Sleep Apnea - The Silent Sleep Disorder

It can last a few seconds, sometimes a minute, occur between 5-30 times in an hour characterised by abnormal pauses during your sleep. Sleep apnea is a silent disorder affecting more men than women, with symptoms present for years, and left untreated, can alter your health, happiness and quality of life.

Suffering From Sleep Apnea?

If you suffer from daytime sleepiness, loud or chronic snoring, morning headaches and inability to concentrate, sleep apnea could be the cause of your sleep disturbance.

Once asleep, sleep apnea rarely makes you aware that you are having difficulty breathing. It restricts air flowing into your lungs by fully or partially blocking the airways causing the throat to become blocked or narrowed during sleep.

Each breath suffers a pause, lasting a few seconds to a minute, occurring several times an hour. The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive apnea -where the airways collapse or block causing the breath to squeeze through narrowed airways.

Partially blocked airways can cause snoring and unbalanced drop in oxygen levels, and frequent drops in oxygen reduces sleep quality, triggering the release of stress hormones.

Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

The most common signs point to

Loud and chronic snoring when sleeping on your back
Dry mouth on waking
Hyperactivity, poor school performance, hostility and anger alongside unusual sleeping positions, bedwetting and breathing through mouth instead of nostrils in children.

If left undiagnosed, sleep apnea can severely affect and disrupt your cognitive function. You may suffer from mild or severe

Daytime sleepiness and fatigue caused by disturbed levels of sleep
Impaired reaction time
Vision problems which contribute to sleep deprived driving
Difficulty processing information, short term memory and decreased judgement
Inability to concentrate
And behavioural problems such as decreased motivation, moodiness, aggression and depression which can lead to social and occupational problems

The effects of sleep apnea can prove very dangerous in occupations that require manual labour, driving and operation of machinery!

Left untreated, you may increase your risks of developing

High blood pressure
Heart attack
Strokes
Obesity
Diabetes
And irregular heartbeat

Are You at Risk?

This sleep disorder appears more common in men than women, and increases with age. 1-10 people over the age of 65 suffer from sleep apnea alongside allergy sufferers and women who are pregnant or going through menopause.

If you are overweight or obese, extra tissue layers thicken the wall of the windpipe resulting in narrowing and blockage of airflow.

What Can You Do About It?

Seek correct diagnosis through your doctor, who will do a physical exam, medical and family history alongside suitable sleep studies. Treatments should aim to improve your breathing and relieve symptoms such as snoring, disrupted sleep and daytime sleepiness.

Various devices such as mouthpieces adjust the lower jaw and tongue, keeping the airways open and breathing devices help by gently blowing air into your throat through a mask fitted snugly over your mouth and nose.

Above medical intervention, it’s important to take control of your lifestyle by making changes to your daily activities and habits

Avoid alcohol and sleeping pills
Sleep on your side instead of your back to assist in keeping your throat open
Purchase special pillows that prevent sleeping on your back
Use nasal sprays, allergy relievers and alternate methods to keep nasal passages open
Loose weight if you are obese or overweight
And quit smoking

How Your Mattress Can Help?

Good sleep posture is very important if you suffer from sleep apnea. Old, worn out mattresses won’t support your posture or comfort, which aggravates this condition.

An ideal mattress should support and eliminate pressure points when sleeping on your side (which reduces weight on your chest and allows airways to open for easier breathing) allowing you to sleep more comfortably.

During sleep your body relies on the right pillow and mattress for adequate support and comfort according to your needs and body type.

Sleep apnea can be very serious with unfavourable results on the quality of your life. With proper diagnosis, treatment and lifestyle changes you can improve your quality of sleep, avoid the risks associated and improve your overall health, wellness and happiness.

Sleep comfortably in any position with Bed King’s supporting range of mattresses, bedding and bedroom furniture.

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