It is common knowledge that most adults need at least eight hours of sleep a night, but that can often be difficult to achieve. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website, about 40 million people in the country suffer from some form of a sleep problem. Sometimes these can get disruptive enough to be classified a sleep disorder. To help people with these disorders, sleep clinics have opened up across the country. One such clinic is the Sound Sleep Health, located in Northgate.The clinic opened in 2002, when Dr. Gandis Mazeika decided to pursue sleep medicine full-time. Mazeika trained in both psychiatry and neurology, but he has always had an interest in sleep medicine."Both involve the nervous system...and both [involve not sleeping] well," Mazeika said. "Sleep bridged the [educational] gap nicely. I am able to practice both specialties."The clinic is open both day and night for patients. DIFFERENT DISORDERSMore than 90 sleeping disorders have been studied. At Sound Sleep Health, some of the most common types seen are obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, sleepwalking and -talking, acting out dreams, restless leg syndrome and narcolepsy.Obstructive sleep apnea is inadequate breathing during sleep. Mazeika said this is when the windpipe is over-relaxed. "It's like drinking a milkshake through a flimsy straw," he explained.Men and women have an equal likelihood of having this disorder. One in four adults has some version of sleep apnea.Insomnia is another common disorder. People tend to have problems sleeping while under stress, which is normal, the doctor said; however, some people have this experience linger and can never quite get their sleep schedule back.Sleepwalking, sleeptalking and acting out dreams can be dangerous on a physical level. Mazeika said many patients have come in with their bed partners, and the partner has physical bruises from the other person acting out their dreams. He also said these problems become more common as age increases.Restless leg syndrome is a disorder that can occur both during and prior to sleep. A sleeper's feet will feel odd, and they have a difficult time keeping still, Mazeika explained.Mazeika said it helps for the person to walk around, but shortly after sitting back down, it can come back. Movements can still return while a person is sleeping.Another sleep disorder commonly seen is narcolepsy. Mazeika mentioned most people think of this disorder as involuntarily falling asleep. "The real version is patients are often tired during daytime [but] can usually control themselves pretty well," he said. THE STUDY OF SLEEPThe patient initially consults with one of the doctors before spending a night at a sleep facility. While they sleep, their brainwaves, breathing rate, heart rate and other vital signs are monitored."They are wearing a lot of do-dads, but it's not uncomfortable," Mazeika said. "The room is dark and really nice and hotel-like."After results are recorded, Mazeika prefers to sit down with the patient and go over the results together. "The patients get a very good understanding of what happens because they see a single snapshot," he said. "We get to show them an entire different side of existence they are not really in touch with."The doctor and patient then determine how to solve the sleep problems. The therapy varies based on the specific sleep disorder. Mazeika said oftentimes people request sleeping pills, but he said those serve more as a bandage because they have not really treated the problem. Most patients leave much happier than when they first arrived. "Lots of people walk out of here with big smiles on their faces because they finally feel rested," he said. "We make a big impact on the quality of their lives. The world is a much better place when you sleep well."[[In-content Ad]]
