Pacific Sleep Center - Sleep Information

When to seek help
If your sleep problems persist for longer than a week and are bothersome, or if sleepiness interferes
with the way you feel or function during the day, a doctor's help may be needed. To get the most out of
your doctor's visit, you'll find that it is often helpful to keep a diary of your sleep habits for about ten days
to identify just how much sleep you're getting over a period of time and what you may be doing to
interfere with it. It can help you document your problem in a way that your physician can best
understand.

If the problem is the time it takes to fall asleep, staying asleep or waking up unrefreshed, your doctor
may recommend lifestyle changes or behavioral approaches to treating the problem. However, lifestyle
changes alone may not be enough. Treating insomnia with medication is the most common treatment
for these sleep problems. In most cases, medication is only used until the immediate stressor is
under control or lifestyle changes have had a chance to work.

While many individuals will try an over-the-counter medicine to help them sleep, these should be taken
with caution. Your physician or pharmacist can help inform you about the different types of medications
available and which would be most effective for you. Alcohol should not be used as a sleep aid. For
sleep apnea or other sleep disorders, your doctor may want to do a sleep study that will provide more
information about your sleep pattern and whether you are breathing regularly while you sleep.

The bottom line is this: Adequate sleep is as essential to health and peak performance as exercise
and good nutrition. If you aren't getting enough, talk to your physician.

(425)670-9097
(206)363-1111

Typical Sleep Disorders
SLEEP APNEA	Sleep apnea is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition that is far more common than generally understood. First described in 1965, sleep apnea is a breathing disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. More...
RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME	Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sleep disorder in which a person experiences unpleasant sensations in the legs described as creeping, crawling, tingling, pulling, or painful. More...
INSOMNIA	Insomnia is the perception or complaint of inadequate or poor-quality sleep because of one or more of the following: difficulty falling asleep, waking up frequently during the night with difficulty returning to sleep, waking up too early in the morning, un-refreshing sleep. More...
NARCOLEPSY	Narcolepsy is a chronic (long-lasting) neurological (affecting the brain or nerves) disorder that involves your body's central nervous system. The central nervous system is the "highway" of nerves that carries messages from your brain to other parts of your body. The main characteristic of narcolepsy is excessive and overwhelming daytime sleepiness, even after adequate nighttime sleep. More...
SHIFT WORK	There is evidence that shift work can result in significant social and family problems. More than 22 million Americans work a shift other than a regular day shift and must face the problems of sleeping during the day and being alert on the job at night. Working a schedule different from most of the world can be challenging, but following the guidelines in this booklet may help make shift work easier to live with and safer.More...

Sleep Information

Accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine