3 ms·

Except something like 60% of sleep apnea sufferers in the US will never get diagnosed. I used to be one of those people and its only after I switched doctors ou

Except something like 60% of sleep apnea sufferers in the US will never get diagnosed. I used to be one of those people and its only after I switched doctors out of desperation that I was diagnosed. So its hard to tell people to just sleep better if they have a disease, the same way its hard to tell depressed people to just feel better or to think positively. As a society I don't think we fully understand the effects of sleep, sleep diseases, etc. I wish there was some well funded organization pushing this information out. Instead, we're pressured from an early age to stay up late to finish things, get up early for work/school (why does the work/school day start at 8?) and be sleep deprived to only catch up on the weekend. We're also beaming bright lights from our tablets and phones into our eyes all the time, especially around bedtime, and making many of these issues worse. Sleep is a complex issue. I'm not even sure how we can begin to address it from a public policy perspective. I think western capitalist life will always lead to sleep deprived people. We value activities, productivity, etc over rest and downtime.

stordoff 11y ago
> Except something like 60% of sleep apnea sufferers in the US will never get diagnosed. I used to be one of those people and its only after I switched doctors out of desperation that I was diagnosed. And even if you are diagnosed, there is not always a lot you can do about it. I was diagnosed with central sleep apnea about a year ago, and tried BiPAP for about six months. It made absolutely no difference to my sleep.
- webnrrd2k 11y ago
  You probably already know this, but BiPAP is not effective for central sleep apnea. You may want to investigate Adaptive Servo Ventilation (ASV), which is far more suitable.
seangrant 11y ago
I think you're overblowing this. Sleep is not that complex of an issue. Many people get good sleep nowadays and it's due to maintaining a sleeping schedule and keeping your body healthy. However you're correct in the fact that many Americans fail at this. They don't fail because they value activities and productivity over sleep, they fail because of a lack of self respect required to do good by their body. Oftentimes this leads towards other unhealthy habits such as overeating and drug use. The number one cause of sleep apnea? Being overweight. Along with that many people can't sleep without some form of drug (alcohol or otherwise). A person can easily interact and thrive in this society without causing detriment to their health and/or sleep.
- igorgue 11y ago
  The problem is many people in our industry, for example but finance as well and other careers, equate "work hard" to "work more hours, sleep less".
- AznHisoka 11y ago
  Getting to bed early is not a complex issue - you're right. But actually getting QUALITY sleep is very much a complex issue. Not only sleep apnea, but you can have trouble sleeping for other undiagnosed (and hard to diagnosed reasons). For example, you may suffer from adrenal fatigue, too high/too low cortisol levels, or chronic stress that can lead to early morning awakenings. You can suffer from nocturnal asthma. You can suffer from restless leg syndrome. You can suffer from COPD or some other pulmonary issue.
  - fredrik-j 11y ago
    Wikipedia is quick to point out that there isn't any scientific support for "adrenal fatigue". What else in your comment is non-fact based? Please don't bring pseudoscience to HN, thanks! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenal_fatigue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenal_fatigue

stordoff 11y ago

> Except something like 60% of sleep apnea sufferers in the US will never get diagnosed. I used to be one of those people and its only after I switched doctors out of desperation that I was diagnosed. And even if you are diagnosed, there is not always a lot you can do about it. I was diagnosed with central sleep apnea about a year ago, and tried BiPAP for about six months. It made absolutely no difference to my sleep.

webnrrd2k 11y ago
You probably already know this, but BiPAP is not effective for central sleep apnea. You may want to investigate Adaptive Servo Ventilation (ASV), which is far more suitable.

seangrant 11y ago

I think you're overblowing this. Sleep is not that complex of an issue. Many people get good sleep nowadays and it's due to maintaining a sleeping schedule and keeping your body healthy. However you're correct in the fact that many Americans fail at this. They don't fail because they value activities and productivity over sleep, they fail because of a lack of self respect required to do good by their body. Oftentimes this leads towards other unhealthy habits such as overeating and drug use. The number one cause of sleep apnea? Being overweight. Along with that many people can't sleep without some form of drug (alcohol or otherwise). A person can easily interact and thrive in this society without causing detriment to their health and/or sleep.

igorgue 11y ago
The problem is many people in our industry, for example but finance as well and other careers, equate "work hard" to "work more hours, sleep less".
AznHisoka 11y ago
Getting to bed early is not a complex issue - you're right. But actually getting QUALITY sleep is very much a complex issue. Not only sleep apnea, but you can have trouble sleeping for other undiagnosed (and hard to diagnosed reasons). For example, you may suffer from adrenal fatigue, too high/too low cortisol levels, or chronic stress that can lead to early morning awakenings. You can suffer from nocturnal asthma. You can suffer from restless leg syndrome. You can suffer from COPD or some other pulmonary issue.
- fredrik-j 11y ago
  Wikipedia is quick to point out that there isn't any scientific support for "adrenal fatigue". What else in your comment is non-fact based? Please don't bring pseudoscience to HN, thanks! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenal_fatigue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenal_fatigue