March 6, 2009
Understanding and Curing Sleep Apnea
While sleep apnea may not sound like a very serious problem, it can have very serious effects on your life. Experts agree that for optimum functioning, most adults need seven or eight hours of sleep each night. Most of this should not be interrupted to allow the brain to get into its rhythms of deep sleep. If you have sleep apnea, you are likely to be awakened several times during the night and therefore unable to get into a deep sleep.
Sleep apnea is a serious disease that affects many people worldwide each year. You may have taken a sleep apnea test and discovered that you suffer from many of the symptoms listed. It causes repeated stops of breathing during sleep. These episodes occur most often for only about ten to thirty seconds, but can repeat for the whole night. It can lead to many other health problems if left untreated, as is often the case for many patients.
Fortunately, there are many ways to treat this disease. The first step is to consult your doctor so you can be officially diagnosed. You will often need to visit a sleep clinic so that sleep apnea may be observed and followed. Once you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, you might need a mask that you wear at night. You might also need to take antihistamines or decongestants. It is also recommended to sleep in a different position, such as your side to help keep your airways open. If you’re used to sleeping on your back, the doctor could recommend the use of a pillow, which will help you maintain a certain position in the night.
A sleep apnea dental appliance is a special device designed by the dentist to match the structure of teeth and jaws. Its main function is to prevent the collapse of airways and an inadequate flow air to the lungs. Sleep apnea dental device pulls the tongue and jaw forward so that the airway remains open all the time, thus ensuring a good and very little sleep interruption, if any at all. Before using a medical device such consultations should be conducted with the doctor and dentist.
A sleep apnea pillow is a pillow that is designed for snorers, because snoring is one of the most common indicators of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea pillows are designed to support the neck to prevent patients from rolling on the back where the snoring and sleep apnea can worsen). They position the head, and elongate the neck and keep the respiratory tract open, and help tie all that together in relieving pressure on shoulders and arms.
There is currently no evidence of a sleep medicine for this disease. However, there are basic approaches to treatment. First, doctors recommend to change the circumstances that may be the cause of the apnea. This includes suggesting that the patient to lose weight, quit smoking and avoid alcohol and sedatives.
For overweight people, the treatment of sleep apnea based on behavior therapy requires a weight loss of at least ten per cent. Studies have shown that the weight closer to the average value decreases the number of apnea episodes per hour. In addition, for such cases, people are encouraged to use anatomical pillows that allow them to assume a comfortable posture during sleep later. The success of therapy is seen in the level of freshness of the morning and the overall sense of well-being that is generally a good night’s rest. Experts say that behavior therapy is effective in the surface of the moderate sleep apnea cases, since the more advanced require intensive medical care.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), is a non-invasive medical treatment and one of the most effective snoring and sleep apnea cures. CPAP works by blowing pressurized air gently through the passage of the patient’s nose at a pressure high enough to prevent the collapse of the throat during sleep.
There is no "type" of person who gets the disease. Men, women and children may suffer, but the disease seems to be more common in people who are overweight, over forty years, have a large neck and a family history of sleep problems. What everyone had in common was the ability to get treatment for sleep apnea live a healthier life.
