Monthly Archives February 2014

There are many stories that have circulated for years that a certain popular sleep aid causes people to exhibit very unusual behavior, including making and eating a full meal or even scarfing down an entire chocolate cake. Unfortunately, you don’t have this excuse to explain away the extra pounds you have packed on in the […]

For years, you made do with a couple of hours a sleep a night. In addition, you snored like a banshee. The tipping point of seeking out a diagnosis and treatment for your sleep problem was when you fell asleep babysitting your infant grandchild. Nothing bad happened, but it could have. And thus, the very […]

Zombies, Frankenstein, Dracula…characters from horror movies and television that can cause young and old alike to have nightmares. But what if you woke up in the middle of the night to witness your loved one, walking around the bedroom with his or her hands outstretched like a zombie? Could it be a ready-made scary movie […]

When the ball dropped in Times Square, as the age-old tradition of ringing in 2014, it also commemorated the start of moving forward with your new year’s resolutions. You have lost weight watching what you eat. And you have consistently been heading out to the gym for weight training twice a week and walking on […]

Did you know that clownfish, dwarf angel, dottybacks, royal gramma and tangs are some of the most popular saltwater fish to populate an aquarium? The fish are colorful and beautiful to look at, but did you know that watching these fish in your aquarium can help lower stress and your blood pressure? Studies have demonstrated […]

Think about the difference in your day when you get a good night of sleep versus a night where you spend every hour tossing and turning. When you are well-rested you are a wonderful human being to be around and when not, well…you are lucky your family, friends and colleagues like you so much. It […]

Thousands of people worldwide battle insomnia on a daily basis. It is ever so frustrating to not be able to fall asleep in a timely fashion as well as stay asleep. Lack of quality sleep can affect you at work, your relationships, and health. What are your options? Do you have to choose between therapy […]

You crave sleep. Despite your valiant efforts, nothing seems to help or do the trick. The effects of insomnia are constantly chasing you down: You can’t fall asleep, you can’t stay asleep. What can you do? Your physician volunteered to write you a prescription for a small quantity of sleeping pills. But even for a […]

Ever get a charley horse in the middle of the night in your calf? It hurts! The pain can be excruciating and wake you up from sound sleep or even be bothersome at night while you are actually awake. Hence, these involuntary pains are collectively known as night leg cramps (or nocturnal leg cramps). Where […]

You finally admitted it. Yes, you snore, but not all of the time. On occasion, you wake up from sound sleep and realize it is increasingly difficult to catch your breath. This problem has been a concern and so you made an appointment with your physician who believes that you actually might suffer from respiratory […]

Fade in to the following scene: Julie is staring at the clock for the third night in a row at 2 a.m. Why? She doesn’t have any issues sleeping. However, the same cannot be said for Bob, her husband. Julie has repeatedly elbowed her loving spouse in the middle of the night and not because […]

Hot flashes, night sweats and mood swings are all symptoms that can occur in a woman’s rite of passage toward menopause. During this time in a woman’s life, sleep disturbances can also happen, which begs a question to be posed. Can menopause cause sleep apnea and other sleep disorders? In answering, one needs to understand […]

Rolled up in a ball as if you were still in your mother’s womb? Splayed out on your stomach while you reach for the stars? Or as still as a soldier with arms plastered to your side? Do any of these sleep positions sound like you? Believe it or not, you can tell a lot […]

At some point in time during your childhood, you learned about death. Whether a relative passed or a beloved family pet, you started to fear death. You actually even believed that when you went to sleep, come morning you might not wake up. Thankfully, as you got older the fear went away but now it […]

We all probably know someone who snores, which in turn, is the classic symptom of the most common type of sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). With OSA, there is an anatomical reason for the breathing problem while a person sleeps. Not as easy to detect or as prevalent is a second form, or central […]