Sleep Apnea Treatments

Sleep apnea is the most dangerous and unknown disorder that plagues people as they sleep. As you sleep, your breathing process is interrupted several times in a night by a blocked airway. The amount that the airway is blocked can range from just a few times to dozens of times a night; it really depends on how bad your sleep apnea is. There are two kinds of sleep apnea, although one is much more predominant than the other. The least common one is called Central Sleep Apnea and that deals with brain signal issues. Your brain does not properly transmit the “breathe” signal causing interruptions. The most predominant form of sleep apnea is caused Obstructive Sleep Apnea and that deals with your airway being blocked.

The people who are most at risk for developing obstructive sleep apnea are those who are overweight or obese, males, those with family history of the disorder, and those who are old. Side effects of sleep apnea include drowsiness, chronic fatigue, and losing focus on daily tasks. Suffering from long term sleep apnea can lead to very serious problems like heart attacks and strokes. Now that the symptoms are known to you, let’s take a look at the sleep apnea treatments.

If you have a mild case, all it can take is sleeping on your side and losing a moderate amount of weight. Both have been shown to improve or eliminate sleep apnea. There are two main options for those with serious apnea. The first is surgery. The procedure removes some of the tissue in your throat that causes the blockage. The downside to this is that it is expensive. According to experts, the cheaper and more common treatment is to wear a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure mask. The mask, called CPAP, forces a continuous flow of oxygen into your nose or mouth and the air going in keeps the throat open. Sleep apnea more or less disappears with this treatment.

Sleep apnea is a potentially fatal sleeping disorder that needs to be addressed immediately. If you have a mild form, try the tips above and if you have a severe case, go to see a doctor as soon as possible. The doctor can put you in a sleeping center and monitor your habits to get a reading on your apnea. Once that occurs, the most likely of the sleep apnea treatments recommended to you will be the CPAP mask. If that does not work, you can look into the surgical option. The bottom line is that you need to explore the sleep apnea treatments, depending on how bad your condition is.