New help for sleep problems
By Kate Daly Contributing Writer

Patricia Hughes, a regional lab manager for Sleep HealthCenters, demonstrates how monitoring equipment is attached to "patient" Stan Vogt for a sleep test. PHOTO/KATE DALY

Marlborough - Waking up repeatedly, falling asleep unexpectedly and dozing off after a full night's sleep can all be symptoms of sleep problems. And now, in Marlborough, there is a place that offers help and hope for some real rest.

Sleep HealthCenters and Marlborough Hospital now offer a comprehensive sleep medicine program, including a clinic at the hospital's office building a 150 Union St. and a diagnostic laboratory at Embassy Suites, 123 Boston Post Road West.

Stan Vogt, a Sleep Health- Centers employee, knows just how helpful a sleep study can be. He drives long distances between the company's 13 sleep centers.

"After getting what I thought was a full night's sleep, after a half hour of driving, I'd have to pull over and take a nap," he said.

He went through a sleep study, which requires spending the night in a diagnostic lab, hooked up by wires and sensors that were monitored. As a result, he now sleeps with a continuous positive airway pressure machine (CPAP).

"It was a night and day difference," Vogt said. "Dreams might be the biggest difference. I guess I didn't realize I was missing dreams, but I notice how vivid and crazy my dreams are [now]. You don't realize how much you miss dreams until you have them again."

CPAP is only one remedy for certain sleep problems. Dr. Cynthia Dorsey, a psychologist and director of behavioral sleep medicine for Sleep HealthCenters, addresses the way behavior affects sleep and how changes can improve sleep.

"Behavioral sleep medicine [BSM] involves using non-pharmacological means to help people learn how to improve sleep and cope as effectively as possible with sleep disorders," she said.

For example, people like Vogt who require a CPAP machine often experience discomfort with the facemask that applies the air pressure required to prevent sleep apnea. Using cognitive behavioral techniques, the staff will teach the patient to grow accustomed to the mask slowly and in stages, she explained.

Other facets include sleep hygiene, such as maintaining consistent sleep and wake times and avoiding stimuli in the bedroom, she said.

"It involves changing habits," Dorsey said. "[There are] problematic sleep habits that make insomnia worse.

Sleep center one of 14

The new sleep medicine program at Marlborough Hospital filled a geographic gap in Sleep HealthCenters' program. The company has 13 centers in New England and one in New York.

"We have centers in Framingham and Worcester," Sleep HealthCenters' President and CEO Paul Valentine said.

The location made sense, and, he said, "the [Marlborough] Hospital staff was such a great group to work with."

The sleep lab is the sec- ond the company has in a hotel.

"We looked and looked and couldn't find the appropriate space," Valentine said.

The hotel offers the patients unusual benefits, from use of the pool and fitness center to a complimentary buffet breakfast.

The sleep clinic opened in January to offer services to patients with sleep disorders including insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy and restless leg syndrome. Services include education and follow-up care. The sleep lab, which opened Feb. 8, allows staff to observe and monitor patients as they sleep to help diagnose problems.

The lab suite offers two bedrooms and a "living room" stuffed with computer and other monitoring equipment, along with a couch, chairs and kitchenette.

Valentine said sleep issues affect more than rest. Research now shows connections to poor sleep and diabetes and heart disease, he explained.

"You're supposed to spend one third of your life asleep," he said. "It's pretty important."

For more information about the sleep medicine program, call 877-753-3742 or visit Sleep HealthCenters' website at www.sleephealth.com or Marlborough Hospital's website at www.marlboroughhospital. org.