Excerpt from "Sleep, Interrupted" by Dr. Steven Y. Park
UARS-Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome
Is this you? It may be more familiar than you think.
Why does it seem like everyone is so tired these days? Physically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically tired. We all have our excuses, including stress at work, long working hours, money issues, problems at home, etc.
Why are we so overworked, over-stressed, and overweight?
It is normal to be tired sometimes, but if you feel tired all the time or never being able to feel as good as you used to, there may be more to it.
Does This Sound Like You?
Do you never feel refreshed in the morning, no matter how many hours of sleep you get, you toss and turn all night, waking up frequently? You wake up in the morning after snoozing several times, despite the fogginess and fatigue, you drink your Venti Starbucks coffee and go to work. You are busy all day, constantly trying to get it all done. You make it through the afternoon, but only by having another coffee and munching on some carbs and sweets. When you get home, you are too exhausted to go to the gym. You have a late dinner and go to bed. When the alarm goes off at 6 am, you are barely able to get out of bed.
How We Cope!
To compensate, many people go to the gym every day. For some, it almost as an addiction. When this occurs, they often feel lousy and lethargic, even if they miss just one workout.
Others need a nap when they get home, and while you usually were able to catch up on your sleep on the weekends, now even that does not make you feel good.
Once you are caught in this never-ending cycle, you may find that you are more moody or irritable, snapping at the smallest things. You are more forgetful and cannot concentrate as well as you used to. Various medical ailments may appear, such as recurrent headaches, sinusitis, indigestion, diarrhea, or general aches and pains. You may begin to have anxiety issues where your heart races and you sweat profusely for no apparent reason; or you may feel depressed and not feel like doing anything at all.
Many people already have been given a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Hypothyroidism, or Adrenal Burnout Syndrome. According to Dr. Park, the more doctors you have consulted with about your array of symptoms, the more likely you will end up with one of these diagnoses. The one common thing he observed was that many of these patients were young and thin, but what made it interesting was that they could not sleep on their back. Also, there was always some triggering event that started the problem, a major cold or infection, stressful life event, an accident, pregnancy, or mild weight gain.
Possible Indicators of Sleep-Breathing Disorders
● Do you prefer to sleep on your side or stomach?
● Is your nose stuffy or runny all the time?
● Do you have chronic post nasal drip?
● How often do you wake up at night?
● Do you dream regularly?
● Do you ever wake up sweaty or have hot flashes during the day? Men can have these symptoms as well.
● Do you have cold hands or feet?
● Do you have to exercise every day to feel good?
● Do you have low blood pressure or get lightheaded?
● Do either of your biological parents snore?
● Do you experience symptoms of ADHD, inattention, poor ability to concentrate/focus, poor memory, periods of hyperactivity?
● Are you slowly gaining weight?
● Do you have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep?
● Have you been diagnosed with heart problems such as high blood pressure, high sugar or cholesterol?
● Do you experience ringing in your ears?