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How to treat common sleep disorders

Treatment typically starts with a sleep study to help diagnose symptoms, and can often be done in your own home. Sponsored by Overlake Medical Center and Clinics.

SEATTLE — It’s easy for some to get a good night’s sleep, but for many others, it can be a nightly challenge. The Sleep Medicine program at Overlake Medical Center provides services and treatments for patients who have already been diagnosed with a sleep disorder and those seeking relief from their sleep symptoms.

“We kind of see the whole gamut of sleep disorders in our clinic,” said Dr. Nicole O'Malley of Overlake Medical Center.

One common sleep disorder is obstructed sleep apnea. With sleep apnea, people experience episodes where they stop or have shallow breathing. Insomnia is also common, and people have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or both. Other conditions affecting sleep include restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy, circadian rhythm disorders and parasomnias.

If you experience difficulty falling or staying asleep, snoring, waking up with morning headaches, night sweats, sleepwalking or falling asleep throughout the day, scheduling an appointment with a sleep-specific provider can help you get answers and relief.

“It can be a whole variety of things, but anything that you feel like might be impacting your sleep quality overnight that’s bleeding into those daytime symptoms, that would be a reason to come see us,” Dr. O’Malley said.

The team at Overlake typically starts with a sleep study to see what’s going on throughout the night. From there, providers will tailor treatment to meet your needs. This can include a CPAP for sleep apnea, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and medication management.

“We try to take the whole comprehensive approach for each patient,” Dr. O’Malley said.

Patients 18 and older can complete their sleep study now from the comfort of home in just one night.

“I think a lot of times people are kind of intimidated to come see us because they think ‘I’m going to have to come sleep in the lab,’ which you might, but most of the time we start with that home study,” Dr. O’Malley said.

If patients do need an in-lab sleep study, a sleep technician is on site to monitor patients. The team can tailor the study based on your symptoms and condition.

 To get more information about Sleep Medicine services and treatments, visit the Overlake website.

Sponsored by Overlake Medical Center and Clinics

Segment Producer Joseph Suttner. Watch New Day Northwest 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day

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