Occasional Night Shift Work Linked to Increased Risk of Heart Disease

Occasional Night Shift Work Linked to Increased Risk of Heart Disease: A new study shows that working night shifts in conjunction with day shifts can slightly affect worker's health resulting to a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease compared to those who do not have rotating shifts.

Podcast Conversation with Darrel Drobnich about Sleep Apnea and the Development of the SleepHealth App.

New conversation with Darrel Drobnich, President of the American Sleep Apnea Association, about his history with sleep health advocacy, his motivation for the greater good, his work at the American Sleep Apnea Association, and partnering with IBM to release a sleep study on Apple’s ResearchKit platform.

Learn more about the American Sleep Apnea Association at sleepapnea.org, and the

Follow Darrel on Twitter @DarrelDrobnich.


http://justtalkingpodcast.com/2016/03/22/about-american-sleep-apnea-association/

Are You a Healthy Sleeper?

Today is World Sleep Day.  Check out your sleep health.

Remember to complete your SleepHealth surveys.  Each one is extremely important and will only take a couple minutes.  

The more information you provide, the more we will be able to share back with you and the more you will help our research.

Are You a Healthy Sleeper?

Diet and exercise are part of a healthy lifestyle. So is sleep. The problem is, too many people think that sleep is something they can give up to get more things done.
As many as 70 million adults may be putting themselves at risk for injury, health and emotional problems because they aren’t getting the sleep they need.

They are more likely to feel tired and lack energy, have memory and concentration difficulties, and become irritable in stressful situations.  They also may be increasing their
risk for high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, depression

and diabetes.

• If this sounds like you, here are some tips for healthy sleep:

• Sleep enough to feel well rested every day.
• Reduce caffeine, nicotine and alcohol intake, particularly before bedtime
• Don’t eat or drink too much close to bedtime.
• Exercise regularly and at least a few hours before bedtime.
• Use relaxing bedtime rituals.
• Keep your bedroom cool, quiet and dark.

Insomnia

Difficulty falling or staying asleep is a common problem.  These woes—called insomnia—have far-reaching effects including a negative impact on concentration, productivity and mood.  Occasional insomnia is experienced by more than a third of American adults, and chronic insomnia is known to affect more than one in ten.  Insomnia is characterized by one or more of the following sleep complaints:

·       Difficulty falling asleep 

·       Difficulty staying asleep 

·       Waking too early in the morning 

·       Experiencing non-restorative sleep

Research confirms that people with insomnia have poorer overall health, greater work absenteeism, lower job performance, more negative moods and greater use of healthcare services.  People with chronic insomnia also report a higher rate of on-the-job accidents and using more disability days per month compared to other workers.

Types of Insomnia

·       Acute insomnia—sleep disturbances a few nights per week that can last for up to one month due to a temporary situation such as stress, jet lag, grieving, job loss or relationship change.

·       Chronic insomnia—sleep disturbances that occur an average of three nights per week and last more than one month.

·       Primary insomnia—chronic sleep disturbances after underlying conditions are ruled out or treated.

Why Treat Insomnia?

Insomnia is a risk factor for the onset of depression and can significantly affect your quality of life. Consequences of not getting enough good sleep can include daytime sleepiness, impaired mood, depression, psychological distress, decreased ability to concentrate, difficulty solving problems and making decisions, as well as having an increased risk for injury, driving drowsy, and illness.

Insomnia can often be traced to an underlying cause; therefore, it is critical to identify and treat this problem.  Problems or conditions that can lead to insomnia are:

·       A life crisis or stress

·       Environmental noise

·       Side effects of medicine

·       Depression

·       Chronic illness

·       Jet lag

Diagnosis & Treatment

The first step in the treatment of any sleep disorder is to consult your doctor.  Also, consider keeping a sleep diary for one or two weeks to record your sleep and health habits.  Share your sleep diary with your doctor to help them identify any sleep problems you may have and determine appropriate treatment options.  Most sleep disorders can be successfully diagnosed and treated.  Proper treatment can lead to a good sleep and improve your overall health, safety and well-being.

Hi all,

Here's some media articles covering your study.  Together, we can do great things!

Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/03/03/apple-watch-study-aims-to-enroll-40000-to-uncover-mysteries-of-how-we-sleep/

Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3473184/The-supercomputer-help-sleep-IBM-s-Watson-use-Apple-Watch-monitor-people-s-rest-research-trial.html

CBS News
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/03/03/apple-ibm-team-up-to-learn-more-about-sleeps-link-to-health/

Time Magazine
http://time.com/4244474/iphone-ibm-sleep-app/
 
Canada Journal News of The World
http://canadajournal.net/technology/sleep-health-app-43926-2016/

Fierce Mobile Healthcare
http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/story/sleep-apnea-group-part-first-researchkit-study-run-ibms-watson-health/2016-03-07

We need your ideas, feedback and suggestions.

Update from The SleepHealth Study Team 

The whole team wants to thank you once again for being part of this historic endeavor and helping us improve the first patient-led sleep health study ever conducted. 

It's been an incredible week and it represents a year's worth of work by a small dedicated group of volunteers trying to change how research and engagement is done. 

The most important part of this study is completing your surveys and doing the 7-Day SleepHealth Activities every 3 months.  The more you participate, the more information you get back on your personal dashboard and the more data we have to seek new treatments, interventions, and cures.

We know that some have reported minor problems and we are working hard to address them.  Please stick with it and tell your friends. The app if free to anyone over 18, whether or not they have sleep problems or health issues.  Use it just like you would a pedometer or calorie counter to improve your health. 

We want to hear about any issues you have or suggestions and ideas for new features, functionality, survey questions, or research topics.  We will be adding new surveys in the near future, Please join us in our SleepHealth community forum at http://talk.sleeptember.org/.

The SleepHealth App and study is being conducted by the American Sleep Apnea Association, a 25-year-old and patient-led non-profit based in Washington, DC.  It was conceived, designed and funded solely through the contributions of a small all-patient team of scientists, physicians, advocates and technology experts dedicated to health and data discovery in order to accelerate patient-centered and citizen research.   

All data is de-identified and no one from outside the study team has access to your personal information ever.  We worked with IBM on the development of Watson for ResearchKit and will be using Watson’s sophisticated analytic capabilities to give us and other researchers tremendous possibilities in seeking new discoveries using a tremendous amount of data.

 

Additionally, the Sleephealth app currently does not have the ability to track sleep from the iPhone or Watch as reported by some media outlets.  Sleep data is collected by self-report only at this time. There are other capabilities available in the Watch and many more functions that we have planned 

 that will be incorporated in later versions.  

This is a whole new way to do research and there will be some trail and error, but with platforms like Apple ResearchKit and IBM’s Watson Health, we can literally put a laboratory in everyone’s pocket. 

Best in health,

The SleepHealth Study Team

Apple Watch 2 rumors: New technology, better features speculated; device may come later this year

The second generation Apple Watch has been in the rumor mill for quite some time now, with mixed speculations as to whether the company will release it this month or sometime this year.

Apple will be having an event on Mar. 15, where it is speculated to announce some new gadgets including a 4-inch version of the iPhone called iPhone 5se, an iPad that is rumored to be either the follow up of the iPad Air or iPad Pro line, and the 2016 line of MacBook. Some are also speculating that the Apple Watch 2 will be announced on the same date.

Apple Watch 2 rumors: New technology, better features speculated; device may come later this year