ASK THE PHYSICIAN
Marcella M. Frank, D.O., FACOI, FCCP, FAASM
Attending Pulmonologist
Department of Pulmonary Medicine
Institute for Sleep Medicine
Deborah Heart and Lung Center
Q: I try to get enough sleep – somewhere between seven
and eight hours most nights – but I’m still waking up exhaust-
ed, and I drag myself through the day. I’ve always been a snor-
Ask the Physician
er, but now my wife says it’s gotten much worse. I’m falling
asleep at my computer and have even dozed off in traffic.
Help, please!
-Mike P., Delran
A: Mike, there could be a number of reasons for your day-
time fatigue. Although the number of hours of sleep you re-
port is probably adequate, the quality of sleep is not restor-
ing your alertness. One of the most common sleep problems
that often causes daytime fatigue is called sleep apnea. This
condition causes an abnormal breathing pattern at night and
may involve shallow breathing or even pauses
in breathing, often preventing deep restorative
sleep from occurring.
When you don’t get enough oxygen while
you’re sleeping at night, it can make you tired or
even exhausted during the day. Over time, this
can have a number of other health consequences, including
high blood pressure and cardiac arrhythmias.
At Deborah Heart and Lung Center, we have a full-service
Institute for Sleep Medicine, at which we perform compre-
hensive sleep studies to evaluate a whole range of sleep dis-
orders, sleep apnea among them. Treatment for sleep apnea
can decrease risks of serious health problems and restore
your daytime function quickly. A sleep study would be bene-
ficial, and I recommend it. d
For an appointment or more information about how Deborah
Heart and Lung Center’s leading-edge technologies can im-
prove your quality of life, call 800-555-1990 or request info/an
appointment by visiting www.demanddeborah.org.
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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