As defined in apnea sleep studies, sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder wherein breathing is irregular during sleep. Breathing either stops and starts anytime and is considered to be unhealthy. Snoring loudly and feeling sleepy during the day even if you had many hours of sleep during the night are just some of the typical symptoms of sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is categorized into three which are obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), central sleep apnea (CSA) and complex sleep apnea which is a mix of these two.
Obstructive sleep apnea or OSA is considered to be the most common type of this sleep disorder. It happens when the throat of the muscles relax obstructing the airway passages especially when breathing in the air. OSA causes you to wake up often during the night in order to grasp for air. However, the patient is not really aware of that his or her sleep was interrupted during the night. Due to this fact, the patient is not able to reach the desired hours of sleep. The common reason for OSA is too much weight of the patient. The excessive fat located on the sides of the upper airway closes the breathing muscles when relaxing making it more difficult to breathe. Another risk factor for OSA is the size of your neck. The thicker the circumference of the neck, the smaller the air passage is. Intake of too much alcohol containing drinks, sedatives, tranquilizers can also result to OSA as these three relaxes the throat muscles. Smoking is one great factor contributing to OSA as it increases the inflammation in the upper air passage.
The second type of sleep apnea which is central sleep apnea or CSA takes place when the brain does not give the right signals to the breathing muscles. This may not be a very common type but is still dangerous to health. Most common symptoms of CSA are discontinuation of breathing for a few times when sleeping, waking up in the middle of sleep, feeling too sleepy during the day, body weakness and numbness. These symptoms will then result to irritability, lack of concentration.
The third type which is mixed apnea is just a combination of CSA and OSA. In this condition, the patient suffers from the obstruction of air passages and brain signal breathing dysfunction.
Although sleep apnea sounds not to be a very complicated kind of illness by ordinary people, according to studies, is should not be neglected as it may lead to:
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Heart problems. The quick drops of oxygen level in the blood while sleeping will increase blood pressure. The more complicated sleep apnea is the greater is the risk of high blood pressure. People having heart disease, by encountering low oxygen in the blood may possibly lead stroke or even sudden death.
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Waking up in between sleep will lead to daytime fatigue. Fatigue leads to unhealthy life, drowsiness and irritability which will make the patient more difficult to function in his or her daily tasks.
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People suffering from sleep apnea are also observed to undergo more complications after major surgeries because they have difficulty in breathing even when sedated with anesthesia and while lying on their backs.
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As not enough oxygen is present in the blood, the brain also does not receive enough oxygen for it to function well. This sometimes results to memory problems and morning headaches.
See your doctor for proper advices about sleep apnea as soon as you are aware that you have the disease. Know more about it in your doctor’s point of view, ask questions and find ask for proper treatments that you will need.
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