Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder that consists of many pauses in breathing throughout the night. This pause can lead to several sleep disturbances as your body has to wake up again to resume breathing. Sleep apnea is more than a sleep disturbance, however. It can have tremendous health effects on a variety of systems, including cardiovascular health. Continue reading to find out more about this relationship and what you can do.
Sleep disorders have one thing in common, they interrupt sleep. Therefore, it's important that if you have a sleep disorder, you find the problem before the accumulation of interrupted sleep leads to chronic sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is more than just being tired. It can negatively impact several organ systems, including your heart. Heart disease is the number one cause of death worldwide, so it's important to do everything possible to maintain its health - including getting enough sleep. Continue reading to find out how common sleeping disorders can lead to cardiovascular disease!
Experiencing shortness of breath, also known as dyspnea, is a cause for concern on its own. However, when it occurs at night, it may indicate a more serious underlying issue. Typically, during sleep, you shouldn't feel out of breath because your body is at rest. Therefore, if you find yourself breathless during the night, it could be a sign that something is amiss. Keep reading to discover the potential causes of nighttime shortness of breath.
Positive airway pressure (PAP) is one of the most common treatments for sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that affects 3 to 7% of the population. Positive airway pressure is a way to offset the breathing difficulties that these patients have throughout the night. There are two types of machines that can assist with sleep apnea treatments. One is called a CPAP and the other is called a BiPAP. We are going to talk about the difference between these two and which one to use in which situations.
Sleeping medications are known as sedative hypnotics. They relax the mind and body in order to help prompt sleep. They are prescribed to people who have trouble falling asleep, and/or staying asleep, such as in the case of insomniacs.
Sleeping medications can be:
For insomniacs they can feel like a lifeline, but they also come with hidden dangers. Most notable, they are not a reasonable solution for people with untreated obstructive sleep apnea. In the words of sleep specialist Dr. Thomas Winkler, “For my patients with untreated sleep apnea, I tell them [taking sleeping pills] is a bad idea.”
Sleep apnea is a medical disorder where you repeatedly stop breathing throughout the night, anywhere from 40-100+ times per night. When you stop breathing you temporarily wake up to start breathing again. You are unaware of these arousals in the morning, so you will feel unrested, but be unsure why.
Sleep apnea is a medical condition and sleeping disorder where you repeatedly stop breathing throughout the night, anywhere from 5 to 30+ times per hour. This can happen because of:
Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common form. Each time you stop breathing is considered an “apnea” or “apnea event”. Sleep apnea can be considered mild, moderate, or severe.
Sleep apnea is a medical sleep disorder where you stop breathing for short periods (10 seconds or longer) throughout the night. When you stop breathing, your brain eventually rouses your body and you wake up. This results in you getting a poor night's rest because you wake up so many times during the night.
There are three types of sleep apnea:
These sleep apneas have many negative side effects, most notably:
Let's look at obstructive sleep apnea vs. central sleep apnea in more detail.
Is your or your partner’s snoring the primer for family jokes? Does your loud snoring come with an “earplugs required” caveat for your partner? Is your snoring the rule, not the exception?
Chronic, loud snoring may be a bigger personal problem than just a nuisance for other people who have to listen to your nightly nasally noises. In other words, while their sleep might be disrupted, your snoring might be caused by a medical condition called sleep apnea, which can have significant health consequences. Or, maybe you are just a loud, chronic snorer.
Knowing the difference and telltale signs between loud snoring and sleep apnea is important, as identifying the potential problem underlying your chronic snoring is the first step to getting healthy again.
Snoring is one of the most well-known symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The reason why so many sleep apnea sufferers snore is due to the tissues in the back of the throat relaxing and blocking the airway. When the airway becomes blocked, a vibration occurs and creates a sound known as snoring. Snoring can be influenced by a person's anatomy, weight, and lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption.
However, with as many as 90 million Americans suffering from snoring, it may not always be a sign that an individual has OSA. To know whether or not you or your partner have obstructive sleep apnea, you must be aware of the other symptoms that happen with snoring and necessitates a diagnosis of sleep apnea.