The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 24, Number 8 | Page 32

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | November 2018
Ask the Physician
I try to get enough sleep, somewhere between 7-8 hours most nights, but I’m still waking up exhausted
and drag myself through the day. I’ve always been a snorer, but now my wife says it’s gotten much
worse. I’m falling asleep at my computer and…have even dozed off in traffic, which is really bad! I can’t
keep this up much longer—Help, please!
Mike P., Delran, NJ
Mike, there could be a number of reasons for your daytime fatigue. Although the number of hours of sleep you report
is probably adequate, the quality of sleep is not restoring your alertness. One of the most common sleep problems
that often causes daytime fatigue is called “sleep apnea.” This condition causes an abnormal breathing pattern at
night, and may involve shallow breathing or even pauses in breathing. The abnormal breathing disrupts your sleep
often preventing deep restorative sleep from occurring.
When you don’t get enough oxygen while you’re sleeping at night, it can make you tired or even exhausted during
the day, and over time this can have a number of other health consequences, including high blood pressure and
cardiac arrhythmias.
At Deborah Heart and Lung Center we have a full-service Institute for Sleep Medicine, at which we perform
comprehensive sleep studies to evaluate a whole range of sleep disorders—and sleep apnea is among them.
Treatment for sleep apnea can decrease risks of serious health problems and restore your daytime function quickly.
As you are concerned about your daytime fatigue, a sleep study would be beneficial and I recommend it!
Marcella M. Frank, D.O., FACOI, FCCP, FAASM
Attending Pulmonologist
Department of Pulmonary Medicine
Institute for Sleep Medicine
Deborah Heart and Lung Center
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