SLEEP APNEA

APNEA MEANS A LACK OF OXYGEN

Do you suffer from the following symptoms

• Sleepiness during the day
• Find it difficult to concentrate
• Headache when you awake
• Sore throat and blocked nose when you awake
• Stressed and agitated
• Depression
• High blood pressure
• Falling asleep while driving
• Increase in weight and decrease in libido

The Apnea Cycle

1. You fall asleep.
2. The muscles relax.
3. Airway passages narrow and/or collapse, making breathing difficult or impossible.
4. Loud snoring, snorts, pauses in airflow and laboured breathing often follow.
5. Oxygen level begins to fall.
6. You continue to struggle for breath, time goes by - 10, 20, 40 seconds between breaths.
7. Heart rate falls below normal - there is decreased oxygen to pump through the body.
8. Brain senses low oxygen/high carbon dioxide level, release a jolt of adrenalin - "fight of flight" response - to awaken the brain and body to prevent suffocation.
9. Heart rate speeds up in response to rush of adrenalin. Now pumps above normal heart rate.
10. You awaken briefly, take five or six large breaths, breathing in oxygen and blowing off excess carbon dioxide (CO2), then often repositioned on the bed.
11. You typically do not remember arousal.
12. Oxygen/Carbon dioxide levels return to near normal.
13. Brain allows you to resume sleeping.
14. You fall asleep.

This cycle repeats throughout the night! Some people who suffer from apnea experience these jolting experiences over 100 times per hour.

Solution for this problem

• Manage a healthy lifestyle, exercise and try not to eat and drink a hour before you go to sleep.
• Avoid medication that causes drowsiness.
• Establish a fixed sleeping routine
• Talk to someone that can help you with the problem

Treatment

• Surgery
• Tracheostomie
• Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
• Dental apparatus

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