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Does Michael Phelps Have Sleep Apnea?
I have a confession to make. I LOVE the Olympics. The spectacular pageantry, the awe inspiring display of physical and mental strength, not to mention the sense of pride I feel watching America's top athletes achieve the impossible. In the case of swimming sensation, Michael Phelps, he did what many thought was impossible — winning 8 gold medals out of all 8 events and breaking 7 world records in the process. Still, having witnessed his incredible triumphs, I couldn't help but to wonder what his next challenge would be. If his jaw anatomy is any indication, I predict that this may come in the form of obstructive sleep apnea. Click to read more
Why Sleep Apnea Patients May Have Alzheimer's
A few days ago, I ran across two studies about obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and brain structure in my sleep medicine journals that had me wondering: Could there be a link between Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and obstructive sleep apnea? Click to read more
What To Do When You're Tired All The Time
If you're tired all the time, no matter how long you sleep, and suffer from recurrent colds or unexplained infections that just won't go away and you continue to get sick despite being on multiple medications and antibiotics, you may be suffering from a common yet mostly ignored sleep breathing problem called upper airway resistance syndrome.
Although it's not commonly recognized by most physicians, this is fast becoming a major issue amongst many patients who suffer from chronic fatigue issues. However, there are ways to manage this condition successfully, if you know what it is and what you can do about it. Click to read more
Where To Go When You Need To Sleep
If you suspect that you may have a sleep breathing disorder, the first step in getting solutions is to get a formal sleep study. However, there are so many sleep study centers these days all touting different benefits, it's unclear which one of them is right for you. Click to read more
Acupuncture For OSA Sufferers: Sham or Science?
Ever since a study reviewing the efficacy of using acupuncture for treating obstructive sleep apnea was published in the journal Sleep Medicine*, there's been considerable buzz in the lay press discussing the validity of such treatment.
The traditional Western ideal for treating obstructive sleep apnea has mostly been with the use of a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine. As such, OSA sufferers are hard pressed to switch, and sleep medicine doctors are reluctant to offer alternative solutions if this line of therapy works. But for many, CPAP doesn't work. And for those of you who are struggling, acupuncture may be a viable treatment option.
To find out, we asked Amy R. Hausman, our Expert consultant this month to explain what she thinks about this study--in particular if acupuncture could help sleep apnea sufferers and how. Click to read Amy's take on Acupuncture
Planes, Trains, and Ear Infections
To me, getting an earache is almost like losing your luggage at the airport. For one thing, both events most likely occur after a bad plane flight. For another, they both happen at the most inopportune moments-- like when you've packed your $5,000 heirloom wedding dress, or when you're vacationing out in a remote island and the nearest doctor is about a 5 hour plane ride away. Either way, you want to prevent and not fall victim to these problems if at all possible. Click to read more
What To Eat When You're Sick and Tired
Studies abound linking sleep apnea and diabetes. Unfortunately, many if not most patients who get diagnosed with a sleep breathing problem still maintain a Standard American Diet (SAD). It's not that they're unconcerned about their health. Many on the contrary exercise regularly and try to eat as best they can. Yet when their job or lifestyles keep them running around all day (see my article Give Me A Break) it's difficult to take the time to think about what they eat. Recently, I interviewed Alyse Levine, a registered dietician with expertise in helping busy urban professionals optimize their food and lifestyle choices in order to meet their personal health goals. Click to read more
Give Me A Break!
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but the present is a gift. That is why it is called the present.
-Oogway in Kung Fu Panda
In a recently released family fun film, Kung Fu Panda, Po, the unlikely hero in the movie, saves his entire town from destruction by learning how to focus and be present. Lucky for him, cell phones and Blackberries weren't invented back then.
In our 24/7 nonstop frenzied workaholic culture, modern people find it difficult, if not impossible to embrace this simple concept. To exercise, to eat less, and to sleep more has become a thing of the past. Patients often tell me that they can't expend the time or energy to do so. But what I'd like to know is: Why does it take work to find rest? Click to read more
An Allergist's Nightmare: The Micro-Poop Theory
One Western tradition that I find truly puzzling is the custom of wearing shoes inside the house. Although some of my non-Asian friends have banned shoes in their homes after they have children, I still find that a majority of Americans and Europeans continue to wear shoes inside their homes. Unlike Eastern cultures that consider this practice unsanitary, many Westerners don't think much of it even though this can be harmful for someone with allergies...click to read more
Solutions For Your Top 10 Fitness Problems
Everyone knows that exercise is great for your health. It can help you trim down, gain stamina, decelerate the aging process etc, etc, etc. Then why is it so hard for us to get started? The anwer is: You need a plan...click to read more
When Your Cold Is Not A Cold: Simple Tips To Help You Prevent, Treat and Avoid All Your Cold Symptoms This Year
Many of you probably know that hand washing is one of the best line of defense for a cold. But what do you do if the cold medications and herbal remedies don’t work? What if nothing you do alleviates that incessant cough and sore throat you’ve had for weeks, if not for months? If you’ve ever had these symptoms or if you’re suffering now, know that help is available but it may not be something you’re used to. Instead these are remedies for a “cold” when it’s not a cold...click to read more
What Works: A Proven Way to Quit Smoking For Good
According to recent statistics from the American Lung Association, smoking is the number one source for preventable deaths and premature mortality than any other drug or substance. Yet, despite these grim statistics, smoking is still a huge problem for many people. The problem is that the willpower in overcoming this addiction seems powerless. But according to George Wissing, the author of Stop Smoking For the Last Time: You Can Unlock the Power to Quit Struggle-Free, your wilpower has nothing to do with it...click to read more
Breathe Well, Sleep Well, Age Well: Sleep May Not Be The #1 Factor In Staying Young and Healthy
“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” This short proverb can be traced as far back as 1496, and even earlier if you count all its variations. It seems that people have always understood the necessity of a good night’s sleep, but these days quality sleep has become a luxury rather than a necessity. But going without sleep may not be so easy since it’s not something your body can easily do without. Click to read more
A Healthcare Carol
In that popular holiday fable called, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens a curmudgeonly old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge is haunted by three ghosts on Christmas eve, named the Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. As a result of these spectral encounters, Scrooge is given a second chance at life. Fortunately for him, this new life doesn’t happen in modern day America...click to read more
Need to Carve The Turkey? Call A Surgeon
It's Thanksgiving time again, and once again, around our family’s dinner table as the turkey's being served, everyone will ask: Who's going to carve the turkey? Should the job go to Uncle Jason, since he's good with his hands, or should it go to my father, since he’s the eldest, or should my wife do it, since she cooks more...click to read more
Trick Or Treat
At this time of the year, when it’s much easier and even more cost effective to purchase a 5 pound bag versus the usual 12 ounce bag of assorted chocolates, practicing one’s self restraint becomes difficult when faced with the free and massive distribution and consumption of candy on Halloween. And, boy, do Americans love candy...click to read more
Beyond Allergies: Best Kept Secrets Of A Successful Employee
Your belt matches your shoes, your new outfit is pressed and you have all the accessories to bring your outfit together. You are dressed for success. However, if you aren’t allergy aware, hay fever may prevent you from making it to the office in the first place...click to read more
New Minimally Invasive Sleep Apnea Procedure Available
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Read about Dr. Park’s new procedure for obstructive sleep apnea..click to read more
Let’s Play It By Ear
Ear problems both chronic and acute, can ruin two of life’s most simple pleasures this summer, like traveling and swimming. Anyone who has ever endured a ten hour plane ride with an ear infection (even if you were headed for Hawaii), could most likely relate. Or even worse...click to read more
Want To Lose Weight? Just Breathe (and Sleep)
Dieting seems to have overtaken baseball as our national pastime. There are many proposed reasons for the current obesity epidemic, including factors such as poor diet, lack of exercise, and simply eating too much. But your ability to sleep well and breathe well can also determine how quickly you can lose or even gain weight...click to read more
Lumps, Bumps And The "C" Word
It first begins as a small gradual growth. It’s so small, you don’t notice it for months to years. Then when you do notice it, it has spread. It’s grown now to envelop and consume its surrounding areas. There, it begins to multiply into smaller satellite regions, where it begins the entire growth cycle all over again. This is what happens with cancer; once it spreads, it spreads rapidly...click to read more
Mothers! Don’t Let Your Daughters Marry Men Who Snore
Weddings are a time when perfection abounds. Like some huge Broadway production, weddings are booked way in advance, invitations and announcements sent out months before, cast and crew all assembled and dressed in similar array, and everyone rehearsed and primed for that ultimate moment of magic otherwise known as: The Wedding Ceremony. As Martha Stewart would say...click to read more
Menopause, Sleep & Men: The Three Cornerstones Of A Complex Puzzle
About once a month, for the past few years, I’ve noticed an unusual pattern develop among some of my young male patients. The reason why I hadn’t noticed it until recently was because the details came to me in fragments—like the many pieces of a complex puzzle...click to read more
Fundamentals Of Medicine In A Grey’s Anatomy World
John Wooden, the Hall of Fame UCLA basketball coach from the 60s and 70s, was once asked what major difference, if any, there was between basketball of his time when he won so many championships, and college basketball of today. Without the least bit of hesitation, he said...click to read more
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