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Sleep Apnea Symptom
by Patrick Austin
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| Mr.
Austin is a freelance writer who covers sports and health
for a number of web sites including RealGM.com, Hoopsworld.com,
and Fanstop.com. He currently also covers entertainment and
sports for Vainquer magazine. |
Sleep apnea is very common, as common as adult diabetes,
and affects more than twelve million Americans, according to the
National Institutes of Health. Sleep apnea can strike anyone at
any age, even children. But because of the lack of awareness by
the public and healthcare professionals, the a vast majority of
people with this problem remain undiagnosed and therefore untreated,
despite the fact that this serious disorder can have significant
consequences.
Sleep apnea is relatively easy to diagnose, and is a treatable
disorder. Patients with sleep apnea are at greater risk for heart
disease, heart attacks, strokes and high blood pressure. In addition,
since the sleep is of poor quality, patients are often sleepy
during the day. Sleepiness is associated with inability to concentrate,
remember, or think. There is also increased risk in falling asleep
while doing vital tasks such as driving or using heavy machinery.
Fortunately, sleep apnea can be diagnosed and treated. Several
treatment options exist, and research into additional options
is ongoing.
The word apnea means "not breathing." There are three
types of apnea: obstructive, central, and mixed. Of those the
three, obstructive sleep apnea is the most common. Despite the
difference in the root cause of each type, in all three, people
with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their
sleeping period, sometimes hundreds of times during the night.
Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a blockage of the airway,
usually when the soft tissue in the rear of the throat closes
during sleep.
In central sleep apnea, the airway is not blocked but the brain
fails to signal the muscles to breathe.
Mixed sleep apnea, as the name implies, is a combination of the
two.
With each apnea, the brain briefly arouses people to wake up
in order for them to breathe again, but consequently sleep is
extremely fragmented and of poor quality.
If you aren’t sure you have sleep apnea, but are concerned,
here are a few symptoms you should be aware of…
Sleep Apnea Symptoms:
- Rapid weight gain or weight loss
- Enlarged tonsils and adenoids
- Restless sleep
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
If you have any of these sleep apnea symptoms, you might want
to set up an appointment to get a sleep study done. This is where
you are watched over as you sleep to see what your movements and
breathing is like during your sleep.
Medical treatment involves weight loss if the person is overweight,
avoidance of drugs, which increase the risk of apneas such as
sleeping pills, alcohol and sedative medicines, and sometimes
sleeping semi-upright.
Here are some sites that provide more information for sleep apnea
symptoms…
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