Doctor Steven Y. Park, MD | New York, NY | Integrative Solutions for Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome, and Snoring

Why Do One in Eight Boomers Have Memory Loss?

Steven Park — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:09:30 +0000

As the baby boomer generation ages, it’s not surprising that more and more people complain of memory problems. Here’s an article that describes the results of a survey which revealed that nearly 13% of people 60 or over reported confusion or memory loss which has worsened over the past 12 months. So far there are no definitive studies that suggest that untreated obstructive sleep apnea can cause Alzheimer’s disease (no scientific study will ever propose cause and effect), but based on how prevalent obstructive sleep apnea is in our country, and knowing how much sleep apnea causes various types of brain damage, it’s not too far fetched to say that untreated obstructive sleep apnea may explain a significant number of cases of memory loss or dementia. Anecdotally, many of my patients do report improved memory after sleep apnea treatment.

Another New Treatment Option for Sleep Apnea?

Steven Park — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:43:41 +0000

Theravent looks like another potential new option for snoring, but upon further inspection, looks like technology that’s also found in Provent. These are nasal adhesives that allow you to breathe in normally, but provides partial resistance when you breathe out through your nose. Numerous studies have been published on the effectiveness of Provent for sleep apnea, but I’ve had mixed results in my practice. However, many patients do like them, so I continue to offer these devices. The website for Theravent offers a free trial, so it’s worth looking into if you want to try something different.

Have you tried Provent or Theravent? Please comment on your experiences.

Sleep Problems Strongly Linked with Prostate Cancer

Steven Park — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:25:56 +0000

Here’s another study showing a strong association between poor sleep and cancer: An Icelandic study found that men with problems falling asleep had a 70% increased risk of developing prostate cancer, and a 210% increased risk if they had trouble staying asleep. Associations were even stronger for more advanced prostate cancers. Note that I wrote about this possibility in my book, Sleep, Interrupted, which was published in 2008.

Many Teens with Extreme Fatigue Go Untreated

Steven Park — Thu, 09 May 2013 01:35:53 +0000

About 3% of teens in this country were found to experience extreme fatigue lasting 3 or more months not relieved by rest. This short article in US News & World Report highlights the importance of a small segment of teens who are severely debilitated. The vast majority go untreated. It’s also likely that many will sleep excessively long hours and still not feel refreshed.

I wonder how many of these teens have an untreated sleep-breathing disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea or upper airway resistance syndrome. It’s not too common to have teenagers’ fatigue explained by their poor sleep habits, hormonal changes, or just “being a teenager,” when in fact the source of their problem may be an undiagnosed sleep-related breathing disorder. For example, even a simple viral infection or allergy attack can enlarge lymphoid tissues in the throat, nose and tongue (palatine tonsils, adenoids and lingual tonsils), leading to more frequent partial to total obstructions and arousals. This can prevent quality deep sleep, leading to chronic, prolonged unrelenting fatigue.

What you’ll see that that these teens will oftentimes prefer to sleep on their sides or stomachs, and have a parent that snores heavily (obstructive sleep apnea).

Do you have a teen that’s overly fatigued, no matter how long they sleep?

Sleep Duration And Colon Cancer Risk

Steven Park — Thu, 02 May 2013 10:18:34 +0000

There have been more and more studies showing an association between sleep duration or sleep apnea with increased cancer risk. In this study, longer sleep duration was associated with increased colon cancer risk in people who snored or were overweight. As we know from cancer research studies, hypoxia is a major mechanism of cancer progression. Whether you stop breathing repeatedly throughout the night, or have increased levels of stress from not sleeping long enough, lower levels of oxygen can result.

NY Times Highlights The Importance of Sleep in ADHD

Steven Park — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:30:32 +0000

Here’s an important article that everyone should read in the New York Times. The author highlights the fact that in many cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the real deficit may in your child’s sleep.

My Last Expert Interview

Steven Park — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:54:42 +0000

I wanted to announce that this month’s Expert Interview (with Dr. Borelli) will be my last Expert Interview, which also includes my Ask Dr. Park programs. My plan is to focus on future programs and educational resources to better serve your needs. Please stay tuned for more information.

Please look in my Expert Interview archives for a full list of past programs.

Lower Melatonin Levels Up Your Risk of Diabetes

Steven Park — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 02:46:23 +0000

Here’s another chicken or egg question: Do poor sleep habits cause diabetes and lower melatonin levels, or does diabetes cause lower levels of melatonin? In this study out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, having lower levels of melatonin was associated with a higher risk of diabetes. This does not prove that having lower levels of melatonin will give you diabetes, but only an association where directionality is not known.

One minor detail that’s important to remember is that when darkness stimulates brain neurons to produce melatonin, the signals goes through the cervical sympathetic ganglion, before reaching the pineal gland. A common side effect from any of the high blood pressure medications is that it lowers function of this ganglion, which is involved in the sympathetic nervous system. Blood pressure medications can lower activity of your sympathetic nervous system, which can in theory lower your melatonin levels.

So of you have high blood pressure, by taking blood pressure medications, you could be lowering your melatonin levels, which lead to poor sleep, which can result in weight gain, which can aggravate snoring and obstructive sleep apnea….and we know that obstructive sleep apnea can raise your sugar levels.

This example only shows that the human body can’t be reduced to one single molecule or chemical at a time. We need to look at multiple aspects of our physiology simultaneously.

Expert Interview: Dr. A. Joseph Borelli on Brain Dysfunction and Sleep Apnea

Steven Park — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 02:20:21 +0000

In this teleseminar, I interview Dr. A. Joseph Borelli, who is President and Medical director of MRI at Belfair, in Bluffton, SC. He is a leading expert in brain imaging and has an interest in brain imaging in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. He’s going to show some eye-opening radiologic images of your brain after repeated apneas.

Please fill in your information below to access the free MP3 recording:

Heart Disease, Dementia and Sleep Apnea

Steven Park — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:06:04 +0000

Here’s an interesting study showing that the presence of heart disease may predict dementia better than cognitive tests. This finding is not surprising since we know that untreated obstructive sleep apnea can cause major injury to multiple areas of the brain. We also know that the older you get, the more likely you’ll develop sleep apnea. In fact, based on some recent population studies, more than half of people over 50 had some degrees of sleep apnea.