Treatment of Sleep Apnea

When talking of sleeping difficulties, many people instantly think of sleeping disorders. There is another sleeping disorder just as common but often goes undiagnosed called sleep apnea.

What exactly is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a common disorder where you have shallow breaths or breathing pauses that can last from a few seconds up to a couple of short minutes while sleeping. A collapsed or obstructed airway and enlarged tonsils are the primary factors behind this condition.

Although normal breathing usually starts again after these pauses, sleep is normally disrupted as they can occur up to 30 times an hour. When your breathing gets short or pauses, you are taken out of a deep sleep and into light sleep.

This results in disrupted sleeping patterns and can in turn make you tired and tired during the day.

Because the signs and symptoms of sleep apnea only happen while asleep, most people who have it don't know that they do. Routine visits to the doctor or lab tests can't help diagnose this problem. It is only when a roommate or family member notices the signs when sleep apnea is diagnosed.

Sleep Apnea When Left Untreated

When undiagnosed or left untreated, sleep apnea can raise the dangers of the following conditions:

Heart failure
Arrhythmias
High blood pressure
Stroke
Obesity
Diabetes

Untreated sleep apnea can also increase the chance of having driving or work-related accidents.

Treatment of Sleep Apnea

This sleeping problem requires long-term management. Among the best remedies of sleep apnea is CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure.

CPAP uses mild air pressure to keep the collapsed airway open and allow air to flow freely while you sleep. This type of treatment involves the use of a machine, aptly called the CPAP machine, which has 3 main parts:

The mask that is placed over your nose or mouth. The mask comes with straps to hold it in place when being worn.
A tube that connects the mask to the CPAP machine's motor.
A motor that blows air into your nose or mouth via the tube.

CPAP machines are commonly lightweight, compact, and fairly quiet. The noise they produce is usually soft and rhythmic to induce sleep.

Apart from the consistent utilization of a CPAP device, changes in lifestyle, mouthpieces, or surgery can effectively treat sleep apnea in many people.