Edowo Crew

Hey you 👋

I know you think snoring during sleep is normal, and on some occasions it might be.

However, loud snoring can point to a potentially serious problem.

It is called sleep apnea.

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.

How does it happen?

Apnea literally means breathless in Greek.

When apnea happens and blood levels of oxygen is low, your brain triggers a reflex, waking you up to breathe.

This is usually below consciousness level as you won’t be aware of this happening.

However, your sleep cycle would be ruined.

What causes sleep apnea?

There’re 3 types of sleep apnea;
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Central sleep apnea
- Mixed sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type and happens when the upper airway is blocked.

This could be a result of;
- Large tonsils
- Large neck
- Obesity
- Short lower jaw
- Sleeping on your back.

Central sleep apnea happens when the brain doesn’t send signals to breathe.

Mixed apnea is a combination of both obstructive and central sleep apnea.

General risk factors include;
- Family history
- Being male
- Older age
- Smoking and drinking
- Nasal congestion
- Some medications.

What are the complications of sleep apnea?

Hypertension is the most common complication.

Closely followed by;
- Heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Daytime sleepiness
- Frequent headaches
- Loss of concentration
- Depression.

All these are due to constant disruption of sleep.

When you have sleep apnea, you don’t get restorative sleep.

How do you know you have sleep apnea?

The most common symptom is loud snoring.

Others include;
- Gasping for air during sleep
- Morning headaches
- Waking up with a dry mouth
- Excessive daytime fatigue
- Difficulty concentrating
- Mood swings.

How can it be treated?

Sleep apnea is treated first with lifestyle modification.

- Lose weight if overweight
- Exercise and eat healthy
- Quit smoke and alcohol

Pharmacotherapy;

- Continuous positive airway therapy: This is the use of a machine for air pressure while asleep.

Oral appliances: These are designed to keep your mouth open for better sleep.

- Surgery: If all treatment fail, surgery is the final step.

Sleep apnea is a serious problem you might not be aware of.

It is worthy of consideration if you snore at night and always wake up tired

Sleep apnea also happens in children.

If your child snores loudly and complains of headache frequently, you need to investigate it.

P.s One thing that helps is sleeping on your side.

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