Chasing Dreams — A Story of Better Sleep in Aspen
It was a familiar story. Rick and Jenny had worked hard to build their dream home in Aspen, and they were worried they would have to leave. Jenny wasn’t sleeping well, and Rick’s aging mother could no longer visit.
“I slept just fine when we were in Atlanta”, Jenny explains, “but we’d come to Aspen, and I would toss and turn. I kept waking up, and I was tired all day.” Jenny’s lack of sleep affected the couple’s enjoyment of their mountain home. “She didn’t have the energy to go skiing,” Rick lamented, “or to hike around our property. She’d get headaches. We couldn’t experience the active life we came to Aspen to live.”
Around the same time, Rick’s mother, Stella, stopped visiting. “She just wasn’t dealing with the altitude well,” says Rick.
“Her body wasn’t acclimating the way it used to”. Rick and Jenny started spending more and more time away from Aspen, and seriously considered abandoning their mountain dream. And then they met Larry Kutt.
“We met Larry through a friend,” shared Rick. “a friend who is on the mountain rescue team. He’s healthy and active. We had no idea that he had overcome the same insomnia and fatigue that Jenny was experiencing. We never saw the system in their home – it’s quiet and nearly invisible!”
The system Rick mentions was installed by Larry’s innovative business, Altitude Control Technologies. It changes the environment of a room, typically a bedroom, by increasing the oxygen concentration, and simulating a lower altitude. “There are results immediately,” says Larry, “but the real impact comes after a week or so of sleeping at lower simulated altitude”. It’s a life changer.
“Oxygen levels in most ski areas are about 30% lower than at sea level”, explains Dr Peter Hackett, the Executive Director for the Institute for Altitude Medicine in Telluride. “While sleeping, the lack of oxygen triggers an unstable breathing pattern. These patterns – deep breaths followed by five to fifteen second pauses – occur even in healthy people at altitudes above 6,000 feet”. Headaches are also a common symptom, as the blood vessels of the brain dilate to bring more oxygen, causing pain.
There are medications that treat altitude related symptoms, however Dr Hackett believes more people should instead be using oxygen. “Medication works but it has side effects,” says Dr Hackett. “Providing oxygen during sleep is a gradual and symptom free way to treat altitude sickness.”
It was all Rick and Jenny needed to hear. After researching the safety and efficacy of the of the systems from Altitude Control Technologies, they installed two – one in their own bedroom, and one in the guest room for Rick’s mother. “I like to consider myself a smart and educated shopper”, Rick says. “The system from Altitude Control Technology was without a doubt one of the best finds I ever made.” Rick continues “I was blown away, and I had to share with my friends who suffer from similar systems.”
“I sleep better, have greater clarity of mind, and experience faster recovery after hiking and skiing by sleeping in our oxygenated bedroom”, exclaims Jenny, “I can enjoy our home, and so can Rick’s mom. We didn’t have to move. We are living our dream. I can’t thank Altitude Control Technology enough”.
