat exercises for 30 minutes per day showed a marked decline in sleep apnea symptoms after only three months.  Additionally, patients experienced 39% fewer apnea episodes after completing the treatments.

Dr.’s Steven Warfield and Dave Edenfield offer the most advanced treatments for back pain, sciatica, neck pain, whiplash and headaches. They also treat auto accident victims with state-of-the-art technologies. If you or anyone you know suffers from herniated discs, degenerative discs or spinal stenosis, visit http://www.lakewoodchiropracticjax.com/

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