Sleep apnea or sleep apnoea is the condition which causes sufferers to stop breathing frequently during sleep. These interruptions can last anything from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. There are three forms of sleep apnea Central, Obstructive and Mixed or Complex Apnea. Obstructive apnea is by the most common kind and it usually comes about in overweight, middle-aged men.
The most commonly recommended way of overcoming obstructive apnea is weight loss, but as this is not simple for most overweight people, the most common treatment is CPAP, which means the wearing of an oxygen mask.
The difficulty with sleep apnea is that the lack of breath means that the blood and the brain are starved of oxygen. When the amount of oxygen in the brain falls to a certain degree, it wakes the body up to do something about it. However, the heart usually beats more slowly at night, giving it a rest, but as the oxygen level in the blood drops, the heart will pump harder to get more blood and oxygen to the places it is most needed.
Another effect is that people suffer from fatigue during the day, which leads to falling asleep at the wheel and accidents at work. In fact, sufferers of apnea are three times more probable to have an accident than normal.
Sufferers of apnea seldom wake up when their brain gets them breathing again, but it can be very distressing for their partners. My wife really thought that I had died when she first became aware of my difficulty with obstructive sleep apnea and the spluttering back to a state of breathing resembles a drowning man resurfacing for the second time.
Other problems that can occur after a night of poor sleep are those linked with tiredness: irritability, mood swings, bad concentration, headaches, excessive anxiety, depression, acid reflux, nocturnal sweating, loss of sex drive and elevated heart rate at night.
Most instances of obstructive apnea can be vastly improved by a loss in weight. In fact, a ten percent loss of weight can produce a twenty-five percent improvement in apnea. Moreover, anything that relaxes the muscles should be avoided - especially alcohol. Stopping smoking can help as well.
Mechanical ways of improving the condition are lifting the head, so that the weight on your neck hangs down towards the chest rather than pressing down on the windpipe. Going to sleep on your side can help as well for the same reason.
Black African males and Indian (from India) males are almost twice as much at risk of suffering from apnea as Caucasians. Approximately 4% of Caucasian males and 2% of Caucasian females suffer from sleep apnea. A surprising statistic is that the same percentage of Chinese men and women suffer from apnea as Caucasians. This is startling because the Chinese are not normally as overweight as Caucasians.
The terms 'apnea' and 'apnoea' are synonymous; the former being the American spelling and the latter being the English spelling.
The most commonly recommended way of overcoming obstructive apnea is weight loss, but as this is not simple for most overweight people, the most common treatment is CPAP, which means the wearing of an oxygen mask.
The difficulty with sleep apnea is that the lack of breath means that the blood and the brain are starved of oxygen. When the amount of oxygen in the brain falls to a certain degree, it wakes the body up to do something about it. However, the heart usually beats more slowly at night, giving it a rest, but as the oxygen level in the blood drops, the heart will pump harder to get more blood and oxygen to the places it is most needed.
Another effect is that people suffer from fatigue during the day, which leads to falling asleep at the wheel and accidents at work. In fact, sufferers of apnea are three times more probable to have an accident than normal.
Sufferers of apnea seldom wake up when their brain gets them breathing again, but it can be very distressing for their partners. My wife really thought that I had died when she first became aware of my difficulty with obstructive sleep apnea and the spluttering back to a state of breathing resembles a drowning man resurfacing for the second time.
Other problems that can occur after a night of poor sleep are those linked with tiredness: irritability, mood swings, bad concentration, headaches, excessive anxiety, depression, acid reflux, nocturnal sweating, loss of sex drive and elevated heart rate at night.
Most instances of obstructive apnea can be vastly improved by a loss in weight. In fact, a ten percent loss of weight can produce a twenty-five percent improvement in apnea. Moreover, anything that relaxes the muscles should be avoided - especially alcohol. Stopping smoking can help as well.
Mechanical ways of improving the condition are lifting the head, so that the weight on your neck hangs down towards the chest rather than pressing down on the windpipe. Going to sleep on your side can help as well for the same reason.
Black African males and Indian (from India) males are almost twice as much at risk of suffering from apnea as Caucasians. Approximately 4% of Caucasian males and 2% of Caucasian females suffer from sleep apnea. A surprising statistic is that the same percentage of Chinese men and women suffer from apnea as Caucasians. This is startling because the Chinese are not normally as overweight as Caucasians.
The terms 'apnea' and 'apnoea' are synonymous; the former being the American spelling and the latter being the English spelling.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is now concerned with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. If you want to know more, please go to our website at Sleep Apnea Surgery Techniques
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