Are you having trouble sleeping and don’t even know it? Do you wake up in the middle of the night for no reason? You may have a sleeping disorder and you don’t even know it. Most people with a sleeping disorder suffer from obstructive sleep apnea.
What is obstructive sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder where breathing stops and starts. Obstructive sleep apnea is the same thing as sleep apnea, but it is caused by your throat muscles relaxing while you are asleep.
How do I know if I have sleep apnea?
Sometimes you may not know if you have a sleeping disorder or not, mostly because you are asleep when it is occurring, but there are some signs that you should take note of that may give you a clue on whether or not you have a sleeping disorder. Some signs of sleep apnea include excessive daytime tiredness, loud snoring, periods of stopped breathing during sleep witnessed by another person, morning headaches, attention problems, and waking up with a dry mouth and throat, and suddenly waking up short of breath. If you experience any of these symptoms you should seek help from a physician.
What causes sleep apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea is when the muscles in the back of your throat that support your tonsils, side walls of the throat, soft palette, and uvula; relax and cause your airway to narrow or close. Because you are unable to breathe the oxygen levels in your blood begin to lower. Your brain notices a change in these levels and wakes you from sleep, even though you may not notice being woken up. Because this sleeping disorder may go on for long periods of time without being noticed, people with sleep apnea do not get the rest they need because they cannot reach full rest potential.
Who is at risk for sleep apnea?
There are several risk factors that may lead to sleep apnea. Some of these risk factors include use of alcohol, smoking, race, gender, nasal congestion, neck circumference, age and excess weight. Some of these risk factors can be prevented and some cannot, for example men are at a higher risk than women to get sleep apnea.
What do I do if I have sleep apnea?
First of all there are a couple of diagnostic tests that you can do to see if you have sleep apnea. One of them is a nocturnal polysomnography, this includes being hooked up to heart monitors and other machines that can see your breathing patterns while you sleep. This is typically done in a lab setting. Then there are take home tests similar to the nocturnal polysomnography that can also detect heart rate and breathing patterns.
As far as treatment there is a variety of options that you may choose from. There are various types of therapies and devices that you can wear while you sleep, sometimes surgery is necessary and sometimes there are only lifestyles changes to make.
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