Have you ever heard of the term ‘sleep apnea’?
For many, it posses as a real nightmare. This severe sleep condition affects a person’s breathing
during sleep and includes sleep deprivation.
In certain cases, not getting treatment in time can lead people to experience breathing interruption regularly during sleep or in severe cases, heart failure.
Hence, it is extremely important to know and figure out when you need professional help.
You yourself be the judge to see whether it’s just a restlessness concern or do you really need some attention and focus.
Because know this- your health matter before anything else and sometimes these are small warning signals which point that there may be a serious problem in hand.
It can pose as an alarming situation when the brain—and other parts of the body do not get enough oxygen and upper airway seems blocked and there are low oxygen levels.
This blog post aims to give you a complete overview of how sleep apnea, how its symptoms, causes and treatment works including home remedies.
So let’s begin:
Types of Sleep Apnea:
1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea
It is more common among people. It happens when the airway is blocked. The main reason behind this blockage is the damage of the soft tissue in the back of the throat while the person is asleep.
2. Central Sleep Apnea
This is when there is no blockage in the airway, but
the brain fails to send a signal to the muscles to breathe because the respiratory control center is not working properly.
So let’s move forward into :
How Common is Sleep Apnea?
A survey indicates that obstructive Sleep Apnea affects about 2-9% of adults in the USA, but several cases remain undiagnosed. If the study includes all cases, the number can go substantially
higher OSA rates. The accurate number is difficult to assess since the researchers used various measures to identify the disorder.
However, a consistent finding is that women are more affected by OSA than men. People of any age may be affected by this, but old people are more vulnerable. The Central Apnea has influenced around 9 percent of adult-aged 40 and above. It impacts more
than women.
According to the given data, people become a victim of OCA more than CSA, that’s why when they talk about Sleep Apnea, they refer it to OSA.
Learn more about Sleep Paralysis here.
Risk Factors of Sleep Apnea:
Did you know that Any age group can be victim of Sleep Apnea even children are at risk. The condition is not limited to a certain group of people only however their are those who are more prone to getting it as opposed to others.
Let’s look into some of the common issues:
Factors that contribute include:
• Men
• Obesity
• Above 40 years age
• Large neck size in men with 17 inches and in women 16 inches.
• Small jaw bone
• Large tonsils or tongue
• Family history of sleep Apnea
• Nasal blockage due to sinus problem or allergies
Let’s dive into some of the most common symptoms you need to keep an eye out for:
Symptoms:
A person himself may not aware of his ongoing medical condition but people around him can feel
unusual when that person is sleeping.
These symptoms include:
There is a short pause of breathing during the sleep or Loud snores.
What Sleep Apnea patient feels:
• Weakness- despite lying in bed for hours, you may feel there is still restlessness.
• Having insufficient or no sleep- this will affect your workflow and life productivity indefinitely.
• Focus problem- because of lack of attentiveness, your work’s productivity will be highly impacted
• Lack of concentration- you will definitely feel that you are finding it hard to concentrate on your work.
• Urinatory problem at night- this is a definite warning call.
• Feeling sore throat or parched lips
• Light headedness- you will suffer from attention and focus concerns
• Irritation- the condition can lead to certain irritation issues.
• Acidity- it is quite common that you will suffer from acidity levels.
• Reduced sex drive
What is the Treatment?
The purpose of treatment is to make breathing normal during sleep and deal with the undiagnosed
health issues. Of course, severity of the problem will make the course of action clearer.
So now that you are well-aware of the mechanism, you might be wondering ‘what can be done?’ Turns out, it is still very much manageable.
Adapt Changes in Lifestyle
Your lifestyle needs to be changed towards a normal pace. It is significant to modify
the living style as it is considered the foremost step towards leading a healthy life.
Healthy Lifestyle contains:
• Balanced diet– adapt a good eating regime. It’s always best to eat healthy nutrients and balance it with a good workout routine too.
• Proper sleep– get your complete rest at night. Having 7-8 hours of sleep is essential to good health and it helps to keep sleeping disorders at bay.
• Reduce alcohol intake-the toxic elements cause further discomfort and problems to your health system
• Abandon smoking- limiting your smoking helps to get your health in order.
• Maintain the weight- it is essential that you maintain a healthy weight. This helps you to adapt and keep a proper and healthy sleeping pattern in order.
• Sleep posture- in some cases, having a proper sleeping posture also helps. You can check out different sleeping postures and work out one that suits you and ensures you get good and deep rest.
Although there’s still good news. Did you know that there are certain home remedies that can give you relief and great results.
Effective Home Treatment (Things that Really Work):
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy
In this therapy, a mask can provide a continuous stream of pressure that keeps the airway opened.
People may get irritated by providing this treatment before they get the desired results.
However using certain tools is a good idea to make the process smooth and comfortable.
Furthermore, you can adjust your mask. Nasal Blockage can be relived by adding moisture in the air as it moves
through the mask.
Surgery
Having surgery can enlarge the airway in people who are affected by OSA. The surgeon can
remove the inflamed tonsils or enlarged tissues by doing surgery. You should not forget to visit
the doctor if suffering from similar symptoms.
Mandibular repositioning device (MRD)
The people, who are affected by mild OSA, may be treated by tailored instruments. An instrument
‘mouthpiece’ keeps the jaw wide opened to have a large space behind the tongue. So, the airway
remains opened and does not cause snoring or Apnea. One may experience pain in the jaw or tooth
as a side effect of MRD that ultimately worsens the joint problem. Certain medicines can be used
if someone is suffering from CSA after seeking help from the insomnia doctors as some of them
may have serious side effects. They are:
• triazolam
• zolpidem
• acetazolamide
Let’s look at how Sleep Apnea Aggravates other problems:
• Asthmatic problem
• Cancer
• Illness of kidneys
• Lack of focus and concentration
• Memory problem
• Heart attacks caused by insufficient oxygen
• Pregnancy related issues
• Eyes ailments
• Digestive malfunction
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
Now comes the most important part of our discussion:
Causes of Sleep Apnea:
Obstructive sleep Apnea occurs when a person’s airway becomes blocked during sleep. Multiple factors have been found to increase the risk of blockage and OSA:
Anatomical Characteristics
A person’s facial features including size of jaw, neck, tongue and tissues behind the throat may
affect the flow of the air.
Obesity
OSA can be caused because of the obesity and 60% people in the world are facing this dilemma.
Obesity leads to anatomical airway narrowing, and studies have shown that a 10 percent rise in
weight may be equal to a six-fold increase in the risk of OSA. Sedative drugs ease the tissues in
the throat, they block the airway.
Family History
It is more likely that individuals who have one or more close relatives with OSA will fall pray of OSA. It is better to know a complete family history in focus.
Cigarette smoking
People with chronic smoking habit catch OSA at a higher rate comparing those who don’t smoke.
Sleeping on your back
Your sleeping posture may breakdown of the tissue and causes hinderance.
Nasal congestion
People may have OSA because of nasal congestion as it reduces their breathing.
Abnormalities in hormones
When you suffer from an underactive thyroid or excessive hormonal growth, your chances of
having OSA increase. The reason is the swollen tissues around the airway, or the increased weight
are leading factors of OSA.
Conclusion
So there you have it. A complete and comprehensive look into the major factors and issues that lead to this common sleep disorder.
However with the advancement of technology it is now possible to look into ways to make your condition manageable.
Our guide is a look into how your sleep apnea can’t control your life. If you feel there are still certain doubts and clarifications that you require, feel free to reach out to our team who will provide you a detailed consultation on managing this condition in a better way!
If you still have certain doubts and confusion regarding the condition, send us an email or visit us to know in detail on how you can have a wholesome lifestyle with some life-altering knowledge and tips.
