Sleep apnea occurs when your breathing is interrupted during sleep, usually because your airway becomes blocked or collapses. Without enough oxygen in your blood, your brain wakes you up to restart your breathing.
These sleep interruptions can happen hundreds of times each night and prevent you from getting a good night’s rest. If not treated, sleep apnea can lead to serious health complications, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.
Do you snore and feel all sweaty while sleeping?
People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly throughout the night, often for periods of 10 seconds or longer. They may snore loudly, sweat heavily during sleep, experience insomnia, and awaken feeling as though they were choking.
The interrupted breathing makes it difficult for you to get a good night’s rest, leading to fatigue and health problems. But if you have sleep apnea, there are steps you can take to help control the symptoms.
This guide would give you all the information you would need to know more about sleep apnea and why people purchase modafinil regularly online to treat it.
Table Of Content
- What Is Sleep Apnea?
- How Common Is Sleep Apnea?
- Types Of Sleep Apnea
- What Causes Sleep Apnea?
- How Is Sleep Apnea Treated?
- Risk Factors
- Bottomline
What Is Sleep Apnea?
According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep apnea is a disorder that causes you to stop breathing while you sleep. Without treatment, sleep apnea can dramatically increase your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and other serious health problems.
Sleep apnea is an illness that impacts millions of people globally; it occurs when your airway becomes blocked during sleep, preventing you from breathing normally.
How Common Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea disorder is a common condition that affects both men and women all over the world. It occurs when the muscles in the throat relax too much during sleep, obstructing airflow to the lungs and causing irregular breathing patterns or pauses in breathing altogether.
According to some estimates, around 1 in 5 Americans suffer from this condition. There are several different types of sleep apnea disorder, depending on which part of the airway is affected.
Did you know that sleep apnea disorder is one of the most common sleep disorders out there? While it’s often regarded as a “typical man’s disease,” research shows that women actually make up roughly half of all cases of sleep apnea.
If you suspect you might be suffering from sleep apnea disorder, it’s important to seek medical help as soon as possible so you can find an appropriate treatment plan and start getting better quality rest at night.
Types Of Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea affects breathing during sleep causing your throat muscles to either partially or completely close. This disorder can block airflow causing shallow breaths or pauses in breathing.
Sleep apnea can also bring on a host of other health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and depression.
Sleep apnea is characterized by a decrease or complete halt in breathing during sleep. The condition may occur many times throughout the night, leaving you tired and exhausted the next day. In some cases, it can even be fatal if not properly treated.
Following are the two types of sleep apnea:
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
- Central Sleep Apnea (CSA)
Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious, potentially life-threatening sleep disorder in which the airway repeatedly collapses during sleep. It is the most common type of apnea, accounting for 80-90% of cases.
While obstructive sleep apnea was once thought to be only a problem affecting middle-aged men, we now know that this disorder affects individuals of all ages and genders.
In fact, it is estimated that 2-4% of adults have obstructive sleep apnea. This number increases to 4-7% among adults over 40 years old. Obstructive sleep apnea has also been found to be more common in women over the age of 50.
Central Sleep Apnea
Central sleep apnea (CSA) is a common disorder that affects people of all ages. It occurs when your body doesn’t properly regulate the activities of the heart, lungs, and brain during sleep.
Instead of slowing down at night as it should, your brain becomes aroused and a breathing episode occurs. This causes you to stop breathing for short periods throughout the night that can last from seconds to minutes.
The exact cause of this unique sleep-related disorder is still unknown!
What Causes Sleep Apnea?
Well, there are several factors that can contribute to this disorder, including obesity and the shape of a person’s jaw or neck.
Some of the most common causes of sleep apnea include structural problems with your airway, excessive weight gain, and age-related changes to your breathing.
In women specifically, hormonal changes due to pregnancy or the use of oral contraceptives can make them more at risk for developing sleep apnea.
What are the common symptoms of sleep apnea?
There are several symptoms of sleep apnea. The most common symptoms of sleep apnea are:
- Waking up with a feeling of exhaustion or fatigue. People with sleep apnea may feel incredibly exhausted, even after a full night of sleep.
- Daytime drowsiness Drowsiness when driving, working, or engaging in other activities may result in more severe occurrences of this.
- Snoring. This is a typical symptom of sleep apnea (although it doesn’t always occur). Without snoring at all, you can still have sleep apnea.
- Changes in mood. Common signs of sleep apnea include depression and worry.
- Alterations in brain activity. These could include challenges with memory, concentration, or other aspects of the brain.
- Waking up in the middle of sleep at night repeatedly. Given that most people can’t recall when or why they wake up, this symptom may be more difficult to detect. People who wake up like this frequently recall another cause for awakening, such as heartburn or the desire to use the restroom.
- Breathing pauses during sleeping that are visible to others. While you are sleeping, your spouse, partner, or another close relative or friend may notice these symptoms.
- Abnormal breathing patterns Cheyne-Stokes breathing (CSB) is a characteristic respiratory rhythm that can accompany central sleep apnea. Breathing becomes rapid during CSB and becomes shallower before being completely nonexistent. They will stop breathing for a few seconds before starting again and repeating the pattern.
- Insomnia.
- Sweating at night and having insomnia.
- Sexual dysfunction
- Waking up with a sense of being out of breath or choked.
- Headaches, particularly upon awakening.
How Is Sleep Apnea Treated?
Fortunately, there is a wide range of treatments available for people who suffer from sleep apnea. While there is no cure for sleep apnea, treatments are available that can help to reduce its symptoms. These include lifestyle changes, such as avoiding caffeine and alcohol before bedtime; wearing a CPAP device while sleeping; using medications like modafinil; using mouth guards to treat teeth grinding; and surgery if the condition can’t be controlled by other means.
Risk Factors
If you think that you might be suffering from this disorder or suspect that your partner might, it’s important to seek help right away. There are certain factors that increase the risk of sleep apnea which are:
- Obesity: Sleep apnea is considerably heightened by obesity. Breathing difficulties may be caused by fat accumulation around your upper airway.
- Family history: Your risk may be increased if you have relatives who suffer from sleep apnea.
- Using tranquillizers or sedatives: These medications cause your throat muscles to relax, which can make your obstructive sleep apnea worse.
- Smoking: People who smoke are three times more likely than nonsmokers to have obstructive sleep apnea. Smoking might exacerbate swelling and fluid retention in the upper airway.
- Nasal obstruction: You are more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea if you have trouble breathing through your nose, whether from an anatomical issue or allergies.
- Assigned male at birth: Men are two to three times more likely than women to suffer from sleep apnea. However, women who are obese have greater risks, and even more after menopause.
- Age related: Older persons are substantially more likely to experience sleep apnea.
- Comorbidities: Some of the illnesses that may raise the risk of obstructive sleep apnea include Parkinson’s disease, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes. People suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome, hormonal issues, a history of stroke, and persistent lung conditions such as asthma are at higher risks of getting sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea can cause a number of serious health problems, including an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Left untreated, sleep apnea can also lead to depression and other mental health issues.
Bottomline
Sleep apnea disorder can lead to daytime sleepiness, poor concentration, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and even sudden death.
In many cases, simply making some changes to your lifestyle like improving your diet or exercising more frequently can help. However, people with sleep apnea might need medication or surgery based on their symptoms and severity.
With proper treatment, people with sleep apnea can enjoy a full night’s rest, which is essential for maintaining overall well-being! If you are chronically sleep-deprived, you may suffer from sleep apnea. Call Alaska Sleep Clinic today @ 907-770-9104. Improve Your Sleep. Improve Your
