Sleep Apnea, its signs and symptoms
Sleep apnea is a situation in which the person finds difficulty to take proper breathes while asleep.The person experiences interrupted breathing either for 10-30 seconds at a time or it can be extended up to 20-30 times in an hour.Sleep apnea occurs when the breathing process is completely stopped for 10 seconds.No breathing means the oxygen level in the blood decreases up to 4 percent.The person in this condition either wakes up from sleep or goes to light sleep from a very deep sleep.
If the condition of sleep apnea goes untreated, it could turn to be seriously harmful for your health.Less sleep or incomplete sleep effects your heart adversely by putting strain on the muscles.Therefore, sleep deprivation condition increases the risk of heart attack,and other cardiovascular diseases.
Sleep apnea is caused due to three reasons-
–Obstructive apnea-in which the airway get blocked which causes shallow breathing.
–Central sleep apnea-It occurs less often compared to obstructive sleep apnea, in this your brain stop sending the breathing signals to your respiratory muscles.Thus causing paused breathe while sleeping.
–Mixed sleep apnea-It is the combination of both the obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.
Sign/Symptoms of sleep apnea:
A misconception about sleep apnea is that people suffer from the problem of loud snoring, which is not true.Yes, people do snore during sleep apnea condition but the inverse is not always true.People suffering from sleep apnea experience morning headache, dry moth when they wake up,high blood pressure,anxiety, depression, insomnia,less concentration and weight gain.
Another important symptom of sleep apnea is that person feels dizziness and daytime sleepiness because of less sleep.Other symptoms are-
- Exhaustion
- Sweating while asleep
- Chest pain during sleep
- Heartburn at night
- Shortness of breath
- Paused breathing
- Frequent urination at night
- Personality change
The treatment depends on person to person depending on the level of severity of sleep apnea.Weight should be properly controlled and a healthy sleep should be maintained.Try to sleep on the sides,it reduces the chances of the airways getting blocked while sleeping.
“The information present here is for general purpose please consult your doctor before taking any medication/therapy”
