Drs. Kenneth Moss, Meeta Singh and David Hudgel, of Henry Ford
Hospital’s Sleep Disorders and Research Center, combine the science of
sleep with the art of healing to ease patients off medication and back
into healthy sleep patterns.
Longer days at work, worries about the economy, and diminished personal time
that we try to extend by staying up later, means many people are failing to get
the sleep they need to be healthy.
And, according to a just-published Institute of Medicine report, more than 70
million Americans of all ages are costing the nation billions due to a host of
problems caused by chronic sleep difficulties.
Despite that, even patients in major cities don’t know where to turn or can’t
always find the sleep experts they need.
Now, in addition to the help offered through Henry Ford Health System’s
downtown sleep clinic, insomnia sufferers everywhere can get the help they need
through an innovative new program. The behavioral treatment program, offered
regularly in a small group setting, joins cognitive behavioral therapy with the
expertise of sleep clinicians to help people learn to sleep better.
David Hudgel, M.D., head of Sleep Medicine for the Sleep Disorders and
Research Center, and his colleagues, Kenneth Moss, M.D., and Meeta Singh, M.D.,
have recently expanded their clinical program from Henry Ford Hospital to Henry
Ford Health System medical centers in West Bloomfield and Sterling Heights.
“We have a steady stream of patients ranging in age from the early 20s on
into the 80s,” says Dr. Hudgel. “It’s a fact. Most adult Americans are
sleep-deprived. Between the ages of 25 and 65, they have families, social
obligations and work long hours. They feel like they have to do everything, and
there’s a notion out there that sleep is a luxury or that sleeping less is a
virtue.“
“However, in the last five years, we’ve been learning more from the
epidemiological studies which indicate that those who sleep less than 6-7 hours
or more than 9 hours have excess mortality and morbidity. It looks like
the optimal amount of sleep for good health is 8-8.5 hours for every 24-hour
period,” notes Dr. Singh.
“It’s a paradox,” acknowledges Dr. Moss, a psychiatrist who runs the
cognitive behavioral group treatment programs. “Half the people don’t think they
need as much sleep as they do while the other half, the people with insomnia,
are trying to get as much as they can.”
“When you can’t get sleep, everything you do is affected,” says Dr. Moss’s
patient, Lynn Hardaway, a 46-year-old Redford resident and investigator for a
state agency. “I was forgetting things, snapping at people and then making a
terrible impression by practically falling asleep during the interviews I
conduct for my job. I first began having sleep problems after a surgery.
However, my problem was never about going to sleep. It was about staying asleep.
I’d go to bed and wake up in the middle of the night but couldn’t get back to
sleep. At one point, I was only sleeping about three hours a night. My family
doctor prescribed some medication, but soon I needed stronger and stronger
medicine. I had problems for about a year and a half until one sleepless night
when I surfed the web and found out about Henry Ford’s sleep center from its
website.”
Soon, after a consultation with Dr. Hudgel and his team, a new medication
prescription, and a visit or two to the Sleep Center’s behavioral treatment
program, she was back on track again. She found that she had been doing
everything wrong to get back to sleep. She awoke, turned on bright lights,
watched TV and actively moved around her house, all no-no’s for a successful
return to the land of Nod.
“We often talk about good sleep hygiene,” notes Dr.
Singh. “The room should be dark. The TV or computer should be off. If you have a
lighted alarm clock, you can turn it to face the other way. If you become fully
awake, do something relaxing in low light until you can return to sleep. It
sounds simple. But people don’t realize what an impact such choices may have.”
Clayton and Rebecca Jerris of West Bloomfield never imagined that the
anxiety and sleeplessness they took for granted due to years of sleep
difficulties could have a dream-filled solution. After participating in
innovative behavioral therapy programs offered by Henry Ford’s sleep
experts, they say they are now taking less medication, feeling healthier
and sleeping better than ever.
Unlike Lynn’s recent problems, Rebecca, 60, and Clayton Jerris, 64, of
West Bloomfield had lived their whole lives with sleep difficulties. Both still
require medication to help them sleep but are now sleeping better than they have
in years after a visit to the Sleep Center’s experts.
“It started in my 20s, when I had three children,” says Rebecca, a retired
West Bloomfield teacher. “I was never great at going to sleep. I’d only sleep
two or three hours a night. I have high energy and play tennis, golf, lift
weights, walk, have a busy social life and am my mom’s caregiver. But I was
miserable because I couldn’t go to sleep. Now I’m on a third of the medicine I
used to take. I can go to bed at 11 p.m. and get up at 5 a.m. It’s
wonderful.”
Clayton, who has restless leg syndrome, says the medication and guidance
offered by Henry Ford sleep experts left him pleased and relieved.
“Our goal is to get patients off medication or at least
simplify what they need so they are sleeping better. I think people need
to know that sleep problems are treatable and that there are treatments
out there other than sleep medicine.”
Kenneth Moss, M.D.
“It was awful watching what
my wife had gone through. We had both become progressively worse over time,” he
says. “Our doctor, Dr. Moss, gave us the confidence that he could fix our
problems. Now I just take medicine when I feel the symptoms coming on and I can
sleep normally again.”
Those who suffer from other limb movement disorders or a sleep condition
known as narcolepsy, have also found help through the Henry Ford sleep
center.
Due to the range of conditions people may have, these experts agree it is
critical to take a detailed and thorough medical history and that patients have
reasonable expectations for success.
“For those with chronic problems, we offer behavioral therapy programs
because management of sleep problems is not a quick fix,” says Dr. Moss. “Like
the Jerrises, most people have had the problem for years before they consult a
sleep specialist. So we know that behavioral modification of habits that are so
firmly ingrained takes time.”
“However, our goal is to get patients off medication or at least simplify
what they need so they are sleeping better,” says Dr. Moss. “I think people need
to know that sleep problems are treatable and that there are treatments out
there other than sleep medicine. A lot of people don’t want to be on medication.
Behavioral treatment programs like ours can often help diminish or eliminate the
need for sleep medication.”
To arrange a consultation with a sleep expert and get help for your sleep
problems, contact the Sleep Disorders & Research Center at (313)
916-4417.
