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All you need to know about Sleep apnea

Uploaded on: 12 June 2023

Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that can cause numerous different diseases. This is a medical condition. Restlessness starts in sleep, if you can’t breathe then it can be a serious disease. In this disease, the patient doesn’t have the foggiest idea how his breathing suddenly stopped while sleeping. This means that a person who has a habit of snoring in sleep is not aware of it.

It is a sleep related disease. In this, as the patient’s breath stops again and again, he keeps moving from one side to another side. Sits up in panic due to suffocation. Becomes restless. Absence or difficulty breathing lasts for a few seconds. But sometimes it takes longer.

This happens either because of blockage of your airway or because your brain doesn’t accurately control your breathing.

This disease has three types namely Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Central Sleep Apnea and Complex Sleep Apnea.

1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea

This is a common type of apnea. In this, due to obstruction in the air passage, it becomes difficult to breathe. According to report, 90-96 cases of sleep apnea are associated with it.

Sleep Apnea

2. Central Sleep Apnea

In this type, your breathing stops repeatedly and may start again after a while. This is because the muscles do not receive proper signs from the brain.

3. Complex Sleep Apnea

This issue has symptoms of both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. This makes the patient experience issues breathing or quit breathing totally while sleeping.

Symptoms:

  • Feeling restless while sleeping
  • Feeling that the breath is suffocated or stopped
  • Sudden heavy heartburn and sweating
  • Excessive sleepiness and lethargy throughout the day.
  • Like pressure on urine.
  • Loss of concentration and lightheadedness.

Causes:

  • If a person is overweight or has an outward protrusion of the neck (neck size should not exceed 17 inches). The causes may be loss of size or enlargement of the tonsils from inside the nose, throat and mouth, growth of unnecessary tissue in the trachea.
  • If you consume alcohol or take sleeping pills, this can also be a cause of sleep apnea.
  • Junk food and sedentary work combined with decreased active work.

However, in all this we need not be afraid. This disease can be treated. But if you do not pay attention to all this in time, some other diseases can also occur. Let’s understand what diseases or problems sleep apnea can cause.

Risk of Heart Disease

A person experiencing sleep apnea suffers from low or high blood in the body, high blood pressure, sudden increase in pressure on the cardiovascular system. Due to these reasons the person may also develop heart related diseases.

Risk of Serious Diseases

The more serious the sleep apnea, the higher risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other diseases.

Treatment

  • A person suffering from this problem can be treated through polysomnography or sleep study. At first, EEG test, EKG test and oxygen test are done.
  • There is another test that does not need the patient to go to the hospital. In this, a small watch-like device is placed in the patient’s arm. This device monitors the movement of the person during sleep. Based on this, the doctor further treats.

Some more possible treatments include:

  • Conservative (nonmedical) treatments.
  • Positive airway pressure and adaptive ventilation devices.
  • Oral appliances (mouthpieces).
  • Nerve stimulators.
  • Surgery.
  • Medications (central sleep apnea only).

Take care of diet

  • Eat organic products that are wealthy in melatonin. Eating fruits like grapes, pomegranates, cucumbers will help you sleep better.
  • Fiber rich diet and grains should be included in the diet but be careful not to gain weight while eating these.
  • Focus on eating foods that are low in fat. Use olive oil, sunflower or linseed oil instead of ghee.

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