Sleep apnea or sleep apnoea is the condition which causes sufferers to stop breathing often during sleep.
These interruptions can last anything from a few seconds to a couple of minutes.
There are three forms of sleep apnea Central, Obstructive and Mixed or Complex Apnea.
Obstructive apnea is by the most common form and it usually comes about in overweight, middle-aged men.
The most frequently recommended method of overcoming obstructive apnea is weight loss, but as this is not easy for most people, the most usual treatment is CPAP, which means the wearing of an oxygen mask.
The difficulty with sleep apnea is that the shortage of breath means that the blood and the brain are starved of oxygen.
When the amount of oxygen in the brain drops to a particular level, it wakes the body up to do something about it.
However, the heart usually beats more slowly at night, giving it a rest, but as the oxygen level in the blood drops, the heart will pump harder to get more blood and oxygen to the areas it is most needed.
Another consequence is that people suffer from fatigue during the day, which leads to falling asleep at the wheel and accidents at the place of work.
In fact, sufferers of apnea are three times more likely to have an accident than normal.
Sufferers of apnea hardly ever wake up when their brain starts them breathing again, but it can be very distressing for their partners.
My wife really thought that I had died when she first became aware of my problem with obstructive sleep apnea and the spluttering back to a state of breathing is similar to a drowning man resurfacing for the second time.
Other worries that can occur after a night of poor sleep are those linked with tiredness: irritability, mood swings, poor concentration, headaches, unwarranted anxiety, depression, acid reflux, nocturnal perspiration, lack of sex drive and elevated heart rate at night.
Most instances of obstructive apnea can be greatly improved by a reduction in weight.
In fact, a ten percent loss of weight can produce a twenty-five percent improvement in apnea.
Furthermore, anything that relaxes the muscles ought to be avoided - particularly alcohol.
Ceasing smoking can help too.
Mechanical ways of improving the condition are raising the head, so that the weight on your neck hangs down towards the chest rather than pressing down on the windpipe.
Sleeping on your side can help too for the same reason.
Black African males and Indian (from India) males are almost twice as much at risk of developing apnea as Caucasians.
About 4% of Caucasian males and 2% of Caucasian females suffer from sleep apnea.
A startling statistic is that the same percentage of Chinese men and women suffer from apnea as Caucasians.
This is startling because the Chinese are not usually as overweight as Caucasians.
The terms 'apnea' and 'apnoea' are synonymous; the former being the American spelling and the latter being the English spelling.
These interruptions can last anything from a few seconds to a couple of minutes.
There are three forms of sleep apnea Central, Obstructive and Mixed or Complex Apnea.
Obstructive apnea is by the most common form and it usually comes about in overweight, middle-aged men.
The most frequently recommended method of overcoming obstructive apnea is weight loss, but as this is not easy for most people, the most usual treatment is CPAP, which means the wearing of an oxygen mask.
The difficulty with sleep apnea is that the shortage of breath means that the blood and the brain are starved of oxygen.
When the amount of oxygen in the brain drops to a particular level, it wakes the body up to do something about it.
However, the heart usually beats more slowly at night, giving it a rest, but as the oxygen level in the blood drops, the heart will pump harder to get more blood and oxygen to the areas it is most needed.
Another consequence is that people suffer from fatigue during the day, which leads to falling asleep at the wheel and accidents at the place of work.
In fact, sufferers of apnea are three times more likely to have an accident than normal.
Sufferers of apnea hardly ever wake up when their brain starts them breathing again, but it can be very distressing for their partners.
My wife really thought that I had died when she first became aware of my problem with obstructive sleep apnea and the spluttering back to a state of breathing is similar to a drowning man resurfacing for the second time.
Other worries that can occur after a night of poor sleep are those linked with tiredness: irritability, mood swings, poor concentration, headaches, unwarranted anxiety, depression, acid reflux, nocturnal perspiration, lack of sex drive and elevated heart rate at night.
Most instances of obstructive apnea can be greatly improved by a reduction in weight.
In fact, a ten percent loss of weight can produce a twenty-five percent improvement in apnea.
Furthermore, anything that relaxes the muscles ought to be avoided - particularly alcohol.
Ceasing smoking can help too.
Mechanical ways of improving the condition are raising the head, so that the weight on your neck hangs down towards the chest rather than pressing down on the windpipe.
Sleeping on your side can help too for the same reason.
Black African males and Indian (from India) males are almost twice as much at risk of developing apnea as Caucasians.
About 4% of Caucasian males and 2% of Caucasian females suffer from sleep apnea.
A startling statistic is that the same percentage of Chinese men and women suffer from apnea as Caucasians.
This is startling because the Chinese are not usually as overweight as Caucasians.
The terms 'apnea' and 'apnoea' are synonymous; the former being the American spelling and the latter being the English spelling.
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