Essay Sleep Apnea: The Unsuspected Killer

Introduction: “The National Sleep Foundation” says that a lot of people don’t know what sleep apnea is. Sleep Apnea is a dangerous disease that can lead to death while you’re sleeping.

18 study data were derived from the apnea database (PhysioNet) corresponding to MIT/BIH database. AirFlow, SaO2, Abdominal and Thoracic Movements were obtained from full PSG records. Each record includes a period of nearly eight hours and signals annotation is done minute-by-minute. A minute is labeled as an apnea case if it contains at least one condition of apnea or hypopnea, otherwise labeled as a non-apnea. The patients mean age and weight are between 27 to 63 years (4810.8) and 53 to 135 kg (86.322.2), respectively. PhysioNet data are classified in two categories: Apnea Group (Class A, more than 100 minutes of apnea, mean age: 50 years in range of 29 to 63 years) and Normal Group (class C, less than 5 minutes of apnea, mean age of 33 years

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.

Obstructive sleep apnea has become an increasingly big problem in the United States. It is also apparent that obesity is also one of the biggest epidemics in our country as well. There is no question that both obesity and having obstructive sleep apnea go hand in hand for several reasons. I will go into some detail as to why these two go hand in hand, how young kids are now having issues with these two things, and what we as a society can do about it.

     Sleep is essential to life; it is one of several components, including food and water, which keep the living alive. However, a significant percentage of the human population has considerable difficulty reaching and maintaining Stage IV within their sleeping patterns, the stage that allows the mind and body to fall into a deep and restorative sleep, otherwise known as REM sleep. At the core of this difficulty is a condition known as obstructive sleep apnea, a "serious, potentially life-threatening condition that is far more common than generally understood" (Sleep Apnea). Indeed, obstructive sleep apnea can be very dangerous if it is not properly detected and treated.

          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

The statistics surrounding obesity and sleep apnea tell a very scary tale. According to SleepFoundation.Org, 65% of all Americans are either overweight or obese. Dr. Richard Simon, a sleep specialist in Walla Walla, has even linked this epidemic to a lack of sleep, stating that a decrease in exercise, an increase in caloric intake, and a major decline in sleep has thrown the body's natural rhythms out of

Obstructive rest apnea is a typical unending illness in Western culture whose commonness is evaluated at 2% of ladies and 4% of men in the overall public. It is portrayed basically by repetitive impediment of the upper aviation route that outcomes in oxyhemoglobin desaturation and occasional feelings of excitement from rest. It now creates the impression that even gentle to direct rest apnea is connected with the improvement of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular danger. With expanding corpulence, rest apnea can add to the advancement of daytime alveolar hypoventilation (weight hypoventilation disorder), cor pulmonale, and candid respiratory disappointment. Subsequently, given its high pervasiveness and grimness, rest apnea represents a huge clinical weight to Western culture.

Sleep apnea is characterized in a similar manner to hypopnea, a lack of airflow and oxygen levels at night whilst sleeping. However there are some key differences. Sleep hypopnea is a part of the obstructive sleep apnea family, and therefore has to deal with any obstructions that occur in the airways whilst sleeping (Phillips, 2015). Central sleep apnea, is another type of sleep apnea that can occur in people. This apnea is very different from obstructive sleep apnea. This apnea is caused because the brain temporarily fails to signal to the muscles that are in charge of controlled breathing. Obstructive sleep apnea is referred to as a mechanical problem, whereas central sleep apnea is referred to as a communication problem (Phillips, 2015). Central sleep apnea is much less common than obstructive sleep apnea and it can be caused by medical conditions that affect the brainstem. The symptoms of central sleep apnea are very similar to obstructive sleep apnea: stopping breathing or irregular breathing during sleep, shortness of breath leading to awakenings, chronic fatigue, excessive daytime drowsiness, morning headaches, poor/restless sleep, difficulty concentrating, mood changes, and snoring (Phillips, 2015). The treatment for central sleep apnea is by using a CPAP machine or a BPAP machine (which is very similar to a CPAP), certain medications have also been known to help stimulate proper breathing whilst sleeping (Phillips, 2015). Finally, the last kind of sleep apnea that can occur is complex sleep apnea. This type of sleep apnea is a mixture of obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. Essentially, this type of apnea occurs because of slight obstruction and the brain failing to properly inform the muscles to breathe (Phillip, 2015). BPAP machines and Adaptive servo ventilators “have shown successful use as the machines are capable of performing a

I am writing this statement because I have been diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea. Before, I entered the military I never had problems with sleeping, breathing, headaches, or snoring. I didn’t realize that I snored until I started dating my wife in 1999. She told me that I snored. I was in denial. She asked my mother did I snore when i was younger, my mother told her I never snored. I believe I started snoring during my 13th month tour in Korea were the air was so polluted and as I got older my snoring became worst. I am afraid to sleep because I choke in my sleep. Every morning I get up I have headaches. I complained to Dr. Harbin that I have headaches every morning I get up. He requested that I have a sleep apnea test performed.

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).

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.

In the textbook, “Psychology in Modules”, sleep is defined as “our periodic natural loss of consciousness” (pg.100) (Myers & Dewall, 2015). I am a person that loves to sleep a lot and consider it as a hobby of mine as it is useful in stressful times to restore and gain energy back after a long day depending on the type of situation that occurred. Based upon the sleeping disorders discussed such as insomnia, narcolepsy, etc.…, I never undergone any of them but the common one that I have seen that most people tend to get is sleep apnea. I would wonder how it occurs to others as in my family, both of my parents snore in the middle of their sleep but my siblings and I don’t. There would be times where they would choke in their own saliva and wake up having trouble

The first and most researched sleep disorder is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea does not affect children as often as it effects adults, but it is still a rising concern. Sleep apnea occurs in about 2 per cent of children, mainly between the ages of one through eight. But it can also show up in older children and even infants. (Klein). Research says that young blacks are more at risk than young whites. (Fritz p 83). Children with sleep apnea briefly stop breathing many times during the night due to an obstruction in the respiratory tract. Most of the time it is related to enlarged tonsils and adenoids or to obesity. As the child will gasp for there breath during sleep, they awaken for a few moments to regain there normal breathing and then they immediately return back to sleep. Because the child will be awoken by this many times during the night, this cause sleep deprivation. (Common Sleep Problems AA). The physical symptoms of sleep apnea are excessive daytime sleepiness, snoring, restless sleep, heavy and irregular breathing, excessive perspiring during the night, bad dreams, sleeping with there mouth open, sleeps in strange positions, morning headaches, learning problems, excessive irritability, depression, changes in personality, difficulty

However, obstructive sleep apnea is just the opposite in which, it affects around two to four percent of kids’. The results of sleep