Q: How many hours should I sleep?

February 14, 2009

A: It depends. Assuming that you don’t have any sleep-breathing problems and no other medical issues exist, the general range is about 5-8 hours. Everyone is different, with various sleep requirements. If you do have a sleep-breathing problem, then since your sleep quality is not as good, you’ll need more.

It’s been shown that the bare minimum "core" sleep that one needs is about 5 hours. By 5 hours, you’ll have gotten most of your non-REM deep sleep. Studies have shown that people who sleep less than 5 hours or more than 9 hours have higher rates of depression and heart disease. In short sleepers, this makes sense. But why is sleeping extra long a problem? Sleeping longer than 9 hours means that you’re not sleeping efficiently, for whatever reason. The most common problem will be a sleep-breathing problem, such as obstructive sleep apnea or upper airway resistance syndrome. If you can’t sleep on your back, or feel tired no matter how long you sleep, get evaluated by a sleep specialist.

Written by Steven Park · Filed Under QnA | Leave a Comment

No Magic Bullets

October 8, 2008

I’ve stated before that the vast majority of conditions that patients come to see me for (over 90%) are directly a result of the person’s diet, lifestyle, and stress factors. A broken nose, a foreign body or an abscess are acute conditions that can be treated quickly, but many symptoms that I see such as nasal congestion, chronic sinus complaints, ear fullness, chronic fatigue, throat pain and hoarseness, are all conditions that are aggravated by, if not caused by the person’s lifestyle choices. For most people, when I point this out, are grateful that they don’t have to use a medication, and are willing to make the changes so they can start to feel better. Many of these patients do improve.

But there is a small minority that are adamant that there must be pill they can take to get rid of their throat pain or cough or sinus pressure. They are typically younger, and refuse to give up their social lives, and continue to stay up late, eating and drinking, especially on the weekends. If this were you, you may argue: others seem to get by just fine—why am I the only one with this problem?

My answer is that your anatomy is different. They are perfectly happy sleeping on their backs, and are able to breathe properly, even during deep sleep, when their throat muscles relax. In your case, because of smaller jaw anatomy, your tongue falls back easier when on your back, and whenever you go into deep sleep, your tongue relaxes during deep sleep, which causes obstruction and a vacuum effect is created, sucking up stomach juices into your throat, This causes more throat inflammation and swelling, aggravating this vicious cycle.

This is why it’s important that if you’re susceptible to this condition, you shouldn’t eat late or drink alcohol close to bedtime. This is one mechanism that explains why you can gain weight if you eat late. Inefficient sleep promotes weight gain. In addition, alcohol relaxes your muscles and only aggravates this problem.

How many of you are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to improve your health?

Written by Steven Park · Filed Under Blog | Leave a Comment