Causes and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea - Fitness After 40

A term which is casually thrown about these days, "sleep apnea" is actually a very serious sleep disorder affecting over 18 million American sleepers. It is a condition in which a person's breathing is continuously interrupted during sleep. Not only is the breathing interrupted many many times, awakening the sleeper each time, but the actual flow of oxygen can be interrupted for as few as 10 seconds to as many as 60 seconds or longer.

In order to resume normal breathing EVERY TIME THIS HAPPENS, the brain has to awaken the individual each time. This cycle of breathing being disrupted and the brain awakening the individual can be repeated hundreds of times during a single sleep period.

Sleep apnea deprives the body of sleep and oxygen. If left untreated the condition only gets worse. High blood pressure can be a result as can other types of cardiovascular disease. Sleep apnea can eventually become so severe that it could endanger your life...both directly and indirectly.

SYMPTOMS OF SLEEP APNEA

The most obvious symptom of sleep apnea is a constant feeling of dullness, tiredness and grogginess throughout the day. Many people with this disorder, who often do not realize they have it, will frequently fall asleep during daytime hours. This makes sense since a person with sleep apnea does not ever really have a chance to fall into a deep sleep.

There are other symptoms associated with sleep apnea. Those associated with sleeping including profuse sweating during sleep, gasping or choking, unusually loud snoring and waking suddenly and/or frequently to catch breath. By the way, if the doctor ever asked, or if the paper you filled out for him or her asked if you had nighttime sweats, sleep apnea was one of the things they were looking for.

If you have sleep apnea, when awake you may experience an inability to focus, concentrate and/or remember facts. Sleep apnea can also cause morning headaches and a sore throat or dry mouth upon awakening. You may notice your attention span getting shorter and your judgment and problem-solving abilities may not be as before. You may also experience mood swings or depression. Impotence and weight gain are also symptoms of sleep apnea.

Quick comment on that last statement: Weight gain can be a cause of impotence and sleep apnea, so a vicious circle can be established.

Those individuals who do have undiagnosed and/or untreated sleep apnea can suffer other consequences including an increased risk of becoming involved in driving-related accidents and a reduced ability to carry out their work-related functions.

The word "apnea" is actually a Greek word meaning "without breath".

In one type of sleep apnea, the muscles found inside the windpipe which are located at the back of the throat soften and as they soften, they relax, causing a blockage inside this airway.

OBSTRUCTED SLEEP APNEA

Because these unnoticed but very important muscles support the tongue, tonsils or uvula, a weakness of the muscles supporting these body parts can also cause the blockage. The blockage prevents an adequate supply of air from entering normally. The most common form of sleep apnea is referred to as OSA or Obstructed Sleep Apnea.

Sleep apnea comes in light cases, really bad cases, and every type inbetween. Sometimes something as simple as exercises for sleep apnea, can do the trick as can weight loss...two of the most common home remedies for sleep apnea.

CENTRAL SLEEP APNEA AND MIXED APNEA

With a far less common form of sleep apnea, Central Sleep Apnea, here is no blockage as in OSA. Instead, for some reason, the individual's brain is not able to send the messages necessary to instruct the appropriate muscles to carry out the breathing processes. When blocked airways (obstructive sleep apnea) and loss of brain control (central sleep apnea) occur simultaneously the resulting form of sleep apnea is called Mixed Apnea.

Several factors are believed responsible for causing sleep apnea. The largest group at risk is males aged 40 or older. As mentioned earlier, being overweight is an aggravating factor, as is smoking, overuse of alcohol and sedative use. An irregular sleep schedule, family history of sleep apnea, nasal congestion, snoring and problems with the tonsils, adenoids, tongue, chin, septum, vocal cords can all contribute to sleep apnea.

The only way to really find out if you have sleep apnea is to have a sleep study done. This is not complicated, and most health insurance plans will cover it. For someone who does have sleep apnea, such a simple test can be a lifesaver. For the test, you just show up, get some monitors attached, and go to sleep. The medical team does the rest. "Rest" Get it?

Okay, bad joke, but, getting treatment for sleep apnea if you do have it can be a real lifesaver.

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TREATMENTS AND REMEDIES FOR SNORING

Source: http://fitness-after-40.blogspot.com/2012/10/causes-and-symptoms-of-sleep-apnea.html

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