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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Causes And Treatments For Sleep Apnea
If you put your head on the pillow every night , go to sleep immediately and don’t wake up until the sun rises, chances are that you will not know what sleep apnea means. But what do say or do when a loved one or somebody close to you, wakes you up in the middle of the night and begins to gasp for breath? This might be frightening but true because people that battle with sleep apnea often have to deal with significant loss in oxygen level.
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
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Various Sleep Apnea Treatments
As a dental professional, it is important to realize that treating sleep apnea involves multiple health care professionals as well as loved ones. One of the first steps a loved one can take in diagnosis and treatment of loved ones is recognition. Does your partner experience interrupted breathing while sleeping? Are these interruptions longer than a few seconds in duration and frequent in occurrence? Is excessively loud snoring common?
If so, then you should talk with your partner about the possibility of sleep apnea. Diabetics and overweight people tend to increase the likelihood of developing sleep apnea. Many people are sensitive when it comes to discussing their embarrassing sleeping habits. That’s why I make it a point to ask spouses whether or not these events are occurring. I then look for other oral conditions that may exacerbate breathing while sleeping. If a patient presents with an abnormally large tongue or uvula during an oral examination that I believe may impede his or her ability to sleep, then a physician referral becomes necessary for proper diagnosis and treatment.
As far as sleep apnea treatments are concerned, the physician and dental professional must work together in concert. Treatment, of course, depends on the severity of the condition. The severity of the condition is often defined as how many interrupted breathing occurrences happen within a specified time frame.
A special machine with a face mask known as a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) may sometimes be used to treat obstructive sleep apnea. However compliance and home care maintenance to avoid bacterial growth in the various lines of the machine often reduce the success of such a treatment.
Alternatively, lesser invasive appliances such as an oral device may work better for patients with less severe forms of sleep apnea. Furthermore, in some mild cases, weight loss may be issued as a form of treatment to treat sleep apnea. Decreasing the amount of fat and therefore pressure may help to open up the airway, and in more radical cases, some patients may even opt to have their uvula surgically removed in order to create a more efficient airway.
Finally, one may also help treat their sleep apnea condition by positioning themselves more upright during sleep. This, however, may affect the quality of sleep one may receive as some people find it difficult to sleep in such a position. These are only a few of the available sleep apnea cures you can ask your physician about.
Tags: airway pressure, CPAP, REM, sleep, Sleep Apnea, sleep apnea treatment, Sleep Apnea Treatments, snoring, treating sleep apnea