An unrestful night’s sleep can cause one to have a not-such-a-good-day the next day. This is because most human beings need a good 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep to perform at their optimal best. However, sleep disorders like sleep apnea often do not allow us to have an uninterrupted and peaceful night’s sleep.
If you, or someone you know, suffer from sleep apnea, then getting this condition treated at the earliest is extremely essential, failing which, a number of health issues may soon start affecting your life. After all, a good amount of sleep is one of the keys to a healthy life. Owing to the technology and medicine, today treating and managing sleep apnea has become possible without too much effort. Here are a few treatment options for sleep apnea.
This is a mask that you place over your nose and mouth while you sleep. It helps by blowing air very gently into the airway, in order to help keep it open while you sleep. The CPAP method is known to be one of the most effective ways of treating and managing sleep apnea. However, before you resort to this method, consulting your doctor would be the best idea.
Dental appliances offer another great way of helping with sleep apnea. These devices stop the airway from relaxing and collapsing, by holding your tongue upright and sliding your jaw slightly forward. This helps a patient with sleep apnea breathe easily while he sleeps. However, this therapy is best suited only for those who suffer from mild to moderate sleep apnea and not for those with severe sleep apnea.
Surgical therapy is best suited for those people who didn’t find the CPAP or dental device therapy effective. A surgical procedure for sleep apnea removes the extra tissue in your throat that collapses while you sleep and causes your breath to stop. Most surgeries for sleep apnea are simple and minimally invasive. However, depending on your condition, this surgery could also get a little complicated at times.
Many-a-times losing excess weight can also help with treating and managing sleep apnea. Wondering how? Well, the answer is pretty simple! Most of the times, overweight people tend to have thicker necks and extra thick tissue in their throats, which blocks their airway as they sleep. Therefore, losing weight may help with the condition of sleep apnea.
In this therapy, the person suffering from sleep apnea wears a special belt-like device around their waists when they sleep. This prevents them from sleeping in the supine position (the position where most episodes of sleep apnea occur).
Apart from all of the treatments mentioned above, avoiding smoking and drinking may also help reduce sleep apnea to a great extent. So if you suffer from sleep apnea, make sure you work towards treating this condition without wasting any more time in order to have a more peaceful life.
To maintain optimal health, there are a couple of things that are of utmost importance to us human beings. A few of these are nourishing food, exercise, and a good amount of sleep. And by “good,” we mean 7-8 hours of sleep every day. However, in this busy day and age, it is indeed a struggle to find those hours for a restful night’s sleep. Apart from a busy schedule, the other factors that disrupt our sleep cycle are stress and disorders like sleep paralysis, sleep apnea, and insomnia.
Sleep apnea is a condition in which a person’s breathing is interrupted while he or she is asleep. If the signs and symptoms of sleep apnea go undetected or are left untreated, this condition could also pose to be fatal. This is because, during an episode of sleep apnea, a person’s breath may stop. This, in turn, can affect his or her blood pressure, sugar levels, and vital organs due to the lack of oxygen. While men are at a higher risk, sleep apnea also affects women. Moreover, studies have shown that about 80 percent of sleep apnea cases go undiagnosed. Here are a few signs and symptoms of sleep apnea you should watch out for.
This is known to be one of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea. Although snoring may be a symptom, it does not necessarily imply that you have this sleep disorder. However, if you or someone you know has been snoring frequently, getting tested for sleep apnea would be a wise idea.
Obstructive sleep apnea is a kind of disorder in which the fatty tissues present in the throat and tongue relax while you are asleep and fall back into your airways, helping you breathe. This obstruction in the airway causes your breath to stop for a couple of seconds. While your brain wakes itself due to lack of oxygen when this happens, an event like this can easily happen 5-30 times in a single hour. Therefore not enough oxygen reaches your organs and this leaves you with an unrestful night’s sleep.
The constant interruption in your sleep due to sleep apnea deprives your body of sufficient rest and makes you perpetually tired. This is another important symptom of this disorder.
A person suffering from sleep apnea also suffers from frequent headaches. This is due to the lack of oxygen supply to the brain during an episode of sleep apnea. Therefore, if you happen to suffer from constant headaches, we suggest you get tested for sleep apnea.
Once again, due to the lack of oxygen at night, you may also suffer from high blood pressure. This is another significant symptom of sleep apnea you should watch out for.
If you experience one or more of these symptoms on a regular basis, then we suggest getting yourself checked for sleep apnea at the earliest.
Sleep apnea is a common sleeping disorder. The disorder causes a poor quality of sleep. Sleep apnea results in a deficiency of oxygen in the body. One of the most common symptoms is uncontrollable pauses in breaths and short or shallow breaths in sleep. It might cause you to wake up suddenly as well.
Sleep apnea usually interrupts one’s breathing during sleep, sometimes as many as 20-30 times in an hour. You might be suffering from sleep apnea if you wake up startled and gasping for air.
The uncomfortable breathing caused by sleep apnea may also lead to symptoms such as fatigue, snoring, disturbed sleep, anxiety, or even choking.
You must not leave sleep apnea untreated. It can develop into a grave medical condition as well as cause long term health problems.
Some of the long-term risks associated with sleep apnea are heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, obesity, sexual dysfunction, and short term memory loss. Fatigue due to interrupted sleep may also cause accidents while driving, poor work performance, and higher vulnerability to diseases.
Eat healthy and exercise regularly. Obesity increases the risk of sleep apnea as it downgrades breathing capability by affecting the throat muscles.
If you are overweight, you should consider shedding about 10% of your body weight. Losing weight helps reduce the inflammation of the throat muscle.
Alcohol interferes with sleep quality. It disturbs the uvula and palate, which are needed to regularize breathing.
Smoking may cause inflammation and fluid retention in the respiratory system. Be careful with sedatives as well because they may exaggerate the symptoms of sleep apnea.
If you develop a cough, nasal congestion, or an acid reflux, you should get it treated immediately. These conditions cause breathing difficulties and often worsen sleep apnea.
Take the vapor treatment to get rid of nasal congestion. Eat healthy and stay away from food that might cause allergies. Try resting your head on a higher level while sleeping.
Humidifying your bedroom may help you ease sleep apnea symptoms. Get a humidifier, as it may help decrease snoring and make breathing easier and clearer by lessening congestion.
Elevating your head may also help by reducing snoring. It also relieves one’s discomfort to an extent. Massage your chest with natural oils such as eucalyptus oil before going to sleep. Natural oils naturally open up the airways. Take regular massages to soothe a stuffy throat or a nasal block.
You should consult your physician without delay if natural remedies do not help. Follow a healthy diet and good sleeping habits. Avoid exposure to entities that may cause allergies. Exercise regularly to keep your weight in check and stay active.
