IN
SEARCH
OF A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP
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"To
sleep?
perchance to dream!
Ay, there's the rub:"
William Shakespeare
— Hamlet, III:1(1601) |
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by Bill Greenberg
It's entirely possible that Shakespeare wrote these words while fighting
a bout of insomnia. But even if they were written during the day it's
obvious that, more than 400 years ago, the Bard understood the importance
of getting a good night's sleep.
According to surveys conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, 60
percent of adults have sleep problems a few nights a week or more, with
more than 40 percent reporting daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere
with their daily activities. In October 2000, Quest looked at some of
the reasons why people affected by neuromuscular diseases often experience
trouble sleeping (see "Better
Nights for Better Days"), including breathing abnormalities,
stress, depression and daily habits.
For people with neuromuscular diseases, the diminished mobility that
comes as a result of muscle wasting can affect sleep. Even the most
comfortable resting position can cause soreness after a while. And while
most people can (and do) change positions frequently during the night
without even waking up, many people with neuromuscular diseases can
only do so with great difficulty — if at all.
What to Do?
If you or someone in your family is affected by a neuromuscular disease
and is having trouble sleeping, contact your doctor (or your local MDA
clinic) as soon as possible. Lack of sleep causes much more than a grumpy
disposition; it's a potentially serious medical problem.
Today we have many more tools to combat this problem than were available
in Shakespeare's day. Working closely with your doctor and with a licensed
physical therapist, you can find a variety of solutions.
Support Designed for Your Body
It's important that you seek professional advice on how to achieve
the optimum degree of support for your body, in order to be able to
get the best sleep possible.
Everyone is different, and sleep solutions will vary. For some, the
solution could be as simple as obtaining an extra pillow or two to provide
additional support. Others may need to investigate specially designed
beds.
A Medical Necessity
Since sleep problems can be considered a medical issue, your doctor
can write a prescription for a bed, if that's what he believes is needed
to help you get full, restorative sleep. To get coverage by Medicare,
Medicaid and some forms of private insurance, the medical necessity
has to be carefully documented, and you may have to appeal some rejections
of coverage.
The staff at your local MDA clinic may be able to help you explain
to your insurance company why sleep support is an important part of
treating your neuromuscular disease.
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| Sleep Safe Beds from English
Ave Industries offer comfort, safety and rails that could be used
in helping a person turn. |
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Mattresses and Mattress Covers
For someone affected by a neuromuscular disease, remaining in one position
can make sleeping through the night difficult — not just for the
person affected, but for a caregiver as well.
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| The Single AbleRise Bed Rail
from Ableware also features a handy pocket to store reading materials. |
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That's where the Völkner Turning System comes in. This
innovative powered mattress overlay will automatically turn the patient
every 4 to 6 minutes during the night.
Available from James Consolidated and starting at $3,495 for
adults, this unit consists of a double row of air chambers, side by
side, divided in the center to provide pressure relief along the central
axis of the body. Two air hoses connect the air chambers to a control
unit containing microprocessors and an air pump. Each side is alternately
inflated and deflated, turning the sleeper gently from side to side
up to 30 degrees.
Another problem faced by those with limited mobility is the dreaded
decubiti — bed sores. But Rand-Scot has an easy answer
for this painfully uncomfortable problem, offering a line of seat cushions
and mattress overlays called, fittingly enough, Bye-Bye Decubiti
(BBD).
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| The BBD Mattress Overlay, from
Rand-Scot, can be augmented with additional cushions for extra support. |
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The BBD Mattress Overlay features five soft rubber bladders
that can be individually inflated to the pressures required by different
areas of the body.
The overlay fits standard hospital beds and twin beds, and measures
38 inches wide and 80 inches long. The covering is made of synthetic
"sheepskin-like" pile on the top and a durable nylon-reinforced
bottom. A complete kit, which also contains an air pump and patch kit,
starts at $1,290.
Another possible solution comes from Supracor, in the form of
the Stimulite Mattress Overlay.
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| You can customize your Stimulite
Mattress Overlay, from Supracor, by adding extra ventilated honeycomb
sheets where you need them the most. |
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Weighing only 12 pounds and measuring 3 inches thick, the lightweight
36-by-80-inch Stimulite Mattress Overlay, which fits a standard hospital
bed, is made from an antifungal, antibacterial and odor-resistant honeycomb
biomaterial. An incontinence pad can be placed beneath the overlay,
enabling fluid to drain while keeping the skin dry.
A ventilated honeycomb sheet ($77 to $100 each) works in conjunction
with the overlay to complete the Stimulite ventilation system. The whole
thing can be washed in a commercial washer and dryer. The complete mattress
overlay and cover costs $4,650, and can be augmented with extra cushions
at $615 each.
The Roho Group offers three mattress overlay options, ranging
in price from $295 to $5,000, that use Roho's air flotation technology.
Adjustable air cells allow the overlay to be custom-tailored to the
contours of your body. Complete systems range in weight from 6 to 32
pounds, and come with hand inflation pump, repair kit and simple operating
instructions.
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| One customer is so pleased
with the pressure relief offered by his Tempur-Pedic bed, he plans
to ask the company to make a cushion for his new wheelchair. |
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From Sweden comes the Tempur-Pedic Collection — a variety
of pressure-relieving products, all featuring a material made up of
billions of high-density memory cells. These temperature-sensitive cells
are spherical with windows, allowing them to shift position and reorganize
to conform to your body contours for maximum support and comfort.
In addition to mattresses and mattress overlays priced from $530 to
$3,000, Tempur-Pedic offers everything from individual pillows to fully
self-contained, adjustable sleeping systems.
Beds and Accessories
This product may not help you sleep easier, but the Freedom Grip
501 from Mobility Transfer Systems does offer the safest
and easiest way to get out of bed in the morning. Excellent for people
concerned about falling, this economy bed handle will fit any size or
style of home bed. The handle snaps into a receiving tube mounted to
a bed board (included) that slides between the mattress and box spring
— no tools required. Prices start at $59.95.
Transfer Master Products offers a full line of adjustable
beds and Hi-Low beds for ease of transfer. The company also
offers a wide range of bed options including big-button or joystick
controls, head and foot boards, and dual massage. The Original Transfer
Master Adjustable Bed can lower to a point at which the top of the
mattress is 15 inches from the floor, thus facilitating unaided transfer
to and from a wheelchair; the bed is available in twin, full and queen
sizes.
Transfer Master also offers the option of creating a Dual King bed, which makes it possible for a couple to accommodate the needs of
one partner's disability. Two twin beds side by side, each with independent
controls, combine to create a Dual King measuring 78 by 80 inches.
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| Neuropedic's Electric Adjustable
Bed keeps your spouse/caregiver close at hand. |
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Neuropedic makes support surfaces, mattresses, pillows and electric
beds. The latter category includes the Hi-Lo Rehabilitation Bed,
which comes with a Neuropedic multidensity mattress, easy-touch controls,
anti-skid floor-locking device, wood grain headboard and footboard.
It features two safety rails, and more can be added.
Neuropedic's Electric Adjustable Bed offers an adjustable head
and foot, and has a gentle 3-speed vibration system that massages muscles
and enhances circulation. Neuropedic products are available through
a nationwide network of dealers. Call (800) 327-6759 for the nearest
dealer and prices.
If the thought of falling out of bed in the middle of the night is
keeping you from falling asleep, check out the Sleep Safe from English Ave Industries. Constructed of solid maple or red oak
and featuring full or partial adaptive side safety rails, the Sleep
Safe is both attractive and effective — all for a starting price
of $2,050.
Designed to eliminate the gaps between the headboard and the mattress,
as well as those between the mattress and the side rails, the Sleep
Safe also incorporates locking safety rails and head and foot boards
that extend below the mattress to prevent entrapment.
Finally, from Hertz Supply comes another home health care bed
that looks less like a "hospital" bed than like a piece of
fine furniture — the Völker Nursing Bed.
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| The Völker nursing bed from
Hertz Supply is so adjustable, it helps you get up in the morning. |
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As part of its continuing effort to offer the latest in bed innovation,
Völker is set to introduce a new lying surface that will increase
personal comfort by distributing pressure. In addition, Völker
offers integrated lighting, hidden casters and side rails, reclining
chair position, and electric braking of all wheels at the same time.
Völker beds are priced between $3,500 and $4,500, and come in a
variety of styles and colors.
Shakespeare's Syndrome?
"...the innocent sleep, Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleeve
of care, The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath, Balm of hurt
minds, great nature's second course, Chief nourisher in life's feast..."
William Shakespeare
— Macbeth, II:2 (1605)
Four years and five plays later, we find Shakespeare still searching
for a decent night's sleep.
Shakespeare wrote 13 comedies, 13 historical plays, six tragedies,
four tragicomedies and 154 sonnets before he died on his birthday in
1616 at the age of 52. Just imagine what he could have written if he'd
had some of these products available to help him get to sleep at night.
So don't let your "Midsummer Night's Dream" turn into a nightmare
of fitful, restless sleep.
With all the strategies and products available today, you and the health
care professionals at your MDA clinic should be able to develop the
program that best suits your unique needs, backed by products that will
have you sleeping like a baby in no time.
Pleasant dreams...
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American
Academy of Sleep Medicine
