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Sleep Apnea Research Paper

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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

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