Sleep apnea is a disruption of breathing while asleep, causing periodic gasping for air or struggling for breath, sometimes hundreds of times during the night. Most people who suffer from this disorder do not realize they have it, because when they awaken they don’t remember having trouble breathing.

If not treated, sleep apnea can be life-threatening, so it is very important to ensure that your breathing is normal during the night. It is advisable to watch for the warning signs and seek out sleep apnea solutions as soon as possible. These warning signs can include very loud snoring or gasping; choking as if unable to get air into the lungs; sudden awakenings during the night, sometimes waking up sweating; and feeling exhausted during the day even with a full night’s sleep.

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What causes these awakenings? When breathing is interrupted due to sleep apnea, it changes the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. The imbalance of these essential chemicals signals the brain to restart the breathing process. These awakening incidents are necessary to restart breathing, but may not be remembered later. The result is feeling very tired and unrefreshed by any amount of sleep.

There are two main types of sleep apnea.

The most common is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), which is caused by an obstruction that blocks flow of air in the nose and mouth. With OSA, the throat collapses during sleep, obstructing the airway and preventing air from reaching the lungs. In a healthy person, the throat muscles keep the throat and airway open during sleep. In some people, however, these muscles can relax more than normal, due to age, alcohol, other sedatives, or even being overweight or obese. People with certain physical factors, such as large tonsils or tongue, deviated septum, or enlarged adenoids, can also be more at risk for sleep apnea. Even temporary factors such as nasal congestion can cause sleep apnea.

The other type of sleep apnea, though less common, is Central Sleep Apnea (CSA). This is a central nervous system disorder in which the brain signals instructing the body to breathe are delayed. CSA can be caused by a diseases or injuries of the brain, such as viral brain infections, strokes, brain tumors, or respiratory problems. CSA sufferers seldom snore. While the causes of sleep apnea are different in CSA and OSA, they both are serious conditions that result in a deprivation of oxygen and not enough sleep.

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The effects of sleep deprivation can include irritability, inability to concentrate, and a compromised immune system. The problems of oxygen deprivation are even more serious: heart disease, high blood pressure, sexual dysfunction, learning and memory problems, and depression. If you suspect you might have sleep apnea, try keeping a “sleep journal” for several nights (or have your partner record the data). Include information such as snoring, any choking or gasping sounds, and awakening during the night.

Also make a note of how refreshed you feel in the morning. You should also try losing any excess weight and refraining from sedatives before bed. After you have recorded a typical time period of your sleep (perhaps a week), consult a doctor or a sleep specialist. If they suspect you have sleep apnea, you will probably be sent for an overnight study in a sleep lab. By observation and measuring how frequently you stop breathing, a diagnosis can be reached and a cure for sleep apnea can be discussed.

The most important thing for your health is to make sure that you are getting a normal night’s sleep. Sleep apnea cures can be as simple as lifestyle changes so seek out help today.

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Sleep Apnea is a known chronic disorder/ condition where breathing halts during sleep. To have a broader understanding of sleep apnea , you need to know the symptoms of this malady which includes recurrent awakenings at night, unexplainable fatigue level, frequent memory loss, rapid loss of breath , irregular blood pressure and similar heart related issues.

Causes of sleep apnea includes:
1. Impediments that stops oxygen from entering the lungs.
2. Hypothyroidism , that is under active thyroids.
3. Failure of the brain to send the necessary signals to the muscle that allows oxygen to pass on and this makes the windpipe to collapse.

Thankfully there are sleep apnea solutions proven to help in many cases and this includes:
1. Natural Sleep Apnea Treatments. This involves embarking on a dietary program , stopping your alcohol and tobacco intake and sleeping at regular hours.
2. Herbal Treatment/Alternative medicine. According to information available certain herbs like Passion flower and Valerian have the ability to aid sleep and curtail side effects that might occur from taking medical drugs when treating sleep apnea. It is recognized that these herbs also help to calm the nerve, reduce anxiety and promote sound sleep.
3. Surgical Treatment. When every thing else fails you might want to try surgery and this is suggested for people who have a severe obstructions in the throat due to enlarged tonsils or polyps.

In conclusion the following are general tips you might want to share or observe concerning sleep apnea
1. Have a specific time for going to bed.
2. Avoid heavy meals before sleeping and eat your dinner in time.
3. Embark on restful activities, before bedtime. This will help calm your nerves

The first is the Central sleep apnea, in which the couple of breaths that are missed happen due to the lack of respiratory effort. The second one is the Obstructive sleep apnea, in which the breathing gets interrupted due to the presence of some kind of a physical block in the airflow. The third one is known as the Complex sleep apnea, which in fact is a combination of the other two forms, i.e. Central as well as Obstructive; hence in this form both, the breathing gets interrupted because of even the presence of physical block as well as the lack of respiratory effort.

Many people are not aware of being suffering from sleep apnea, as one may not remember the difficulty one suffered while breathing during sleep. People tend to suffer from this problem for quite many years, but very seldom they identify it. There can be many confusions arising in people’s mind regarding the possible causes of sleep apnea. To tell the truth, there can be an endless list about the possible causes of sleep apnea, as well as many sleep apnea solutions.

The airflow can be possibly blocked due to many reasons. For instance, if a person is obese, he/she is prone to have sleep apnea, as there is an interruption in breathing due to over accumulation of fats in the body. Even an asthmatic patient has a tendency of suffering from this sleep disorder. Few other causes could be GERD, physical abnormalities and even disorders related to one’s central nervous system. Whenever any of the causes tends to obstruct the breathing, it stops in regular intervals resulting in sleep apnea.

Apart from that, there are many other possible causes of sleep apnea. If a person’s throat muscles or his tongue tends to relax more than required. If one’s tongue as well as tonsils are possibly larger than normal, than there is a possibility of blocking of airways. Other than all these causes, even one’s lifestyle can be a major cause of sleep apnea. Smoking, consumption of alcohol as well as chewing tobacco is few of the possible causes of sleep apnea.

One of the symptoms of sleep apnea is excessive daytime sleepiness. Typically when a person suffers from this disorder, it’s difficult to get a restful night sleep. The other is frequent episodes of obstructed breathing during sleep. Of course it’s something that the person who is suffering from sleep apnea will even notice, usually it’s the person’s bed partner that will be extremely aware of it.

Other signs that are associated with sleep apnea, loud snoring, unrefreshed sleep, irritability, high blood pressure, depression, a change in personality, morning headaches, difficulty concentrating, restless sleep, insomnia, and waking up with a dry mouth. Some may find that they perspire excessively during the night and may be confused upon awakening. Many suffers tend to wake themselves up from gasping and/or snoring.

There are many different types of sleep apnea treatments out there and they are quite successful. Sleep apnea is treatable with a doctor’s assistance and in some cases without surgery. The doctor will run what is referred to as a sleep test, but the medical term is Polysomnography. This test will help the doctor diagnose if you suffer from sleep apnea. The test will monitor eye movement, muscle tension, brain waves respiration,oxygen levels in the blood as well as audio monitoring. The test can be administered at one of the medical facilities or in your own home. In most cases insurance will cover the cost of the tests.

For the ones that do consider all their options for treatment, they still may be tempted not to choose one of the many choices. In regards to the non-medical treatments like the masks and the dentures type plates that need to be worn every night or the surgeries that are painful and really have no guarantees to being successful.

There are down sides to actually going through with treatments, but the choice of not following through can have more consequences than if you were to go for treatment. According to the statistics, only about 10% of patients are getting treatment and the other 90% have decided not to do anything about the issue.

If you are one of the many who decide not to do anything about it then you need to know that you are not just putting your life at risk, but many others including your love ones. Sleep apnea sufferers can easily fall asleep at the wheel of a vehicle and cause major damage to someone else, if not kill them.

There’s something else that sleep apnea sufferers don’t realize is that when their airways are blocked or even collapse to where they’re not breathing, they’re denying their brain oxygen while they sleep. They also increase their chances of a stroke. On top of these few things that you can experience, in rare cases the patient has died in their sleep. It’s assumed that it’s because the patient doesn’t start breathing again.

If you are one of these people, please seek help right a way and you may just enjoy a good night sleep.

The first one that we will discuss is not really a medical procedure like surgery or something of the sort. Instead the treatment is referred to as “Continuous Positive Airway Pressure” (CPAP). Continuous positive airway pressure is a treatment where a mask is worn over the nose and or the mouth while you sleep. Think of it of something like a oxygen mask. The mask is connected to a machine that would deliver a steady flow of air into your nostrils. The pressure from the machine will help keep your airways open so that your breathing is not interrupted or impaired. This may be uncomfortable for some to wear while they try to sleep, but if you think about it, Sleep apnea does not make it easy for you to sleep as it is.

There are also things dental devices that can be worn while you sleep that won’t be as uncomfortable as wearing a mask. These dental devices are made to help keep the person’s airway open while they sleep. These devices are specifically made to to fit the individual by a dentist that has special experience with sleep apnea.

Now in the cases that need to be solved with surgery. Unfortunately for some people they don’t have a choice but to go for some sort of surgery. Typically if you suffer from sleep apnea and you have a deviated septum, enlarged tonsils or a small lower jaw with an overbite that may be causing your throat to be abnormally narrow then surgery may just be want is needed to correct sleep apnea.

The most commonly performed surgical procedures for sleep apnea include:

Somnoplasty: A minimally invasive procedure to reduce the soft tissue in the upper airway.

Nasal surgery: Correction of nasal obstructions such as a deviated septum.

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP): A procedure that removes soft tissue on the back of the throat and palate, increasing the width of the airway at the throat opening.

Mandibular maxillar advancement surgery: Invasive surgery to correct certain facial abnormalities or throat obstructions that contribute to sleep apnea.

As mentioned in an earlier article we stated that one of the leading causes of sleep apnea is obesity, When a person larger than they should be they tend to have their airways blocked by the extra mass of their body that will cause them to slow their breathing or even cause their breathing to stop for moment at a time.

By taking steps to reduce the restrictions around you, airways can improve your breathing while you sleep. Not only that but your quality of life will improve to where you can enjoy life much more. If you are suffering with diabetes, this may also help improve that disorder as well.

Decreasing you alcohol consumption will help improve the quality of sleep that you will experience. Sleeping pills typically help a person sleep, but when a person who suffers from sleep apnea takes sleeping pills, it doesn’t work for them in most cases.

Smoking is one of the things that can help with sleep apnea. Which of course makes sense since smoking will close your airways from allowing you to get enough air while you sleep. Being a reformed smoker myself, I know that it’s not an easy thing to do, but when you think about your health and the disorders that can occur, it may just be worth the effort to push yourself to quit smoking.

Change the way you sleep. Changing the position of your body may also help improve your breathing while you sleep. Try to avoid sleeping on you back since it will cause your throat to close much easier than sleeping on you side .