Do You Suffer From Sleep Apnea?

Sleep Apnea is a condition in which the sleeper has trouble breathing throughout the night. This will occur at intermittent periods and leads to a disrupted sleep in many. A lot of people with this condition do not know, or at least have to be told that they are suffering, as it is not something you will be able to detect yourself for the most part. It is usually a partner, parent or roommate who would be able to point out that you are randomly ceasing to breathe. It is obviously important to find this out, as although not generally bad enough to be fatal, it can still affect your quality of life and may cause a lack of sleep.

The cause of the difficulty breathing is because of a relaxation of the muscles that keep your air pipe open. This means it can effectively become squashed at some points during the night, and it takes a big breath with force behind it to open the passage back up properly again. If you are diagnosed, you should be able to have some form of treatment to help you. There are two main options at the moment, which can both be prescribed to help you.

Firstly, a PAP is a positive airway pressure device. This will force air though the pipe at regular intervals, to ensure it stays open, thus eliminating the problem. The air will go in through your mouth or nose as you wear a mouthpiece or face mask to use it. Because of the reduction of pressure, the snoring associated with this condition is normally stopped too, thus making it better for anyone you may share a bed with.

A second and newer treatment for sleep apnea is given by dentists and called oral appliance therapy (OAT). This is a mouthpiece which, again, keeps your air way open to prevent the crushing effect. This is normally enough to help patients with relatively mild versions of the disorder, and can easily be given. These are the two main methods that can be given to help sufferers. It is important that the disorder is identified as soon as possible in people though, as it can cause a lot of discomfort and also mean that people wake up tired and irritable because sleep quality is bad.

If you often wake up tired maybe try recording yourself sleep, if you have no one you could get to watch you, to be able to rule out this cause. Place a Dictaphone in your room and just check through that your breathing seems in a good, regular pattern. It is a tedious task, but worth it if you feel you may be suffering. It is hard to self diagnose sleep apnea, and that is one of the worst things about it, but please go and see a medical professional if you are worried. It is really easy to treat once diagnosed and could save you a lot of hassle and tiredness in the future.

Sleep Apnea is a condition in which the sleeper has trouble
breathing throughout the night. This will occur at
intermittent periods and leads to a disrupted sleep in many.
A lot of people with this condition do not know, or at least
have to be told that they are suffering, as it is not
something you will be able to detect yourself for the most
part.