Sleep apnea or sleep apnoea is the condition which causes sufferers to stop breathing frequently during sleep. These interruptions can last anything from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. There are three forms of sleep apnea Central, Obstructive and Mixed or Complex Apnea. Obstructive apnea is by the most common form and it usually comes about in overweight, middle-aged men.
The most commonly recommended method of overcoming obstructive apnea is weight loss, but as this is not simple for most overweight people, the most common treatment is CPAP, which means the wearing of an oxygen mask.
The problem with sleep apnea is that the shortage of breath means that the blood and the brain are starved of oxygen. When the level of oxygen in the brain drops to a certain level, it wakes the body up to do something about it. However, the heart normally beats more slowly at night, giving it a rest, but as the oxygen level in the blood drops, the heart will pump harder to send more blood and oxygen to the areas it is most needed.
Another effect is that people suffer from fatigue during the day, which leads to falling asleep at the wheel and accidents at work. In fact, sufferers of apnea are three times more probable to have an accident than normal.
Sufferers of apnea hardly ever wake up when their brain gets them breathing again, but it can be very distressing for their partners. My wife thought that I had passed away when she first became aware of my difficulty with obstructive sleep apnea and the spluttering back to a state of breathing resembles a drowning man coming up for the second time.
Other worries that can arise after a night of poor sleep are those associated with tiredness: irritability, mood swings, bad concentration, headaches, excessive anxiety, depression, acid reflux, nocturnal sweating, lack of sex drive and increased heart rate at night.
Most instances of obstructive apnea can be vastly improved by a loss in weight. In fact, a ten percent loss of weight can produce a twenty-five percent improvement in apnea. Moreover, anything that relaxes the muscles should be avoided – particularly alcohol. Ceasing smoking can help as well.
Mechanical means of improving the condition are raising the head, so that the weight on your neck hangs down towards the chest rather than pressing down on the windpipe. Sleeping on your side can help as well for the same reason.
Black African males and Indian (from India) males are almost twice as much at risk of suffering from apnea as Caucasians. Approximately 4% of Caucasian males and 2% of Caucasian females suffer from sleep apnea. A surprising statistic is that the same percentage of Chinese men and women suffer from apnea as Caucasians. This is startling because the Chinese are not normally as overweight as Caucasians.
The terms ‘apnea’ and ‘apnoea’ mean the same; the former being the American spelling and the latter being the English spelling.
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on several topics, but is now concerned with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. If you want to know more, please go to our web site at Sleep Apnea Surgery Techniques