Sleep apnea can cause night time breathing to become erratic; shallow or stop completely for anything between 10 and 120 seconds. These sleep apnea symptoms , along with snoring , are caused by blockage, either completely or partially, in the airway. This is brought on by an obstruction in air flow through fatty tissue in the throat or neck or by the uvula (the small dangling tissue at the back of the throat). Oxygen levels drop suddenly, resulting in breathing arrests, and this can occur several hundred times throughout what should be a normal night’s sleep.
Untreated sleep apnea can lead to Type 2 Diabetes; weight gain; absent-mindedness or memory problems and incidentally poses a real risk for drivers who are unaware that they are sufferers, as extreme exhaustion can result in falling asleep behind the wheel.
According to Dr Naresh Punjabi of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, even an average level of sleep apnea can increase a person’s risk of mortality, with the highest correlation with sleep apnea and cardio vascular disorders being among men between the ages of 40-70.
One of the main difficulties in the diagnosis of sleep apnea is that many physicians are unaware of the risks of sleep apnea and the impact they can have on general health: few doctors consider sleep apnea as a factor to diagnosis, despite findings that the condition dramatically affects patients and prompts cardio vascular problems and other serious diseases.
Most people who suffer from sleep apnea, and this represents 90 – 95% of sufferers, are unaware they have a sleeping disorder and in fact do not remember having sleeping difficulties during the night. They are aware that they are over tired and unable to function normally through exhaustion, yet have no idea of the cause behind their fatigue or their nocturnal sleep dysfunction.
Tiredness, over time, can produce some alarming health problems and sleep apnea should be checked diagnosed early and treated as soon as possible. Luckily, the treatment is straight forward and easily available through Aviisha Medical Wellness Institute, in the form of medical consultation with sleep specialists followed by CPAP therapy to regulate breathing and restore normal sleep function.
The CPAP system of therapy requires the sleeper to wear a mask throughout the night, which administers a regulated flow of air through the nasal passage. The mask is comfortable and restores normality to a sleeping routine within a very short time. The remedy, therefore, is simple, painless and inexpensive.
Home sleep tests are available via the Aviisha Medical Wellness Institute website; preferable to taking a sleep test in a laboratory which can be both inconvenient and costly.
