Claudia Peschiutta
GLENDALE ADVENTIST MEDICAL CENTER -- Nobody wanted to spend the night
with Dean Miguel.
Words like "bear" and "chainsaw" come to mind when the 41-year-old
computer network engineer describes what he sounded like when sleeping.
"My wife was ribbing me every single night," Miguel said. "She asked
me to leave the bedroom."
After years of constant fatigue and a few times falling asleep at the
wheel, Miguel went to Glendale Adventist's Sleep Disorders Center, where
he found out his snoring was caused by a medical condition.
Kathy Cavander, coordinator of the center, said many severe snorers
out there don't realize they have may have a problem, such as sleep
apnea, a condition in which breathing is blocked while sleeping.
That's why the center is holding a contest to find the loudest snorer
in the area.
All the past winners, who were awarded free sleep evaluation packages,
discovered they had sleep apnea, which can be associated with heart
disease and high blood pressure, Cavander said.
Participants are asked to submit an audio- or videotape of themselves
or a partner snoring away. But with the deadline for submissions on
Saturday (it has been already extended from May 31), Cavander said she
had yet to receive any submissions.
"The spouses will call in very enthusiastic," she said. "The person
who is snores is much more reluctant."
"We've made such a big joke out of it for so many years," Cavander
said. "People are embarrassed to talk about it."
To encourage shy snorers to enter the contest, the center is offering
a sleep evaluation package, valued at about $2,000. If needed, Cavander
said the winner may also be awarded a $5,000 machine to assist with
nighttime breathing.
Miguel, who's in need of a new machine, said Thursday he plans to
enter the contest but is waiting for a "really good, loud snore."
SNORE TO SCORE
* WHAT: Glendale Adventist Sleep Disorders Center's Snoring Contest.
* WHEN: Contest entries are due Saturday.
* INFO: To enter, participants must send an audio- or videotape of the
snorer to the Glendale Adventist Medical Center Sleep Disorders Center,
1509 Wilson Terrace, Glendale, 91206.
* CALL: For more information, call 409-8323.
