If you have no trouble sleeping, you must consider yourself lucky. It will help you a lot in coping with various conditions and tasks that you have to face each day. You will feel the negative effects of lack of sleep, especially if you need to handle certain things with alert body and mind. Even animals need to get enough rest and full hours of sleep to keep their body fit. But there are certain conditions that you may not be aware about, which interfere with your healthy sleep patterns, one of which is known as sleep apnea.
Sleep Apnea (or sleep apnoea in British English) is a sleep disorder characterized by having one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths during sleep. Each pause in breathing, called an apnea, can last from a few seconds to minutes, and may occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour.Sleep apnea is diagnosed with an overnight sleep test called a polysomnogram, or a “sleep study”.
Apnea is a Greek word that literally means to breathe. So when you have this sleep disorder, as you lay to rest, you may not notice that your airway is blocked that is why your breathing is halted. As this occurs, your brain will help you cope by going into a defensive mode. Your brain automatically forces you to breathe by waking you up.
How do you know that someone has this? The more obvious observation can be through the way they snore. You will hear more of a grunt than a snore actually because the person is gasping for air that is why they are making such noise. The blockage is there as long as you are still suffering from the disorder. This is why there will be a constant cycle of sleeping then waking up throughout the night.
Tireless Nights
If you are not worried about this condition, you will do so as time goes by. You may think that this is not alarming because at least, you still can sleep even though you are often being awakened. But the fact is that this is not healthy. You are not only losing hours of sleep but you are not reaching the most important part of this activity. There are five stages of sleep and among these, the most important part is the REM. REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement and this is deepest stage and gives you the feeling of becoming refreshed and well-rested. If you have the disorder, you will never reach such stage.
Aside from losing quality sleep each night, there are more serious problems that people who are suffering from the disorder face each time they go to sleep. Because you cannot breathe easily and regularly as you are sleeping, you lack the needed oxygen that you body has to be supplied with all the time. This can lead to more serious health problems like high blood pressure and heart disorders. If you already have problems with high blood and anything with regards to your heart, this certain sleeping disorder makes the matter worse and may lead to even more difficult problems if you will not act on it as soon as possible.
The Right Actions
The first thing that you need to do to help yourself is to accept that there is a problem. After that, you have to take the necessary actions to alleviate the condition. Here are some recommendations that you can follow in this regard.
1. If you are overweight, it is high time to lose those excess pounds and be fit. You have to know that most people with this disorder are overweight.
2. You can ask for the available dental services that can help you solve the dilemma. You just have to go to the right professional for this action.
The End Tiredness Program is a step-by-step guide to eliminating tiredness from your life. It will show you…
- how you can make your sleep more effective
- what you should and shouldn’t eat if you want to feel energetic and alert during the day
- which hormone determines whether you feel alert or tired and how you can control the level of that hormone in your body
- proven methods that will help you to wake up easily every morning
- and plenty more…
The End Tiredness Program is written by a health researcher and consultant Tina Hagen. Find out more about how the program can help you get rid of fatigue and be more energetic…
Filed under sleep apnea by on Jul 12th, 2010. Comment. 
Sleep apnea, a disorder that affects about 12 million Americans, is characterized by breath pauses during sleep, which may last for 20 to 30 seconds or more. Sleep apnea episodes usually happen five to 30 times in an hour and may cause sleep disturbances. It is common in men and older people, although women and children can also be diagnosed with it.
Due to the nature of the condition, people with sleep apnea are normally not aware of their sleeping irregularities. In fact, most people who are affected by sleep apnea are not aware that they have the condition during their sleep. It is usually a bed partner or a close family member who first notices manifestations and symptoms of sleep apnea. This is the reason why it is considered very dangerous, especially if its sufferer is often sleeping alone.
Types of Sleep Apnea
There are two types of sleep apnea. The more common is called obstructive sleep apnea and involves a blocked airway. This blockage can result from over-relaxed throat muscles and tongue, obesity, and facial and bone structure deformities. Once the airway is blocked, breathing stops and the person begins to gasp and snore.
The oxygen level decreases, while carbon dioxide level increases. This then stimulates the brain to normalize the breathing process and prompts the person to wake up and to open the airway by adjusting the tongue and throat muscles. Normal breathing then ensues followed usually by loud snoring. The person, however, may neither remember being awake for a short time nor be aware of his gasps for air.
The other type is called central sleep apnea, which is caused by the brain’s delayed signals to the breathing muscles. Breathing stops and oxygen level begins to drop. Unlike obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea is less common. It is a central nervous system disorder and can result from an injury or disease that involves the brainstem. This can be in the form of stroke and brain tumor, among other things. Though people with central sleep apnea may not typically snore, they may experience shortness of breath. The two types of sleep apnea have different causes, but their effects are the same: low level of oxygen in the brain, poor sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and even depression. They can also contribute to high blood pressure and heart irregularities when the oxygen reaches a dangerously low level. However, sleep apnea can also be literally disturbing to the bed partner because of the loud snoring that can cause sleep deprivation.
What to do
It would rather be hard for a person to know whether he has sleep apnea, since the condition manifests only during sleep. However, if he suspects to having the condition, especially if he shows the symptoms, he can opt to document his sleeping patterns. For instance, he can ask his bed partner to journal episodes of breath pauses, snoring, choking, or snorting. Or if he sleeps alone, he can videotape himself sleeping and notice if there are irregularities. These observations would help determine if seeing a doctor or a sleep specialist is necessary.
Upon diagnosis, the sleep specialist would recommend treatments or surgeries depending on the severity of the condition. In the case of minor sleep apnea, some behavioral treatments or lifestyle changes can be helpful. Avoidance of alcohol and tobacco are some examples, there may be a need to lose some weight, and having regular sleep hours.
Introducing the End Tiredness Program is a step-by-step guide to eliminating tiredness from your life. It will show you…
- how you can make your sleep more effective
- what you should and shouldn’t eat if you want to feel energetic and alert during the day
- which hormone determines whether you feel alert or tired and how you can control the level of that hormone in your body
- proven methods that will help you to wake up easily every morning
- and plenty more…
The End Tiredness Program is written by a health researcher and consultant Tina Hagen. Find out more about how the program can help you get rid of fatigue and be more energetic…
Filed under sleep apnea by on Jun 5th, 2010. 1 Comment.
Not getting enough sleep can have a definite impact on your life. Whether it’s from insomnia, sleep apnea, Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), or another sleep disorder, the danger of sleep deprivation is undeniable, manifesting in both minor and major ways and creating problems for your work, school, and day-to-day activities.
Your body requires a positive amount of sleep in order to function properly and if it doesn’t get enough, it will naturally try to find ways to reconcile the problem. For many, a solution isn’t always simple to find.
Many people don’t even recognize they have a problem to begin with, failing to note the subtle symptoms and then, not taking the time to investigate the possible causes. If your body doesn’t get a sufficient amount of sleep, the effects can begin with fatigue and overall drowsiness.
You may feel worn out in the work of the day, which could ultimately impact your physical and mental health. For older people, sleep deprivation usually means that restorative sleep is lacking so their bodies aren’t recharging properly for the next day. This pattern accumulates until it becomes a true medical condition that requires attention.
Another physical effect that a lack of sleep can result in is weight change – in particular, weight gain. One of the benefits of quality sleep is that your hormone levels are regulated.
But if you suffer from sleep deprivation, then your hormone levels grow to be imbalanced and as a result, some of your psychological processes – such as appetite – also alter. You may feel hungry when you’re not – or in some cases, not full when you are.
Chronic sleeplessness can also lead to depression, irritability, and impatience. Unfortunately, emotional frustration is one symptom that people may feel they don’t need to address.
Others may even fail to see how their mood swings and emotional outbursts or breakdowns are linked to sleep, choosing to assign the blame elsewhere and focusing attention away from the real cause: a lack of sleep.
The dangers of sleep deprivation to one’s physical and emotional well-being range from slurred speech and anger to a slow breakdown of the body’s immune system, making you susceptible to injury, the common cold, and more.
Have you ever driven your car while drowsy? The inherent danger is obvious. And while it may be a dramatic example, it’s also one that’s all too common – a powerful illustration of how important it is to get enough sleep.
Proper sleep is a vital component to being healthy and it needs to be treated with the same concern and care that your other healthcare issues receive. The consequences of ignoring your sleep deprivation could be harmful to yourself or another person, depending on the circumstances.
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Filed under Sleep Deprivation by on May 31st, 2010. Comment.
