While You Were Sleeping: What Sleep Technologists Need to Know This Week
Your media watchdog for headlines and trends
relevant to sleep technology and patient education.
PANDEMIC QUICK LINKS
SPECIAL:
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine COVID-19 letters to the editor series || August 15, 2020
- Circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders and the COVID-19 pandemic
- Dental sleep medicine perspectives after COVID-19: interprofessional adaptation and directions
- Does obstructive sleep apnea lead to increased risk of COVID-19 infection and severity?
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on academic sleep medicine
- The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on sleep
- Insomnia and psychological reactions during the COVID-19 outbreak in China
- Narcolepsy and COVID-19: sleeping on an opportunity?
- Obstructive sleep apnea, renin-angiotensin system, and COVID-19: possible interactions
- Practicing sleep medicine amidst a pandemic: a paradigm shift
- Revisiting vitamin D and home-based exercises for patients with sleep apnea facing the COVID-19 quarantine
- Sleep disparities in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the urgent need to address social determinants of health like the virus of racism
- Spontaneous reporting of onset of disturbing dreams and nightmares related to early life traumatic experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic by patients with posttraumatic stress disorder in remission
- Drive-up Sleep Clinic staff praised
NHS || August 14, 2020 - Melatonin Use Linked to Lower Likelihood of Testing Positive for COVID-19
SLEEP REVIEW || August 14, 2020 - How to Help Young Children Sleep Better During COVID-19
KQED || August 13, 2020 - Importance of sleep for students critical as immune systems need rest to fight Covid-19
NEWS4SA || August 12, 2020 - Obstructive Sleep Apnea as a Potential Risk Factor for COVID-19: Expert Interview
PULMONOLOGY ADVISOR || August 12, 2020 - A Class in COVID: Restoring kids’ sleep schedules important for families prepping for restart of school
WTNH || August 11, 2020 - Impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on treatment adherence and sleep duration in patients with obstructive sleep apnea treated with positive airway pressure
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL SLEEP MEDICINE || August 11, 2020
For the latest information, please check the following resources :
- Updated: Sleep-Related COVID-19 Resources
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SLEEP TECHNOLOGISTS || August 18, 2020 - Updated: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup August 14, 2020
U.S. FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION || August 14, 2020 - Reopening of Sleep Centers/Clinics: Sleep Technologist Considerations
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SLEEP TECHNOLOGISTS || July 16, 2020 - The Post-Pandemic Sleep Lab
YALE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE || April 29, 2020 - COVID-19 mitigation strategies for sleep clinics and sleep centers – REOPENING
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF SLEEP MEDICINE || April 27, 2020 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
- World Health Organization Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak
ADVOCACY WATCH
Pendleton could allow limited homeless sleeping
EAST OREGONIAN
August 15, 2020
From the article: “In 2018, a federal court ruled that the city of Boise, Idaho, couldn’t prohibit people from sleeping outdoors without providing an alternative. More recently, the courts ruled that the city of Grants Pass was violating its homeless residents’ Eighth Amendment rights by fining them for sleeping in public spaces.”
Takeaway: Given the potential for so many more homeless people due to COVID-19, the reality of sleeping on public property is probably going to explode as we head into winter this fall. Stay tuned to see how this challenging situation develops.
Bonus: Here's an additional story about the policing of homeless people in Colorado and the impact it's having on their sleep, as well as a story about a homeless camp removed in North Carolina and what they're trying to do about the sleep health for those people.
CULTURE WATCH
Car alarms, snoring and dentist's drills... the noises that put our ears (and teeth) on edge
BELFAST TELEGRAPH
August 15, 2020
From the article: “The research from the University of Manchester was commissioned by Specsavers, and showed that for those surveyed here the most grating sounds were car alarms (46%) and snoring (43%).”
Takeaway: Not only is snoring annoying, it can be deafening to bed partners as well as to the snorers themselves.
TREND WATCH
How Big Data Is Revolutionizing Sleep Science and Health
INSIDE BIG DATA
August 15, 2020
From the website: “Today, sleep data can be collected more comfortably, affordably, and (what’s most important) on a large scale. That’s all thanks to new tools for collecting data – various wearable sensors that provide real-time data on a large number of factors that can affect how someone sleeps. We’re talking headbands, watches, rings, bracelets, and even mattresses equipped with sensors that can provide even more data.”
Takeaway: This reads as an argument for using these gadgets instead of polysomnography because PSG is "complicated, expensive, and invasive." I did not find the word "accurate" or "accuracy" used even once in this piece, though they did mention that "[s]ome of the data will also be of very poor quality. In the absence of a regulatory body, this can lead to products with dubious effectiveness, to say the least."
INDUSTRY WATCH
Boston Children’s Hospital Pediatric Hypersomnia Screening Survey
WAKE UP NARCOLEPSY
August 13, 2020
From the website: “Dr. Kiran Maski, a sleep physician and researcher has developed a questionnaire that will improve screening for narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia in the community. We hope this survey will help school and health care professionals identify hypersomnia symptoms quickly. We are looking for participants to complete online surveys and we will provide a $10 gift card as a token of appreciation. Participation should take no more than 10-15 minutes.”
Takeaway: Spread the word if you are actively engaged with pediatric patients who suffer from hypersomnia.
TECHNOLOGY WATCH
ZEREMA AI height-adjusting pillow responds when it detects snoring
THE GADGET FLOW
August 14, 2020
From the review page: “Useful for anyone who sleeps on their back or side, this AI height-adjusting pillow evenly distributes the weight of your head to reduce neck pain.”
Takeaway: Still being crowdfunded, but the price isn't that much higher than what some of the cooling gel or other high-end pillows are fetching. I'd be curious to see how this works for people using PAP therapy.
PHARMA WATCH
Can Magnesium Help You Sleep Better?
THE SLEEP DOCTOR
August 15, 2020
From the blog: “Not only does magnesium help you sleep better, but it’s non habit forming, readily available, and has other benefits, too. But one problem with trying out a natural sleep remedy, is that you can’t take full advantage of its sleep-inducing effects unless you understand how to use magnesium and which magnesium supplement is best for better sleep.”
Takeaway: Dr. Breus' caveat about knowing how to use magnesium is important because, as with any other substance, adverse side effects can occur.
SLEEP HYGIENE WATCH
Sleep hygiene education can increase sleep quantity, decrease hospital visits
ENDOCRINE TODAY
August 15, 2020
From the article: “Although more than half of people with type 2 diabetes report poor sleep, sleep hygiene is often missing from diabetes self-management education, according to two speakers at the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists annual conference.”
Takeaway: Sleep technologists should always have sleep hygiene patient education in their back pocket, to share whenever possible.
LEGAL WATCH
Son kills father in UP for snoring
UNITED NEWS OF INDIA
August 11, 2020
From the article: “In a bizarre incident, a son allegedly killed his father as he could not sleep due to his snoring.”
Takeaway: This is so sad and could have been prevented.
BIO: AAST blog columnist Tamara Sellman RPSGT, CCSH curates the sleep health information clearinghouse, SleepyHeadCENTRAL, where she follows sleep health news headlines daily. She is also an independent sleep health journalist, writes sleep-related columns for multiple chronic illness patient advocacy publishers and apps, and contributes the Journal Club continued education presentations for the AAST. You might occasionally see her work in A2Zzz as well. She can be reached at sleepyheadcentral@gmail.com.
