Sleep apnea could be scary and dangerous, it is a common disorder in which you have pauses in breathing while you sleep.Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes and you wouldn't wake up. Usually, normal breathing then starts again, with a loud snort or choking sound.This is usually an ongoing condition that disrupts your sleep every night and makes you feel exhausted in the morning.
Quality of life is low and makes you tired during the day. You can't work, focus on anything or pay attention to your family. This disorder is often undiagnosed because most people don't know they have it because it only occurs during sleep. Clinically SA is defined as five or more episodes per hour of any type of apnea.
Types:
1. Obstructive SA-when breathing air can cause loud snoring.What happens is, the muscle tone of the body relaxes during sleep and at the level of the throat the human airway is composed of collapsible walls of soft tissue which can obstruct breathing during sleep.
2. Central SA- is a less common type and often occurs with obstructive SA, but it can occur alone.
Symptoms:
Symptoms include loud snoring, restless sleep, and sleepiness during the daytime.
Solution:
"The management of obstructive SA was revolutionized with the introduction of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), first described in 1981 by Colin Sullivan and associates in Sydney, Australia." Other remedies or treatments involve lifestyle changes, such as avoiding alcohol or muscle relaxants, losing weight, and quitting smoking. If disorder is strong you should consult your doctor and maybe have a surgery. Price range is from a few thousand dollars up and success rate is less then 50%, these operations are not supported by large scale, scientific studies as to their efficacy.
Hope this helps, this is NOT medical advice and you should consult your doctor first!
Self-help treatment for sleep apnea
-Lose weight
-Stop using alcohol, cigarettes, and sedatives, or anything that relaxes the muscle.
-Sleep on your side
-Elevate the head of your bed
-Use nasal spray to help open nasal passages.
CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure)
provides pressurized air to prevent the airway from collapsing. Most units are the size of a tissue box and many now come with a built in humidifier for comfort.
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