CRMC-West 214 E. 23 St. Cheyenne, WY 82001
CRMC-East 2600 E. 18 St. Cheyenne, WY 82001
Health & Fitness 1620 E. Pershing, Cheyenne, WY 82001

(307) 634-CARE

Sleep Lab

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center maintains a Sleep Lab in the East Building as part of its Cardiopulmonary/Neurology department, where a Sleep Technician performs the sleep studies.

The Cardiopulmonary/Neurology director said the lab monitors patients’ sleep in order to diagnose and treat sleep disorders. Brain waves are monitored with an EEG (electroencephalogram). REM (rapid eye movement) sleep or the dream sleep is determined by transducers placed near the eyes.

Other tools used to monitor sleep are oxygen levels and saturation, EKG, airflow during respiration, body position and leg movement. Since 90 percent of sleep disorders are diagnosed as sleep apnea, sleep technicians often have an initial background as respiratory therapists.

Insufficient amounts of sleep can take its toll on the body and mind. The body needs sleep to grow and repair tissues as well as for the immune system to function properly. The brain needs sleep to aid in memory formation and cognitive performance. Chronic sleep deprivation can also speed up some aspects of aging, such as hastening the onset of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and memory loss.

Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea occurs when the airway becomes blocked—the person awakens abruptly and gasps for breath.

“Sleep apnea is considered to be the cessation of breathing for 10 seconds or more occurring at least 10 times an hour during sleep and causing de-saturation of oxygen levels and an EEG brain wave arousal,” said Laura Brausch, M.D., Sleep Lab medical director.

Studies show sleep apnea can triple the risk of hypertension. Apnea also increases risk of irregular heartbeats, pulmonary hypertension and stroke. Sleep apnea interrupts dreaming, too. Dreams normally heal mental warps, but if repeatedly interrupted, they fail to heal. Apnea is much like some tortures. It won’t let the sleeper regain the mental balance overnight, and thereby disables the person’s capacity to cope.

The director said a successful treatment for sleep apnea is a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) mask, where pressure from a portable air pump forces air through the patient’s nose to keep throat tissues from collapsing.

In the Sleep Lab, when diagnosis of sleep apnea is made, sometimes a second visit is needed to determine CPAP titration levels until snoring and symptoms disappear. In addition, often those who suffer from sleep apnea are obese, and weight loss alleviates the problem, he said.

Restless leg
People with restless leg disorder suffer from “creepy crawly” sensations in the legs or arms during the night. Relief is achieved only by getting up or rubbing the limbs. Similar to restless leg is periodic-limb movements, a disorder that causes jerking movements in the legs every 20 to 40 seconds and disrupting sleep.

Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a central nervous system disorder with six key symptoms: excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy (in which actions like laughing trigger sleep attacks), sleep paralysis, hallucinations, automatic behavior and fragmented night-time sleep.

Sleep problems vs. sleep disorders
If you have trouble sleeping regularly or suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness for most days in the week, you may have one of more than 80 sleep disorders, according to Brausch. However, if your sleep problems come and go, chances are the cause is poor sleep habits, environmental disturbances or the side effect of a medical problem says Brausch.

Insomnia
Insomnia itself is not a sleep disorder, but a symptom of another problem—like ingesting too much caffeine, noise, keeping irregular hours, depression, breathing difficulties, menopause, overactive bladder and Parkinson’s disease.

When people should seek help
If problems with insomnia persist for more than a month despite lifestyle changes, people should see their doctor. If a person thinks they may have sleep apnea, narcolepsy or restless-leg disorder, they should consult a physician who is a sleep specialist for diagnosis and treatment.

Disclaimer - CRMC's core values are to provide quality patient care and outstanding patient satisfaction to all our patients. Part of providing quality patient care and outstanding patient satisfaction is respecting your privacy rights and maintaining the confidentiality of your medical records. For more information on patient privacy please read our patient privacy policy. CRMC will not use or disclose your health information for any purpose not described in this Notice without your written authorization.

Health information provided on Cheyenne Regional Medical Center's web page is intended as a guideline and not as a specific medical protocol. Every actual medical situation - emergency or non-emergency - is unique to each individual, and requires the clinical judgment of a qualified physician. For more information, or clarification, we recommend that individuals contact their personal physician.

Our Web site may include information and other material prepared by other sources. We also link to other Internet sites and resources. This information and links are provided as a courtesy. We are not responsible for the availability, updating, and accuracy of any information provided on these outside sites or for the privacy or security of these outside sites.

The information on this Web site is general in nature and is not intended as a substitute for consultation with a doctor and a particular treatment plan. The material provided is not intended to create, and the receipt of it does not constitute, a doctor-patient relationship. Should you have any health-care-related question, you should contact a doctor and arrange a consultation. Any e-mail generated from this Web site may not be secure and is not intended to create, and the receipt of it does not constitute, a doctor-patient relationship. E-mail communication is not intended as a substitute for consultation with a doctor.