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How Are You Sleeping? posted on March 22, 2010

National Sleep Awareness Week, March 7-13, is an annual public education and awareness campaign to promote the importance of sleep. With nearly 50 percent of Americans snoring on a regular basis, and over 40 percent not getting enough shut-eye, NSAW provides the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate attitudes toward sleep, help those who are deprived of it and remedy the problems.

Sleep loss affects everyone, regardless of age, gender, race or profession, according to Craig Schwimmer, MD, MPH, FACS, the founder and medical director of The Snoring Center. A repeat guest on national TV shows, "The Doctors" and "The Dr. Phil Show," Dr. Schwimmer has helped thousands of patients from around the world. The Snoring Center is the nation's leading provider of cutting-edge, office-based treatment for sleep disordered breathing.

"Many people assume that nothing effective can be done to alleviate their own or their partner's snoring and just suffer with it," said Dr. Schwimmer, a board-certified otolaryngologist. "In reality, disruptive snoring has a major impact on our physical and emotional health, not to mention our relationships. We now have tools to treat snoring more effectively, conveniently and comfortably than ever before."

Burning the midnight oil also has a cumulative effect - losing an hour of sleep per night for a week is as bad as going an entire night without sleep. The health effects of sleep loss are wide-ranging, and can include hypertension, depression, nighttime heartburn, erectile dysfunction, and cardiac stress. Sleep loss has been linked to a greater risk of diabetes, obesity and heart disease.

"Simple snoring" is also a serious issue for millions of patients, as it significantly impacts the sleep of bed-partners. Married couples argue about snoring as much as they do money; snoring couples have less sex than non-snoring couples, and over 20 percent of couples regularly sleep apart due to snoring.

Economic consequences of sleep loss cost the country an estimated $15 billion a year in increased health care costs, automobile accidents, workplace accidents, and decreased job performance. Every day, nearly 80,000 drivers fall asleep at the wheel, leading to 100,000 crashes and 8,000 deaths per year. Ninety percent of police officers have stopped someone on the suspicion of drunk driving, only to discover the drivers were sober - but drowsy. In short, sleep (and lack of it) is a big deal.