Dr. Elissa Epel

had the need to take a three-hour nap. So well, that's unusual. So we did some of the usual testing for causes of fatigue. We tested her thyroid. It was OK. We looked at her iron levels or sugar levels. They were OK. So I decided to screen her with a sleep study. And it turned out you would not have looked at her and said, oh, yes, she is the poster child for sleep apnea.

She turned out to have one of the most striking positional components to sleep apnea I've ever seen. When she was on her side, her sleep was normal, but when she was on her back, she had respiratory events that count as either a slowing of airflow or a stopping of airflow more than 60 times an hour.

She turned out to have one of the most striking positional components to sleep apnea I've ever seen. When she was on her side, her sleep was normal, but when she was on her back, she had respiratory events that count as either a slowing of airflow or a stopping of airflow more than 60 times an hour.

She turned out to have one of the most striking positional components to sleep apnea I've ever seen. When she was on her side, her sleep was normal, but when she was on her back, she had respiratory events that count as either a slowing of airflow or a stopping of airflow more than 60 times an hour.

Yes, yes.

Yes, yes.

Yes, yes.

That's a lot. No wonder she was exhausted, right? So when you see a positional component like that, I have people who don't want to do a sleep study because they don't want to, I'd never wear that stupid mask. But for her, we said, okay, well, let's start with retraining you to learn to sleep on your side. And she tried that. There's some commercially available positional devices.

That's a lot. No wonder she was exhausted, right? So when you see a positional component like that, I have people who don't want to do a sleep study because they don't want to, I'd never wear that stupid mask. But for her, we said, okay, well, let's start with retraining you to learn to sleep on your side. And she tried that. There's some commercially available positional devices.

That's a lot. No wonder she was exhausted, right? So when you see a positional component like that, I have people who don't want to do a sleep study because they don't want to, I'd never wear that stupid mask. But for her, we said, okay, well, let's start with retraining you to learn to sleep on your side. And she tried that. There's some commercially available positional devices.

There are all kinds of strategies you can do.

There are all kinds of strategies you can do.

There are all kinds of strategies you can do.

Or the fanny pack with the pillow stuffed in it, yes. There's all kinds of strategies you could do. And of course, it's big business, right? You can buy a slumber bump or a bumper belt.

Or the fanny pack with the pillow stuffed in it, yes. There's all kinds of strategies you could do. And of course, it's big business, right? You can buy a slumber bump or a bumper belt.

Or the fanny pack with the pillow stuffed in it, yes. There's all kinds of strategies you could do. And of course, it's big business, right? You can buy a slumber bump or a bumper belt.

Even more sophisticated, there's now a biofeedback device that's a strap around that vibrates when you roll on your back. So it's sort of autogenic nighttime training to get you. So that's what she used, interestingly enough. And it helped a little, but she was still tired.

Even more sophisticated, there's now a biofeedback device that's a strap around that vibrates when you roll on your back. So it's sort of autogenic nighttime training to get you. So that's what she used, interestingly enough. And it helped a little, but she was still tired.

Even more sophisticated, there's now a biofeedback device that's a strap around that vibrates when you roll on your back. So it's sort of autogenic nighttime training to get you. So that's what she used, interestingly enough. And it helped a little, but she was still tired.

So as we're peeling the layers of the onion, she had some digestive symptoms, a lot of bloating, a lot of discomfort, and she had, we had done a full sleep study, she had restless legs and periodic limb movements. She turned out to have a very abnormal breath test for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.