Sleep Apnea - The Causes and Possible Remedies For This Common Sleeping Disorder
Sleep Apnea CauseSleep apnea is actually an illness where your breathing stops many times every night. The cessation of the breathing can last for a period of 60 seconds, or it can be for a longer duration of time.
Central Sleep Apnea is a type of sleep apnea,where your brain forgets to tell your muscles to take breaths. This type of sleep apnea is not all too common.
The more common type is OSA. OSA is known as obstructive sleep apnea. Your airway becomes closed
off. Naturally then, you are not receiving any air flow.
Some people have both kinds of sleep apnea. This is more complicated and not as easy to treat since both sleep disorders are taking turns with each other all night long. So your airway is either not letting air flow properly with your OSA problem, and then comes the CSA problem where the brain does not function properly telling muscles what they need to do.
Now, let's take a look at some of the possible reasons why people may have sleep apnea:
1. There may be sinus or nasal problems and blockage. Smoking causes a lot of sinus trouble, along with hay fever, the common cold, and chronic sinusitis.
2. People that consume a lot of alcohol may experience these problems. This is due to the fact that the tongue and muscles are lazy during sleeping periods.
3. Folks that are greatly overweight often experience many types of sleep disorders. Losing excess weight usually helps clear up the apnea problem if that is the reason.
4. The adenoids or tonsils need removal. If either or both of these are too big, it can cause a variety of problems with sleep apnea.
5. Other mouth problems a septum which is abnormal, (in other words deviated), or other bodily attributes of the body concerning the head and neck area.
Problems a person has from sleep apnea can number several. For one thing, not getting enough sleep will effect the mental functions on a daily basis such as alertness to drive, trouble with memory, or ability to think clearly. Depression and irritability may also set in.
Another bad problem from sleep apnea is the onset of heart diseases due to not receiving the proper amount of oxygenation. Hypertension is one of these issues that may also develop.
Getting help for sleep apnea is a must at some point. Before you talk to your doctor about this problem though, try a few things and see if it works, such as:
Having a regular bedtime that you stick to.
Positioning your pillows properly on the bed along with having pillows that make you comfortable. Sometimes nice thick pillows help instead of flat pillows which may interfere with oxygen levels in sleep.
Over the counter nasal spray treatments may or may not work for you. Ask your pharmacist which is best for calming nasal or sinus symptoms.
Try sleeping in different comfortable positions instead of flat on your back. Sometimes flat on your back causes breathing issues.
Lose weight so you are not obese.
You should see a doctor if the above don't work. There are things that a sleep specialist or doctor can do in order to resolve your sleeping issues.
One of the things that help is a machine called CPAP. This machine delivers pressurized air so that your airway is comfortable and relaxed, and you can breathe very easily. This machine can be purchased at quite a price, but if you are desperate for help, finances can be worked out. Training will be needed in order to use the machine correctly.
There are also helpful devices that are not difficult to use which helps to control your airways so that it is open and relaxed during sleep. The ways to go about getting such a device is to visit a dentist that knows a lot about sleep apnea and how to create the right type of device for you that will work.
So there is a lot of options available if you have this problem which makes nights very difficult. But once you reach the right solution, you are sure to have a good night's rest.
Jennifer Kirkman is the owner of many websites, two of the main ones are http://www.diabetesandrelatedhealthissues.com, and also [http://www.dietplansandweightloss.com] Visit these sites for much more information on diabetes and diabetes problems, and proper nutrition.