1 Stop Snoring

Snoring

Snoring will not wake the snorer up but it usually disturbs the one who sleeps beside the snorer and wake up from sleep. Snoring during sleep at night is frequent occurrence and getting common. People who snores usually does not suffer from any medical condition.

The snorers usually can reduce their risk from getting serious disease when snoring and most of the snoring are non life threatening. However, very serious snoring can leads to more serious sleeping disorders. The good thing is the sleeping disorders can be cured and diagnosed.

Snoring, sleep apnea and other sleeping disorders are curable and there are many remedies can be used to cure them.

Sleep

Sleep is an essential organized and active process for your life. The process is like recharging a battery, it supplies the emotional and physical renewal necessary for your survival. While you are sleeping, your nerves and and muscles will be relaxed and revitalized to continue the biological processes inside your body.

Individuals may need different amounts of necessary sleep and the sleeps must be free from any disturbance. The sleep pattern relies on our circadian rhythm and this rhythm requires us to sleep for specific period of time regularly. Your body clock keep you on regular 24-hour cycles and decides the quality and quantity of our sleep.

Some people can sleep less than 8 hours (which is the best for most people from research) as they are able to achieve highly effective sleep after they have conditioned their brain.

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Deprivation of sleep may lead to several physical and mental disorders. Sleep is a crucial part of our survival. Most people need uninterrupted sleep for at least 8 hours each day. Unchecked sleep disorders need quick medical attention and diagnosis as they could become fatal.

What is sleep apnea?

Apnea is from Greek;’Ap’ – “without” and ‘nea’ – “breath”. Sleep apnea means ‘cessation of breath’ and may occur twenty to sixty times within each hour. If you are unable to breathe properly at night and wake up gasping for breath, you may have sleep apnea. It is diagnosed by monitoring your breathing as you sleep.

Sleep apnea contains apnoeic episode from 10 to 90 seconds where you stop breathing. When the cessation of breathing appears for more than 10 seconds and happens for a several times, it is an indication of sleep apnea.

Many might have experienced different episodes in each hour of their nights. However, most people do not realize that is a problem and ignore it, don’t look for a treatment.

Three types of Sleep Apnea:

1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea 2.Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) 3.Mixed Sleep Apnea

Obstructive Sleep Apnea This is the most common type of sleep apnea and occurs when your airway collapses during sleep and becomes blocked by your tonsils, tongue, uvula (the hanging tissue at the back of your throat), your throat muscles or some fatty tissue in the throat. Your brain gets signals that your breathing is blocked and you wake.

The risk of getting stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular problem will be escalated as a result of the continual deprivation of oxygen during episode. Obstructive sleep apnea can cause narcolepsy (sudden lapse of consciousness) and excessive daytime sleepiness.

Causes of Obstructive Sleep apnea Obstructive Sleep apnea caused by the blockages or obstructions could be due to obesity, adenoids and large tonsils (particularly in children), irregular physical structure (larger tongue or uvula or narrow airways, etc) or weak muscles.

The other reasons that contribute to obstructive sleep apnea could be constricted sleeping position, asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), allergies and excessive stress.

Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) is less common if compared to the rest. The symptoms are quite similar to obstructive sleep apnea, however there are extra symptoms i.e. body weakness, numbness of body parts, changes in your voice and difficulty in swallowing. Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) occurs when the breathing muscles stop temporarily when communication with your brain is disrupted.

Central sleep apnea can also causes excessive daytime sleepiness, lack of attentiveness, heart diseases, high blood pressure and irritability as similar as symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. There is also an after-effect such as Ondine’s curse where you will have continual difficulty to breath easily while sleeping.

Sufferer of central sleep apnea that lives at above the sea level or having heart attacks or brain injuries might even suffer apnoeic episode while they are wide-awake.

Causes of Central Sleep apnea could be due to neurodegenerative diseases, surgical complications, neurological disorders, strokes or even radiotherapy. There are also causes behind the occurrence of sleep apnea. For example:

1. Your genes 2. Smoking 3. Age 4. Large tonsils and adenoids block free flow of air through the nose and throat. 5. Abnormal facial structure 6. Uvula, fleshy tissue at the back of your throat also relaxes during your sleep. 7. Different diseases of thyroid glands like hypothyroidism, or neuromuscular diseases like acromegaly, or Down’s syndrome, Marfan’s syndrome, post-polio syndrome 8. Nasal congestion due to allergies 9. Alcohol and drugs relax muscles of your breathing system 10. Weight gain 11. Uvula, fleshy tissue at the back of your throat also relaxes when you are asleep.

Mixed Sleep Apnea is a combination of both obstructive and central sleep apnea, due to both improper functioning of brain and blockade of your airways.

Regular snorers inhale lot of air while snoring and it causes the inner soft tissue in your throat to lengthen. Overtime, this stretching may lead to obstruction of air movement.

The balance of oxygen will be affected when you unable to inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide due to breathing difficulty at night. In that condition, your brain will have to awaken you up in order to restart your breathing system.

This awakening is critical to save your life. This is because when you awaken, your throat and tongue will be activated and enlarge your airway. However, the sleep is affected from the awakening and you feel drowsy throughout the day.

Sleep apnea is a condition which affects your daily living. It needs to be identified and cured, the earlier the better. Get a guide on how to overcome the sleep apnea and free from sleepiness. This article, An Understanding Of Sleep, Sleep Apnea And Snoring is released under a creative commons attribution licence.

Related posts:

1. Central Sleep Apnea: Understanding What It Is All About
2. Sleep Apnea – Stephen Seink MD
3. Understanding Sleep Apnea
4. Three Sorts Of Sleep Apnea – Useful Information To Assist With Your Sleep Challenges
5. Three Types Of Sleep Apnoea – Helpful Information To Help With Your Sleeping Disorders
6. Central Sleep Apnea: An Uncommon Sleeping Disorder
7. Snoring And The Link To Sleep Apnea
8. Do I Have Sleep Apnea? Find Out Here
9. Options To Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea
10. Sleep Apnea Treatments – Are There CPAP Alternatives?