Many people erroneously believe that sleep apnea is no more than a snoring practice. It is correct that the state is demonstrated through snoring, however, the problem is more deep rooted than that. Sleep apnea is a condition where collapsed tissues in the airway cause breathing cessation while one sleeps. These episodes can last anywhere from 1 second to 30 seconds and can occur many times during the night. This results in interrupted sleep and the ultimate lack of oxygen getting processed throughout the body causing serious health problems over the long term. The good news is that the sleep apnea condition has been successfully treated over the past 20 years with Continuous Positive Airway (CPAP) Devices and an apnea mask.
Some of the signs of sleep apnea include, excessive snoring, continuous interrupted sleep, and choking or gurgling sounds during sleep. Additionally, many people are overweight or have excessive skin tissue around their throat area.
Inadequate sleep:
Sleep Apnea victims essentially have what can be expressed as superficial sleep, distinguished by persistent disruptions in sleep. They never obtain the full share of sleep that the human body needs to recover. The consequence is that their days are interspersed with frustration and tiredness. Additionally, some folks unintentionally fall asleep during the daytime. While it is bad if they do it when they are dusting the house or studying a book, the consequences can be far worse if it occurs when an individual is driving an automobile. Existing statistics demonstrate that car accidents are more prevalent among those with an sleep apnea trouble.
Sleep deficiency can also lead to common exhaustion, awkwardness, and inadequate focusing on the job at hand. This will influence the person’s workplace or educational accomplishment, and make them fruitless and less result oriented.
Sleep depressed people have a tendency to eat too much causing many sleep apnea sufferers to gain unnecessary weight. The joint result of all these will make an individual nervous and bad-tempered. Ill temper swings are not unusual and anxiousness occurs much of the time.
Oxygen shortage:
Sleep apnea hinders the body’s oxygen absorption. Because inhalation is often blocked or obstructed due to collapsed tissues in the airway, proper amounts of oxygen are not absorbed into the body. To balance for the lack of oxygen, the cardiovascular system will be put under additional strain in an effort to produce more oxygen. This can cause the heart to work excessively and ultimately lead to high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, and other cardiovascular troubles.
The Solution: CPAP and Apnea Mask
In the event you feel there is the least clue of a sleep disorder, it is imperative you get the trouble checked right away by your doctor. It is a treatable state, and there are lots of treatments to cure it, including surgery. The most popular form of treatment is the application of Continuous Positive Air Pressure device (CPAP) and apnea mask. The CPAP device uses air pressures to force open blocked airways. An apnea mask is strapped or attached either to the user’s nose, mouth, or both and the air pressure is delivered from the CPAP compressor through tubing into the apnea mask which sends the air into the block airway.
CPAP machines are prescribed by your Doctor. In order to be diagnosed with sleep apnea, your Doctor will send you to a Sleep Laboratory for a couple of nights of testing to determine if you are actually having the apnea episodes. In the event it is discovered that you have sleep apnea, you will then be fitted with a CPAP device and apnea mask to correct the apnea situation.
CPAP therapy has a very successful record at fighting sleep apnea and most insurance companies, Medicare, and Medicaid routinely pay for the treatment. Thus, if you suspect you have sleep apnea, you should really ask your Doctor to see if CPAP therapy could help you. After all, not only does it curb serious health problems, but, for many of its users they finally get a restful night’s sleep for the first time in years!