Sleep Apnea: What You Need to Know

Sleep apnea is a disorder that affects over twelve million people in the United States. It is when your breathing stops and becomes very shallow. While the condition is common, some people are not totally aware of it. Here are the things you need to know about the disorder and what you can do about it.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

People suffering from sleep apnea often stop breathing during their sleep. Sometimes they cease breathing hundreds of times during the night. The breathing cessations often last for a minute or even longer. Each apnea occurrence causes the brain to shortly rouse the person in order to make him breathe again. The disorder often causes poor quality sleep.

Sleep apnea is classified into three different categories:

• Obstructive sleep apnea. This disorder occurs when the airway is blocked. The blockage usually occurs when the soft tissue in the back of the throat caves in and breaks down during their sleep.
• Central sleep apnea. In this condition, the airway is not blocked. However, the brain ceases to function well and overlooks its signal to the brain to make muscles continue breathing.
• Mixed apnea. This condition is a combination of obstructive and central sleep apnea.

When left untreated, this disorder can lead to high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases, weight gain, impotency, headaches and problems retaining memory. Apart from this, when apnea is left untreated, it can lead to motor vehicle mishaps and job impairment. However, sleep apnea can still be treated. Read more.

Treatment Methods

When left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases, weight gain, impotency, headaches and problems retaining memory. There are several ways patients can deal with their condition successfully. Treatments for the disorder include behavioral methods, which refer to self-help techniques, and physical or mechanical therapy or treatment, which includes surgery.

Behavioral Treatments

People with minor sleep apnea can resort to behavioral treatments, or self-help remedies. These include:

• Ensuring the regularity of sleeping hours
• Losing weight
• Eliminating consumption and use of alcohol, tobacco and sleeping pills
• Sleeping on the side

Sleep apnea can also be treated using physical devices and mechanical therapies. These include:

• Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). This is a machine kept at the patient's bedside that helps him keep his airway open during sleep. The machine works by lowing pressurized air into a mask that the patient wears on his face of over his nose.
• Dental appliances or jaw adjustment devices. These devices help the patient keep his airway open by positioning his lower jaw or his tongue forward when during sleep.
• Surgery. This method enlarges the size of the patient's airway through surgical removal of tissues. This may include removal of tonsils, adenoids, or excess tissue at the rear part of the throat or inside the nose.
• Oxygen administration. This rarely used treatment method ensures that a patient is able to breathe properly by attaching a narrow tube from an oxygen source to his nose.
  

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