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Sleep Apnea is a problem which I have suffered from in the past, according to my wife. She often has had to wake me because of the time that lapsed between breaths and the concern she had that I wouldn’t start breathing on my own again. I know that it has caused me to be very sleepy and tired during the day and often I would wake with a headache and feeling like I had not slept at all.
Sleep apnea is a much more common disorder than what we realise, because it often is either misdiagnosed or goes undiagnosed. It is estimated, by the National Institute of Health, that a minimum of 12 million Americans have sleep apnea. Apnea in adults is defined as a stoppage of breathing that lasts a minimum of ten seconds. Then there is hypopnea where you don’t completely stop breathing, but instead suffer from a much reduced airflow or you are struggling to breathe. With either apnea or hypopnea, the oxygen level in your bloodstream drops usually to a dangerous level. We really need to look at the options and treatments to cure sleep apnea.
Sleep Apnea – What Is It?
It is when you stop breathing for anywhere between 10 and 20 seconds at a time while sleeping. This will usually occur a minimum of several times a night, but if you have severe apnea it can occur many more times. Of course, because you’re sleeping when this happens, you are not usually aware of your problem. Although sometimes I have woken from my sleep with a start, aware that I haven’t been breathing properly and take a big sort of stuttering breath. Maybe it is this sudden search for air that wakes me up. If you do have this problem, mostly when you wake you will not be aware that you have been experiencing apnea attacks, even though you may have stopped breathing hundreds of times during the night, and it could be for as long as a minute or more. If your wife or partner alerts you or if any of the following list of symptoms are very obvious then you should seek urgent medical advice as sleep apnea can cause you serious health problems. While children do suffer from apnea it is more prevalent in adult males. If you suspect any of your children may suffer please read the section below on children with sleep apnea, as it can have serious consequences for the
Sleep Apnea Symptoms In Adults
• Very restless and interrupted sleep. When you suffer an apnea event, your brain will briefly arouse or wake you in order to get you to resume breathing. This mostly subliminal arousal will result in extremely poor quality sleep
• Continuous long periods of time when you don’t breath
• Snoring, usually loud but mostly interrupted with silence
• When you wake you do so feeling exhausted similar to lack of sleep
• When you wake you do so with a bad headache, which you will often put down to a bad sleeping position or incorrect pillow
• Being sleepy all day and feeling like you need frequent naps
• Feeling lethargic all day
• Where small things make you irritable and grumpy
• Lack of concentration and poor mental application
• Taking risks say while driving or displaying general poor judgment
• You will easily forget things
• High blood pressure or hypertension. Studies have shown that there is link between snorers and high blood pressure and as most people who suffer from apnea are also habitual snorers there is definitely a worrying link.
Sleep Apnea Cause And Type
There are the following three types of sleep apnea;
1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). This is by far the most common form of apnea (84%) and is caused when there is a blocked airway while you sleep, where soft tissue at the back of your throat relaxes and then collapses. This stops or impedes the airflow into your lungs.
2. Central Sleep Apnea (CSA). This is a much more rare kind of apnea (0.4%) and is caused when your brain has problems transmitting and receiving signals to the muscles that control your breathing. However when you suffer from this type of apnea, often you will also progress obstructive sleep apnea.
3. Complex Apnea. This is a combination of the first two and where you change from CSA to OSA while asleep (15%).
If your wife or partner tells you that you have sleep apnea or you realise that you have one or more of the symptoms you need to see your GP or Physician immediately so you can get it properly diagnosed. You can be checked with an overnight sleep test known as Polysomnogram usually at a clinic or hospital. This test could dramatically improve your quality of life and possibly even save your life.
Your GP or Physician can then decide on the appropriate course for treatment of sleep apnea from the following depending on what the cause is and the severity of your obstruction;
• A weight loss program if you’re over weight. Excessive fat in the neck area could cause the narrowing of your airway causing obstructions
• Therapy to change your sleeping position where you don’t sleep on your back. If you can sleep on your side this will have a positive effect on your apnea
• Dental products such as mouth guards which will assist in keeping your airway open
• Continuous positive airway pressure treatment (CPAP) where pressurized air is constantly blown into your airway to keep it free of obstruction. This is one of the more widely used and effective treatments.
• Changing your lifestyle to avoid or lower alcohol intake, quit smoking and/or eliminate sedatives, anti-depressants and muscle relaxants
• Surgery is usually the last resort, when you have advanced apnea and the other treatments have been tried but failed.
Sleep Apnea In Children
It is not often understood that sleep apnea can also affect infants and children and that this problem has experienced a dramatic increase in numbers suffering. So your toddler with sleep problems may have a much more serious issue, because what is even less understood is that there are some very worrying results caused by lack of quality sleep in our children where this is having a huge effect on their development.
Tests have long shown that children with apnea will typically score an average of 16 points less in an IQ test than children who don’t suffer (85 verses 101). Until very recently what has not been known is that this is caused by chemical changes within the brain. This is very sobering because all parents want to do the best that they can for their children and give them as many opportunities to excel as possible. So what this can mean is that if your ‘smart’ child is turning in very average or mediocre results, it could be nothing more than a treatable sleep disorder.
Hopkin’s Children’s Centre in Baltimore recently conducted a study of 31 children between 6 – 16 years old, 19 of them with severe sleep apnea, using a modified MRI scan. They found that those children with sleep apnea showed significant changes in two areas of the brain associated with learning and higher mental function. They also found that the same children had altered levels of three chemicals within the brain that indicated brain damage. It was undetermined whether or not this damage was permanent and that further studies would be required to see whether or not this is reverse-able. Even if it is found to be reversalable and the brain chemistry and cognitive function can be restored to normal, children who suffer from sleep apnea will experience a loss in learning at a critical stage of their learning development that they will never be able to regain.
Symptoms For Sleep Apnea In Children
So how does you know if your toddler or child has sleep apnea? As a conscientious parent you should already be on the lookout for this problem in your children, as early diagnosis and treatment could have a huge affect on your child’s success in life as the Hopkin’s Children’s Centre study clearly indicates
• Listen while they’re sleeping. If your child breathes noisily and/or has loud or labored breathing, snores, coughs continuously during the night then they could be suffering from sleep apnea
• Wanting to sleep longer than usual with continuous tiredness and sleepiness during the daytime
• Another sign would be your child having frequent pauses in breathing during sleep. The result of this would be your child being aroused from sleep and tossing and turning in bed
• Bedwetting at an age when this problem should’ve stopped.
• The sleeping position would look odd maybe with their head tilted back to try and force their airway open
• Unexplained and sudden changes in their behaviour maybe becoming irritable or hyperactive
• Constantly waking up complaining of headaches
Treatment For Apnea In Children
Severe cases of apnea in children can be treated by the removal of excess tissue from the back of their nose or throats or their adenoids or tonsils.
A continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) machine can also be used. This provides the child with a constant pressurised flow of air through a face mask which keeps the airway open.
Constant nightly inadequate and interrupted sleep caused by sleep apnea will take a huge toll on your child. But when you combine this with the impairment of your child’s IQ, it becomes urgent and imperative that you take action as soon as you suspect their condition and have them properly diagnosed and treated.
Risk Factors For Sleep Apnea
There are risk factors for sleep apnea and knowing what they are could assist you in recognising how likely you are to suffer from it and seeking early diagnosis;
• A family history of sleep apnea
• Excessive weight
• Large neck and a recessed chin
• Smoking
• Excessive alcohol drinking
• Abnormalities in your upper airway structure
• Male. Most prominent however can affect women and children
• If you’re over the age 40 years old
• Ethnicticity. Mexicans, Polynesians, Melanesians and African Americans or Blacks
Click here to go to the website of The American Sleep Apnea Association where you can take the “What’s Your Snore Score?” test. If you answer “yes” to any of the questions you should immediately discuss this with your GP, Physician or Sleep Specialist.
Possible Health Consequences Of Sleep Apnea
If you have Apnea and not get it successfully treated, then the possible consequences to your health can be extremely serious, even including death.
Untreated sleep apnea can cause;
• High blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease
• Memory problems
• Weight gain
• Morning headaches
• Falling asleep during the day or when driving
• Bouts of depression
• Gastric reflux
• Nocturia where at night you use the bathroom frequently
• Premature aging and declining health
• Impotence
• Job impairment
• Crashes when driving
Everyone operates and feels much better throughout the day if you’ve had a good night’s sleep. With the fast-pace today, more and more people are not getting enough quality sleep and are nodding off after lunch. Does this happen to you? Maybe you’re suffering from a serious sleep disorder that you don’t know about nor understand. If untreated you could eventually end up with serious health consequences and even a premature death.
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