Your Health A good night’s sleep By Mike Ryan E
arly to bed and early to rise makes a man health, wealthy and wise. Or so goes the popular proverb. But where does that leave people who cannot fall asleep
or are not getting enough quality sleep? In Toby Hopel’s case, it left him tired. Sgt. 1st
Class Hopel has served in the Army for the last 19
years. After a bout of back problems and later surgery, he mentioned snoring to his surgeon who recommended a sleep study at United Sleep Medicine in Fayetteville. In February, Hopel was diagnosed with chronic snoring, sleep apnea and hypersomnia. “The only reason I knew about it
was because I was keeping my wife up,” he said. “She said I snored a lot. She started watching my patterns and noticed that at points I
wasn’t breathing.” According to Dr. Sam Fleishman, loud
snoring, gasping for breath during sleep, frequent waking throughout the night and dozing off in the midst of daily activities are all signs of a sleep disorder. Fleishman is medical director of the Sleep Center of Cape Fear Valley Health System. The sleep center’s staff
treats a variety of sleep disorders including insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea and
restless leg syndrome. Left
untreated,
Fleishman said, sleep disorders can lead to s e r i o u s m e d i c a l c ondi t ion s such
as
d i a b e t e s , h e a r t d i s e a s e , high blood pressure or
stroke. CityViewNC.com | 59
