Sleep study puts disorder to rest

The UW Medicine Sleep Disorder Clinic at Harborview is one of the nation's leading sleep disorder clinics in the world. The clinic, which sees 1,600 patients annually, is one of only six institutions in the country to research new and innovative sleep apnea treatments. In addition to researching and treating sleep apnea, the clinic treats a myriad of sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, insomnia and restless leg syndrome. The clinic also established the first fellowship for sleep doctors in the Pacific Northwest.

Part of the reason for the preeminence of the Sleep Disorder Clinic is that the clinic approaches the field from a multidisciplinary perspective, said Dr. Vishesh K. Kapur, UW associate professor of medicine and co-director of the Sleep Disorder Clinic.

The clinic works with other units, such as neurology, pulmonology, surgery and dentistry, Kapur said.

The Sleep Disorder Clinic recently began a study, headed by Dr. Nathaniel Watson, a sleep specialist and co-director of the Sleep Disorder Clinic, researching the sleep duration and metabolism of identical twins.

The researchers hope to observe whether twins who sleep for different durations of time result in cases of obesity and a pre-diabetic state. Pre-diabetes, also known as impaired glucose tolerance, is when blood glucose levels are high but not high enough to be considered diabetes.

It is estimated that almost 100 million people in the United States have difficulty sleeping one or more nights a week, yet for various reasons problems with sleep persist for a number of American adults.

"It is certainly underreported [by people experiencing symptoms]. They don't see sleeping as a serious problem even when it is. Twenty percent of car accidents that involve major injuries involve sleepiness," Kapur said. "People ignore symptoms. They often are bothered quite a bit by insomnia, but often don't know there is medical help to be obtained."

Kapur also said that seeing a family physician may not always be beneficial because they may not know as much about sleep as a sleep specialist does.

"Other doctors in the medical profession may not be as up to date on knowledge of what the problems are as a sleep specialist," Kapur said.

The Pacific Northwest, as a result of low levels of light in the winter time, is condusive to particular sleep problems for many in the area.

"Not having as much sunlight in the wintertime can cause Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, which can manifest with feelings of being tired during the day," Kapur said. "A more specific sleep disorder can result, called Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS)."

DSPS results in the alertness rhythm becoming delayed.

"If you end up in a situation where you don't have much light, you tend to have more problems with your circadian rhythm. Being a night owl becomes more pronounced," Kapur said.

The Sleep Disorder Clinic has also grown and expanded since its 1999 opening.

"We're meeting the needs of the people who need help for their sleep problems within this area," Kapur said. "We've expanded over time to meet growing needs. We started with two beds and now we're up to eight beds in our center. We're expanding potentially into a 12-14-bed center. With our fellowship, we train one physician to become a sleep specialist each year."

[Reach reporter Garrett Troy at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]