MoSleep Blog Central

Everyone enjoys a good night’s sleep, but without it, not only is your mood affected, so is your overall health.

The simplest way to achieve more and better sleep is to practice good sleep hygiene.

If you're a patient, a sleep medicine student, a sleep health professional, a general or specialized healthcare practitioner outside the world of sleep medicine, a pharmaceutical professional, a durable medical equipment provider or a CPAP products representative, you may benefit from following the Missouri Sleep Society at its web-based locations.

Anyone in the sleep medicine field is cordially invited to join the Missouri Sleep Society from 3pm to 5pm on Saturday December 2 to meet the board of directors and get to know more about our organization. RSVP as seating is limited!

Insomnia has been typically considered a dysfunction of sleep regardless of other health
conditions.

However, it has recently been redefined to reflect the fact that it is normally related to other medical disorders.

While it can still be a stand-alone diagnosis, recent changes to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders - Third Edition (ICSD-3) have limited the definition, so it is more likely to be considered a symptom as opposed to a single primary diagnosis.

There is a difference between trouble falling asleep and a sleep disorder.

What's more, diagnosing sleep disorders can be difficult, even for sleep professionals. 

For family practices, dentists, primary care physicians, and specialists like ENTs, the challenge in narrowing down their patients' medical concerns to those which may be related to poor sleep can be even more difficult.

Fortunately, there are tools available to help healthcare professionals to identify the potential for sleep disorders in their patients.

These tools are also available for patients who suspect their sleep problems are the result of an undiagnosed sleep disorder or ongoing sleep deprivation.

Restful sleep is important for the body, but If you work in the healthcare industry achieving it can be a battle.

Sleep problems are common for many healthcare workers.

They are no strangers to working long, often unusual hours.

Working this way can be detrimental to health, especially when it comes to attaining regular, restful sleep. 

Drowsy Driving Prevention Week is November 6 through November 13.

It falls after this weekend, when most Americans perform the mandated clock change to mark the end of Daylight Savings Time (DST).

At 2:00am on Sunday November 6, clocks "fall back" or are turned back by 1 hour to return to Standard Time.

There are plenty of discussions about the historical origins of this practice, and others which debate the value of this twice-annual time shift when it comes to school schedules and business planning. Indeed, there's a growing movement to end Daylight Savings Time altogether.

However, the focus on the time change might be better spent understanding how the shift of even one hour of sleep can seriously impact our health and well being.

Oral appliance therapy is an alternative treatment option for mild to moderate OSA patients and for the severe OSA patient who cannot tolerate CPAP. 

I am honored, humbled, and privileged to assume the role of the President of the Missouri Sleep Society (7/2016-6/2017).  I am deeply thankful to my predecessor Tom Gotsis, DDS, FAGD for his leadership to the MSS during his presidency.    I am also very grateful to the board of directors of the Missouri Sleep Society for all their hard work.