Sleep Apnea Symptom

Sleeping can be a real mission, but for some people it's a bit more serious. This article outlines common symptoms of sleep disorders.

Steps

1. Look for a combination of these symptoms:
   
   
2. Irritable and grumpy. You feel angry at everything and are less appreciative of things. Everything is gloomy and dark in your world.
   
   
3. Blurry vision. You may not know this, but people that get enough sleep every night have a better vision than those who don't. If your eyes lack at least 2 hours of sufficient sleep every night, your vision will suffer.
   
   
4. Hyperactive behaviour. Your brain will try to stay as alert as possible, but will not realise the hyperness you're displaying.
   
   
5. Inadequate thinking. You won't be able to work as hard in school or at work and will lose concentration easily.
   
   
6. Bags under your eyes. You may have swollen eyes or bags. Make up may cover it up, but please note that swollen eyes can get infected and need looking at.
   
   
7. Depression can be caused by lack of sleep and will most likely lead to unwanted habits and actions.
   
   
8. Repeated actions. You pace up and down, stare into space, wash your hands all the time. This is your brain struggling to keep you awake. It can lead to serious long term disorders.
   
   
9. Consult with a doctor.
   

Tips

• There is hope for you though! Seeking a doctor's help through prescribed medicines will help you get your heavenly sleep.
  
  
• If you sleep with a sibling or roommate, and they REALLY don't care if you can't sleep, tell someone who can help you.
  
  
• Never let sleep deprivation or disorders get you down. You may feel agitated by it, but remember that there's someone who is in the same position as you.
  
  
• 12-19 year olds are most vulnerable to sleep disorders. If you aren't being taken seriously, take action yourself.
  
  
• Don't think about it too much. Just think that you have an entire day to enjoy and have fun, so just relax and ease up sometimes!
  
  I personally had enough of the sleepless nights and really spent hours on the web when I was suppose to be sleeping. All the time that I could not spend sleeping, because I had no other choice. Lead me to do my research about this sleep disorder and I have came across this wonderful method that truly helped me. What might work for me, might not work for you. Check it out by - Clicking Here. There's nothing to lose. It's worth a shot.
  
  Please let me know how it turns out.
  
  

  wikiHow
  

What Causes Sleep Apnea?

When you're awake, throat muscles help keep your airway stiff and open so air can flow into your lungs. When you sleep, these muscles are more relaxed. Normally, the relaxed throat muscles don't stop your airway from staying open to allow air into your lungs.

But if you have obstructive sleep apnea, your airways can be blocked or narrowed during sleep because:

• Your throat muscles and tongue relax more than normal.
• Your tongue and tonsils (tissue masses in the back of your mouth) are large compared to the opening into your windpipe.
• You're overweight. The extra soft fat tissue can thicken the wall of the windpipe. This causes the inside opening to narrow and makes it harder to keep open.
• The shape of your head and neck (bony structure) may cause a smaller airway size in the mouth and throat area.
• The aging process limits the ability of brain signals to keep your throat muscles stiff during sleep. This makes it more likely that the airway will narrow or collapse.

Not enough air flows into your lungs when your airways are fully or partly blocked during sleep. This can cause loud snoring and a drop in your blood oxygen levels.

When the oxygen drops to dangerous levels, it triggers your brain to disturb your sleep. This helps tighten the upper airway muscles and open your windpipe. Normal breaths then start again, often with a loud snort or choking sound.

The frequent drops in oxygen levels and reduced sleep quality trigger the release of stress hormones. These compounds raise your heart rate and increase your risk for high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and irregular heartbeats. The hormones also raise the risk for or worsen heart failure.

Untreated sleep apnea also can lead to changes in how your body uses energy. These changes increase your risk for obesity and diabetes.

Thanks To : NHLBI

Can Sleep Apnea Cause Death

Many people wonder about the question - Can Sleep Apnea Cause Death? Is it true or just an urban myth? We will bring you the facts so you can be armed with the knowledge to combat sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea is a dangerous medical condition. And like most delicate health conditions Patients their friends and family members should give full attention to this condition. Neglect or a careless attitude towards this illness could have serious effects and could even cause death. Speaking of hazards, Sleep Apnea can affect a person directly or indirectly.

There are different forms of Sleep Apnea, Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Mild or Occasional Sleep Apnea. Mild or occasional sleep can occur due to respiratory infections but [OSA] Obstructive Sleep Apnea is dangerous. As it’s name shows, during sleep the muscles of the upper neck can collapse and obstruct the flow of oxygen. This is called hypoxemia.

Some individuals especially the elderly and obese people have low muscle tone around their airway, and this causes the airway to become narrow and blocks the flow of oxygen. Research has shown that older people are more likely to have OSA than younger people and men are more likely victims of OSA than children and women.OSA comes with a list of symptoms which include but are not limited to loud snoring and unsettled sleep.

Can Sleep Apnea cause death?

The Human brain is the control center of the body. In the classic Central Sleep Apnea patient, there could be a “short-circuiting” of the brain and the respiratory center of the brain is not triggered to tell the body to start breathing again. Because of this the sleep apnea patient might not even breathe for seconds at a time.

Carbon dioxide builds up and puts pressure on the heart and it could begin to swell overtime and this might lead to a heart attack or even death. Also if the individual continues to miss breathing cycles, the percentage of oxygen flow will drop lower than the normal level (hypoxia) and carbon dioxide will build up (hypercapnia), overtime this trend will have adverse effects on the body. The Human Brain cells need oxygen to survive, and if the oxygen levels continue to go lower brain damage or death could set in eventually. In the average human this is not supposed to happen because the slightest drop in oxygen stimulates the brain to make the body resume the normal breathing cycle.

But as earlier stated this is not the case with OSA patients. Usually after such episodes of cessation of breath, breathing may become faster so the body can blow away all the carbon dioxide build up and receive more oxygen.

The effects of Sleep Apnea include weakness, depression and even suicidal thoughts. OSA can cause it’s victim to become “slow” during the day and this might cause the individual to react to events slowly. This could cause fatal accidents, fire outbreaks and CO poisoning.So to answer the question, can sleep apnea cause death?

Conclusion.

Sleep Apnea can cause death. Sure the condition can be managed and now there is a 70% rate of success for Sleep Apnea treatments. According to a medical news story as reported by ABC News, Millions of American suffer from Sleep Apnea leading to feelings of sleepiness during the day.

Researchers claim that 1400 traffic deaths each year is because of drivers suffering from Sleep Apnea. It is believed 3% of Americans suffer from it and there are 40 million undiagnosed Americans suffering from sleep apnea and about 1 in 50 or 2.00% or 5.4 million people in America have the disease and have not been diagnosed.

Provided By - Sleeping Disorders

What is Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition in which the upper airway collapses during sleep, causing breathing to periodically stop at night, is an under diagnosed disorder that can lead to serious health problems as well as impaired quality of life. However, with proper treatment, you can conquer your apnea and improve your heath tremendously. Here are some guidelines on what to do if you suspect that you have apnea.

Steps

1. If you routinely wake up feeling unrefreshed, fall asleep during the day, feel a decline in your mental sharpness, notice yourself sometimes waking up gasping or out of breath every few minutes, or have feelings of depression, consider talking to your doctor about a sleep study. If you wake several times during the night, and maybe more frequently towards the end of your sleep cycle - when sleep apnea is at its worst. If you sometimes do not remember covering the last few miles while driving, or drift off most times you are the passenger in a car traveling any distance, you also should consider that discussion. These are all signs of unrestorative sleep, and OSA is a major cause of unrestorative sleep. You may have accepted any or all of these issues as part of your life, and so not be aware of their impact on your life's quality.
   
   
2. Ask your sleeping partner if they hear you snoring loudly or a steady rise and fall of snore volume, snorting or stopping breathing entirely at any point during the night, or during nap times in the day. Sleep apnea can sound a lot like snoring, often mistaken for steady breathing. Apnea is, in fact, a small step beyond snoring, if you snore chances are you will eventually develop some form of apnea as you get older.
   
   
3. If your doctor agrees you might have OSA, they will write a prescription for a sleep study. In a sleep study, you will go to a sleep laboratory and be hooked up to electrodes to monitor your breathing, blood oxygen saturation, sleep state, and general physical state overnight. Some sleep centers and insurance companies require two separate studies, one for diagnosis and a second, called the titration study, which will identify whether some variation on CPAP therapy will fix your OSA. In some cases, these two studies will be combined in one night, but the results of that first study are always used by a doctor to diagnose OSA.
   
   
4. If you have OSA, your doctor may discuss treatment options with you. The most common treatment, CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machines and their variations, use air pressure in your airway to keep that airway open. Other treatments include several types of operations to remove part of the tissue that blocks the airway and tracheotomy for extreme cases.
   
   
5. If your study results show that you have apnea, and your doctor believes a CPAP or variant is the right treatment for you, they will write you a prescription for a CPAP machine. You will then have to deal with your health insurance company and a DME (Durable Medical Equipment supplier) to get the equipment you need to successfully treat your apnea. The DME supplier will be responsible for supplying the equipment, setting it to your prescription, fitting whatever mask or nasal plugs you'll be using, fitting whatever headgear you will be using, and training you in how to clean and maintain your equipment. They should also check back regularly, to replenish filters, to replace masks and headgear as needed (roughly twice year, usually), to check the accuracy of your CPAP settings, and to answer any questions you might have.
   
   
6. Find a mask that works well for you. Mask options range from nasal pillows to nasal masks to full face masks. Your DME may not provide you with a variety of options, but be assured that they are out there. Many people find fitting their mask properly to be the most crucial part of adapting to CPAP therapy.
   
   
7. Request a heated humidifier and extra bacterial filters for your machine. Most DMEs do not provide these as a matter of course, but they should be standard to help protect the delicate mucous membranes of the nasal passages and lungs.
   
   
8. Take it slowly. Many people find getting used to CPAP difficult. Try wearing your mask and machine for progressively longer periods during the day, until you are ready to sleep with it.
   
   
9. Be patient and determined. It takes time to iron out the wrinkles in CPAP therapy, and you may not see the benefits immediately, especially if your body has a large "sleep debt" to make up. However, rest assured that your health and well-being will improve tremendously when your apnea is treated.
   
   
10. Enjoy your new life as a properly rested person!
    

Tips

• Older people and those who are overweight are at a higher risk for developing sleep apnea, but the condition can happen to anyone, even those who don't fit the profile.
  
  
• Be assertive when dealing with your insurance company and DME. These people are out to make money for themselves, and they do not have your interests in mind. Stand up for yourself!
  
  
• If you have trouble with the high CPAP pressure, consider an APAP (Automatic Positive Airway Pressure) machine. This machine will stay on a lower pressure for most of the night and increase the pressure when it senses that your airway is collapsing. This machine can behave in a seemingly erratic fashion, sometimes causing irritation during pressure changes.
  
  
• People with muscles weakness affecting the diaphragm (whether from spinal cord injury, muscular dystrophy or other neuromuscular disorder) often experience nocturnal hypoventilation, a condition symptomatically similar to sleep apnea, in which breathing becomes too shallow at night. This problem can be easily treated with a BiPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) machine on specific settings (high IPAP, low EPAP) to support breathing overnight.
  
  
• Seriously consider joining an online sleep apnea support group. These forums can be invaluable resources for new CPAP users.
  
  
• The blowing air from the CPAP can cause a painfully dry mouth. If this happens it may be your mouth falling open during sleep, most commonly during REM, a "chin strap" could be used to alleviate this problem. Also, you should have a humidifier that attaches to your CPAP. You can also use an OTC product like "Oasis" from Sensodyne to help keep your mouth moist.
  
  
• If you have to pay for a CPAP machine out of your own pocket, don't buy one from your doctor. Have the doctor write you a prescription and then buy the machine over the Internet. It can cost you two or three times as much to buy it from your doctor.
  
  
• Purchasing from an Internet vendor is the best choice for those who have no insurance, limited insurance, or a very high deductible. Some patients don't even realize they have this choice. Shop around. Prices vary greatly from site to site and customer service is paramount when dealing with your health.
  
  
• If you sleep alone, you can try recording yourself while you're sleeping. You can do this with a computer. Or a tape recorder and a timer - set the tape recorder to record and set the timer to go on when you know you'll be asleep (for example, 3am-4am). What you want to listen for is a stop in the snoring (maybe even up to a minute gap or longer) and possibly a gasp afterwards and snoring to start again. That gap could possibly be when you've stopped breathing altogether (and then the gasp for air). The longer the gap, the worse your sleep apnea might be. Of course, a sleep study is the sure way to know if you have sleep apnea but this may give you an indication.
  
  
  

Article provided by wikiHow