To PJ,
Thanks for the link, and all the recently posted studies and articles!
melhajj wrote:
Hi, i wonder if the continuous use of cellular phones might be the cause of the sleep apnea; since they are claiming that cellular phones do affect the four phase of sleep and other symptoms similar to the ones seeing in sleep apnea patients. We should push for more studies related to cell phones and sleep apnea; it might be the key to this epidemic problem; do you use a cellular phone? i do, and i carry with me the whole day.
Hi melhajj,
That is an interesting question; it's always good to consider environmental issues. Some of the evidence against the theory is:
- credit for the first description of a person with sleep apnea is often given to Charles Dickens, for his description of an overweight sleepy boy in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1837). The phrase Pickwickian was used in the 1950's to describe people who are believed to have had sleep apnea.
- milestone research was conducted in sleep apnea during the 1970s
- sleep apnea has probably been a problem throughout history as the description of people who snore and fall asleep during the day is very common.
So sleep apnea has probably been prevalent before the use of cell phones. It's the diagnosis, treatment and awareness of it that is new.
Still it would be interesting to see further research in how cell phones effect sleep, as you suggested.
Guest MJ