It is a sleep
disorder in which your breathing hampers. You tend to snore loudly and feel
lazy even after proper sleep.
Obstructive Sleep
Apnea– The most common type of sleep apnea, it causes
when the throat muscles relax.
Central Sleep
Apnea– The second common type of sleep apnea, it occurs
when the brain fails to send signals that help control our breathing.
Complex Sleep
Apnea– It is a complicated type which is caused by both
obstructive and central sleep apnea. It is a rare type.
Sleep apnea develops
over a period of time. There is Symptoms of Sleeping Disorder that helps in identifying the type of sleep apnea you are
suffering from.
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
The signs of sleep
apnea are mostly similar to other sleep disorders. It is difficult to identify
the type of sleep apnea due to overlapping symptoms.
Some common symptoms
are listed below:
- Incessant
snoring.
- Breathlessness
during sleep.
- Stop
breathing in sleep.
- Experiencing
dry mouth.
- Headache.
- Insomnia.
- Lack
of focus/concentration when awake.
- Irritation.
- If you are showing a few of the above symptoms, you should visit a doctor.
Causes of Sleep Apnea
Every type of sleep
apnea is caused due to different reasons. They are both psychological and physiological
in nature.
- Causes
of Obstructive sleep apnea – This occurs when the muscles in the throat relax. The
airway narrows and oxygen is cut-off. Because of this difficulty in
sleeping, the brain wakes you up from your sleep. You wake up feeling choked
and gasping. This repeats in a cycle. Excessive weight, narrow neck
circumference, age, family history, genetically inherited narrow airway,
and nasal congestion are some common triggers for obstructive sleep apnea.
- Causes of central sleep apnea – The main trigger for central sleep apnea is the inability of the brain to send signals to the muscles that control breathing. For a short span of time, you will lose control over your breathing and wake up feeling short of breath. Central sleep apnea is observed more in middle-aged men than women. Heart disorders and blood pressure patients also experience central sleep apnea. Even a few medicines and painkillers may cause this sleep disorder.
Sleep Apnea Treatments
Usually, the
treatment for mild cases of sleep apnea include the change in lifestyle,
including Everything Health in your diet,
quit alcohol and smoking, and adding exercise to your daily routine. Therapy is
also a good option to get rid of sleep disorders.
If the above doesn’t
help, you could try one of these treatment methods:
1. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
It is a mask that
delivers air pressure through a machine. The air pressure helps in keeping the airway
open and prevents sleep apnea. It is a common and reliable treatment for sleep
apnea. Sometimes, it may be uncomfortable to use a mask while sleeping. But,
practice makes it easy.
There are types of
masks, and you should try them all to figure out which suits you the best. In
case the mask remains uncomfortable, get in touch with your doctor.
2. Surgery
It is an extreme
choice of treatment for sleep apnea. The decision to do a surgery is taken only
after trying other treatment options for a period of 2-3 months.
Surgery is done for
people who have a problem with their jaw structure that is an obstruction to
their breathing. If you opt for surgery, these are your following options:
- Tissue surgery – Removal of tissue from your mouth and top of the throat, including tonsils, are a surgical treatment to sleep apnea. It stops any tissues to obstruct the throat. It is a good treatment option for obstructive sleep apnea.
- Shrink
the tissue – Using
radio frequency, tissues could be shrunk. It is a small procedure which
helps for mild apnea.
- Jaw
repositioning – The
jaw structure could lead to obstruction in breathing, especially if it has
an enlarged space behind the tongue.
- Weight Loss– Obesity is one of the main causes
of sleep apnea. Surgery to lose weight and extra fats from the body will
definitely help in treating sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a
sleep disorder which needs to be treated on time. It is a serious condition
that leaves you tired during the day time. A treatment ensures you make the
most of your day and have a good sleep in the night.
Related Articles:-
No comments:
Post a Comment