What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is an ailment which creates breathing difficulties during sleep.
Routinely, somebody who experience this condition will have lapses in breathing or shallow breathing when they sleep. These lapses can occur all night and can last for a few minutes at a time.
During these episodes, the person may utter a choking or gagging noise which then may wake the person up various times during the night.
The continuous disturbance of sleep leads to problems such as drowsiness throughout the day.
The Three Different Types of Sleep Apnea
- Obstructive: Most common and is distinguished by a blockage of airflow while sleeping.
- Central: Which is due to a loss of effort to breathe, causing the person to stop breathing intermittently.
- Mixture: That is a mix of the OSA and CSA types.
The Diagnosis of Sleep Apnea:
It is challenging to diagnose with this condition because typically, the person is not aware of the problem.
Frequently, sleep apnea patients are usually informed of their ailment by a spouse or partner who is generally disturbed by the noise emanating from the sufferer during the night.
To be correctly diagnosed with this condition, the patient must take part in a sleep study.
The sleep study will have to register multiple interruptions of breathing every hour in order to diagnose the condition.
Risks Associated With Sleep Apnea
- Heart attack
- Depression
- Heart failure
- Stroke
- Diabetes
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Vision problems
- Insomnia
- Concerns with conducting motor vehicles or machinery
Treatment of Sleep Apnea
- Use of a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure)
- Surgery
- Automatic positive airway pressure (APAP) devices
- Neurostimulation
- Medications
- Avoiding alcohol and some drugs
About Dr Lawrence Woods
My goal is to create the highest quality mattresses and pillows for unmatched comfort.
With 30 years of spinal healthcare experience in Ireland as a chiropractor, I learned the value of high quality sleep for living a happy and healthy life.
I have a Chiropractic Degree from Life Chiropractic College West and I am NBCE Physiotherapy certified.
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