Sleep disorders

[Lon More]

I went to a retirement bash last night for an old colleague.
Apart from it being nice to catch up with a lot of people (and noting how old some of my ex-trainees are looking :=) it was interesting to hear how many of them suffered from sleep disorders, specifically sleep apnea.
I wonder how much of this has been caused by the, fortunately now disappeared, M/N on the same day? I know towards the end I was never really recovering from it on my days off.

Are there other units where this is a problem?

[fireflybob]

That's an interesting observation.

My brother was diagnosed with sleep apnea - he's much improved now following treatment etc (btw he was not in ATC).

I believe one of the biggest causes of sleep apnea is being overweight - did your colleagues appear to be (ahem!) "well rounded"?

[Lon More]

I believe one of the biggest causes of sleep apnea is being overweight - did your colleagues appear to be (ahem!) "well rounded"?

Most of those I spoke to, self included, are indeed "well rounded" but I think a lot of it is stress related and also to the disruptive nature of shift working. In my own case, the apnea stopped within a month of finishing my career.

[eastern wiseguy]

Sleep apnoea...or even the SUGGESTION of sleep apnoea will result in the IMMEDIATE suspension of a UK ATCO medical(to say nothing of your driving licence)....I know...I was thought to have it(I didn't). It took almost six months to get the tests.

[LoserGill]

I believe one of the biggest causes of sleep apnea is being overweight

Snoring and heartburn as well, when I was 50lbs overweight about 15 years ago, all of these little ailments kept me company faithfully as a dog.
I lost all that excess weight and only snore when I am extremely tired and heartburn pops up when I eat donuts.

[RMC]

Not a big fan of the "Jet Blast" forum generally...but there is some interesting stuff on this (esp a BBC series) in the last couple of pages.

http://www.pprune.org/jet-blast/497413-best-over-counter-sleeping-aid-5.html

[Lon More]

THanks RMC. I'd missed that topic, and the programme .

[Nimmer]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but it is sort of in the same area. How many ATCO's are suffering from stomach problems such as IBS, wheat allergies, milk allergies. All which seem to be have been diagnosed late in life?

Any other ATCO medical problems??

[Vercingetorix]

Nope, sleep like a baby, i.e wake up every two hours and cry!
Seriously, no problems to report after 37 years of night shifts.
Have to say I don't miss the sleep day after the 2nd night shift and wandering around like a Zombie.
No medical problems that I know of?

Cheers

:ooh:

[anotherthing]

Lining up another excuse to shirk the Ops room eh Nimmer? :}

[Nimmer]

No mate I am all sorted. Fully diagnosed and on a special diet!!!!