A good night’s sleep supports your overall health. If you notice
any change in your sleep pattern that lasts more than a few nights, you
want prompt attention to help you get back to sleeping well.
Expert Adult Sleep Care Close to Home
When you experience sleep disruptions, you can rely on OU Health’s
adult sleep medicine specialists and board-certified physicians at the
Sleep Medicine Clinic at OU Health Edmond Medical Center to help you get
the nighttime rest you need to make the most of your days.
Call for an Appointment
Find out more about your options for sleep medicine or make an appointment
with one of our specialists.
Your body heals and reenergizes itself while you sleep. But if you often
find yourself missing the restorative sleep your body needs each night,
you’re unable to achieve good health and well-being. You may have
a sleep disorder if you experience symptoms such as:
Dozing off or feeling sleepy during the day
Feeling uncomfortable or restless in your legs
Having trouble staying awake while driving
Snoring or other signs of sleep apnea
Sweating while sleeping
Tossing and turning
Waking up with headaches
Walking or driving in your sleep
A good night’s sleep can help protect you from several health conditions,
including depression, diabetes, heart attack, obesity and stroke.
Comprehensive Sleep Studies & Treatment
Find out how you can achieve better sleep, beginning with a sleep study
at OU Health’s Sleep Lab. Results can reveal whether you’re
living with a common sleep disorder such as:
Sleep apnea – Brief interruptions in breathing during sleep
Narcolepsy – Overwhelming daytime sleepiness, even after nighttime sleep
The Sleep Lab can schedule your sleep study for any time of day, any day
of the week, to accommodate your natural schedule and circadian rhythms.
What to Expect at a Sleep Study
At OU Health, you’ll work with sleep medicine experts, the sleep
physicians who get to the root of your problem, while you sleep in one
of the clinic’s spacious, comfortable, hotel-like rooms. Throughout
the study, your sleep technician monitors your progress with video cameras
and wired sensors. Our sleep clinic also uses the most advanced sleep
evaluation technology available for speed, flexibility, accuracy and reliability
in sleep study recording.
Guidelines and Forms for Your Appointment
Check the following resources to learn more about good sleep hygiene and
the forms to fill out and bring to your appointment.
More than 20 million Americans experience sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder
more often found in men. Serious and potentially life-threatening, sleep
apnea happens in any age group and gender.
Types of Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea, characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep,
takes three forms:
Obstructive sleep apnea – Air can’t flow in or out of the nose or mouth even while
attempts to breathe continue
Central sleep apnea – Incorrect signals from the brain prevent the
breathing muscles from starting to work; less common than obstructive
sleep apnea
Complex sleep apnea – Mix of symptoms from both central and obstructive sleep apnea
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
Similar to signs of other sleep disturbances, symptoms of sleep apnea include:
Awakening with headaches
Daytime fatigue
Difficult to control blood pressure
Difficulty losing weight
Difficulty staying asleep
Experiencing trouble staying awake while driving
Falling asleep while watching TV
Feeling sleepy or tired during the day
Feeling uncomfortable in the legs
Gasping or choking during sleep
Needing to urinate during sleep
Not feeling rested after sleep
Sleeping at inappropriate times
Snoring
Stopping breathing while asleep
Sweating excessively while sleeping
Tossing and turning
Trouble falling asleep
Waking too early
If you experience any time of sleep disturbance or sleep apnea, talk with
your doctor and ask for a referral to the sleep medicine experts at OU
Health to get a diagnostic sleep study and a comprehensive treatment plan
that fits your particular situation.
Insomnia
With insomnia, you may experience trouble falling asleep, staying asleep
or getting good quality sleep. Things such as poor sleep hygiene, illness,
medication side effects, chronic pain or restless legs syndrome can cause insomnia.
Symptoms of Insomnia
These are common symptoms of insomnia:
Anxiety
Depression and mood swings
Daytime drowsiness or low energy
Trouble paying attention
Tension and irritability
Physical aches and pains, such as headaches and stomachaches
Treatment for Insomnia
OU Health provides various treatment options for insomnia, including Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). You and your sleep medicine team
will determine the treatment option for your sleep needs. CBT-I is an
evidence-based approach and the preferred first-line treatment for chronic
insomnia, often yielding better long-term results than medications.
Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia works at changing how the brain
process thoughts surrounding sleep and is performed by a licensed psychologist
or physician trained in sleep. The four main principles of CBT-I include:
Stimulus control
Sleep restriction
Cognitive restructuring
Relaxation training
Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia can help people who have insomnia
due to lifestyle habits, medical issues, physical difficulties or mental
health conditions. CBT-I is a customized therapy for each patient. At
the initial visits, your sleep medicine providers will ask you to fill
out a sleep diary to get an idea of how you are currently sleeping. Patients
may be asked to change their sleep schedule and/or sleep hygiene. Treatment
can be completed in as few as eight weeks.
Your Expert Sleep Medicine Team
Whether you experience sleep apnea, daytime sleepiness or another barrier
to getting a good night’s rest, you can trust OU Health’s
multidisciplinary team, who also train the next generation of sleep medicine
specialists, to work with you toward solutions designed to treat your
individual sleep problem. Your sleep therapy care team may include:
Adult or pediatric ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists
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