Fat tongues cause sleep apnea. Sleep apnea can lead to AFIB. Abstract from the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. This BBC article does a good job explaining.
Category: sleep
have you taken your pills today?
Sleep serotonin, growth hormone, melatonin, prolactin Exercise endorphins Meditation serotonin, growth hormone, melatonin, DHEA, GABA, endorphins Walk in nature endorphins, decreases cortisol Or you can try the synthetic variety – your choice. Aldous Huxley predicted America’s dependence on pills with great accuracy.
sleep apnea & AFIB
Half the patients with AFIB also have sleep apnea. Patients with sleep apnea have 4 times the risk of developing atrial fibrillation. How does sleep apnea contribute to AFIB? Potential mechanisms: Changes in intrathoracic pressure during apneic episodes leads to left atrial stretch. Intermittent periods of hypoxemia (low oxygen) and hypercapnia (high carbon dioxide) related…
sleep 7 hrs
Inspired by Dr. Koushik Krishnan who runs a lifestyle program for the veterans at VA Hospital in Tampa. Here is something I lifted straight off his Twitter page : “Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.” – Gandhi
the wanderer (vagus) & AFIB
The Latin word vagus means “wandering”. The vagus is the longest nerve in the autonomic nervous system in the body. It is a parasympathetic nerve, i.e. it counters the fight or flight response. It innervates the heart, lung and stomach among other things. Just like the famous Nordic wanderer, Odin, the vagus nerve has been attributed with a lot…
sleep quality & AFIB
Sleep apnea is strongly associated with atrial fibrillation. However, even after adjusting for sleep apnea, quality of sleep is an independent predictor for atrial fibrillation. Here is the full article: Article summary : The 2 variables that correlated with increased risk of AFIB – time required to fall asleep and frequent nighttime awakening. This decreases…
sleep hygeine
Too many patients ask me for a “sleeping pill”. These drugs are habit forming and over time lose their effectiveness. They also lead to poor sleep quality, drowsiness in the morning, amnesia etc. Others try self medicating with alcohol, marijuana or other over the counter “sleeping aids” like diphenhydramine (Benadryl). “Sleep hygeine” is the best…
sleep well or die
Lack of sleep has been correlated with disease and death. It seems sleep deprivation modulates the autonomic tone and therefore leads to increase in risk of cardiac arrhythmias. The next study is quite interesting – either too much (>8 h per night) or too little (<7 h per night) of sleep increases mortality. It starts…