OGDENSBURG -- Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center’s sleep lab is encouraging better sleeping patterns as part of “better sleep month.”

As with diet and exercise, sleep is crucial to physical, emotional and mental health, according to the medical center.

Many experts believe that between 7.5 and 8.5 hours of sleep a night is optimal. Six hours of deep, refreshing sleep is more beneficial than eight hours of interrupted sleep.

According to the Better Sleep Council, inadequate sleep can lead to an increase in blood pressure and stress hormone production.

The consequences of poor sleep include reduced concentration, mood swings, irritability, stress and a weakened immune system.

In severe cases, poor sleep may be linked to serious problems like narcolepsy, insomnia, restless leg syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea.

A sleep study can provide your doctor with vital information about how you sleep and breathe. This information will help determine diagnosis and treatment for sleep related disorders.

Claxton-Hepburn’s sleep lab observes and monitors patients while they sleep. During the six hour test, many bodily functions are monitored, including nasal and oral airflow, oxygen levels, heart rate, brain waves and limb movement.

The completed study is reviewed and then forwarded to the patient’s healthcare provider, who will prescribe any indicated treatment.