The disorder that causes troubled breathing during sleep is known as sleep apnea. This condition causes the brain to wake you during a nap to ensure enough breathing and air reaches your lungs. However, this causes sleep disturbances, leading to a sluggish start to your day. Without proper sleep apnea treatment that is witnessed and diagnosed, it can cause severe complications to an individual’s health.
The lack of efficient oxygen to the lungs activates a reflex that forces an individual to wake up during their nap, allowing them a space to resume breathing. Even though this reflex enables an individual to maintain breathing levels, it causes severe disruptions in their sleep cycle, leading to stress on the heart.
Symptoms related to Sleep Apnea
Various symptoms are associated with sleep apnea, suggesting that an individual suffers from this obstructive breathing condition. Some of the significant symptoms include
Exhaustion and tiredness after waking: One of the significant symptoms of sleep apnea is the exhaustion and fatigue that an individual faces after waking up from sleep.
Daytime Sleepiness: Individuals suffering from sleep apnea often face daytime sleepiness due to disturbed naps.
Snoring: One of the most common and significant symptoms related to sleep apnea is snoring. However, it entirely depends on the severity of the disorder, and some individuals might not have snored at all.
Disruptions in brain functioning: Due to the high functioning of the brain throughout the night in providing survival reflexes to individuals to wake up and breathe, there are significant disruptions in the functioning of the brain. It often includes troubled concentration, memory loss, and other vital issues related to the brain.
Unusual Breathing patterns: Another significant symptom related to sleep apnea is Cheyne-stoke breathing. It is a specific breathing pattern identified among individuals with central sleep apnea. It causes fast breathing, which in turn affects the overall breathing pattern of an individual during the night.
Treatments related to Sleep Apnea
There are various approaches to treating sleep apnea, depending on the type and severity of an individual’s sleep apnea. Different sleep apnea treatment that is witnessed is
- OSA or Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- CSA or Central Sleep Apnea
- Complex/mixed Sleep Apnea.
Even though there is no proper cure for sleep apnea, specific treatments help prevent disorders, allowing an individual to have a peaceful and undisturbed nap during the night.
However, with the help of continuous treatments, there are instances when individuals have been able to eliminate the effects of sleep apnea.
Some of the treatments that doctors recommend to patients suffering from sleep apnea include
- Oral Appliances
- Conservative treatments
- Nerve Stimulators
- Adaptive ventilation and positive airway pressure devices.
With the help of these treatments, one can prevent the effects of sleep apnea, thereby improving breathing problems and enhancing breathing patterns.
Medications related to Sleep Apnea
Apart from treatments, including adaptive ventilation, phrenic nerve stimulators, and positive airway pressure, certain medications help relieve an individual from sleep apnea’s effects. These include hypnotic medications, enhancing sleep among individuals.
Respiratory-stimulating medications and certain other medicational drugs. However, one must consult their doctors and healthcare providers to gain an advantage and improve their sleep apnea.
Final Thoughts
It is a severe disorder that causes breathing disorders among individuals during sleep. It affects the body’s overall functioning and causes extreme health conditions among individuals. With the help of the treatments related to the disorder, one will be able to negate the effects of the disease, thereby ensuring a peaceful night’s sleep and a healthier body functioning.
Several clinics offer sleep medicine services under the observation of specialists. Reaching out to one is beneficial.