Chevelle Puts Sleep Apnea on the Music Charts

Sleep disorders had a good year on the music charts in 2009.

First Craig David released the hit song “Insomnia.” Now the rock group Chevelle has given obstructive sleep apnea the lyrical treatment.

Their song “Sleep Apnea” appears on the band’s fifth album, Sci-Fi Crimes. In September the album debuted at number one on the Billboard Alternative Albums and Hard Rock Albums charts.

It also includes the hit song, “Jars.” The song is number 11 on the Billboard Rock Songs chart and one of the Top 10 Rock Songs of 2009 according to AOL Radio listeners.

The lyrics of “Sleep Apnea” weren’t meant to be a literal description of OSA.

Sleep Apnea - Chevelle

“'Sleep Apnea' is really talking about our lack of sleep we get out on the road, written pretty tongue and cheek,” lead singer Peter Loeffler told StarPulse. “It's about the weariness and where you can find yourself at. It's not constant but at certain times you're exhausted.”

But the song may bring some much-needed attention to a serious sleep disorder. In particular the line, “So I gasp and hold my breath,” may strike a familiar chord with listeners who have been unaware that they suffer from OSA:

Try to read off a letter that's
Falling apart
The sun and the moon
I count sheep
Escape like an animal I'm ready for
My sleepless stroll

I’ve felt these shifting hours
Mistakenly used up
So I gasp and hold my breath
These needs have changed so deep
To face you all and say
I've been awake for years

I gasp and hold my breath
These needs have changed so deep
To face you all and say
I've been awake for...

Ever
Ever
Ever
Ever

Do you ever wake up gasping for breath? Does your bed partner hold his or her breath during sleep? It may be sleep apnea.

STOP and find out if you are at risk for sleep apnea. You also can answer these questions on SleepEducation.com to learn more about your risk. Get help for sleep apnea at an AASM-accredited sleep center near you.

So what’s next in 2010? Maybe a song called “Narcolepsy” will be released. Wait, it’s already been done by Ben Folds Five and Third Eye Blind.

Narcolepsy - Ben Folds Five

Narclolepsy - Third Eye Blind

Image courtesy of Chevelle

Craig David: “Insomnia” from a Broken Heart

British R&B star Craig David is in love, and he can’t sleep – at least in his song lyrics. His single “Insomnia” spent nine weeks on the Billboard Pop 100 Airplay chart, peaking at #62.

In 2000 the 19-year-old David became the youngest British male solo artist to have a number-one single. But he’s still trying to build momentum for his music in the U.S.

“Insomnia” describes what happens to his heart and to his sleep when the woman he loves walks out on him:

Because I can't sleep til you're next to me
No I can't live without you no more
Oh I stay up til you're next to me
Til this house feels like it did before
Feels like insomnia ah ah, Feels like insomnia ah ah
Feels like insomnia ah ah, Feels like insomnia ah ah

Insomnia - Craig David

A recent study indicates that David isn't the only person to experience this kind of insomnia.

The study involved 360 women; it examined the link between relationship status and sleep. Results show that women who lost a partner during the eight-year follow-up period had the worst sleep.

Get insight about insomnia in this Q&A with a sleep specialist on SleepEducation.com.

Talking in Your Sleep

The Romantics climbed the Billboard charts in 1984 with the hit pop song, "Talking in Your Sleep." The lyrics feature the memorable chorus, "I hear the secrets that you keep, when you’re talking in your sleep."

Talking In Your Sleep (Album V...

Each night the song comes to life for many people who suffer from sleep talking. The AASM estimates that about five percent of adults are sleep talkers. About half of young children talk in their sleep.

Sleep talking is a "borderline" sleep disorder. It straddles the line between normal and abnormal sleep. Often it is simply a normal byproduct of the brain’s activity during sleep.

Sleep talking can provide a lot of amusement for a sleep talker’s bedpartner or roommate. Strange conversations. Incoherent mumbling. Funny outbursts. Think of a sleeping Dory muttering, "The sea monkeys have my money," in the movie Finding Nemo.

But sometimes sleep talking isn’t so amusing. The discussion forum at www.sleepeducation.com is filled with complaints about it.

The frequency of sleep talking can be annoying. The timing of it can disrupt a bedpartner’s sleep. The language can be offensive or embarrassing. The content of the conversation can even cause problems in a relationship.

Sleep talking also can occur along with a "parasomnia." This is a sleep disorder that involves undesired behaviors during sleep. Examples include sleepwalking and REM sleep behavior disorder.

Sleep talking rarely requires treatment. But you should contact a sleep center for help if episodes are extreme. You also should seek help if the sleep talking occurs together with unusual actions.

So what about you? Have you been told that you’re a sleep talker?