Your bed partner says that your snoring is driving him or her nuts. Or you may have heard family members talking behind your back about your snoring problem. You also wake up feeling unrested and irritable. What do you think– is it just snoring and tiredness because you are over-burdened with the tasks at hand, or is it something more serious?
Well, the symptoms are quite alike the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which is a sleep disorder very much prevalent in America and rest of the word. If left untreated—it might take its toll on your mind and body.
OSA has been linked to heart attacks, strokes, blood pressure, work related accidents, depression and many other physical and mental illnesses and associated risks. According to American sleep Association, sleep apnea affects more than 18 million American and it is estimated that more than 12 million American have obstructive sleep apnea.
What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
Apnea is a Greek word which means “without breath”. Sleep apnea causes one or many breathing pauses during sleep (less than five times is normal). The breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to 1 or 2 minutes. OSA is caused by the blockage of the airway that occurs when the soft tissues found in the back of throat collapses. Central sleep apnea is the less common form of sleep apnea. It occurs when the part of brain that is responsible to send signals to heart doesn’t send proper signals to breathing muscles.
Also Read: How to Identify If It Is Stress Causing You to Snore
Sleep apnea is more common in men than women. People having sleep apnea usually unaware of these breathing pauses as the event take place when they are sleeping. When your heart takes these breathing pauses you are partly wake up and body’s healing process for the day doesn’t complete. Unfinished healing regularly for many days converts into fatigue and you wake up feeling unrested and irritable. Here are some common factors that cause sleep apnea.
- Excess body weight – as extra fat tissue, especially around the neck, makes it harder to keep the airway open.
- Smoking
- Being over age 40
- Hereditary
- Nasal obstruction due to allergies, deviated septum and sinus problem
- Children may also have sleep apnea because of adenoids in the upper airway and enlarged tonsils.
Diagnosis
If you, your child or someone in your family experiencing symptoms of sleep apnea, you should certainly tell this to your physician, but like the other sleep disorders, diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea requires a thorough sleep study.
Polysomnogram (PSG) is a commonly suggested sleep study for diagnosing sleep apnea. This and other sleep studies are often take place in a lab or sleep center so that the brain’s activity, blood pressure, eye movement and amount of air that goes in and comes out of your lungs can all be record effectively.
Treatment
Its treatment begins with behavioral therapies. Weight loss programs can also be taken as a treatment option to improve OSA condition. Alcohol and some medicine also make you sleepy so restricting its consumption may also help.
The most common treatment for sleep apnea is Continuous Positive Airway Pressure or CPAP machine. Consult with your doctors for a treatment method that is most suitable for you.