Time to take your sleep issues seriously

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The following sleep story nightmare (literally) is from a woman I met recently. I’ve written about sleep in the past, but this story took my breath away in regards to how debilitating these sleep disorders can be. And unfortunately they are becoming all too common. I share it to simply “wake up” any of you reading this blog post who might relate… and strongly advise you to seek professional help.

—“I haven’t slept well for years.  I would wake up and it always felt like I had been hit by a bus, or, I would wake up from a nightmare (many terrorist dreams, or dreams of drowning)… always a terrible adventure.  It was like I could feel the molecules rushing through my body (after the harsh awakening) and would be awake for hours.

I found out later that this was my brain trying to wake me up as I had stopped breathing.

I would wake up and my heart would be racing.

Things had been getting progressively worse since Jan, although I now realize this been going on for years and my health was suffering tremendously.

  • My TMJ was killing me.  My jaw was locking…popping and clicking (I eventually found out I was clenching at night because I couldn’t breathe)

  • My snoring was getting worse and worse

  • I was constantly flip flopping at night

  • I was gaining weight, and found it incredibly hard to stick to any plan/diet for longer than a few days

  • My memory was getting worse.  I was in a fog most days and never woke up feeling refreshed.

  • I was so tired and found myself coming home and lying down in my bed in the late afternoon (I am a highly motivated, high energy person with a go getter personality, so this was far from normal)

Finally, thanks to a wonderful dentist, who went above and beyond any other dental exam I have had, discovered my tongue is a Class 3 (obstruction). The back of my mouth opening, leading into my airway, is 30mm. It should be 40-45mm on average.

After 6 months of waiting for a sleep test, I found out that I have Severe Sleep Apnea. 

During the few hours I slept, I was waking up 55x times an hour!

I’m now on a CPAP machine.  It’s been a difficult adjustment as I initially tended to stop breathing even before I was in a deep sleep.  But I’ve made some adjustments and have noticed a big difference.  My heart rate has settled, and I actually woke up today at 5:45am with no brain fog… and had energy!  I worked at my desk for an hour and was at the gym by 7am.

My jaw is improving as I’m not clenching anymore.

I’ve actually had pleasant dreams.

I’m not craving high carb foods and sweets like I used to.

It’s only been 1.5 weeks but I feel like a different person already.”

— My hunch is there was probably a lot more going on in her body, given what we know today about the impact of lack of sleep (see below). Thankfully, she has taken action, and I’m thrilled for her new found lease on life.

Why do sleep problems seem rampant nowadays?

One of the reasons for so many sleeping disorders from breathing issues is due to the size and shape of our jaws. They have changed dramatically since WWII (even earlier, actually) due to the introduction of processed foods — we aren’t chewing nearly as much as we used to (less vegetables and whole foods; more soft, refined foods), and we aren’t getting the critical fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) in our diet that play an essential role in jaw formation.

Women, in particular, often have smaller jaws that don’t support their airways. This is known as upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS), and can lead to teeth grinding (I know it first hand), as well as digestive issues such as IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), diarrhea, constipation, indigestion, acid reflux or bloating. The symptoms (grinding and digestive) are due to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) triggering the release of stress hormones.

Finally, our present lifestyles have completely disrupted our sleeping patterns (see Sleep 101 blog under What To Do to see what they are and how they can be addressed)

And just to drive the point home…

Other things that are associated with insomnia, shortened sleep or interrupted sleep:

“I think that sleep may be one of the most significant lifestyle factors that determines your risk ratio for Alzheimers disease.” — Matthew Walker, Ph.D and Professor of Neuroscience at UC Berkeley; author of Why We Sleep

So… what steps can one take?

As mentioned earlier, if you are really suffering, see a sleep specialist. It’s not something to be taken lightly. If you are a mouth breather (vs nose), this includes you!

In the meantime, other “at home” suggestions are as follows:

  • A diverse diet of whole foods, to ensure you are chewing and getting your fat soluble vitamins. If you follow the Mediterranean diet, you will have your bases covered.

  • Breathing exercises

    • Belly breathing - it allows your body to extract more oxygen from the air and activates your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest). Try this exercise: 3 min/day - sitting down or lying on your back, put your hand on your belly. Breathe in through your nose for 3 seconds, letting your belly expand. Breathe out through your nose for 4 seconds, letting your belly contract. Pause for 1-2 seconds and then repeat 20x. (1)

    • Dr. Andrew Weil - 4-7-8 breathing

  • Tongue exercise - this exercise will help hold your tongue at the top of your mouth while you rest, which will help the muscles stay active at night.

    • hold your tongue behind your back teeth, just behind the two grooves on your palate. Push upward, including the sides and back of tongue, to the roof of the mouth, and hold for three minutes. Do this 2x/day. (2)

  • Take opera classes! Seriously. Singing opera strengthens the airway muscles and retrains the brain to use them. (3)

  • For more general (although no less important) tips on sleep hygiene, visit my Sleep 101 blog.

Summary

Ok… I think I’ve exhausted (npi!) the sleep issue for a while (although I am quite keen to write about the effects of jet lag and what you can do to help alleviate them… but I will save for a later date :)

As always, if you are keen on losing a bit of weight; feeling sluggish; struggle with night sweats, hot flashes, memory issues and/or other menopausal symptoms; or suffer from ongoing digestive issues such as bloating, gas or constipation, head to my contact page and give me a call for a free 15 minute consultation.

Thanks for reading!

Gillian

(1), (2), (3) Dr. Steven Lin, The Dental Diet (United States: Hay House, Inc., 2018), 56-58.