Did you know that approximately 18 million Americans suffer from a sleeping disorder called apnea? Apnea is a health condition which affects your breathing and it interrupts your breathing whilst you are asleep. These interruptions to your sleep can last for anywhere between 10 and 60 seconds, sometimes for even longer.
Obviously not being able to breath is a very serious condition and can severely affect your health. In order to be able to resume normal breathing, your brain has to wake up. The cycle of breathing disruption/brain awakening can repeat hundreds of times during a single sleep period.
When your body has to deal with sleep apnea, you will find that it gets deprived on sleep as well as oxygen. This situation will only get worse with time, unless you look for treatments. Many health problems can arise with sleep apnea including cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Sleep apnea can become so severe that it could endanger your life.
Symptoms of Apnea – If you feel that you are groggy through the day then this could well be because of sleep apnea. If you keep finding yourself falling asleep during the day this can also be because of sleep apnea. This makes sense since a person with sleep apnea does not ever fall into a deep sleep.
There are many more symptoms to sleep apnea than just feeling tired and falling asleep all the time. When you are sleeping you may also sweat profusely, gasp and choke plus snore very loudly. You may also find yourself waking up suddenly during the night as your body gasps for breath.
When you are trying to work and concentrate you may find that it’s very difficult to do this because your concentration has gone and your memory suffers. Sleep apnea can also cause morning headaches and a sore throat or dry mouth upon awakening. With lack of sleep you can find that your attention span isn’t what it used to be and your judgement will become impaired. Mood swings along with depression can also be present along with weight gain and impotence.
If you don’t have your sleep apnea treated that you will then run the risk of causing driving related or machinery related accidents and you won’t be able to carry out certain tasks the way you would normally be able to. This obviously is putting your own life at risk along with the lives of other people. So if you suspect that you have sleep apnea, always contact your doctor as it isn’t just your own health you have to worry about.
Interestingly, the word apnea is a Greek word which means “without breath.” In one type of sleep apnea, the muscles inside the windpipe located at the back of the throat soften and as they soften, they relax, causing a blockage inside this airway.
Your muscle in the windpipe are what support the tongue, tonsils or uvula and these parts of your body can cause blockages too. When a blockage happens you will not be able to get enough supply of air entering. This most common form of sleep apnea is referred to as OSA or Obstructed Sleep Apnea.
Central Apnea Symptoms – A much less common type of sleep apnea is Central Sleep Apnea and with this type of apnea you actually don’t sufer from a blockage. Instead the problem originates from the brain as it isn’t able to send the necessary messages which tell the muscles how to work so that they can keep your breathing properly. Blocked airways and loss of brain control can also occur simultaneously resulting in a form of sleep apnea called Mixed Apnea.
There are a number of factors which can be responsible fro sleep apnia. Typically the most at risk category are men over the age of 40. Obesity is also something which doesn’t help and is often an aggravating factor along with alcohol, smoking and the use of sedatives. An irregular sleep schedule, a family history, nasal congestion, snoring and problems with the adenoids, tonsils, septum, tongue, chin, vocal cords and much more can all add to sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea really should be taken very seriously by people.