Sleep Apnea Cures
A good night’s sleep is essential to optimal health. For many people however, this can prove frustrating and elusive. There are a number of conditions that can interfere with getting enough sleep. Of these, sleep apnea is the most potentially dangerous.
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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Are You In Need Of Sleep Apnea Treatments?
Many people in this country suffer from Sleep apnea and don’t even know it. How would you know if you needed sleep apnea treatments? In this post we’ll go over the signs that are associated with sleep apnea. Remember that if you have the symptoms it doesn’t necessarily mean that you suffer from sleep apnea. See your doctor if you think that you may have it.
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.
Tags: audio monitoring, causes of sleep apnea, excessive daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, restless sleep, Signs Of Sleep Apnea, Sleep Apnea, sleep apnea treatment, Sleep Apnea Treatments, symptoms of sleep apnea, treating sleep apneaRelated posts
Why You Should Seek Sleep Apnea Treatments
As mentioned in one of our earlier post, we stated that many people who suffer from sleep apnea are not even aware of that fact that they are effected by it. There are those who know that they are effected by sleep apnea and still feel the need to not seek sleep apnea treatments in relieving the problem.
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.
Tags: causes of sleep apnea, Signs Of Sleep Apnea, Sleep Apnea, sleep apnea treatment, Sleep Apnea Treatments, treating sleep apnea