WHAT CAN BE DONE? So, what can we do to help more people get enough sleep? In recent years, we have tried to make the importance of Dr. Lynn Keenan sufficient, good quality sleep more of a priority at the University of California San Francsisco Fresno campus. Many medical residents become very sleep deprived with the long hours and changing shifts, along with balancing the rest of life. We gave all of the residency departments lectures on the effects of sleep deprivation, as well as on sleep disorders. We gave overviews of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, as well as screened for sleep apnea with free sleep testing and counseling. We gave monthly fatigue management tips and put light therapy boxes in their call rooms in the hospital to help improve alertness during the overnight shifts. Our surveys before and after the interventions showed less fatigue affecting patient care, fewer near miss motor vehicle accidents, fewer needle sticks, and better scores on sleepiness ratings. They had an increased understanding of the importance of better sleep and addressed it more often with their patients. Perhaps we can all do our part to raise the awareness of getting enough sleep – to make all of us happier, smarter, and healthier. *Citations available on healthiersleepmag.com
...................................................................... Dr. Lynn Keenan has been practicing sleep medicine for 28 years and is currently a clinical professor of medicine for University of California San Francsisco - Fresno and program director for the sleep medicine fellowship there.
Bedtime Reads Looking to learn even more? Each issue, we highlight books about sleep.
Available on Amazon
Wide Awake and Dreaming: A Memoir of Narcolepsy by Julie Flygare Winner of the San Francisco Book Festival Award for Biography/ Autobiography, Wide Awake and Dreaming is a revealing first-hand account of dreams gone wrong with narcolepsy. It's the brave story of one woman trampling over barriers and finding light in the darkest of circumstances. Julie Flygare was on an ambitious path to success, entering law school at age 22, when narcolepsy destroyed the neurological boundaries between dreaming and reality in her brain. She faced terrifying hallucinations, paralysis, and excruciating sleepiness. Narcolepsy was a wake-up call for Julie. Her illness propelled her onto a journey she never imagined, from lying paralyzed on her apartment floor to dancing euphorically at a nightclub; from the classrooms of Harvard Medical School to the start line of the Boston Marathon.
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