Wunderlich

Crude hits an all time high and the price of gas is rising faster than the fumes escaping from my open gas cap. Editors rush to publish gas saving tips, "check the tire pressure, tune-up the car, take the junk out of the trunk." And they go on, you've heard the tune.

There is a contrarian view. Over inflate the tires, put extra stuff in the trunk (helmet, tools, driving gloves), check the suspension and the brakes, and pray the nut holding the steering wheel doesn't lose it going into the turns.

Soon you could be hitting the track with a full tank of over-priced premium. It's flat out pedal to the metal on that next acceleration run. Just thinking about it makes your heart race. The arm twitches as if the stick shift for a dogleg five speed is inches away from your office chair.

No doubt some automobile owners are having more fun than others. How so? Each year auto clubs sponsor driving events on numerous racetracks throughout the country. Within the last year members of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America ran full-throttle at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) and at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, not to mention the dozens upon dozens of autocross events held throughout the country.

More than likely, there are several such events in your area. Greg Calabro is one organizer and he said, "Last year I organized the Mid-Atlantic Defensive Driving School and Mini-Autocross sponsored by the New Jersey Section. We had many newcomers to the event and you should have seen the grins, ear to ear."

Time trials, autocross, and the acceleration run. Yes, another sport and another vocabulary to master. Here's some of the lingo and a few things to keep in mind if you're game for the track less traveled.

First Things First: Performance and defensive driving classes are offered at almost all of the driving events. Instruction often takes place both in the classroom and on the track. You'll gain essential knowledge from experienced professional instructors in a non-threatening environment. Consider a class mandatory before taking your first lap around the track.

Silver Bullet: Long before you hear the sound of the starter's gun, your car needs a thorough inspection. Tires, suspension, and brakes must be in excellent working order along with other mechanical systems. Even if you're the world's best do-it-yourselfer have your mechanic conduct a complete inspection of your vehicle before taking your car to the track. A second opinion can't hurt. And of course, while the car is on the lift have your pit-crew tune it up.

Time Trials: Strap on your helmet and grab the wheel. It's your turn to test your driving skill and your cars performance against the clock. The fastest time around the track wins. These solitary jaunts are popular venues. Automobiles are rated based on their class (model, engine size, etc.); there's a winner in every class.

Autocross: Autocross events are low to medium speed auto racing challenges that are often held on large parking lots and airport runways. The autocross tests your ability to circumvent a course marked by those lovely orange cones. You'll likely suffer a time deduction as you abuse a few cones on your first attempt.

Acceleration Run: Yellow, yellow, yellow - green! That's right, the acceleration run is akin to a drag race. It's all about achieving maximum speed in the shortest amount of time while traversing a fixed distance.

Helmet: Helmets are required and loaner helmets are usually available. Events sponsored by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and other organizations have specific requirements for helmet ratings. No, your bicycle helmet wont do, but your motorcycle helmet might. Check with the event organizer for specific requirements.

To all those enthusiasts holding last years trophy, Look out baby, cause here I come. Get ready, get ready.

By Greg Magnus, a freelance writer and owner of eoecho.com; a custom publishing and strategic, yet sensible, marketing-communication firm. He can be reached via email (greg @ eoecho.com) or you can leave a comment on his blog: Greg Magnus - Blog

Sleep is a dynamic process that our brain and body needs for physical restoration and proper mental processing. According to Fadia (2002), the amount of sleep that is necessary depends on a number of factors (age, weight, etc.) Infants require about 16 hours of sleep while teenagers require around 9. For most adults, about 7 or 8 hours of sleep tends to be the average. However, there are some adults that require as less as 5 hours a night and as much as 10 hours of sleep per night. In addition the amount of sleep a person needs will also increase if that person has been deprived of sleep or experiencing sleep deprivation. This causes sleep debt. This means that when a person is deprived of sleep that sleep must then be made up (2002).

Many people are able to notice the difference between a good night sleep and waking up feeling sleep deprived. However, those who have constantly had to deal with sleep deprivation developed a conditioning that overtime became normalized. They were unable to determine that sleep deprivation had caused and continues to cause impairments in their judgment, reaction time and/or in their overall functioning. They simply have come to believe that this is the way it is for them. This process has been noted in larger heavier individuals that have been heavy most of their lives. Thus, this article will focus on sleep disorders and gay men in the bear community in order to increase awareness regarding the health risks posed by sleep disorders in the GLBTQ community.

Sleep Apnea: A Common Sleep Disorder Affecting the Bear Community

What is Sleep apnea? Sleep apnea is a sleep breathing disorder that causes severe sleep deprivation by interrupting sleep and collapsing the windpipe. This occurs because of a build up of extra tissue in the neck area from weight gain. Men tend to gain weight in their neck and have thicker, heavier necks. When we fall asleep our muscles relax throughout our body. When our throat muscles relax the weight of the neck, along with attempting to inhale causes the windpipe to collapse and become blocked. When this occurs the individual must wake up to regain his muscle tone in order to open the windpipe and breathe. This occurs for just about three seconds before returning to sleep and usually the individual is unaware of waking. However, some individuals may have awareness that their sleep is very restless. They may even wake up coughing from a dry throat. The number one sign that one may have sleep apnea is snoring. Everyone that has sleep apnea snores. However, everyone that snores may not have sleep apnea. Additionally, if ones neck is greater than 17 inches then there is a greater risk of having or developing sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea can be very dangerous as it deprives the body of oxygen and results in chronic sleep deprivation and disease if not treated. Symptoms such as morning headaches, loss of sex drive and a decline in mental overall functioning (loss of concentration, memory deficits, etc.) could be signs that you have sleep apnea. Sleep deprivation clearly also has an effect on our mood and can lead to experiencing symptoms of depression and irritability. This can affect your performance at work and/or your personal relationships with your partner(s) and family. Additionally, sleep apnea can put one in a higher risk category for stroke, hypertension, and heart attack. It also can suppress the immune system influencing how efficiently the body fights infection. Thus, sleep apnea can lead to an increase in ones viral load and decrease T-cells if HIV positive.

Diagnosing in the Sleep Lab and Treatment

In order to find out for sure if you have sleep apnea, you need to be evaluated by a physician. Your primary care physician can refer you to a sleep specialist that can order an overnight sleep study. A sleep technologist will then apply sensors to measure your sleep stages, eye movements, heart rate, breathing, muscle tone and leg movements and oxygen levels and then fit you with a mask for the CPAP. CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) is a device that blows air in your airway to create pressure that lifts the soft throat tissue off of the airway allowing it to stay open. You should also get a chance to practice with the mask before going to bed. So talk to your technologist about the proper fit of the mask.

There are a number of choices to choose from. It is important that no air is able to escape through the sides of the mask when wearing it. If there is, then tell your technologist. After going to bed, the technologist will monitor your sleep for the first half of the night in order to get a baseline of your sleep. If the technologist assesses you as meeting the criteria for sleep apnea, he or she will put on your CPAP mask and turn on the CPAP machine. It is important to note that this treatment is non invasive and is part of the overnight study. After the study, your results will be ready in about two weeks or so. At that point, schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss your test results as well as treatment options besides CPAP.

Conclusion

Sleep apnea is a very common sleep disorder and has been known to cause accidents in the workplace resulting in lawsuits and personal injury. So if you believe you are at risk for this sleep disorder, talk to your doctor or health care professional. Relief could be just around the corner. We value our Bears. You deserve it and you are worth it!

Barry Aneda is a National Certified Counselor and a Licensed Associate Counselor working with our GLBTQ community in the field of Addictions and HIV/AIDS.

For more information you can visit him at http://www.barryaneda.com. To visit him at his virtual office, simply click the link titled Visit My Virtual Office.