Waking Unrefreshed
Many of our patients are referred to us by their doctor due to 'waking unrefreshed'. You may wonder how this vague phrase is helpful in your quest for better sleep. It is helpful because it is an indicator that you are not getting good quality of sleep, regardless of quantity.
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If you wake up feeling like you can barely get out of bed, you know that there is a big difference between sleeping and sleeping well. That difference lies in whether you are getting a good balance of each phase of sleep. Each phase has unique characteristics and serves an important role.
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During a good night's sleep, you cycle through four sleep phases. As you drift off to sleep, your muscles begin to relax and your heart rate and breathing slow down. After this short phase one, your body continues to relax further, eye movements stop and even your body temperature drops during phase two. Your then transition into phase three, the start of deep sleep.
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During deep sleep your breathing, heart rate and blood pressure reach their lowest points, your muscles completely relax and your brain moves into slow, steady delta waves. This phase is when your brain renews itself, tissue and cell repair occur and your immune system is strengthened. Finally, you enter phase four, or REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. Even though your heart rate and breathing increase during this dreaming phase, it is also part of deep sleep. During REM sleep, memories are consolidated and learning processing occurs. All four phases are repeated in a defined pattern to achieve refreshing sleep.
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How we can help
We want you to know you don't have to wake up every day barely able to get out of bed. 'Waking unrefreshed' is not natural and Garrett County Sleep Center is here to help you turn your mornings around. Our comprehensive diagnostic process will uncover the root causes of your sleep problem so we can design a treatment plan that gets you sleeping well.
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As part of this individualized evaluation, an overnight sleep study may be indicated. Did you know that sleep testing reveals exactly how much time you spend in each phase of sleep during the night? Sleep phase analysis can help us pinpoint reasons your sleep is not refreshing, such as disordered REM (Rapid Eye Movement) phases or interruptions to other deep sleep cycles.
Overnight sleep testing also monitors respiratory effort, oxygen levels, heart rate, muscle movement and more. These indicators can reveal other sleep problems such as sleep apnea (breathing interruptions during sleep) or movement disorders like restless leg syndrome which also lead to waking unrefreshed.
If an overnight sleep study is needed, we offer comfortable private rooms for on-site polysomnography (PSG) testing as well as state of the art at-home testing. At the completion of your assessment, we will be able to recommend a targeted treatment plan to enable you to achieve refreshing sleep.
Remember, at Garrett County Sleep Center, we are dedicated to helping you sleep well, so don't hesitate to contact us now with any questions and to schedule your appointment.
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