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Trouble Sleeping?- Maybe You Two Should Sleep in Separate Beds!

I am not kidding here—a new study came out suggesting that couples who have trouble sleeping and who sleep in the same bed may get better sleep if they sleep in separate beds. Apparently around 25 percent of U.S. couples sleep in different beds or rooms, according to the National Sleep Foundation. This is no [...]

Night Shift Workers–Health Risks of Poor Sleep

It’s estimated that at least 20% of the workforce in the USA and in Europe work the so-called graveyard shift, either as their primary shift, or at least more than half of the time—that includes yours truly. A new study has confirmed what was suspected by many—that night shift workers face significant health risks, and [...]

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Main Types Of Sleep Apnea Surgery

March 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Sleep Apnea Surgery

Though sleep apnea surgery is the last treatment option that doctors resort to, at times it is necessary and essential to cure the disorder. Sleep apnea surgery is mostly done to treat obstructive sleep apnea, as this type of apnea relates to a physical problem that a surgery can treat effectively.

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs due to upper airway obstruction while one is sleeping, hence if other options such as the continuous positive airway pressure machine isn’t helping, sleep apnea surgery can be used to remove the soft tissues at the back of throat that collapse while one is asleep, and as a result increase the airway passage; or by expanding the jaw structure in a manner that it no loner restricts the breathing process.

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What is Sleep Apnea?

February 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment

What is Sleep Apnea Syndrome?

Sleep apnea is a very common sleep disorder where a person pauses breathing once or several times or has shallow breaths while asleep.

Pauses in breathing can be for a few seconds to even minutes. They can often happen five to thirty times or even more in an hour. Naturally, normal breathing resumes once again, and it is sometimes accompanied by a choking sound or loud snort.

The condition is usually a chronic disorder that disrupts one’s sleep. One can get out of deep sleep and move into light sleep as their breathing becomes shallow or pauses for a few minutes.

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Sleep Apnea Treatment Options

February 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Sleep Apnea Treatment Options - CPAP

Sleep apnea can often result in high levels of irritation, head aches and continuously prevent from you getting complete sleep at night, therefore to avoid seriously affecting your health it is important to search for and explore sleep apnea treatment options and find one to suit you.

Sleep Apnea Treatment Options

 

Sleep apnea is a clinical condition and has very little to do with the functioning of the body, instead of having to have multiple medicines, most sleep apnea treatment options can be applied at home to be carried out on a regular basis. As there are various sleep apnea treatment options available, your doctor will always advise you on one that will be most effective in your case and that solution is highly recommended on a basis of priority as sleep apnea treatment options depend mostly on the severity and the exhibited symptoms.

Before looking into more complicated procedures such as surgery or the usage of a device, doctors try and prescribe as simple a method as possible. An easy sleep apnea treatment option is using a sleep apnea pillow. This is mostly carried out for people with relatively milder cases, where one may want to consider these special pillows, which are effective and affordable. These pillows focus on keeping the neck and spine in proper alignment for the air passage to be open and accessible. Using these pillows, if prescribed, is the easiest sleep apnea treatment option that is available.

Sleep Apnea Treatment Options - CPAP

Sleep Apnea Treatment Option

Another sleep apnea treatment option, for slightly more serious cases is the use of mouth guards such as the Mandibular Advancement Device (MAD). These guards fit into your mouth easily, holding the bottom jaw open in a relaxed position, while also pushing the tongue away, keeping the airway open as much as possible, allowing unobstructed breathing. Another device that is used as a sleep apnea treatment option, but for more severe cases, is the application of continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) device. In this case there is a fan that blows in air through tubes into your mouth through a mask you will be wearing, the pressure keeping your air passage constantly unobstructed. Further variations on mask therapy include automatic positive airway pressure (APAP) and variable positive airway pressure (VPAP), both of which are different forms of CPAP but not nearly as effective. Though patients are naturally resistant at first with the idea of sleeping with a mask on, most eventually agree upon the fact that their effects on sleep is worth the uncomfortable efforts made.

Lastly the most serious and extensive among sleep apnea treatment options is surgery. This treatment method is carried out only as a last resort, when all other sleep apnea solutions have failed to perform effectively, or if the case is too serious right from the beginning of the treatment, only then do doctors agree to a surgical procedure to cure the problem. Most people look to avoid surgery and find that it is too big a procedure for snoring and interrupted sleep, however, one must keep in mind that doctors prescribe a surgery only when it is most needed and no other sleep apnea treatment solution is appropriate enough. Not curing apnea of such severity can lead to various other health problems and even cause high blood pressure and strokes.

Having considered the nature of your sleep apnea and it’s severity, it shouldn’t be to hard to choose from any of the aboved mentioned sleep apnea treatment options.

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Sleep Apnea Solutions

December 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Sleep Apnea Solutions - CPAP masks and pillows
Sleep Apnea Solutions - CPAP masks and pillows

Sleep Apnea CPAP mask

Sleep apnea can cause high levels of irritation, head aches and continuously prevent from you getting complete sleep at night, therefore to avoid seriously affecting your health it is important to search for and explore sleep apnea solutions and settle for one that suits you most.

Seeing as sleep apnea is a clinical condition and has little to do with the functioning of your body, most sleep apnea solutions can be applied at home to be carried out on a regular basis, instead of having medicines. As there are various sleep apnea solutions available, your doctor will always advise you on one that will be most effective in your case and that solution is highly recommended on a basis of priority as sleep apnea solution methods depend mostly on the severity and the exhibited symptoms.

Simple sleep apnea solutions

 

Before looking into more complicated procedures such as surgery or the usage of a device, doctors try and prescribe simple and common methods as possible. One such sleep apnea solution is using a sleep apnea pillow. This is mostly carried out in relatively milder cases, where one may want to consider these special pillows, which are effective and affordable. These pillows focus on keeping the neck and spine in proper alignment for the air passage to be open and accessible. Using these pillows, if prescribed, is the easiest sleep apnea solution available.

Sleep apnea solutions  – CPAP and MAD

 

Another sleep apnea solution for milder cases is the use of mouth guards such as the Mandibular Advancement Device (MAD). These are guards that fit into your mouth easily, holding the bottom jaw open in a relaxed position, while also pushing the tongue away, keeping the airway open as much as possible, allowing unobstructed breathing. Another device that is used as a sleep apnea solution, but for moderate and sever cases, is continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) device. In this case there is a fan that blows in air through tubes into your mouth through a mask you will be wearing, the pressure keeping your air passage constantly unobstructed. Further variations on mask therapy include variable positive airway pressure (VPAP) and automatic positive airway pressure (APAP), both of which are variations of the CPAP but not as effective. Though naturally resistant at first with the idea of sleeping with a mask on, most patients find that the effect it has on their sleep is indeed worth the cumbersome effort made.

Lastly the most serious and extensive sleep apnea solution is surgery. If and when all other sleep apnea solutions fail to have a desired effect, or if the case is too serious to start with, doctors agree to a surgical procedure to cure the problem. Most people look to avoid surgery and find that it is too big a procedure for snoring and interrupted sleep, however, one must keep in mind that doctors prescribe a surgery only when it is most needed and no other sleep apnea solution is appropriate enough. Not curing apnea of such severity can lead to various other health problems and even cause high blood pressure and strokes.

Having considered the nature of your sleep apnea and it’s severity, it shouldn’t be to hard to choose from any of the afore mentioned sleep apnea solutions.

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Sleep Apnea CPAP

December 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Sleeping Pillow with Sleep Apnea CPAP

Sleep apnea CPAP is now considered worldwide the most popular treatment for moderate and severe cases of sleep apnea, especially Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Sleep apnea is commonly known as the interruption of airflow during sleep, where the airway is obstructed preventing enough air to enter the body and results in the severe dip of oxygen in our blood.

Sleep apnea CPAP Treatment

Sleeping Pillow with Sleep Apnea CPAP

Sleeping Pillow with Sleep Apnea CPAP

Once diagnosed as a clinical condition, sleep apnea must treated to avoid detrimental affects on your health. There are several forms of treatment available for sleep apnea. For instances that aren’t very serious, slight weight loss is suggested to avoid excessive pressure on the muscles in our throat that have a tendency to collapse. Alternatively mandibular advancement devices, that hold the lower jaw and tongue forward, widening the airway and hence creating more space to breathe, are suggested and can result in 100% riddance of sleep apnea. However in more serious cases, weight loss and the use of mandibular advancement devices might be of no avail and in that case, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is advised by the doctor, the most successful treatment for obstructive sleep anea yet.

Sleep apnea CPAP is only prescribed when the case of obstructive sleep apnea is serious enough to be causing too many problems and frequent interruptions in your sleep, causing you to snort, snore or gag quite often. You could also be prescribed sleep apnea CPAP if you experience morning head aches, mood swings, anxiety or depression, as these are all a result of severe sleep apnea. To determine whether you are eligible for the sleep apnea CPAP treatment you may have to submit to a sleep study in a sleep centre and all monitoring of your sleep. If diagnosed as a moderate or serious case, CPAP will be given to you.

Sleep apnea CPAP is carried out using a sleep apnea device, it consists of a mask, tubes and a fan. Air pressure created by the fan is pushed through the tubes, into the mask, breathing into your mouth. The air pressure that is generated is used to push the tongue forward in the mouth and force the throat open wide enough for sufficient breathing to take place. Before starting on sleep apnea CPAP it is important that you try different levels of air pressure with a CPAP device, to figure out how much pressure is required to maintain normal breathing for you. As a general observation, those individuals who are heavier and have a severe case of sleep apnea require sufficiently high pressures. This level of air pressure for sleep apnea CPAP should be determined with the help of your doctor.

Sleep apnea CPAP reduces snoring

 

Using sleep apnea CPAP also reduces snoring and wholly avoids any sleeping interruptions. The sleep apnea CPAP should be put on and applied everytime one goes to sleep, regardless of the duration of your sleep. Though using the sleep apnea CPAP greatly helps by allowing normal breathing and avoiding disturbances in your sleep, it does not help in curing sleep apnea at all. Sleep apnea CPAP is only a temporary relief, not a permanent solution.

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What Causes Sleep Apnea?

December 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Sleep Apnea Causes in Adults
Sleep Apnea Causes in Adults

WARNING: Sleep apnea causes are important to recognize early.

Sleep apnea is a condition which affects the way one breathes when you’re sleeping, and it’s important to know sleep apnea causes to prevent it from worsening. It is the reduction (by 25%) or the pause of air flow while you breathe during sleep. These pauses usually last for about 10-20 seconds and occur repeatedly through the night. When apnea occurs, it usually disrupts sleep and prevents you from getting good sleep due to the reduced amount of oxygen in your blood. Once sleep apnea causes are correctly  diagnosed it is much easier to treat and deal with.

A serious cause of sleep apnea can often lead to high blood pressure, stroke, insomnia and mood swings. Sleep apnea often goes unrecognised and hence remains untreated, posing a threat to your health. Therefore to be able to treat it well, it is important to learn the sleep apnea causes.

There are generally 3 types of sleep apnea, each with differing symptoms, sleep apnea causes and results.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Causes

This is the most common type of sleep apnea, this occurs when the muscles on the back of your throat are trying to breathe but are unable to due obstruction of the airway, preventing proper air flow and thereby as a result of dropping oxygen levels you wake up to draw a sharp breathe. The main obstructive sleep apnea cause is when the airway in an individual is narrower than normal, when you lie flat the throat muscles relax and fall back obstructing the airway. People with obstructive sleep apnea mostly don’t remember the interruptions and in fact believe they slept well all night.

Central Sleep Apnea Causes

This second type is when the brain fails to instruct the muscles at the back of the throat to breathe and hence no action to take a breath is taken. This form is most rare and people with central sleep apnea rarely ever snore. This type of sleep apnea is usually seen in infants or adults with heart or cerebrovascular disease, it can however also be caused by medicines and high altitude. In infants or adults with the afore mentioned diseases, when there is a long term increase of carbon dioxide in the blood, the brain ignores the oxygen level and monitors only the blood carbon dioxide level, thereby determining the next breath. In doing this the control of breathing slows, the body is trying to exhale more than inhale and the rate of breathing hence decreases. Judging by the central sleep apnea causes, it can be diagnosed with a sleep study or through a overnight monitor.

Combination/Mixed Sleep Apnea Causes

Combination/Mixed Sleep Apnea is caused by combination of Obstructive Sleep Apnea causes and Central Sleep Apnea causes. When both occur alternatively or even sparsely in the same night it is called combination sleep apnea. This kind of sleep apnea occurs when there is an obstruction in the upper airway, similar to the obstructive sleep apnea cause. In addition there is also a problem with the rhythm of breathing in and out and the lapse of effort breathing from time to time.

Having studied sleep apnea causes and diagnosed the type, it is much easier to treat and deal with.

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