Sleep Apnea

 

If you have chronic disruptions to your sleep, you may have what is known as a common disorder called Sleep Apnea. If you have wondered why you have very poor sleep quality and feel tired during the day, Sleep Apnea could be the reason. If you are wondering what is happening to you at night to cause this problem, you can read about it here.

 

Interestingly enough most people are not diagnosed as having sleep apnea even after seeing their doctor. This is mainly because there are no blood tests to determine the condition and because a routine office visit would be enough either. Many people become frustrated and normally a person’s spouse would be the first to notice the signs of this disorder.

 

There are several types of sleep apnea but the most common is obstructive sleep apnea. This can be described as the person who has a blocked or collapsed airway during sleep which causes shallow breathing or breathing pauses. In greater detail, this means that when the person tries to breath you hear very loud snoring. The obstructive sleep apnea is most common for people who are overweight, but not always. There have been cases where small children with enlarged tonsil tissue in their throat also suffer from obstructive sleep apnea.

 

One of the least common types of sleep apnea is called Central sleep apnea and this begins in the brain. What happens in this situation is the area of your brain that controls breathing is not putting out the correct signals to your breathing muscles. When this happens your muscles make no effort to breath for brief periods of time during sleep. Normally with central sleep apnea there is no snoring and this type can happen to anyone, however it seems to be most common with people who are already on other medications or who suffer from other medical conditions.

 

It is important to note that this chronic condition requires long term management or it will lead to life threatening illnesses and situations. Some successful treatments offered today include lifestyle changes, mouthpieces, surgery, and breathing devices. If not properly managed it may lead to high blood pressure, heart failure, arrhythmia’s, heart attack, stroke, obesity and diabetes.

 

Remember to stay educated and do not be discouraged because with these new long term management solutions many who suffer from Sleep Apnea are finding help today.