Sleep Medicine Group

The Pioneers of a Healthy Night’s Sleep

Sleep Apnea Specialists Serving Portland, OR

Do you Snore? Has CPAP failed you? Your Solution is here. You aren’t alone, approximately 1 in 5 of all Oregonians suffer from some sort of sleeping disorder. You’ve taken the first step, our sleep center is here to help. Call or email to get the conversation started. While every diagnosis and treatment is itself unique, Dr. Joe Zelk DNP, FNP, BC, CBSM, DBSM and his team have helped patients:

Sleep quieter
Sleep more soundly
Wake up less (if at all) during the night
Have more energy during the day
Find a permanent and less intrusive solution than a CPAP machine

We are the only sleep center in the area that has multi-specialty sleep specialists that focus on home sleep testing, dental appliance and auto-adjusting CPAP therapy. The average wait for sleep consultation in the Greater Portland area can be months at other clinics. At Sleep Medicine Group a patient can often be seen within a week. Even if you’ve already tried other solutions to your sleeping disorder. Don’t give up. We’ve literally helped thousands of patients from the Portland Metro area find a cure to their snoring, sleep apnea, or sleep disorder!

Snoring

Snoring affects you when you are awake! Snoring is not only annoying to your partner, but in most cases snoring keeps you from getting into the Deep sleep and REM (Dream) sleep that rehabilitates and refreshes the body. If you snore, quite frankly your body isn’t resting at its full potential. In many cases, this is why you are tired when you wake up, need many cups of coffee to get you going; and if you are exercising or running, keeps your endurance from reaching its full potential.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea, very simply described is when you stop breathing while you are sleeping. It sometimes happens while you are snoring, but not always. Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, and not everyone who has sleep apnea snores. If you or your partner do have symptoms of sleep apnea, it is imperative to find a solution as soon as possible. The American Heart Association has conducted many studies showing sleep apnea having a root in heart disease, heart attacks, stoke, and death. (Didn’t want to scare you here, but as you can see, its super important to get this taken care of). Severe OSA can take ten years off of a person’s life span.

Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS)

Snoring is simply a symptom that some type of resistance is occurring in the upper respiratory system while you are sleeping. The greater the resistance, the greater the breathing effort needed to get past the resistance. UARS can last several minutes at a time. UARS feels like breathing through a coffee stir straw. This is a lot of work and not easy to do when you are awake. Imagine how hard it is to the body when asleep. It’s impossible to self-diagnose, which is why it’s incredibly important to see us for an appointment.

Shiftwork/Travel Related Fatigue

Long work hours, long shifts – including ‘graveyard’ or overnight shifts mess with your body’s circadian rhythms and homeostatic regulation of sleep. With long haul truck drivers, nurses, doctors, and other shift workers, many employers and unions are requiring employees to show proof that your body gets the sleep it needs in order to keep your license. Sleep Medicine Group can assess and if needed diagnose any sleeping disorders to keep you on the job.

Dr. Joseph Zelk - DNP, FNP, BC, CBSM, DBSM

Clinic Director - Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine

Dr. Zelk DNP, FNP, BC, CBSM, DBSM, is double board certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine. He is a nationally known speaker on sleep disorders and snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). He has completed a residency and mini-fellowship training with a focus on Sleep Disorders and Dental Sleep Medicine. He has over 15 years of experience treating patients with oral appliance therapy for snoring and OSA. He has patented oral appliance technology and is creator of Hybrid Positive Airway Pressure (HPAP) therapies to be used on those rare occasions that CPAP is needed.

Sleep Medicine Group has focused on removing barriers to care for snoring and OSA by integrating home sleep monitoring. He and his team have been providing home sleep testing since 2005. He has taught dentists and other providers across the country in oral appliance therapy and medical management for dental sleep medicine providers.

Dr. Zelk DNP, FNP, BC, CBSM, DBSM is a Family Nurse Practitioner and Sleep Specialist that earned his Doctor of Nursing Practice at Oregon Health and Sciences University. He is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine. He holds a board certification in Behavioral Sleep Medicine.

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