06-19-2024 Primetime - Flipbook - Page 20
20 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, June 19, 2024
Sleep, continued
from page 6
All about UTIs,
continued from page 9
out for all the added sugars. Sports drinks
have electrolytes, actually salt, which
our bodies need, especially when we’re
sweating.
Last on the good list are caffeine-free
teas and coconut water. Even caffeinated
teas are good, but those have strong
diuretic properties. They make you urinate more often. Even so, they count
toward your daily requirement.
Other drinks that help you stay hydrated include Gatorade, Pedialyte and bone
broth. Bouillons are also good, just check
the salt content. Remember, though,
water is always at the top of the list.
…And What Doesn’t
Top of the bad list at The Taste of
Home website is sodas. All of them. “Soft
drinks often contain caffeine, which is a
culprit for dehydration; tons of sugar and
sodium; and it’s bad for your bones and
teeth, too.” It recommends drinking sparkling water if you have a craving. Add a
flavor, too, if you’d like.
Beer, wine and hard liquors follow.
Drinks with more than 10% alcohol dehydrate. Another recommendation: have
one glass of water for every alcoholic
beverage.
You can probably guess the rest:
coffee, lemonade, sweet tea and energy
drinks. Most are dehydrating and have
way too much sugar. I was crushed to
see hot cocoa on the list. It’s my favorite drink in the winter, especially when
there’s whipped cream on top.
With age, it seems, we have to pay
attention to more potential illnesses than
when we were young. Hydration is easy:
drink plenty of water. It actually helps
your body in more ways than listed
above, so it keeps you healthier longer.
And that’s a good thing.
Dental care, continued
from page 16
acid. The acid can cause erosion of tooth
enamel and cavities. Sometimes a diet can
cause the acidity, so, again, we work with
the primary doctor. There are medications
that can help, but it’s better to find a natural
solution.”
Yellowitz concurs that those with multiple physical problems have to be aware of
what is going on with their teeth and mouth.
“Diabetes affects your gums. Periodontal disease (periodontitis), an infection of the gums,
the tissues that hold your teeth in place,
gets worse when diabetes is out of control
because the whole body is connected.
“Hypertension, high blood pressure, is a
very common chronic condition due to your
blood vessels becoming stiffer. Check your
blood pressure before undergoing any dental
work. Since there is slower blood supply to
your teeth, they don’t have the same vitality.
This could also explain why you don’t feel
pain in your teeth.
“One caveat,” says Yellowitz. “For those
who are medically compromised, cognitively
and/or physically impaired, you have to pay
more attention to their oral health. There are
now discussions about people with dementia
having bacteria in their brains. We’re still trying to figure out how dementia is affecting
other parts of the body or vice-versa.”
Fielding says, “To learn more, I listen to
my patients. When they tell me something,
I’ll research it to see what, if anything, can
be done. Older adults are pretty forthcoming
when there is something they don’t understand or need assistance.”
Next time you go to your dentist, ask if
there is anything extra you can do to prevent
future dental problems. There may be something you can add to your routine. If you don’t
currently have a dentist, the American Dental
Association (www.ada.org) and the Academy
of General Dentistry (www.agd.org) have a
search function to help you find a someone
local. You can also check out www.mouthhealthy.org, which has a short article on
“dental concerns for older adults.”
You can also contact the UMSOD’s
Special Care and Geriatrics Clinic, staffed
by third- and fourth-year dental students. It
is open five days a week and has a high student-patient ratio; it is overseen by Yellowitz
and other professors at the school. You can
contact the clinic at 410-706-7039.
As with so much happening in medicine,
there are advances in oral health and its
connection to the different systems in our
bodies happening constantly. No matter your
age, make an appointment with your dentist
today. After all, it’s your body and your health.
rest. It can be a vicious circle and outside
assistance may be necessary to change.
“Another change that can affect our
sleep is when we retire. There is some
data that say we cope with less sleep
as we get older because it’s a little less
important to maintaining our health.”
All that’s fine, but there can be physiological issues that disrupt our sleep,
foremost among them is sleep apnea, “a
common condition in which your breathing stops and restarts many times while
you sleep. This can prevent your body
from getting enough oxygen,” explains
the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute, part of the National Institutes
of Health.
“NHLBI research found that sleep
apnea may raise the risk of high blood
pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and
stroke. Our current research will help
develop new and improved treatments
for sleep apnea to help prevent these
complications.
“Undiagnosed or untreated sleep
apnea prevents you from getting enough
rest, which can cause problems concentrating, remembering things, making
decisions, or controlling your behavior,
as well as dementia in older adults. Risk
factors for sleep apnea include: age,
family history, lifestyle habits (drinking
alcohol and smoking), opioid use, and
obesity,” according to NHLBI.
Atwood says it becomes more prevalent among women after menopause.
“The most effective and common treatment is the CPAP machine, which stands
for ‘continuous positive airway pressure.”
The NHLBI lists two oral appliances,
similar to the mouth guards worn by people who grind their teeth, that can help
limit sleep apnea by keeping the airway
open. These need to be customized for
your mouth, so speak with your dentist.
• Mandibular repositioning mouthpieces are devices that cover the
upper and lower teeth and hold the
lower jaw in a position that prevents
it from sliding backward and blocking the upper airway.
• Tongue-retaining devices are mouthpieces that hold the tongue in a
forward position to prevent it from
blocking the upper airway.
The NHLBI also touts improving your
lifestyle: “regular physical activity, maintaining healthy sleeping habits and a
healthy weight, limiting alcohol and caffeine intake, and quitting smoking.”
If you wake up and still feel tired,
discuss it with your primary care physician. You can also consult an expert like
Atwood. “We have a sleep lab and a staff
of psychologists, experts in sleep disorders, who can help determine the issues
and find solutions. We treat insomnia,
circadian rhythm disorders and more.
What can you do on your own?
Melatonin may help regulate your circadian rhythm. You want to take it two to
three hours before your optimal sleep
time to decrease alertness. It’s released
while you sleep and decreases by morning, allowing you to waken. “There is
some indication that older adults produce less melatonin so it could be useful,” Atwood says. “It also helps those
with circadian rhythm disorder.”
You’ll see promotions for cannabis
gummies. A small study from a couple years ago showed a discrepancy
between the description and dosage on
the label and how much cannabis each
gummy contained, a dangerous combination. If the gummies contain THC, it
will fragment your sleep quality, definitely
not what you want. If it has CBD (cannabidiol), it could help.
Atwood points out that trying to find
the right combination of pills or cannabis,
or lifestyle changes is working too hard,
too “hit and miss,” with unknown outcomes; you are better off getting some
professional help. Fortunately, seeing
a specialist via telemedicine is equally
effective as face-to-face so if you can’t
travel to an expert, you can still speak
with one.
CJ, the person at the start of this
article, first met with her doctor. After a
review of her status and the problems
she faced, she’s now working with a
specialist in sleep disorders.
Sleep accounts for a full third of our
lives, so it makes sense to get the benefits from a restful night’s sleep rather
than the potential harms, and to wake up
refreshed. Start tonight.
