150 Chapter
5
States of Consciousness
PsychWork
SLEEP TECHNOLOGIST
Name:
Brandon Liebig
Position:
Sleep Technologist, Central Sleep
Diagnostics, Northbrook, IL
Education:
BFA,
Studio Art, University of Nebraska
at Omaha; Graduate of Accredited Sleep
Technology Education Program, University of
Massachusetts Memorial Hospital Sleep Center,
Worcester, MA; Certifi ed by the Board of
Registered Polysomnographic Technologists
Although each of us spends the majority of our time sleeping,
sleep—or rather a lack of it—is a state that is problematic for
many people. For those seeking
treatment for sleep disorders,
sleep technologist Brandon Liebig is on the front lines, assisting
in clinical assessments, helping to monitor and test patients,
and participating in the development of treatment procedures.
As Liebig notes, “Patients seen in the sleep lab often have
complicated medical backgrounds and health needs, and some
may have cognitive limitations/disabilities
or coexisting psy-
chological conditions in addition to their sleep symptoms.”
“Sleep technologists must recognize the particular needs of
a patient and adjust their style of providing care to best suit
the patient and promote the best possible outcomes, both for
the patient’s experience in the sleep lab and the data collected
in research studies,” he added.
“Often, patients may fi nd it stressful, unfamiliar, and some-
times uncomfortable to sleep in a lab setting with the
sensors and other equipment
attached to their bodies. Sleep technologists use their knowledge of psychology to pro-
vide the patient with understanding, reassurance, respect, and patience,” said Liebig.
Other sleep problems are less common than insomnia, although they are still
widespread. For instance, some 20 million people suffer from sleep apnea.
Sleep
apnea is a condition in which a person has diffi culty breathing while sleeping. The
result is disturbed,
fi tful sleep, and a signifi cant loss of REM sleep, as the person
is constantly reawakened when the lack of oxygen becomes great enough to trig-
ger a waking response. Some people with apnea wake as many as 500 times dur-
ing the course of a night, although they may not even be aware that they have
wakened. Not surprisingly, such disturbed sleep results in extreme fatigue the next
day. Sleep
apnea also may play a role in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) , a
mysterious killer of seemingly normal infants who die while sleeping (Aloia,
Smith, & Arnedt, 2007; Gami et al., 2005; Tippin, Sparks, & Rizzo, 2009).
Night terrors are sudden awakenings from non-REM sleep that are accompanied
by extreme fear, panic, and strong physiological arousal. Usually occurring in stage
4 sleep, night terrors may be so frightening that a sleeper awakens with a shriek.
Although night terrors initially produce great agitation, victims usually can get
back to sleep fairly quickly. They are far less frequent than nightmares, and, unlike
nightmares, they typically occur during slow-wave, non-REM sleep.
They occur
most frequently in children between the ages of 3 and 8 (Lowe, Humphreys, &
Williams, 2007).
Narcolepsy is uncontrollable sleeping that occurs for short periods while a person
is awake. No matter what the activity—holding a heated conversation, exercising, or
driving—a narcoleptic will suddenly fall asleep. People with narcolepsy go directly
from wakefulness to REM sleep, skipping the other stages. The causes of narcolepsy
are not known, although there
could be a genetic component, because narcolepsy
runs in families (Billiard, 2008; Ervik, Abdelnoor, & Heier, 2006; Mahmood & Black,
2005; Nishino, 2007).
We know relatively little about sleeptalking and sleepwalking, two sleep distur-
bances that are usually harmless. Both occur during stage 4 sleep and are more
common in children than in adults. Sleeptalkers and sleepwalkers usually have a
vague consciousness of the world around them, and a sleepwalker may be able to
walk with agility around obstructions in a crowded room. Unless a sleepwalker wan-
ders
into a dangerous environment, sleepwalking typically poses little risk. And the
common idea that it’s dangerous to wake a sleepwalker? It’s just superstition (Baruss,
2003; Guilleminault et al., 2005; Lee-Chiong, 2006).
Sleepwalking (along with sleeptalking)
are more common in children than
adults, and they both occur during
stage 4 of sleep.
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