If you love the mountains but visiting or living at altitude makes you toss and turn in bed, you’re not alone.
IF YOU LOVE THE MOUNTAINS but visiting or living at altitude makes you toss and turn in bed, you’re not alone. Oxygen levels in most Utah’s ski areas are about 30% lower than at sea level, and according to altitude physiology experts most people have difficulty sleeping in our thin mountain air.
When you come up to higher altitude, every lungful of air you take provides fewer oxygen molecules to your body. Because there is less pressure at altitude, air is not condensed, and because it’s not concentrated you’re breathing thinner air. Consequently, at altitude you’re getting less oxygen.
What Is the Park City, Utah, Altitude?
In Park City, Utah, altitude can be measured to be roughly 7,000 feet. For reference, a mile is 5,280 feet, so when you visit, you’ll be sleeping at elevations over a mile high. Surprisingly enough, though, the Park City, Utah, altitude isn’t even the greatest in the state: The ski resort town of Brian Head has a base elevation of 9,600 feet, making it one of the highest-sitting cities in all of Utah.
Nevertheless, in Park City, Utah, altitudes are plenty high enough to cause sleep disturbances, even if you do not experience daytime altitude sickness symptoms.
What Causes Utah Altitude Sickness at Night?
Whether visiting or moving to a higher Utah altitude, you’ll likely feel a bit of altitude sickness on the way up, which, as you know, can make you feel absolutely miserable. Symptoms can range from a minor headache to nausea and dizziness, among many more. Fortunately, though, these typically only last for a few days, and some people adapt even faster.
The question, then, lies in knowing why the Utah altitude is messing with your sleep, even if you do not feel symptoms during the daytime, and the answer is that there are likely several factors at play, such as:
Lack of Oxygen
Insomnia is a common reaction to visiting high altitude areas, along with other symptoms that include headaches, fatigue, digestive issues and nausea. Yet altitude-induced insomnia is different than altitude sickness and may not improve even with long term acclimatization.
“One of the main reasons many people often don’t sleep well at altitude is because when you go to altitude your body goes through a variety of adaptations as it’s trying to make up for the lack of oxygen,” says Larry Kutt, CEO of Altitude Control Technologies.
Lack of oxygen triggers an unstable breathing pattern during sleep as the body struggles to restore normal oxygen levels. These breathing patterns — deep breaths followed by 5- to 15-second pauses in breathing — occur even in healthy people at altitudes above 6,000 feet and disrupt sleep even for people who sleep well at sea level.
“So instead of sleeping all through the night, you’re going through this period of breathing, not breathing, waking, dosing back off, waking back up, and you get into this cycle where you just don’t get good rest, and that’s why people can feel pretty bad at altitude,” Kutt explains.
Oxygen-Induced Sleep Disturbances
The lack of oxygen saturation can, in fact, create new sleep disturbances, including periodic breathing (gaps in your normal breathing rhythm). In some instances, the high Utah altitude may even contribute to or outright cause insomnia or apnea.
As for the insomnia, altitude-based symptoms may be milder than other forms of the condition, but no one wants to stay up all night tossing and turning; after all, you’ve got a life to live and need to be well-rested to enjoy all Utah has to offer.
More importantly, though, even if your insomnia is mild, all of those sleepless nights can add up, leading to fatigue and general feelings of unwellness. Though you could always turn to sleep aids, those may just be masking the problem. What you really need is a better environment to sleep in.
Pre-Existing Sleep Disturbances
If you have pre-existing sleep disturbances or disorders, like apnea, you are at a greater risk of an uncomfortable night. Thankfully, the situation isn’t bleak, as there are other solutions designed to help you overcome the sleep issues caused by Utah altitude.
How Long Does Altitude-Related Insomnia Last?
The phrase “altitude-related insomnia” may sound concerning, but it just means that you aren’t getting enough oxygen because you are in an area with a lower oxygen saturation, a quality that comes with the territory of living and sleeping in high Park City, Utah, altitudes.
That being said, you may be poised to wonder just how long your insomnia or sleep disruptions are going to last. After all, you moved to (or are visiting) Park City to enjoy the sights, sounds, and experiences the town provides, not stay up all night loathing your time here.
There’s good and bad news: The bad is that your sleep problems can last for months or even longer, and if you’re already dealing with pre-existing sleep issues like apnea, you might never get the type of restful sleep you are hoping for in the current conditions.
The good news, though, is that Altitude Control Technology can lower the effective altitude in your room.
How Altitude Control Technology Helps
Altitude Control Technology can modify the environment in which you sleep, which lowers the effective altitude and increases the oxygen content in the room.
Our primary service centers around the following:
Altitude Simulation
Adding oxygen to your bedroom can create the same oxygen levels found at sea level and eliminate the cause of high altitude insomnia. An in-home system created by Altitude Control Technologies extracts oxygen from ordinary air, via a molecular sieve, then delivers the oxygen to your bedroom. Sensors for oxygen, air quality, and barometric pressure coordinate with ACT’s proprietary control system. The system restores normal oxygen levels and simulates a lower altitude in your bedroom that is the equivalent of descending about 7,000 feet. While your house may be at 9,000 feet, this technology produces an oxygen level equivalent to 1,500 feet, and eliminates altitude-related sleep issues.
“A lot of our customers are full-time residents of the mountains,” Kutt explains, “and as they get older they don’t always process the oxygen as well as they’d like too, and consequently they don’t feel well. So for many people who are trying to stay in the mountains, this helps to make them feel healthy and energetic again.”
Altitude Control Technologies provides altitude simulation systems to thousands of customers including Harvard Medical School, Naval Air Systems Command, the FAA, and the Smithsonian. The company is advised by a renowned group of science advisors comprised of leaders in the field of altitude physiology from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, the University of California School of Medicine, the Institute for Altitude Medicine, and William and Mary’s Altitude Research Center.
“It’s just about physiology — how your body responds to different oxygen levels, and we understand that,” says Kutt. “We understand what needs to happen to make the body respond in the way it needs to for you to feel better at altitude.”
The system meets CDC standards for safe oxygen, NFPA standards for fire safe oxygen use, and OSHA standards for air quality. The system is usually installed in about two days. Anyone who is interested can talk to a specialist at Altitude Control Technologies and they’ll come out and take a look at your house, measure it, and provide a proposal.
Altitude Control Technology’s Solutions
At Altitude Control Technology, we want you to feel great both during the day and at night. By helping you correct your sleep issues, we empower you to live life to the fullest and enjoy your time in Park City, Utah. Whether you are hitting the slopes in a neighboring ski town or taking a day to relax, you’ll be well-rested, thanks to our support.
Our altitude simulation services include the following:
Room and Whole-Home Oxygenation Systems
Our oxygenation systems lower the effective altitude in your bedroom. You can avoid putting your body through multi-week adjustment periods and simply enjoy all the area has to offer.
Furthermore, our systems are precisely calibrated to ensure they maintain optimal oxygen saturation levels in your home.During your consultation, Altitude Control Technology staff will learn more about your unique goals, living arrangements, and any pre-existing sleep issues that may be impacting your quality of sleep. We’ll use that information to tailor our system around your unique needs, refer you to a medical professional or provide information to yours if needed, and create optimal conditions within your residence, the end result of which is a more restful night’s sleep.
At ACT, the entire experience is about meeting your oxygen saturation needs so you can enjoy a night of better sleep.
High Altitude Simulations
Altitude Control Technology proudly serves researchers and athletes by providing training solutions and simulation systems. Whereas most people want to increase oxygen saturation to improve their environmental conditions, researchers and athletes often need to simulate high altitudes for performance purposes.
Our state-of-the-art altitude simulation systems are the perfect addition to the professional athlete’s training regimen. They offer plenty of customization while also maintaining safety so that athletes can push their limits without endangering themselves.
For the researcher, our systems are incredibly precise, ensuring scientific teams can gather detailed information about the conditions they are simulating, which is incredibly valuable in studying the impacts of oxygen-reduced environments.
High/Low Systems
Altitude Control Technology also offers robust high/low systems that can simulate both high and low altitudes. These systems are also popular among researchers, as they can study the impacts of added and reduced oxygen environments. Likewise, athletes can control oxygen saturation to boost performance.
Nevertheless, even as a homeowner, you can still take advantage of our high/low systems. Create a high-saturation environment to optimize sleep, then reduce the oxygen saturation during waking hours to pre-acclimate to higher altitudes.
No matter your goals or what you need to achieve through oxygen saturation manipulation, Altitude Control Technology has you covered. Our systems are configurable and can be adapted to the layout and design of your home, regardless of size, style, location, or floor plan; in fact, we frequently install our systems in large residences with open floor plans, demonstrating the versatility of our solutions.
Don’t Let the Utah Altitude Get You Down — Contact ACT
For far too long, individuals have let Utah altitudes hinder their ability to enjoy all the state has to offer. Frommonths full of restless nights, the effects of Park City, Utah, altitudes can be severe and persistent, but you don’t have to put up with these challenges any longer.
At Altitude Control Technology, we offer practical solutions that use physiological principles to provide real results. If you are ready to sleep better and create more favorable conditions inside your Utah home, we can help. Our team will gladly provide a complimentary consultation, during which we will learn more about your goals and offer bespoke support. We look forward to helping you rest easy.
Altitude Control Technologies can be reached at (970) 528-1300 for additional information or at their website, www.ACT-O2.com
