Woman World Web

July 28th, 2008 by Phyllis Wheeler

Are you plagued by tiredness? Do others say you snore? Are you at least slightly overweight? If so, you could have sleep apnea.

If all these are true, don’t wait! Sleep apnea could be shortening your life. Have your doctor prescribe a sleep study to find out whether you have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition where you are holding your breath and then gasping for air man times a night. Here’s one reason why you shouldn’t wait: it will shorten your life. You are at increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and other cardiovascular disease including aneurism. Here’s the other reason why you shouldn’t wait: there’s treatment.

In sleep apnea, the airway collapses during an intake breath. Fatty tissue lining the airway causes the airway to lose elasticity. At least a bit of excess weight is therefore generally necessary for sleep apnea to occur. Sufferers generally also snore.

After the airway closes, the oxygen level in the blood drops. Blood pressure shoots up. The sleeper struggles to breathe and begins to wake up. Returning to consciousness, the sleeper opens the airway, and the breath is completed. The sleeper falls back to sleep. The cycle begins again, perhaps many times per minute. Breath cessation for 10 seconds will bring you a diagnosis of sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea wears out your cardiovascular system because of the constant cycle of high blood pressure. It also shreds your rest because of the continual near-waking required to keep breathing.

The fact that you are holding your breath may come as a surprise to you. It’s the constant tiredness that will be obvious.

The spiking blood pressure many times each night will bring you closer to heart attack or stroke.

What to do?

Effective treatment has been available for a couple of decades now. The continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) system supplies air from a fan through a hose to a mask placed over the nose and mouth. Pressure from the fan keeps the airway open as you breathe in. It’s not so much pressure that you can’t breathe out.

One downside is that the mask can be uncomfortable. But a variety of suppliers offer options now, one of which will probably fit your face.

Another downside is that you have to wear it whenever you lie down to sleep. If you go traveling or camping, you still have to wear it.

Is the fan noise a problem? Users say no; the white noise can actually help them fall asleep.

So, do a quick risk analysis. Is the risk of early death worth the inconvenience of wearing a mask and finding an electric outlet whenever you fall asleep?