Sleep

Story Filed: Wednesday, March 29, 2000 6:18 AM EST

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Mar 29, 2000 (BW HealthWire) -- William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D., pioneering sleep researcher and founder of the world's first Sleep Laboratory at Stanford University, has joined SleepQuest(SM), Inc. of Redwood City as Chief Scientific Advisor. The announcement was made by SleepQuest President and CEO, Robert Koenigsberg.

"I've joined with SleepQuest because I believe that together we can fulfill my lifelong dream of providing much-needed quality sleep education to a mass audience." Dr. Dement has been a leader in sleep research for more than 40 years and a strong advocate of a national sleep education program.

Dr. Dement teaches a hugely popular Stanford University course on sleep and dreams which consistently draws 400-500 students per class "This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time, and SleepQuest presents a unique opportunity to realize this goal," said Dr. Dement. "They do an outstanding job of educating their patients, and I want to translate that to a larger program that reaches the general public nationally," he added.

Koenigsberg related, "Dr. Dement brings a wealth of expertise and passion for sleep medicine to SleepQuest, and we share mutual goals in our concerns for people with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)." OSA is a sleep disorder that affects about 30 million Americans. It occurs in 24% of middle-aged men and 9% of middle-aged women according to the April 1993 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "OSA causes people to snore loudly and stop breathing for short periods of time while sleeping. This causes severe sleep deprivation and extreme daytime sleepiness. OSA is a major factor in increased highway accidents and lost job productivity. It is also associated with other health risks like heart disease and high blood pressure," Koenigsberg said.

SleepQuest, Inc., founded in 1994, is based in Redwood City, California with separate field offices serving the entire San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Valley. SleepQuest provides a complete range of sleep care services in the convenience of the patient's home. Their innovative "Continuum of Care" program includes testing, treatment, education and follow-up, and represents significant cost-savings over traditional hospital and home-care treatment programs. They specialize in CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) therapy that relieves OSA symptoms and restores quality of life and health for sleep-deprived individuals. SleepQuest provides sleep care services and programs for major insurance companies, healthcare organizations, corporations and physician groups. Corporate Headquarters: 702 Marshall Street, Suite 520 Redwood City, CA 94063, 800-813-8358, 650-365-6492, www.sleepquest.com.

Research continues to be published showing the importance of sleep to "cement" new knowledge into the brain. One study out of Harvard Medical School shows that certain types of learning (discrimination) were hindered when students were sleep-deprived right after learning. Even when later allowed to catch up on the deprived sleep, their test performance did not improve. Learning and sleep go hand in hand. Stickgold, R., et. al. 2000. Nature Neuroscience, Vol 3(12) 1237-1238.

Snoring in children may be cause for concern. At least that's the conclusion in a new study out of the University of South Australia. When they studied over 2,000 children who snored versus those who did not, they found significant cognitive differences. Compared to non-snorers, children who snored showed significantly impaired attention and lower memory and IQ scores. Blunden, S., et.al, 2000. Journal of Clinical & Experimental Neuropsychology, Vol 22(5) 554-568.

Sleep deprivation and sleep habits do correlate with academic grades. A study out of Worcester, MA, shows that students who received low grades (C's, D's, F's), obtained about 25 minutes less sleep and went to bed an average of 40 minutes later on school nights than students with high grades (A's and B's). Adolescents who slept less than 7 hours reported increased daytime sleepiness, depressed mood, and behavior problems. Wolfson, A. 1998. Child Development, Vol 69(4) 875-887.

Stops Crying -- Heartbeat Music Therapy CDs: Doctors agree, the first choice in getting a good night's sleep should be drug free. This music therapy is a safe, drug-free solution to sleep problems. The sound of the human heartbeat—which has powerful therapeutic value—is incorporated into lullabies that utilize proven relaxation techniques. This soothing music therapy has been used in more that 8,000 hospitals and special care centers, and in over one million homes. Stop Crying -- Heartbeat Music Therapy CDs work for babies, children, and adults—regardless of age!