Sleep apnea is a subtle yet extremely dangerous condition that can cause many issues. It is a condition where the patient ceases breathing for periods of time during sleep (American Sleep Apnea Association). It is caused mainly by blockage of the larynx by overgrown tissue. Sleep apnea makes it difficult to enter deeper stages of sleep which in turn causes many issues. “Left untreated, sleep apnea can have serious and life-shortening consequences: high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, automobile accidents caused by falling asleep at the wheel, diabetes, depression, and other ailments (American Sleep Apnea Association).” Sleep apnea can cause truly life threatening and shortening issues. Sleep apnea is difficult to diagnose. The disorder …show more content…
The most prevalent type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea while central and mixed apneas are less prevalent. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the patient ceases breathing during sleep due to blockage in the airway due to excessive or malformed pharyngeal tissue. Central sleep apnea is less common and occurs when the patient ceases breathing due to brain inactivity. The brain does not send appropriate signals to muscles that control air intake during sleep. This period of non-breathing drop oxygen levels and causes the patient to awake. Mixed apnea is the term given to the form of apnea that begins as central apnea then goes to obstructive apnea. The patient stops breathing during sleep due to brain inactivity, and this lack of breathing leads to the relaxation of pharyngeal tissue causing obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep apnea can affect everybody no matter what race or age. Being overweight, male, and over forty years old are risk factors and will increase the chance for sleep apnea. Sleep apnea however, can affect anyone including children (American Sleep Apnea …show more content…
Although nearly everyone is susceptible to sleep apnea, overweight people are much more at risk (American Sleep Apnea Association). It is without surprise then that the chiropractic study by Thaddeus Gala and David Seaman focuses on lifestyle modifications in order to treat obstructive sleep apnea (Thaddeus Gala and David Seaman). This study features a 55 year old white male who faced severe sleep apnea for ten years. The patient was in to seek management for his severe and chronic back pain which afflicted him for most of his adult life. In the patient’s history, he also complained about his severe obstructive sleep apnea. He had done surgery to treat his sleep apnea but this did not clear up his symptoms. Even with the CPAP machine, the patient suffered severe sleep apnea. The patient was encouraged to go through an “anti-inflammatory” diet by avoiding refined sugars and limiting alcohol consumption. He was also encouraged to regularly exercise (Thaddeus Gala and David Seaman). These modifications resulted in dramatic changes to the patient’s health. He no longer required the CPAP machine and his obstructive sleep apnea was eradicated. The patient also reported the following health
Sleep apnea is a common sleeping disorder where a person has experiences of not breathing during sleep. Over 20 million Americans, mostly overweight men, suffer from sleep apnea. Despite these numbers, sleep apnea is often not treated directly because its symptoms are thought to be those of depression, stress, or just loud snoring. There may be a genetic component to this disorder as it often occurs within families.People with sleep apnea stop breathing for at least 10 seconds at a time; these short stops in breathing can happen up to 400 times every night.
This relaxation goes even further when the soft palate muscles and uvula (fleshy tissue) sag over the airway as well, creating the "labored and noisy" (Sleep Apnea) so readily associated with the condition. It is important for the student to know that there are times when this blockage causes breathing to stop entirely. Interestingly, those who suffer with sleep apnea do not realize it, inasmuch as another person typically hears the startling noises and suggests that there is a problem. The sufferer may display frequent episodes of falling asleep on the job, giving work associates the clue, as well. "People with sleep apnea usually aren't even aware they have a problem and may not believe it when told" (Sleep Apnea). Inasmuch as sleep apnea is potentially life threatening, it is imperative that the sufferer seeks immediate diagnosis and treatment. Early recognition and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea is a critical step not only in getting a more restful night's sleep, but also in avoiding the potential complications of irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. Sleep apnea is more prevalent in men and young African-Americans; however, it has been diagnosed during all life stages. It is important for the student to know that attaining proper diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea includes consultation with a primary care physician, pulmonologist, neurologist
The dictionary defines sleep as “The natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored” (Webster’s 638) If one is waking up on an average of 300 times per night, the chances of complete body restoration are minimal. The Greek word apnea literally means “without breath”. An estimated 30 million Americans stop breathing during their sleep sometimes 30-40 times per hour and often for a minute, or longer each time. Of these, about 20 million are in the early stages, and about 10 million have progressed to a level of severity that requires treatment. According to the National
Sleep apnea is a medical condition that should never be ignored. When a person suffers from this disorder, he or she repeatedly starts and stops breathing when they are sleeping, and this may occur hundreds of times each night. Sleep apnea comes in many forms, with the most common being obstructive sleep apnea. This type of apnea occurs when the muscles of the throat relax. A dentist may need to be seen to assist in the treatment of this condition, one which is often marked by drowsiness during the day and loud snoring at night. What do individuals need to know about this condition?
Risk factors for sleep apnea include obesity, craniofacial abnormalities, smoking, male gender, short neck, and menopause in women. Obesity is one of the main risk factors of sleep apnea since 60% to 90% of OSA patients are obese and there is a strong positive correlation between body mass index (BMI) and OSA (4, 5). The overlap of obesity and OSA poses a challenge to ascribing the relative contributions of these comorbidities to
Sleep apnea is a life-threatening condition, which is the collapse of the throat and block the airway. Also known as obstructive sleep apnea – OSA, it is associated with obesity, and one of the major risk for heart disease. According to Dr. O’Neil in an OSA the upper airway closes off because the muscles that hold it open lose tone. Therefore, each time the airway closes, there is a pause in breathing. The sleep deprivation worseness obesity as well as causes a severe fatigue during the day. In addition, sleep apnea increase risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke (American Heart Association, 2015).
Nearly 1 in 15 adults have at least moderate sleep apnea and approximately 85% of those individuals are undiagnosed and untreated.
The USA Today article entitled “Sleep Apnea Booming; New Treatments Offer Alternatives” (Weintraub, 2013, p. 1)brings to light the growing numbers of Americans that are undiagnosed and untreated for sleep apnea. And worse how most doctors fail to even diagnose patients with sleep apnea. Sleep apnea use to be seen just as an
Sleep apnea is becoming increasingly more concerning for the association this sleep disorder poses to the psychological effects on people. Sleep deprivation is only one example of the effects caused by this medical condition which could be related to increased anxiety and depression. Millions of Americans suffer from sleep apnea without even realizing the sleep disorder is creating a problem. There has been significant progress in identifying sleep apnea, especially obstructive sleep apnea, and creating successful methods to help individuals more easily live with it. The thought of losing breath while sleeping without knowing this is occurring can intimidate an individual and his or her family.
Sleep apnea, or cessation of breathing in your sleep disorder from which affects large numbers of people, and that in that many are not aware of. Night apnea in adults is easily recognized by its strong and loud snoring, a person is in the morning after waking often feel exhausted, worn out and run down, and even to sleep for the whole 8 hours.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) describes the situation when the patients are pauses in breathing or infrequent breathing during sleep and is usually associated with reduction in blood oxygen saturation. In recent decades, sleep quality has decreased significantly. Large segments of population suffer at least occasionally from sleep disorders such as, difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, disturbing sleep patterns. Obstructive sleep apnea is a common disorder, also known as sleep apnea-hypopnea. It is recognized as an important cause of medical morbidity and motility, and it's associated with a wide range of significant medical squeal, including metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease and arterial hypertension. Smoking is a significant
Imagine that a person is sleeping and all of a sudden they wake up and are unable to breath. It is a scary thing but this happens to millions of people each year. One of the causes of this is Sleep Apnea. This paper will help identify the disorder of Sleep Apnea, its symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment.
In sleep apnea, an individual has trouble inhaling because the airways between the lungs, nose and mouth have collapsed while the person is sleeping. The sleeper is often awakened several times each night for short moments as they wake up gasping for air.
Often people who struggle with sleep apnea have a tendency to be overweight. Studies have shown that many were overweight to begin with and that weight contributes to sleep apnea. It is also true, that sleep and oxygen deprivation slows down the metabolism and more effort is required to burn calories. In addition, people who feel sluggish tend to eat more and exercise less.
Doctors don’t just prescribe medications for treatment of sleep apnea there are other options. They may prescribe Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Device (CPAP), oral device (OA), surgery, and diet. (Ronald M. Harper, 1988) The outcome depends on the patients’ compliance to treatment. I would like to explain what causes OSA, the treatments for OSA, and the negative effects if left untreated.