ANCSLEEP BLOG

Our circadian rhythm is the master clock of our bodies. It tells us when to go to sleep, when to wake up, and all of the fluctuations throughout the day of our energy and alertness. This rhythm is determined by light which serves as a crucial determining factor for our schedules. 

Biology also plays a role in our circadian rhythms. By nature, we are either early birds or night owls. It is hard to deviate much from this schedule. We are programmed to get tired and be alert at different parts of the day. The circadian rhythm and light help to manage this. 

However, as we age, these phases may experience dramatic shifts as our hormones fluctuate. This can cause extreme sleep problems that can lead to excessive daytime sleepiness and insomnia. Continue reading to find out how to best manage these shifts. 

Obstructive Sleep Apnea, or OSA, is a common sleep disorder where individuals have brief pauses in breathing due to a blockage of the airway. This blockage can be caused by a large tongue that has relaxed and covering the airway, or the muscles in the back of the throat that have relaxed and are also covering the airway. 

The mainstay of treatment is a continuous positive airway pressure, or a CPAP, machine. This machine blows air into the back of your throat to prevent the muscles from collapsing and keeping your airway open. It consists of a mask that goes over your nose and your mouth that is attached by a hose to a machine that delivers this air. 

CPAP machines are very important because OSA can cause a host of health problems including obesity, hypertension, and reduced sleep. Those with OSA can develop excessive daytime sleepiness and the risk of developing it is increased by being overweight, having a large neck circumference, smoking, and being male, to name a few. 

Although CPAPs are great, they often come up with some uncomfortable side effects. A common side effect is dry mouth. Continue reading to find out how to avoid this side effect. 

Getting a good night's sleep does more than just help you not be cranky the next day. It is actually vital for your health and provides you with innumerable benefits. It's just as important as other health advice such as exercising and eating right. 

The average number of hours of sleep required for each individual is anywhere from 7-9 hours. However, over a third of the adults in the United States are not getting enough sleep. Sleep deprivation can put you at high risk mentally, physically and emotionally. Here are 9 benefits of getting more sleep! 

Pregnancy can drastically change the body. There are many new conditions that can appear when someone does become pregnant. These include conditions such as indigestion, heartburn, to extreme fatigue and trouble sleeping. For some, about 14% to 53%, pregnancy can also come with snoring. This snoring can become more frequent as the pregnancy progresses and the woman becomes bigger. You may be wondering why snoring increases over pregnancy and when snoring may actually be indicative of an underlying issue. Continue reading to learn some of the answers to these questions about snoring, like what causes snoring and when to be concerned.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder that affects many people. It is characterized by many pauses in breathing throughout the night that cause your body to wake up to begin breathing again. These cessations are caused by a blockage to your airway, most likely by a large tongue that has slid to the back of your mouth, or by the relaxation of the muscles in the back of your throat. 

This narrowing of space makes it hard for you to breathe and can lead to snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, and feeling like you did not get enough rest. OSA can also lead to hypertension, obesity, heart disease, and many other diseases. It is more common in men, those with larger neck circumferences, overweight/obese individuals, and those who smoke. 

The current standard treatment for OSA is a continuous positive airway pressure, or a CPAP machine. It blows air to stop the muscles in the back of your throat from collapsing so that way you continue breathing throughout the night. Even though it can provide immense relief, it still comes with its fair share of side effects. Continue reading to learn about what to expect with a CPAP. 

The gold standard treatment for a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea is a continuous positive airway pressure machine, or CPAP. CPAPs are great machines for a variety of reasons, most importantly they reduce the amount of times that you stop breathing throughout the night. If you are given a CPAP or considering CPAP usage, you may be curious about how your body is going to change once you start using it on a regular basis. CPAP therapy is considered very safe and has many benefits after consistent and correct use, including reduced snoring, less daytime fatigue, and decreased blood pressure. Continue reading to learn more about how using a CPAP machine positively impacts your body and your ability to get a good night's rest.

Grief is an inevitable part of life. It is the sad feelings that overwhelm you when something sad happens, such as the loss of a loved one. Grief is a natural part of the healing process as you are learning to accept that your loved one is gone, and figuring out how to live life without them. 

Grief manifests itself differently in everyone, but one common finding is sleep disturbance. Those who are grieving may find themselves sleeping more or less than before, but either way, it's abnormal compared to their normal patterns of sleep. Continue reading to find out how grief can impact your sleep. 

The use of melatonin as a sleep aid has increased substantially, especially during the pandemic. With people's daily schedules being thrown off, or thrown out completely, their sleep took a toll. Our bodies are creatures of habit. They like predictable schedules. They thrive on them. When we go to sleep a wildly varying times everyday and wake up whenever, then we actually are throwing off our body's ability to create a consistent schedule to help us get good sleep. 

While the rising use of melatonin is certainly unsettling, the most unsettling thing is the fact that we may be using melatonin all wrong. Melatonin is not a little tablet that serves as a fix for everything. It may be an adjunct to an already established sleep schedule. Continue reading to find out some concerns about using melatonin and important considerations. 

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects nearly a billion people in the world. It is a sleep disorder that involves cessations of breathing throughout the night. These pauses can significantly disrupt sleep, leading to excessive daytime sleepiness, high blood pressure, and other health issues. 

The mainstay treatment for OSA is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) which is a large mask that fits over the nose and mouth and provides enough pressure to keep the airway from collapsing. Due to the size of the CPAP machine, and the tubes and discomfort, many individuals may choose to not use a CPAP, which can worsen and prolong their disease. 

However, new technology may offer something a little more comfortable: Micro CPAP. We are going to review what they are and how they work so you can talk with your doctor to see if it's the best option for you. 

The thyroid is an organ in your neck that is responsible for producing thyroid hormone. Thyroid hormones are responsible for many functions in the body, and require iodine in order to be created. Too much or too little of this hormone can be very problematic for the individual because of the vast amount or organs that thyroid hormone affects. 

Graves disease is an autoimmune disease that causes too much thyroid hormone to be produced. It is problematic because it leads to a hypermetabolic state in the body that produces many other issues and can lead to a very serious complications called thyroid storm. Continue reading to find out more about Graves disease and how it can negatively impact your sleep.