JUST BREATHE... it will help you stay A.W.A.K.E.

The ThedaCare At Home Respiratory Therapists group recently sponsored
this useful discussion on cleaning PAP equipment at a recent A.W.A.K.E.
meeting held at Appleton Medical Center in Appleton, WI.

A.W.A.K.E. (Alert, Well, And Keeping Energetic) is a support group for people with sleep breathing disorders.

The organization, fostered by the American Sleep Apnea Association, offers regular meetings to members nationwide to help serve their interests and concerns.

The meetings are free to attend and open to anyone who wants to learn more about living with and managing a sleep breathing disorder like sleep apnea.

These groups are especially helpful to people who may be struggling with or intimidated by the initiation of PAP therapy, but the meetings can also be of great value to long-term users so they can stay abreast of new technologies and learn about ways they can improve their own therapies.

Also, long-term users are usually quite willing to share the wealth of their practical wisdom and advice, culled from first-hand experience, with newer patients, and there are typically PAP educators, nurses, sleep technologists or sleep health educators, even sleep physicians, on site to answer questions, demonstrate new equipment and give emotional and family support. Sometimes these meetings include great informative talks directed at educating both patients and their families on the many concerns related to obstructive sleep apnea.

You can find an A.W.A.K.E. group in your area, you can consult this national map. If there isn't one close by, and you are motivated to get one started, you can contact your local sleep lab to see if they would like to help you host and direct a new group; it's in their best interest to provide free educational workshops and meetings for their patients, so they should be supportive of your request.

Finally, here's a link to practical advice and ideas for anyone who would like to start an A.W.A.K.E. chapter in their area.

JUST BREATHE: "Heard About Sleep?" APNEA... If not, listen in here.

Respiratory Therapist Adrian Hunter has created this catchy song and video to spread awareness about OSA.

One of the biggest challenges in healthcare is connecting providers with patients "where they are at," especially when patients aren't willing or able to go in to the clinic. Some patients learn more about their health from friends and family than they do from doctors because they feel medical practitioners are out of reach. Others consult "Dr. Google" more often than a real MD to learn about medical problems, which can actually lead to more problems. In both situations, misinformation, dangerous advice and fear can break down a stable patient-doctor relationship, which is critical for good health outcomes. Doctors are, more than ever, tasked with finding innovative ways to engage with their patients so that they can offer them the best care possible. Using creative space in the Age of Media is one such way. The multimedia arts can be a fruitful venue where patients and healthcare professionals can connect: through books, photographs, films, comedy performances, etc. --SHC

________________

We met sleep health professional Adrian Hunter, RT, at a technologist conference in October 2014. Hunter has found a unique way to spread knowledge and awareness about Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) through the multimedia arts: a sleep apnea awareness song, "Heard About Sleep," which she wrote, performed, produced and which can be seen as a video here on YouTube (and yes! that's her in the pajamas!).

She couldn't wait to play the recording from her smartphone during a break between seminars and spoke tirelessly about her dreams to use her musical background shed light on the problems of untreated OSA. We could not help but be inspired by her charm, her talent, her determination and her vision. Since our meeting, Hunter has completed her production package with a video and sought copyright protections. She has approached sleep apnea and respiratory healthcare organizations for their support and has reached out to sleep technology societies to find ways to get more people on board with her novel approach to patient education.

Adrian Hunter is just one person, but her unique effort has reached people worldwide through the powerful medium of music. And while she has produced an entertaining music video--which conveys a "soft" message--she nonetheless clearly grasps the gravity of not treating sleep disordered breathing problems. The information from her video bears this out: she recognizes that OSA is not a minor health problem in the US, but one that demands attention and treatment. The statistics on this chronic sleep disorder support her concerns:

• Twenty-five million Americans suffer from OSA and many remain untreated; that's roughly 26 percent of the entire population. 
• As many as 20 percent of all children under the age of 18 also suffer from OSA. 
• Two major longitudinal studies in recent history (Wisconsin cohort and Sleep in America) estimate that up to 80 percent of study participants who had confirmed moderate or severe OSA were still not diagnosed by their physicians despite adequate access to health care.
• Insufficient sleep is considered by the Centers for Disease Control to be a public health epidemic, with OSA contributing a critical burden. 
• Untreated OSA adds as much as $3.4 billion to medical costs annually, making it a large-scale problem economically, yet another reason to make it a subject worthy of raising awareness among both physicians and the general public. 

Healthcare providers can and have tried sending out the "hard" message for years now, that OSA is real and a huge problem for Americans, but the numbers of undiagnosed and untreated sufferers are on the rise. Maybe the "hard" message is not effective; maybe it will be the "soft" message that people like Adrian Hunter has created that will sink in and inspire awareness and change.

We had an opportunity recently to ask her more about her work to spread awareness about OSA: especially how she was able to combine her skills as both a respiratory therapist and musician.

Adrian Hunter, RT and recording artist

SleepyHeadCENTRAL: What is your current job, and how long have you been working in sleep?

Adrian Hunter: I am currently working with DME companies. I’ve been a Respiratory Therapist since 2001. I began working in Sleep in 1999. I have experience working in hospitals, sleep centers, DME companies and I am currently being treated for sleep apnea.

SHC: What inspired you to write and produce this song?

AH: As I continue to work with my patients and doctors and attend sleep-related conferences, I am reminded of the millions of people unaware and untreated for sleep apnea and other sleep conditions. So I thought of the saying, “music makes the world go around.” I love music and I love to sing so I decided to write a song; this way, people can listen and learn whether in their car, home, work, shower... anywhere.

SHC: Describe the process you followed to write the lyrics.

AH: For this particular song: one evening while watching the sports channel with my husband, I began to think about my patients and how they confide in me their concerns about family and friends who refuse to get tested for sleep apnea. I thought about what I’d say to them when setting them up on PAP devices for the first time, or what I’d say when they are noncompliant. How do I help teach people about sleep apnea? I began humming the words “sleep apnea.” I then went into my bedroom, got my pen, paper and tape recorder, sat on the side of my bed, and began writing the lyrics and putting my beats and rhythms together.

I completed my song, “Heard About Sleep” aka “Sleep Apnea Awareness Song” within two hours.

SHC: What was the performing and producing experience like?

AH: The recording session was easy for me because I diligently practiced daily, practicing sounds with my voice and beats on the keyboard before I entered the studio. I couldn’t get this song out of my mind. I knew what I was looking for. I wanted a catchy beat to help draw attention to the song. The recording process went very quickly, less than a couple of hours.

SHC: How do you hope this song will raise awareness?

AH: My hope for this song is that it will propel me into a worldwide recognition as a spokesperson and advocate for sleep apnea and other related conditions and to help improve sleep hygiene, self confidence, job performance, relationships etc.

SHC: Have you ever performed, produced or recorded other original music?

AH: I have been performing as long as I can remember. My father was a lead singer and choir director. He inspired and molded me to be the singer I am today. This is my first recording of any of my original music.

SHC: What is your challenge, now that you have a song recorded and ready to share with the world?

AH: Now that I have completed ”Heard About Sleep,” my focus is to have the opportunity to continue advocating and increasing the awareness of getting tested for sleep apnea and to also continue supporting people who are receiving sleep apnea treatment.

SHC: What do you hope will happen with your song?

AH: I hope my song will be a platform to help launch me as a spokesperson for sleep apnea and any other conditions I can be supportive of.

SHC: Would you be inspired to write other sleep health-related songs?

AH: Yes, I am inspired and encouraged to write other sleep health-related songs.

SHC: What would you say to someone who works in sleep health who is also a creative or performance artist?

AH: I encourage everyone to follow their dreams and be creative. It’s not always an easy process, but it’s worth the challenge. It is important to keep moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other, until you reach your goal.

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For more information about her music video or to contact Hunter, check out her *Heard About Sleep* Facebook page or email her directly at heardaboutsleep@gmail.com.

Announcing the formal launch of SleepyHeadCENTRAL!

Today is SleepyHeadCENTRAL's official opening day! Thank you so much for visiting and for checking out what this sleep health information clearinghouse has to offer!

If you are visiting SleepyHeadCENTRAL, it's probably because you have a sleep disorder, suspect you might have one, or know someone else who might have a sleep disorder or who has been recently diagnosed.

ABOUT SHC
I hope that I can help you. My name is Tamara Sellman and I'm the curator of this website.

Let me help you with your sleep health!

I have 25+ years experience in research, writing, journalism and publishing; I'm also a practicing registered polysomnographic technologist (RPSGT), which means I work directly with sleep patients in sleep clinics. In addition, I'm certified in Clinical Sleep Health (CCSH), which means I have been trained to help educate folks on matters of sleep health.

I entered this field after undergoing a sleep study myself and learned, at that time, just how difficult it is for people with sleep problems to educate themselves via the web about the importance of good sleep.

WHY SHC EXISTS
The key mission of SleepyHeadCENTRAL is to provide easy-to-understand, accurate, high-quality updated information about sleep health to you, the ordinary healthcare consumer, so that you can make educated decisions about your own health and well being.

In a perfect world, we would all
ask our doctors about sleep
health. But it's not a perfect
world now, is it?

Listen... lots of people with sleep problems do not ask their doctors for advice, at first. This may or may not be a good practice, but it is the reality. Many people will go online and ask their friends in social networks about their symptoms first, or they will turn to Google or other general medical sites.

Does this sound like you?

Why don't any of us just ask our doctors about our sleep problems? Listed below are a handful of many countless reasons why this doesn't happen:

• "I don't have a primary care provider. I have nobody to ask." 
• "I have a primary care provider, but I don't feel adequately cared for by them nor do I trust them."
  Or, "If I saw my doctor, they would just put me on drugs when all I really want is advice and support."
  Or, "My doctor would probably just tell me my concerns are imagined."
  Or, "If I asked about my sleep problems, I would just become lost in the maze of the healthcare system like I've been in the past."
• "I do not want to deal with the high costs of testing and treatment."
• "I've heard the tests, labs and devices are scary." 
• "I don't have insurance."
• "My problems aren't related to sleep even if they interrupt my sleep."
• "I can educate myself better by looking up the information online."
• "I would prefer to learn more about my sleep problems by going online before visiting a doctor so I can feel more empowered and knowledgeable when I actually sit down with them."
• "I don't want to sit at a doctor's office all day long just to find out what I already know... that I have a sleep problem."
• "My life is too full of work and parenting and caregiving for me to make it to a doctor's appointment, even if I really wanted to go."
• "What's the big deal? I don't believe sleep is crucial to good overall health and, therefore, I don't feel the need to see a doctor about my problems."

If it were up to me, I would send everyone directly to a sleep specialist for their problems. 

However, I'm a realist... I recognize that this isn't actually the way many, if not most, people pursue their health issues. It's not always practical or affordable. While I may have a great team of doctors, not everybody is so blessed. I get it. 

So if people are more likely to head to the Internet to learn more about sleep, then why not build a great one-stop location on the web where they can do that? 

That's the aim at SleepyHeadCENTRAL: to serve as a crossroads where people can visit, time and again, to learn more about sleep health. 

WHAT MAKES SHC DIFFERENT 

As you likely already know, there are some great websites for basic information out there, but there are at least as many (and probably more) sites that offer bad information or mainly exist to sell products and have no interest in actually helping people with their sleep problems. Even the good ones can fall short because they are too complicated to navigate, the information they provide is too clinical for many to comprehend, or these sites are just plain impersonal.

The goal of SleepyHeadCENTRAL is to make it interesting, make it easy, make it personal. You are not the sum of your health problems, you are still a person, an individual with a brain and feelings and attitudes and ideas. That's the way I'd like to keep things around here. Casual, useful, friendly and service-oriented. A community where people can seek help knowing a real person is on the other end of the line, waiting to serve them.

• Maybe your aunt has a problem with legs that twitch all night, keeping her awake and making her cranky. 
• Or you could be worried about your 2-year-old, who snores loudly.... What to do? 
• Or perhaps you find your spouse roaming the halls in a trance twice weekly... scary...
• Or what about your brother, who keeps making jokes about falling asleep at the wheel?
• Or, suppose, you wake up in the middle of the night gasping... what then?

It matters that we care about each others' sleep habits and problems. Sleep may be a personal and intimate physiological process, but when individuals do not get sufficient quality sleep, the impact of that on the community can be dramatic--even tragic. 

This sign is no joke. It's posted alongside a
Utah highway to help prevent major accidents.

Poor sleep is a root cause for many public health and safety concerns, including motor vehicle accidents, bad falls, and poor judgment in crisis situations. People lose their jobs or fail in their marriages or have to drop out of school because of untreated sleep problems. And people who are sick with other chronic illnesses, like diabetes, cancer, heart disease and hypertension, will not process treatment adequately and to its maximum effect if they have problems sleeping. 

Sleep is the time and space in our lives when we are meant to heal and recharge, after all. 

WHAT SHC OFFERS 

The fact that you've read this far down the post means you care about sleep. Hurray! I hope I can serve you in your effort to become more informed. Here are some of the things I've set up at SleepyHeadCENTRAL which are already available to you as a visitor. 

• At the top of the page are tabs that will take you to solid information related to sleep health basics, special population interests, diagnostic and treatment questions, and the many different resources people can turn to for help. I regularly update these and am open to suggestions from site visitors who have recommendations.
  
• The blog, updated several days a week, addresses a myriad of common sleep related concerns: insomnia, sleepwalking, apnea, movement disorders, anxiety, jet leg, and more. You'll also find links to and discussion about sleep health legislation you can participate in, fun spotlights on sleep in culture, quotes from sleep medicine giants, and weekly sleep hygiene tips that just about everybody can act on to improve their sleep habits. Again, I take my cues from visitors: what is it you'd like to learn more about? Contact me and I'll make sure and build your ideas into the site in a way that helps everyone.
  
• In addition, you can find YouTube videos and channels, a feed of recent sleep news articles, links to other excellent online resources. While I cannot address specific problems and am not qualified to diagnose anyone, I can certainly point you in the right direction. Again, these resources are regularly updated.
  
• SleepyHeadCENTRAL also offers an opt-in monthly newsletter which offers subscribers free sleep product giveaways; the very latest in sleep news; links to monthly sleep health polls; connections to public sleep health opportunities; and access to sleep health awareness campaigns. This is an easy way to engage with me directly!
  
• Future opportunities to chat in Google+ hangouts, Twitter, local live gatherings or webinars are on the horizon as well. 

Reaching out creates a ripple effect, yes?

HOW TO CONNECT WITH SHC
Finally, it's super easy to interact with SleepyHeadCENTRAL. You have many options! You can:

• Subscribe to the free monthly email newsletter and enjoy member benefits!
• Follow the SleepyHeadCENTRAL feed in your favorite newsfeed aggregator
• Have new blog posts automatically sent to you directly in email
• Comment on blog posts that you can relate to; I love to hear from my visitors!
• Send in your sleep health questions to be addressed in the Mailbox section
• Search the entire website for information about your sleep health interests using the search bar
• Share your favorite posts in Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Blogger and/or LinkedIn
• Connect SHC with your friends by using utilities from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and/or Google+
• Email helpful information to friends and family
• Visit SHC any time you like by bookmarking SleepyHeadCENTRAL in your browser

REMEMBER, SHC IS ME!
Maybe you've noticed... there is no advertising on this website because SleepyHeadCENTRAL exists to serve healthcare consumers--that means you! Sponsors, volunteers and donors make up the backbone of support needed to keep the site sustainable, but for you, this information is 100% free and in no way aligned with special interests.

It's just you and me and a whole lotta other people who care about sleep, all under one digital umbrella. How cool is that?

To learn more about the mission and background behind SleepyHeadCENTRAL, click here.

THANK YOU FOR VISITING!

I'm so glad you stopped by! Do come back again. 

And don't hesitate to contact me! Have questions? Comments? Insights? Feedback? Want to help? I can be reached directly at sleepyheadcentral@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you. 

Please tell your friends about SleepyHeadCENTRAL; your word of mouth is gold, in my book.

Sleep well, and may all your dreams be sweet!

Tamara Sellman, curator

www.SleepyHeadCENTRAL.com

Curator Tamara Sellman, RPSGT, CCSH