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For immediate release:  May 29, 2007 (Clyde, NC)

HRMC's Sleep Lab Helps When Counting Sheep Won't by Marian Larson

Do you get the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep each night?
If the answer is no, you're not alone. Statistics show that more than 70 million people of all ages fail to get quality, restful sleep, resulting in concentration, memory, productivity and alertness problems. There are more than 200 different types of diagnosable sleep disorders. And fortunately, thanks to facilities like the Sleep Disorders Laboratory at Haywood Regional Medical Center, some don't have to suffer forever.
"Over the last few years, we've learned more about how lack of sleep really affects lifestyle," said Curtis Wilkerson, director of the cardio-pulmonary department at HRMC. "It's been proven that truly getting a good night's sleep is the key to a whole host of things," he said.
The Sleep Disorders Laboratory offers convenient, comfortable testing designed to diagnose most sleep disorders. Trained technicians use a noninvasive, painless polysomnogram (sleep test) to measure patients' brain waves, breathing, oxygen level and heart rate. Electrodes are strategically placed on the scalp, chest, face and legs and are monitored throughout the night while the patient sleeps.
So how does a patient get any rest with all this testing going on? "Most of our patients are sleep-deprived by the time they get here," said Shelly Bell, a registered polysomnographic technologist and respiratory therapist who works in the lab. "We have full-size beds, and our rooms are like hotel rooms or regular bedrooms, with private bathrooms. We even encourage patients to bring their own pajamas and pillow. By the time they get all hooked up, they've become adjusted."
The lab currently runs four nights a week and can accommodate up to four patients a night. Typically, two arrive at 9:30 p.m. and two come at 10:30 p.m. After the patient falls asleep, a technologist keeps track of stages of sleep, leg movements, and insomnia. They also watch for periods of hypoxia (episodes of decreased blood oxygen), partial breathing obstruction, and apnea (complete breathing obstructions). After scoring the reports, the technologists pass them on to Dr. Howard Palay, MD, a neurologist, and Dr. Harry Lipham, MD, a pulmonologist, to review. They read all of the lab's sleep studies and work with the ordering physicians to come up with the best treatment for a patient.
Sleep apnea is the most common sleep disorder that the lab deals with, Bell said.
"People with sleep apnea fall asleep very easily at inappropriate times," Bell explained. "When someone stops breathing when they sleep, their oxygen levels drop, and their heart has to work harder. So there is an increased risk of heart problems in sleep apnea patients," she said.
Bell remembers one patient who was extremely anxious about the test, and especially about the CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure machine, which forces air into the airway to prevent apneas from happening. But when he woke up the next morning, he felt more rested than he had in a long time.
It turns out that the patient had severe sleep apnea and would need the CPAP every night to help him get a good night's rest.
"Several months later, we saw the patient, and he was barely recognizable. He had lost a tremendous amount of unnecessary weight and was doing things in his life he hadn't done in years because he wasn’t sleep deprived any longer,” she noted. “He said he felt like a new man."
Wilkerson said that one of the advantages to having a sleep lab at HRMC is that the turnaround time can be very quick if needed.
"Patients who meet an emergency protocol, who have, for example, severe sleep apnea - we can jump on those cases quickly. It's a great convenience to the community that we have something right here," he commented.
And patients seem to feel the same way. Bell said that patients comment all the time on how well they were treated at the lab.
"They leave here feeling as though they were well-taken care of," she said.
To learn more about HRMC’s Sleep Lab, please call 452-8848. A physician’s referral is required for treatment.

HRMC registered polysomnographic technologist Shelly Bell demonstrates the CPAP mask over the face of HRMC network analyst Bill Driver.

Shelly Bell, registered polysomnographic technologist, makes computer preparations for performing a polysomnogram on a patient in HRMC’s Sleep Lab.