Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 28, 1990                   TAG: 9003280458
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

MORE AMERICANS TURN TO SLEEP DOCTORS FOR THEIR ZS

Today's fast-paced lifestyle and shift work are often the causes for sleep problems, psychologists say.

According to research statistics, two out of every five people in the United States suffer from some kind of sleep problem. The problems can range from sleep apnea, a sometimes fatal condition that causes a person to stop breathing during sleep, to a milder habit of teeth grinding.

Of the 100 million sleep sufferers, 30 million are insomniacs, said Greg Mader, a spokesman for the American Sleep Disorders Association based in Rochester, Minn.

Behavior modification appears to be the preferred treatment in many of the sleep centers that have emerged to help America get to sleep.

In Richmond, Dr. Charles Morin heads the Sleep Disorders Center at the Medical College of Virginia.

He said people who don't keep the same sleep routine, tend to develop sleep problems. Those on shift work are even more prone to problems because their routines are constantly being disrupted.

Morin suggested keeping the same schedule for at least three weeks and switching schedules in a clockwise fashion. In other words, if you start on days, go to evenings and then to nights - not the reverse.

"When you work it the reverse, it goes against Mother Nature," he said.

Morin said some people cope with insomnia at night by sleeping late in the morning or taking frequent naps during the day. However, he advises against both of those methods.

"Although they may be helpful in the short-term, in the long run they perpetuate your sleep problems," he said.

The timing of a nap also plays an important role. For people who work a regular day shift, naps should not be taken after 3 p.m. and should not last longer than one hour, he advised.

"In the morning, it's a continuation of the night's sleep. But in the afternoon, sleep is very deep. You end up borrowing sleep from the next night," he said. "And you'll have to pay it back later on."

Insomnia only becomes a problem when it lasts longer than two or three weeks after a stressful event. If left untreated, the consequences are dangerous.

"If you leave a sleep problem untreated, it will often lead to depression," he said. "It's more psychological than physical. We don't know of anyone who died of insomnia.

"One of the most common things I see is people hooked on sleeping pills. They have been designed for short-term use. But about half of the people I see here in the clinic are taking some kind of sleep medication."

He offered the following tips for getting adequate rest:

Maintain a regular waking time.

Don't go to bed too early.

Get out of bed and leave the bedroom if you cannot fall asleep within 10 to 15 minutes. He said the bedroom should be associated with sleeping, not a place to mull over your problems and plan your schedule for the next day.

The ASDA's Mader said 141 sleep centers currently are accredited by his organization. He estimates there are about 900 clinics nationwide - from the Henry Ford Center in Detroit, which is accredited, to the tiny shopping-mall office clinics, which usually aren't.

In Virginia, the first sleep center to gain accreditation was in Hampton Roads at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in 1986. A year later, the Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley joined the list and Richmond's MCV followed in 1988.