Sleep problems, adapted athletics topics at Mini Med School

January 31, 2017

More than 50 percent of adults in the US experience intermittent sleep disturbances, and only 30 percent of adults report regularly getting enough sleep. Chronically tired individuals face increased risk of illnesses and an overall lower quality of life, says Dr. Katie Gates, assistant professor of Family Medicine at The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences. Gates gave her talk, “Sleep Problems,” on Jan. 26 as part of the Mini Medical School lecture series put on by CCHS in collaboration with UA’s OLLI program. On Jan. 19, Dr. Jimmy Robinson, endowed chair of Sports Medicine at CCHS, gave his talk, “Adapted Athletics.” Mini Medical School lets adults and community learners explore trends in medicine and health, and the lectures by CCHS faculty and resident physicians provide information about issues and advances in medicine and research. OLLI, short for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, is a member-led program catering to those aged 50 years and older and offers education courses as well as field trips, socials, special events and travel. Gates broke down sleep disorders into four categories: Those who can’t sleep includes sufferers of insomnia and restless leg syndrome. Those who won’t sleep likely have delayed sleep phase syndrome. Those with excessive daytime sleepiness may suffer from narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea. And those with increased movements during sleep include REM sleep behavior disorder sufferers, or those with periodic limb movement. Three criteria must be met for a diagnosis of insomnia: First, the patient must complain of difficulty sleeping, difficulty staying asleep or waking up too early. Second, the sleep difficulty must occur despite adequate opportunity and circumstances to sleep. And third, the lack of sleep must negatively affect daytime function. “Insomnia is a very common complaint, and it does increase with age, unfortunately,” Gates said. Women report insomnia 50 percent more often than men. It can be treated with cognitive behavior therapy or with medications. Delayed sleep phase is a circadian rhythm disorder, meaning “the brain has gotten off its track,” said Gates. It’s characterized by the person going to bed very late and waking up late. “This can be genetic or socially reinforced,” she said. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common sleep breathing disorder, and it affects 20 to 30 percent of males and 10 to 15 percent of females. “With my patient population, it seems higher than this,” Gates said. Risk factors for sleep apnea include age, obesity, craniofacial abnormalities and smoking. Continuous positive airway pressure, or a CPAP machine, is recommended treatment. In some instances of diagnosing a sleep disorder, a physician may order a polysomnography, or a sleep study. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be a treatment for some sleep disorders, said Gates, and a therapist may focus on changing false beliefs and attitudes about sleep. One of these might be that everyone needs at least eight hours of sleep, she said. Music therapy can be another way to treat a lack of sleep. “Choose music you are familiar with,” Gates said. She said the music should have a slow and stable rhythm with low-frequency tones and relaxing melodies. “Try out different genres, like classical or acoustic, to find what works for you.” View a WVUA report on Gates’ lecture here: Robinson, in his talk about adapted athletics, said the number of adapted athletes is rising. In the 1960 Summer Paralympic Games in Rome, 400 athletes came from 23 countries. In 2016, 4,316 athletes came to Rio from 159 countries. The International Paralympic Committee assigns points to athletes based on their impairments. The classification systems differ by sport and are developed to govern the sport. Players are allocated points based on an evaluation by the International Paralympic Committee. A lower score indicates a more severe activity limitation than a higher score. A team is not allowed to have more than a certain maximum sum of points on the field of play at the same time in order to ensure equal competition with the opposing team. As time progresses, a disability may get worse, so a player can be reviewed again. “Disabilities are evolving,” said Robinson. “It’s important to have this avenue to challenge their disability, especially if it’s progressive.” Robinson, also spoke about the Alabama Adapted Athletics Program, which was started in 2003 by husband and wife Brent Hardin and Margaret Stran. Though the program received an initial funding of only $5,000 from the Christopher Reeve Foundation, it now operates off an annual budget of $450,000, offers six full scholarships and supports five sports: women’s and men’s basketball, tennis, rowing and golf.