The Sleeping Disorder of the New Millenia - Sleep Apnea

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air? Choking? Figure it's a nightmare? Well, it probably isn't a nightmare, it is probably a sleeping disorder called Sleep Apnea and is completely treatable. You really should investigate this with your Primary Care Physician and if recommended have a sleep test. I know I have, and it worked for me.

You may not realize it, I certainly didn't, but I had been told several times over the years that, when sleeping, people thought I was dead because I had stopped breathing. Come to find out, through my sleep test, I have Sleep Apnea and during the test I stopped breathing dozens of times ... once for 44 seconds!

Does your partner wake up from your snoring? Do you wake up from your snoring? Dry mouth and headaches in the morning are symptoms of Sleep Apnea.

Sleeping disorders are not all that uncommon, and vary widely. Sleep Apnea is one of the more common sleeping disorders and it affects thousands of people, the real number is probably unknown as most who have it don't even realize it. Many deaths may be occurring from Sleep Apnea in those who have yet to be diagnosed.

The disorder causes a person to stop breathing during sleep. breathing can stop many times an hour and last for many seconds. This sleeping disorder wreaks havoc on your sleep routine and has a very negative affect to your body, psyche and disposition. You will definitely be "off of your game" if you are suffering from this sleep disorder and are not getting the restful sleep you need.

There are basically three types of of this disorder

Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Perhaps the most common type of this sleep disorder. The muscles in your airway, the tongue in particular, relax and obstruct the air passage. This will lower the oxygen level in your blood which leads to the condition called hypoxia, elevate your blood pressure and as a result places a great deal of stress of your heart, circulatory and pulmonary systems. You lose out on the required quality sleep and often never attain REM (rapid eye movement) during the night.

Central Sleep Apnea
A more or less rare condition which stems from a brain malfunction. This condition results in a complete cessation of breathing for several seconds at a time. The same stress conditions occur to your circulatory and pulmonary systems and you may become extremely prone to irregular heart beating and stroke.

Mixed Sleep Apnea
A combination of the two above conditions. Together or alone, these conditions spell trouble.

There are many causes of this condition with the most prevalent being obesity or being overweight.

Symptoms are as discussed above, choking, gasping for air during sleep. Loud snoring, snoring that wakes your partner and yourself. Excessive tiredness during the day and basically being a little off kilter and not clear headed during the waking hours.

There are treatments, including the well known CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine where you wear a mask, either full face or just nose, which creates a positive air stream into your nose keeping the passageway open at all times. Although the CPAP machines masks seem obtrusive one can get used to the presence of the mask and eventually become quite accustomed to wearing it. The most effective treatment is the loss of weight and sleeping on your side rather than on your back where the throat tissues are more likely to relax in a way that blocks your airway.