Martha Cortes, MD, DDS, is a sleep expert and founder of Sleep Fitness, LLC. Cortes discusses sleep breathing disorders, the differences between restorative sleep and poor sleep, and how to calculate your circadian rhythm.
Sleep Breathing Disorders
“Sleep issues among Americans are extremely prevalent with numbers in the millions. All ages, genders, and occupations experience sleep issues; it’s truly an epidemic. One of the biggest reasons some people aren’t able to stay asleep or fall asleep is due to sleep breathing disorders (SBDs) like obstructive sleep apnea. This happens when your breath during sleep becomes light and shallow. When airflow is disturbed, sleep architecture is destroyed, and the body exists in a state of chronic malaise. Poor posture, a small jaw, a deviated nasal septum, unhealthy diet, and poor sleep hygiene can all lead to sleep apnea.
“The symptoms of SBDs begin with: snoring, waking with a dry mouth, feeling unrefreshed in the morning, grinding the teeth, daytime sleepiness, feelings of irritability/ anxiety—then crescendo into hypertension, heart arrhythmia, diabetes, heart failure, and/ or a stroke. In essence, SBD is not simply a characteristic of poor sleep—it is the preliminary stage of heart failure.”
Restorative Sleep vs. Poor Sleep
Tranquility Stress, anxiety, depression
Refreshed upon waking Daytime sleepiness
Clear cognition Prone to accidents (i.e. car accident)
Healthy body Hypertension, diabetes, heart arrhythmia
Healthy stress management Reactive (vs. responsive)
Radiant complexion Dull complexion
Circadian Rhythm
“Nature created a clear sleep-wake schedule known as the circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm follows a 24/2-hour cycle that oscillates between solar and lunar cues. Humans operate best when they synchronize their sleep-wake patterns to the circadian rhythm: calculate your sleep time here. A basic rule of thumb for adults is that for every two hours of wake, one hour of sleep is required.
