Health

Sleep Apnea: A Severe Health Condition No One Must Neglect

Apnea, in ‘Sleep apnea’, is a Greek word which means ‘without breath’. Sleep apnea is a severe sleep disorder, in which the person suffering stops breathing abruptly, and doesn’t breathe for about a minute or longer. However, the patient will not know this, since the condition does not trigger full awakening.

In a single night, people with sleep apnea stop breathing hundreds of time. This suggests, that both – body and mind will not get sufficient amount of oxygen. Now, it is not difficult to guess that this can lead to many other health conditions.

Different types of sleep apnea and their causes

There are three different types of sleep apnea:

  • Obstructive sleep apnea
  • Central sleep apnea
  • Mixed sleep apnea

Amongst the tree types of sleep apnea, the most common one is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is caused because of the blockage in the airway. In central apnea, there is no blockage, but the brain doesn’t signal the muscles to breathe. Lastly, as the name of mixed sleep apnea suggests, it is a mixture of both – obstructive and central sleep apnea.

The person suffering from sleep apnea doesn’t get fully awakened, but the brain rouses the sleeper partially, and reminds him/her to breath. As a result, the sleep cycle of the patient is not proper, and the quality of sleep is pretty poor. It is difficult to detect the condition, until proper examination is not carried at some well-known medical facility like Western Slope Sleep Center.

Risk Factors:

Sleep apnea is observed to affect men more compared to women. Some basic risk factors of sleep apnea include:

  • Being male
  • Overweight
  • Age of 40 or more
  • A large neck-size
  • Large tonsils or/and large tongue
  • Small Jaw bone
  • Hereditary
  • Nasal obstruction because of allergies or sinus

Symptoms:

Below mentioned are some common symptoms, but not all of them are always present.

  • Obesity
  • Loud snoring
  • Experiencing daytime sleepiness
  • Attacks of awakening out of breath
  • Waking up with dry mouth in the morning
  • Headache

Adverse effects of sleep apnea:

If the condition is left untreated, it can cause many serious health problems. With time, sleep apnea can cause

  • Headaches
  • High BP
  • Diabetes
  • Depression
  • Irregular heart beats
  • Heart failure
  • Heart attacks

Sleep apnea is as common as type 2 diabetes is. However, since proper consultation and examination is not opted for, most individuals remain undiagnosed. So, if you are experience any or all the symptoms mentioned above, it is ideal to go for a checkup at a certified center immediately.

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