All about sleep apnea

Enough rest is needed for all the hard work that a person does in order to lead a good and healthy life.The primary form of rest for any human being is sleep.Sleep stands equal importance with work because without sleep work would not end up as good.It can be considered as a necessity for existence.But humans tend to give less attention to sleep and take it for granted.There are some disorders that emerge due to sleep.Sleep apnea is one such disorder that occurs due to breathing altercations during sleep.

It is one of the most common sleep disorders occurring in many people yet poses as a serious threat at later stages.Sleep apnea takes place when the breathing cycle breaks off and starts again while sleeping.This leads to a number of pauses in between each breath and each of these pauses is called an apnea.These apneas may occur from 4 to 30 times in an hour.In the cases where low breathing takes place, breathing takes a lot of time and calms down which is known as hypopneaSleep apnea is mainly divided into three types: Complex, central and obstructive sleep apnea.

Snoring occurs in all these three types and is the main symptom in this disorder.The person who suffers from such a disorder is not aware of it and has no idea about what goes on during sleep.But the only way it is detected is when someone else notices the higher levels of snoring.Clinical tests called Polysomnograms are conducted on the patient during sleep or overnight to diagnose the disorder.The severity of the disorder is measured by the sleep apnea index calculated by dividing the number of apneas by the hours of sleeping.

Some of the main symptoms that can be observed by witnesses are: long pauses during breathing, loud snoring, gasping while sleeping and sleepiness in spite of considerable sleep during the night.Insomnia, forgetfulness, lack of concentration and headaches are other supplementary symptoms that can be seen.Sleep apnea is usually not very serious and can be cured at the basic stages by regular sleep, losing weight, avoiding drugs and smoking are the main necessities.The later and more severe stages can be treated by Continuous Positive Airflow Pressure (CPAP) and dental and nasal surgeries.

Such sleep disorders like sleep apnea are usually ignored by everyone and not given much importance.This might lead to adverse and more serious damage.So, it is better to ‘wake up’ and start acting!

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