Sleep is a dynamic process that our brain and body needs for physical restoration and proper mental processing. According to Fadia (2002), the amount of sleep that is necessary depends on a number of factors (age, weight, etc.) Infants require about 16 hours of sleep while teenagers require around 9. For most adults, about 7 or 8 hours of sleep tends to be the average. However, there are some adults that require as less as 5 hours a night and as much as 10 hours of sleep per night. In addition the amount of sleep a person needs will also increase if that person has been deprived of sleep or experiencing sleep deprivation. This causes sleep debt. This means that when a person is deprived of sleep that sleep must then be made up (2002).
Many people are able to notice the difference between a good night sleep and waking up feeling sleep deprived. However, those who have constantly had to deal with sleep deprivation developed a conditioning that overtime became normalized. They were unable to determine that sleep deprivation had caused and continues to cause impairments in their judgment, reaction time and/or in their overall functioning. They simply have come to believe that this is the way it is for them. This process has been noted in larger heavier individuals that have been heavy most of their lives. Thus, this article will focus on sleep disorders and gay men in the bear community in order to increase awareness regarding the health risks posed by sleep disorders in the GLBTQ community.
Sleep Apnea: A Common Sleep Disorder Affecting the Bear Community
What is Sleep apnea? Sleep apnea is a sleep breathing disorder that causes severe sleep deprivation by interrupting sleep and collapsing the windpipe. This occurs because of a build up of extra tissue in the neck area from weight gain. Men tend to gain weight in their neck and have thicker, heavier necks. When we fall asleep our muscles relax throughout our body. When our throat muscles relax the weight of the neck, along with attempting to inhale causes the windpipe to collapse and become blocked. When this occurs the individual must wake up to regain his muscle tone in order to open the windpipe and breathe. This occurs for just about three seconds before returning to sleep and usually the individual is unaware of waking. However, some individuals may have awareness that their sleep is very restless. They may even wake up coughing from a dry throat. The number one sign that one may have sleep apnea is snoring. Everyone that has sleep apnea snores. However, everyone that snores may not have sleep apnea. Additionally, if ones neck is greater than 17 inches then there is a greater risk of having or developing sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea can be very dangerous as it deprives the body of oxygen and results in chronic sleep deprivation and disease if not treated. Symptoms such as morning headaches, loss of sex drive and a decline in mental overall functioning (loss of concentration, memory deficits, etc.) could be signs that you have sleep apnea. Sleep deprivation clearly also has an effect on our mood and can lead to experiencing symptoms of depression and irritability. This can affect your performance at work and/or your personal relationships with your partner(s) and family. Additionally, sleep apnea can put one in a higher risk category for stroke, hypertension, and heart attack. It also can suppress the immune system influencing how efficiently the body fights infection. Thus, sleep apnea can lead to an increase in ones viral load and decrease T-cells if HIV positive.
Diagnosing in the Sleep Lab and Treatment
In order to find out for sure if you have sleep apnea, you need to be evaluated by a physician. Your primary care physician can refer you to a sleep specialist that can order an overnight sleep study. A sleep technologist will then apply sensors to measure your sleep stages, eye movements, heart rate, breathing, muscle tone and leg movements and oxygen levels and then fit you with a mask for the CPAP. CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) is a device that blows air in your airway to create pressure that lifts the soft throat tissue off of the airway allowing it to stay open. You should also get a chance to practice with the mask before going to bed. So talk to your technologist about the proper fit of the mask.
There are a number of choices to choose from. It is important that no air is able to escape through the sides of the mask when wearing it. If there is, then tell your technologist. After going to bed, the technologist will monitor your sleep for the first half of the night in order to get a baseline of your sleep. If the technologist assesses you as meeting the criteria for sleep apnea, he or she will put on your CPAP mask and turn on the CPAP machine. It is important to note that this treatment is non invasive and is part of the overnight study. After the study, your results will be ready in about two weeks or so. At that point, schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss your test results as well as treatment options besides CPAP.
Conclusion
Sleep apnea is a very common sleep disorder and has been known to cause accidents in the workplace resulting in lawsuits and personal injury. So if you believe you are at risk for this sleep disorder, talk to your doctor or health care professional. Relief could be just around the corner. We value our Bears. You deserve it and you are worth it!
Barry Aneda is a National Certified Counselor and a Licensed Associate Counselor working with our GLBTQ community in the field of Addictions and HIV/AIDS.
For more information you can visit him at http://www.barryaneda.com. To visit him at his virtual office, simply click the link titled Visit My Virtual Office.
¶ 10:32 PM 0 comments
One of the most important soccer lessons and the first thing to know on kicking a soccer ball is what not to do. Do not kick a soccer ball with your toes, unless you are poking the ball to steel it from an opponent. There is not enough surface area on the toes to be able to aim the ball properly.
When kicking the ball the most powerful place to strike the ball with is the instep of your foot (the place where the shoelaces are). You will use this kicking technique most often.
Your supporting foot should be in line with the ball and the leg should be slightly bent. Once you strike the ball, follow through with a sweeping motion.
The inside of the foot is also used to kick the ball.
The supporting foot should be pointed at the target and in line with the ball.
Swing your kicking foot through the ball using a sweeping motion.
The ball should move smoothly along the ground.
A more advanced kick is achieved by using the outside of the foot
The supporting foot should be angled at about 15 from the target. You need to be sure your foot is firmly locked before striking the ball. This is one of the most important soccer lessons and guidelines that you should follow when kicking a soccer ball.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Andre Botelho is a recognized authority on the subject of soccer lessons and coaching. His web site, Soccer Drills and Tips provides a wealth of informative articles and resources on how to improve soccer skills and make training more fun and interesting.
¶ 2:53 PM 0 comments
People want experts: toot your horn and hook them on what you have to say.
Experts will give advice freely but will not give away the farm in the process. Most experts like to share their knowledge with others. If you want to be an expert then the more information (that is, useful information) you provide, the more people will come back to your website. You need to have a hook that has them coming back for more. Ask them what they want, ask for feedback and then follow up on the feedback. Let them know you are listening to what they have to say. Print their rebuttals in your next newsletter. Have them use your BLOG. Always respond and keep the information up-to-date. They will tell everyone they know that they were published on your site.
Keep them coming back by having your audience contribute to your newsletter. Every time you send out a message that you are looking for articles, providing you ask in the correct forums, you will get a good response. Join newsgroups that have writers and let them know that you are putting together electronic information and want to have contributions on a specific subject. You may opt to pay or not to pay for the publishing, depending on your focus. You will not be disappointed with the response.
After all, you can either do all the writing yourself, or you can lessen your load by having other writers. Take a look at the writers market. They have listings of all kinds of eMedia that are looking for articles. Get your company listed in their directory. If you offer pay, your response will be higher than if you do not.
Get people interested in what they read, give them a place to send rebuttals and to contribute to your newsletters, etc.
Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get peoples attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the Networking Queen. Blueprints for Success - Networking: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprints for Success Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2006. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com
¶ 5:35 AM 0 comments
