[Blindtlk] Non 24, Sleep Problems, and how our blindness weighs in

Tue Jan 12 01:29:23 UTC 2016

Bob,

I suppose a good exercise program could help regulate sleep.  You were very 
lucky to have been exposed to physical activity.  I know I was not given the 
chance once I lost all my vision.  I fought at least I could do gymnastics 
and other things that could be done without sight but, my public school 
refused.  After high school, I was not given access to the gym at my 
college.  As many other blind adults, I cannot afford a gym membership. 
Even if we do go to a gym, most of the equipment have touch screens and are 
not accessible to the blind.  I live in a senior citizen housing 
development.  We have an exercise room in the clubhouse.  Although when I 
rented my house, I paid for the key card to allow me to enter, I have not 
been able to operate any of the equipment.  The instructions are in a big 
large print notebook for the low vision seniors and the equipment is all 
touch screens.  I've tried to talk to management and the owners but they say 
they do not have any way to give any access to anyone with no vision.  Oh, 
by the way, all the house numbers and signs are in huge print and that is 
supposed to meet accessibility requirements.  What about someone like me who 
is totally blind?  There are not any tactile landmarks even allowing me to 
know where I am in a maze of twisting winding sidewalks with no regular 
corners or street crossings.  They even refused to obtain a talking sign so 
I could find the crosswalk leading to the clubhouse.  So, now people can 
stop wondering why so many blind people don't get enough exercise.  Now to 
bring this back to sleep disorders, I know that a good exercise program 
might help better regulate sleep but, it just isn't possible for most of us.
Sandra

-----Original Message----- 
From: Bob Hachey via blindtlk
Sent: Monday, January 11, 2016 8:00 PM
To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List'
Cc: Bob Hachey
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Non 24, Sleep Problems,and how our blindness weighs 
in

Hello Chaim,
I hear you loud and clear about how badly the medical profession is in need
of educating when it come to dealing with us blind folks.
That is a shame about no gym class for something like two years of school. I
was very fortunate living in Reading Massachusetts. Our public school gym
teachers were very good about including me in gym classes. When the class
did things like Soccer, I lifted weights and ran the ttrakc with a student
volunteer. IN flag football, I played center, though it was hard to get the
hang of blocking an opponent. They put sounders on the basketball hoops and
I tried using a beep basketball but I had trouble trying to get the hang of
both sounds at once and tracking the ball.
I did calesthenics, gymnastics and wrestiling along with the group.
WE must be ever vigilant so as to ensure that all of our brothers and
sisters get proper physical education.
Bob Hachey

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Chaim B.
Segal via blindtlk
Sent: Monday, January 11, 2016 6:54 PM
To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Cc: Chaim B. Segal
Subject: [Blindtlk] Non 24, Sleep Problems, and how our blindness weighs in

Hi Folks:

I have not posted on this list in a great number of months, as work duties
circumvented my opportunity to read as many messages from listserves as
before. I decided to start receiving mail from these nfbnet.org lists again,
because I think there is pertinent information out there I should be aware
of. Even if I end up running behind on digests, better to be informed.

When I think of the Non 24 issue, something entirely different comes to
mind. As was stated on this list a few days ago, many sighted people also
have sleep-related difficulties, which have nothing to do with blindness. My
own father, bless his memory, lost a job in his later days because he kept
falling asleep. Falling asleep on the job was the last straw which caused my
release from my previous job, but that was largely caused by stress on
account of a new order of rules-entirely different subject.

A good number of years ago, my older blind brother was diagnosed with sleep
apnea. To make a long story short, his doctor-ordered sleep study led to his
being prescribed a C-pap. Parenthetically, he was extremely overweight,
which may have been part of the cause of the sleep apnea.

I have been married, thank-God for six years and counting. Early on, I
discovered that my wife had an extremely serious problem with narcolepsy. I
don't want to make myself a laughing stock, but I'll say that she and I are
not exactly thin. I will spare unnecessary detail. I discovered on my own
that she had serious trouble breathing throughout the night, and was often
awaken by her gasping for air in her sleep. Recalling these symptoms from my
older brother, I took it upon myself to engineer her getting a referral for
a sleep study. Turned out, she also had sleep apnea. Like my brother, she
uses a C-pap, and has much more energy during the day. The sleep doctor (who
just retired) nearly insisted that she try Non 24. She and I were adamant
that this was not a matter of interest. Like a number of unfortunate sighted
folks out there, the guy was under the impression that blind people cannot
really move comfortably beyond their own space. He was, in fact, surprised
to find out how many  blind couples exist.  I am glad we had the opportunity
to set him straight. It bothers me that there is not a mandatory course in
disability awareness for doctors and nurses in medical and nursing school. I
think that anybody entering the medical field who may, at any point in their
career, treat a disabled person be notified concerning appropriate personal
etiquette in dealing with us.

I know that some of us bld do exercise and try to watch what we eat. Sadly,
a number of blind people don't. There are a number of reasons for this,
including in some cases fear among gym staff that we will get hurt on their
equipment, or their insurance does not allow it. My oldest (sighted) brother
pointed out that with a number of us not being able to see our own body
profile in the mirror, we don't realize how unhealthy we look in comparison
to other people around us. While he may have a valid point, my argument to
him is that from what I have heard, the majority of the US population is
indeed overweight. Be that as it may, you don't have to be overweight to
have sleep apnea. Maybe, a number of blind and sighted people alike have
sleep apnea, but are not being treated for it. Maybe a number of blind and
sighted people are not getting adequate exercise throughout the day and are
not eating right. Maybe, there are many factors involved.

I think that before doctors prescribe this "antidote", they ought to take a
person's daily factors into account. I also think that gyms, spas, and the
like, should be encouraged to run specials which encourage blind and
disabled folks to come and work out. I'll take it a step further. For those
blind people who attend regular mainstream school classes, there should be a
law which demands that any physical fitness instructor in a public
institution be given the means to include a blind or disabled student along
with the rest of the class.

On this note, I'll add one more comment. From mid way through my seventh
grade year through my freshman year, I received no gym instruction in my
local public school. Indeed, one reason I decided to attend the Ohio State
School For The Blind for high school was that I was told physical
instruction was taught there. During my sophomore year there, they did some
repairs on their gymnasium and there was a big ribbon-cutting ceremony. We
had been swimming in their pool in place of gym instruction. What happened
after the big fanfare? Some well-meaning folks decided that we had to have a
similar experience as sighted folks. So, they decided to teach us how to hit
a tennis ball with a tennis racket. It flopped! As soon as we were shown how
to do it and commanded to do so, the teacher(s) had to go show another blind
person the same thing. So, A would shove the ball out of his hand with the
racket, and have nothing to do until it could be retrieved. I felt it was a
complete waste. And, as  Mr. Robert Mills, one of the  best o&m instructors
in the country said, "This is a blind school! You students are blind! They
have a g d big beautiful gym! They should use it for what it is supposed to
be used for!"

Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow or next day on an entirely different subject.

Chaim

Chaim B. Segal
Contact Marketing Representative
Sinclair Community College
Dayton, Ohio

Every Man, woman, every boy and girl,
Let your love light shine, make a better world.

Daryl Hall And John Oates

Sent from my Braille Sense U2 Mini

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