Experts to solve puzzles: Li Taoping, director of the Sleep Medicine Center of Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University

　　Column Planning/Guangzhou Daily All Media Reporters Wen Junhua and Cao Teng

　　I fell asleep within five minutes of falling into bed every day, snoring loudly, and the person beside the pillow was often "envy": How did this person sleep so well?

However, this quick way to fall asleep may not actually mean "sleep well".

　　Professor Li Taoping, director of the Sleep Medicine Center of Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, said that among those who fall asleep quickly, except for adolescents and those who are really overworked due to work fatigue, most of the people who fall asleep within five minutes are actually sleep apnea syndrome ( SAS) patients.

In the sleep "snoring" behavior, about 90% of the snorers are SAS people, and the rest are simple snorers.

People should pay attention to sleep breathing monitoring, and people at high risk of sleep disorders should include it in the physical examination program.

　　According to the newly released "2022 Chinese National Healthy Sleep White Paper", due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, people are spending more time at home, and the time to fall asleep is delayed. The search volume for sleep problems has increased by 43%, and many people have tried sleep products, such as darkening. Su, etc., Li Taoping reminded that young people should not use melatonin for a long time to help sleep, which will affect the normal secretion of their pituitary gland.

　　Text, Photos/Guangzhou Daily All-Media Reporter Liang Chaoyi Correspondents Ling Weiming and Feng Yuan

　　Science: Falling asleep quickly doesn't mean sleeping well

　　Sleep problems are not simply insomnia problems. Inability to fall asleep, light sleep, and sleepiness after waking up are all manifestations of sleep problems.

Among people with sleep disorders, the behaviors after nightfall are very diverse: sleepwalking, falling out of bed at night, beating people in sleep, cursing, etc. One of the sleep problems is rarely paid attention to, that is, falling asleep quickly.

　　Falling asleep quickly means that you "go to bed and fall asleep" within five minutes. In life, I often see people who fall asleep in seconds, and people around them often marvel: This person sleeps so well, I am very envious.

In fact, falling asleep quickly doesn't mean sleeping well.

　　Professor Li Taoping introduced that most of the people who fall asleep quickly within five minutes, except for the group of teenagers and children and those who are really tired because of their daily commuting work, are patients with sleep apnea syndrome (SAS).

From lying in bed to falling asleep, if it is shorter than 5 minutes, the sleep latency is too short, indicating that it is in a state of drowsiness and lethargy, which is one of the common manifestations of sleep apnea syndrome (SAS).

It has been clinically confirmed that "falling back to sleep" is likely to be a false impression that habitual snorers and patients with severe sleep apnea feel that they are sleeping well.

　　Experts added that about 90% of the snorers are SAS people, and the rest are simple snorers.

Therefore, for people who fall asleep quickly and snoring, they should pay attention to their sleep quality, instead of thinking that sleeping fast and sleeping enough time means good sleep.

　　Reminder: Poor sleep can easily lead to other diseases

　　"Studies have found that people with a history of sleep apnea syndrome for 5-6 years will develop cardiovascular diseases and metabolic diseases." Li Taoping introduced that SAS is very common in the population, with an incidence rate of about 20%, while in 40% In men over the age of 50, the prevalence is around 50%, and in postmenopausal women, the prevalence is around 50%.

　　Some patients with sleep-disordered breathing show symptoms similar to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, such as chest tightness, dizziness, and sometimes a feeling of "suffocation". They always feel that they have heart disease or cerebrovascular disease, but the early cardiovascular examination is normal, but If not diagnosed and treated for a long time, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications often occur eventually.

　　"A young man in his 20s suddenly developed high blood pressure. When he came to do sleep monitoring, he found that he had sleep apnea at night." Li Taoping introduced that sudden high blood pressure in young people is becoming more and more common nowadays, and some people think that It was caused by his own work and fatigue. The young man had the habit of snoring at night. He was diagnosed as a patient with sleep breathing syndrome by sleep monitoring and was given non-invasive continuous positive pressure ventilation. The "culprit" was solved, and the blood pressure returned to normal.

　　Li Taoping believes that the field of sleep medicine has been paid too little attention in the past, but it is actually a key step in the prevention and control of various chronic diseases. What happened? If there is a condition, timely adjustment can avoid the risk of other diseases for a long time.”

　　According to Li Taoping, the "Guidelines for the Primary Prevention of Cerebrovascular Diseases in China 2015" clearly pointed out that high-risk groups with sleep-disordered breathing should be screened, and polysomnography may be performed when conditions permit.

Experts remind that if the following conditions exist: snoring, obesity, mandibular retraction, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, diabetes, daytime sleepiness, increased nocturia, etc., sleep breathing monitoring should be carried out to investigate sleep apnea syndrome, solve the problem in time, and do a good job A critical first step in disease prevention and control.

　　Secret: What are you monitoring when you go to the hospital for a night's sleep?

　　Sleep breathing monitoring, what is it?

According to people's understanding in the popular sense, it is actually to go to the sleep medicine center of the hospital to sleep.

Li Taoping introduced that when the patient is sleeping, medical staff will use polysomnography to connect electrode lines in multiple places on the head and body of the monitored person to monitor sleep.

After dawn, the monitoring equipment will record all behaviors during sleep, providing data support for doctors to analyze the cause and treatment.

　　These data can be called the body map of the human body at night - including EEG, mandibular EMG, EMG, mouth and nose airflow, chest and abdomen movement, finger oxygen saturation, ECG, lower limb EMG, snoring, body position and other data, real-time Physiological parameters and motor behavior of the body after nighttime sleep were recorded.

　　In sleep monitoring, many things can be found.

According to reports, the normal arterial blood oxygen in the human body is above 95%, and if it is too low, it belongs to respiratory failure, and various accidents will occur. In the sleep medicine center where Li Taoping is located, the lowest arterial blood oxygen level during sleep has been monitored. If it falls below 30%, "as long as it falls below 60%, the system will alarm, and we will wake up or take measures."

Without the detection of machines, many people do not know that their bodies are in a state of alarm during sleep.

　　In addition to going to the hospital for sleep respiration monitoring, the sleep screening device can now be brought home to sleep for testing. By monitoring nasal airflow, blood oxygen saturation, and pulse rate indicators, and generating a diagnosis report based on this, it provides information for people with risk factors. A non-invasive and portable method for sleep breathing screening.

　　Suggestion: do not advocate the use of melatonin to help young people sleep

　　"School masters all fall asleep." Li Taoping said that good sleep is very important for the body to recover.

For adults, more than 7 hours of sleep should be recommended, young children and elementary school students should have 12 hours, and middle and high school students should have 8-10 hours of sleep. "The three hours before dawn are for brain recovery and memory repair. During the core period, if you don’t sleep well, your memory and agility will decrease.”

　　According to the newly released "2022 Chinese National Healthy Sleep White Paper", due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, people have spent more time at home in the past year, but the overall time to fall asleep is delayed by 2 to 3 hours.

Li Taoping said that the delay in falling asleep is caused by poor sleep hygiene habits. For example, more time at home makes people more accustomed to dealing with electronic products, and the blue light of mobile phones is like a "little sun", which will affect the adjustment of the human body into sleep mode. , it is recommended to stop playing mobile phones two hours before going to bed, you can adjust your mood by reading paper books, so that your brain is in a relaxed state ready to fall asleep.

　　Regarding the behavior of some young people who are keen to buy melatonin to help sleep, experts remind that this method is not recommended to help sleep. "Young people will not reduce the secretion of melatonin from the pituitary after falling asleep. It doesn't matter if you use it once or twice. If melatonin is used for a long time, it will cause dependence on health products and inhibit the normal function of melatonin secretion of the pituitary gland.”

　　Experts said that for middle-aged and elderly people after the age of 55, due to the degeneration of the body, the pituitary gland shrinks and the supply of melatonin decreases, so some people need additional supplements, but the secretion of the pituitary gland in young people is normal, and the abuse of melatonin is not recommended. Disturb the balance of the system itself.