Lenoir Memorial

Lenoir Memorial Sleep Center

Since 1998, Lenoir Memorial Hospital and Sleep Services of America, a sleep service provider with over 20 years experience in the field of sleep medicine, and the 2005 Recipient of the Frost & Sullivan Sleep Service Provider Industry Innovation and Advancement Award, began providing sleep studies to the community served by Lenoir Memorial Hospital.

The lab has expanded over these years from a two-bed lab to a four-bed lab with plans to add even more beds in the near future. Under the management and direction of the Cardiopulmonary Department of Lenoir Memorial Hospital, the Sleep Lab offers an assortment of test for sleep disorders. Under the medical direction of Dr. Rob Gallaher, Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care and special training in sleep medicine, a team of Certified Sleep Technologist, perform over 50 studies a month, on patients from all over Eastern North Carolina.

Sleep is a basic human need, as important for good health as diet and exercise. When we sleep, our bodies rest but our brains are active. Sleep lays the groundwork for a productive day ahead. Over the last few years more and more attention has been given to sleep disorders. Even in the more recent news with the tragic death of pro football star Reggie White, we are beginning to see just how many people are affected with sleep disorders. The National Sleep Foundation in 2004 estimated that a lack of sleep costs American employers more than $18 billion annually in lost productivity. At least 100,000 police reported crashes and 1,500 deaths a year are attributed to drowsy driving. Sleep deprivation has also been linked to health problems such as diabetes, congested heart failure, and high blood pressure.

The most common sleep disorder is sleep apnea. Listen to how a sleep study patient described her sleep apnea. “The silence, I’m told, is way worse than the snoring. In the middle of the night, you go quiet for a while. Your chest heaves. Nothing happens. Your body tries again. Still nothing happens. Then, if you’re lucky, your brain kicks in and sends out the alarm: without oxygen, it will starve. So your reflexes get your body to rouse; there’s a snuffling, wheezing and then a big intake of breath. And then back to normal breathing – or more snoring – until the cycle starts again. And all the while, you’re fast asleep, blissfully unaware that anything is going on. “That is called sleep apnea. It happens when your nasal passages or throat gets blocked during sleep and your breathing is badly interrupted. It’s often, but not always, correlated with carrying too much weight, and it occurs more in men than women. It can occur in children of all ages, and has been linked to children with ADD. Unfortunately, most who have it, have no idea they do.

If you suffer from daytime drowsiness, nodding off in the afternoon, been told you have a snoring problem, or wake up restless and tired, you should talk to your physician. You may need to be a sleep disorder patient and not aware of it. There is help available for sleep disorders. Don’t wait till it’s to late for you to get help. See your doctor today to see if you are a candidate for a sleep study.