Types of Sleep Apnea

by Michael G Thompson

This is a sleeping disorder that in America alone affects over 14 million people, and is characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. These pauses can last for 20 to 30 seconds or more. During an hour these sleep apnea episodes can occur five to thirty times and can cause disruptions to sleep. The condition is usually associated with snorting, choking and loud snoring and it generally affects men and older people but women and even children can suffer from it.

Those with sleep apnea are not always due to the nature of the condition, aware that they have a sleeping disorder. Because of that it is said that 80% to 90% of those suffering are undiagnosed. It is generally the case that their partners notice the condition and bring it to their attention.

Types of sleep apnea

There are two types. The more common type is called obstructive sleep apnea, and as the name suggests involves a blocked airway, which can be the result of over-relaxed throat muscles and tongue, obesity, and facial and bone structure deformities. The blockage causes breathing to stop and the person begins to struggle for breath and snort.

When a blockage occurs, the oxygen level decreases, while the carbon dioxide level increases. This in turn stimulates the brain to normalize the breathing process and prompts the person to wake up and to open the airway by adjusting the tongue and throat muscles. Breathing then returns to normal accompanied usually by loud snoring. This usually occurs without the person's knowledge and they may not remember being awake for a short time or even be aware of their gasps for air.

The second type is called central sleep apnea which is the result of the brain's delayed signals to the breathing muscles. This causes the breathing to stop and as a result the oxygen level starts to drop. This condition is less common than obstructive sleep apnea and is a nervous system disorder brought on by an injury or a disease that involves the brainstem. This could be in the form of a stroke or brain tumour amongst other things. Although those with this condition may not typically snore, they may experience shortness of breath.

Although both types have different causes, their effects are the same: low level of oxygen in the brain, poor sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and sometimes as a result, depression. Side effects of the disorder can be high blood pressure and heart irregularities when the oxygen levels become dangerously low. The condition can be extremely disturbing to bed partners due to the loud snoring and pauses in breath and can lead to the partner suffering from sleep deprivation.

What to do

Since the condition occurs only during sleep it is hard for a person to know they have sleep apnea. If a person suspects they have the condition, especially if they display signs of the symptoms, they can opt to have their sleeping patterns documented. For example, the person's partner could be asked to record episodes of breath pauses, snoring, choking, snorting etc. If alone, the person can video themselves sleeping to see if the symptoms are displayed. By doing this the findings would determine if seeing a doctor or sleep specialist was required.

When diagnosed, either the doctor or the sleep specialist would put forward treatments or surgeries depending on the severity of the condition. But do not despair. To overcome minor sleep apnea,making some lifestyle changes or behavioural treatments can, and are, very helpful. For example, reducing or avoiding alcohol and tobacco, loosing weight and ensuring that one has regular sleeping hours.

If diagnosed with sleep apnea, professional advice from a doctor or sleep specialist will be necessary to treat the condition satisfactorily.

About the Author
There are several ways to overcome snoring and sleep apnea, be it the more standard approach of treating the symptoms or by alternative treatments to treat the cause. However one thing is certain, one needs to have good nights sleep. So you owe it to yourself. Check out the information at http://www.snoringsleepapnea-treatment.com and get the nights sleep you deserve.

Do I Need a Sleep Apnea Device?

by Steve Stewart

It is always a bit of a shock when someone finds out that they have sleep apnea, or some form of sleep-disordered breathing. They have probably been told throughout their entire life that they snore a lot, or make loud snorting noises when they are asleep, but finding out that they have a disorder can be frightening.

Many doctors, upon diagnosing sleep apnea, will recommend a type of sleep apnea device for their patients. This device is a mask that straps onto the head and covers the nose and mouth. It essentially forces air into the body to prevent the disordered breathing.

But, a sleep apnea device doesn't always work, and it is not without its own set of side effects. Many people who use this find that they have to sit up when they sleep, to prevent the mask from getting tangled around them or sliding off during sleep. The air that is brought through the mask is also prone to making a person's sinus passages dry and congested.

A sleep apnea device may not be the best treatment for you, and it is good to know that there are many other ways to deal with this type of diagnosis. For many people, simple changes in lifestyle can make all the difference. One of the biggest predictors of disordered breathing is alcohol use. If you drink more than just a few drinks at night, this can be contributing to the problems you are having while you are sleeping.

In addition, just by adjusting the way in which you sleep, you might be able to get an easier and more steady air flow into your lungs. By sleeping on your side, instead of on your back, you will get more air and be less likely to stop breathing - and this will reduce your snoring as well.

For more information go to http://www.cpap-infoblog.com/wp

About the Author
Steve Stewart is an Internet marketer and networker. He and his wife Susie both work from home in San Diego, California and have for 3 years. Steve has been dealing with sleep apnea for about 2 years and has put together this blog for the person who is searching for CPAP info. For more information go to http://www.sleepapnea-infoblog.com/wp

Get Sleep Apnea Help

by Steve Stewart

Your snoring might be a bigger problem than you think. Many people believe that snoring is natural. That snoring is just a part of the way that they sleep. But snoring can be a sign that you are suffering from sleep apnea. If this is the case, it is important that you take some steps to get sleep apnea help. There are mild cases of sleep apnea, as well as very severe cases. Lets start with some sleep apnea help for mild cases.

If you suffer from light snoring there is a lot that you can do for yourself within the comfort of your own home. Mild cases of this condition can be treated with little to no equipment or medicine. Here are a few simple solutions.

This condition has many different causes, all of which have very simple solutions. One common cause of sleep apnea is obesity. If you are overweight, it is possible that are fat is literally suffocating you. You need to lose weight so you can open up your breathing passages.

You also have to look at your sleeping position. Many people sleep in positions that make it hard to breathe. Sleeping on your back, for instance, will allow for your tongue to slip back into your throat. If you sleep on your side you can avoid this problem.

For more severe cases you need to go and see a doctor so that you can get proper treatment. There will always be something that will allow you to get sleep apnea help. For the most severe cases, you might have to purchase a CPAP device. CPAP, or continuous positive airflow pressure device will make sure that you get the air that you need, and will help you to get yourself a good nights rest.

For more information go to http://www.cpap-infoblog.com/wp

About the Author
Steve Stewart is an Internet marketer and networker. He and his wife Susie both work from home in San Diego, California and have for 3 years. Steve has been dealing with sleep apnea for about 2 years and has put together this blog for the person who is searching for CPAP info. For more information go to http://www.sleepapnea-infoblog.com/wp

A Few Cures For Sleep Apnea

by Steve Stewart

Sleep apnea is very common amongst adults. It is a condition whose most common symptom is snoring. If you snore often, it is very possible that you suffer from some form of sleep apnea. This condition can be very mild, and may be possible for you to treat at home. These are the cures for sleep apnea that we will talk about. If you have a more severe case of this condition, you need to go and see a doctor. Sleep apnea is a very treatable disease, but it can be dangerous if it goes untreated.

Sleep apnea is caused by an obstructed airway in your throat or nasal passages. This can make it difficult for you to breathe when you sleep. When your air has to fight to get through, it vibrates against your throat, and nasal passages and creates the snoring noise. Here are some ways you can make sure to keep your passage ways clear.

You should remember to never sleep on your back. When you sleep on your back your tongue will sink down into your throat making it harder for you to breathe. It is important that you sleep on your side. When you are on your side, however, you need to make sure that you keep your head level. If your head slants up, or down and you are bending your neck, your are closing off your air supply.

Cures for sleep apnea can also involve equipment. This can be simple equipment like nasal strips and chin straps. Or it can be a little bit more advanced like a CPAP device. Using chin straps will help to keep your head elevated. Many people want to curl their heads into their chest when they sleep. A chin strap will prevent that.

If these cures for sleep apnea do not work for you, your condition might be more severe. Consult a doctor so you can get the best treatment.

For more information go to http://www.cpap-infoblog.com/wp

About the Author
Steve Stewart is an Internet marketer and networker. He and his wife Susie both work from home in San Diego, California and have for 3 years. Steve has been dealing with sleep apnea for about 2 years and has put together this blog for the person who is searching for CPAP info. For more information go to http://www.sleepapnea-infoblog.com/wp

Weight loss - an effective treatment for sleep apnoea in obese men

For obese men, a dramatic weight loss can be an effective way to improve moderate to severe sleep apnoea, scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet report. Those with severe sleep apnoea when the study began benefited most from weight loss.

"Our findings suggest that weight loss may be an effective treatment strategy for sleep apnoea in obese men," says Kari Johansson, one of the researchers involved in the study.

Sleep apnoea - the temporary cessation of breathing during sleep - is a relatively common but under-diagnosed disease. Five or more such events per hour is considered a disease. Untreated, sleep apnoea is associated with an increased risk of traffic accidents, as well as stroke and heart disease, for example. Moderate and severe sleep apnoea also increases the risk of premature death. It has long been known that people with overweight or obesity are more likely to develop the disease, and that men are more affected than women.

In a randomised study published in the British Medical Journal, researchers at Karolinska Institutet examined if weight-loss can help to cure moderate and severe sleep apnoea. The study included 63 obese men (BMI between 30 and 40) aged between 30 and 65. The participants had moderate to severe sleep apnoea as measured by the AHI (apnoea-hypopnea) index. All participants had symptom alleviation treatment through CPAP - continuous positive airway pressure - which produces more normal breathing patterns during sleep. The participants were randomly assigned to two groups, one of which underwent an intense weight-loss programme, the other served as a control group, for a period of nine weeks.

The results of the study show that the weight loss group lost 19 kilos on average after nine weeks and more than halved the number of apnoea events. None of the treated patients had severe sleep apnoea, half had only mild sleep apnoea and one in six could be declared healthy. The researchers also noted that the effect of the weight loss programme was greatest in patients with severe sleep apnoea.

To achieve significant weight loss, the treatment group were put on a very low calorie diet (VLCD), which gave them an initial energy input of 554 kcal per day for seven weeks followed by a fortnight's successive increase up to 1,500 kcal per day at week nine. The control group maintained their normal dietary habits during the nine week study period, but was afterwards offered a VLCD programme.
After the VLCD period, the participants were also invited to take part in a year's behavioural change programme to help them maintain their weight loss.

The researchers stress that the VLCD diet is not a general solution to weight problems, but something mainly to be used in the first phase of a long-term treatment programme. To keep the weight off, patients need to work hard to improve their dietary and exercise habits, usually with the aid of a long-term behaviour modification programme. Drugs can also be used in the post-weight loss phase to further improve weight loss maintenance.

The current study was part funded by Cambridge Manufacturing Company Limited, which markets the Cambridge Diet, the low-calorie powder used in the study. The company had no influence on the study, the analyses or the collation of the results. Examples of similar VLCD products marketed by other companies are Nutrilett, Naturdiet and Allevo. The researchers who conducted the study work at the Obesity Unit, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, and the Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Karolinska Institutet.

SOURCE Karolinska Institutet

Sleep Apnea May Cause Nighttime Urination

People who wake up during the night to urinate shouldn't automatically blame a urological problem. Sleep apnea, a breathing-related sleep disorder, could be the cause.

A new study suggests that nighttime urination, or nocturia, is comparable to loud snoring as a marker for obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder in which soft tissue in the throat blocks the flow of air into the lungs, disrupting sleep.

Previous studies established a link between nocturia and sleep apnea, a potentially serious condition that affects about 25 percent of U.S. men and 10 percent of U.S. women, the researchers said. But they believe this is among the first to show that screening for nocturia could help doctors identify patients with apnea.

The study also suggests that a common treatment for sleep apnea -- positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy -- can reduce symptoms of nocturia, thereby improving sleep and preventing debilitating falls among elderly people who get out of bed at night to use the bathroom.

PAP involves wearing a pressurized air mask while sleeping.

Typically, doctors screen for apnea by assessing patients' weight (the condition is associated with overweight/obesity) and asking if they snore heavily, notice breathing problems at night or feel tired during the day (because of interrupted sleep). But because many patients, especially those who sleep alone, are unaware that they snore, apnea often goes undiagnosed.

"When you ask people about symptoms like snoring and gasping, they tend to say, 'No, I don't have them'," said study author Edward Romero, research coordinator at the Sleep & Human Health Institute in Albuquerque, N.M. "But it's very easy for them to realize that they wake up at night to go to the bathroom."

One of Romero's co-authors, institute director Dr. Barry Krakow, said doctors and patients are quick to blame nocturia on diabetes, prostate enlargement and other medical conditions with which it is associated. "I see patients all the time who think they're waking up to urinate because they have prostate trouble or a small bladder," Krakow said. "About 80 percent of the time we discover that apnea is the cause of their problem."

Besides nocturia and snoring, symptoms of sleep apnea include daytime drowsiness, memory problems and depression. Untreated sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure, blood clots and heart disease.

For the study, published online recently in Sleep and Breathing, the researchers reviewed data on 1,007 adults treated at two sleep clinics in New Mexico between 2005 and 2007. Of the participants, 797 were diagnosed with sleep apnea, 777 reported snoring and 839 reported nocturia. Neither snoring nor nocturia was proof of apnea, but the two symptoms were similar in their power to predict it: snoring was reported by 82.6 percent of apnea sufferers, and 84.8 percent of apnea sufferers reported nocturia.

The authors propose further research be conducted to confirm the effectiveness of nocturia as an apnea screening tool.

Mary Umlauf, a professor at the University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing in Tuscaloosa and a noted nocturia researcher, said the study could play an important role in dispelling "old wives' tales" about nocturia.

"Many health-care providers and ordinary people think of nocturia as a urological or gynecological problem," she said. "They don't understand that sleep apnea can cause the body to produce too much urine at night.

"People who wake up to urinate shouldn't assume that it's my prostate, or 'I'm just old'," she said.

More information
You can learn more about obstructive sleep apnea at the National Sleep Foundation.

Difficulty Sleeping? Maybe you have Sleep Apnea or Anxiety

by William Hauselburg

Medical Conditions like Sleep Apnea and Anxiety can Keep You from Getting a Good Night's Sleep
Did you have a great night of sleep last night? Many Americans didn't. This is partially because of our lifestyles. Americans are some of the busiest people in the world. Waking up early for work, combined with staying up late, leads to less sleep for the average American. There are other reasons people aren't sleeping well, however. There are many medical conditions which can lead to a decreased quality of sleep.

Sleep Apnea Disrupts Sleep

One such medical condition which can contribute to poor sleep is sleep apnea. Many people with sleep apnea never know they have it until they are diagnosed. This is because sleep apnea only affects people while they are sleeping. The side effects of poor sleep, however, carry over in the waking hours.

People with sleep apnea have trouble sleeping because the soft tissue in the back of their throat relaxes during sleep and blocks the airway. This causes the person to wake up frequently during the night, and never get a full night of restful sleep.

There are several treatments for sleep apnea, but the best results come from physical treatment. This physical treatment is handled by machines like the C-PAP machine, which continually circulates air through a person's airways. A C-PAP machine consists of a compressor which circulates the air, and a sleep apnea mask which attaches to the person's face.

One problem with C-PAP machines is that in order to help, they need to be used every night. Also, some people find the mask that comes with the unit to be uncomfortable. Fortunately there are alternative c-pap masks available. This variety of options makes it easier for someone to find a mask they find comfortable.

Anxiety Can Also Disrupt Sleep

Another factor which can lead to poor sleep is anxiety. Anxiety can play a big role when it comes to falling asleep. Anxiety also can kick back in when someone wakes up in the middle of the night.

Anxiety treatments vary from patient to patient. Some patients may be best treated by anti-anxiety medication, whereas other might respond better to medication that would put them to sleep. Some patients might be better off without any medication, focusing solely on mental conditioning to assist in falling asleep.

You Deserve a Good Night's Sleep

If you are getting to bed at a reasonable time but still feel tired all day, you should tell your doctor. You might have an easily solved medical condition which is stealing your sleep.

About the Author
Sleep apnea mask is being widely used today by people who have sleep disorders. However, people find it difficult to find the best sleep apnea mask. The author of this article, being an expert in choosing about the sleep apnea mask, recommends using c-pap masks for this purpose.