Sleep Apnea Snoring Can Be Serious
The second time I had to pull off the road to take a nap just on my way home from work was when I became worried. I had never heard of anyone else napping just on their commute home from work. When my wife was complaining about me snoring was when I decided that I might have an issue with sleep apnea snoring. If your sleep apnea is severe, you can actually kill others because of it. If drinking and driving is bad, driving while sleepy is just as bad. Sleep apnea is a dangerous threat to yourself and others.
Snoring is the number one indicator of sleep apnea. The identical sleep conditions that cause snoring can cause severe sleep apnea. Muscles in the airways relax, causing the soft palate at the base of the tongue to obstruct the airway. This blockage results in an interruption in breathing while a person sleeps. These interruptions in breathing, or apneas, can continue from five seconds to a minute. When breathing restarts, the result is a snore. This is a frightening fact: a sleep apnea sufferer can actually stop breathing anywhere from five to hundreds of times a night. Now we see why people with sleep apnea are so tired all the time.
It is very surprising how prevalent sleep apnea is. More than 12 million people in the United States are sufferers of this illness. However, a large swathe of sufferers remains undiagnosed because of a general lack of awareness among the general public and health care professionals. Risk factors include being overweight, male, and over the age of forty, but sleep apnea can strike anyone at any age.
The most common symptoms of sleep apnea include:
- Choking or gasping whilst sleeping
- Chest pain
- Depression
- Excessive daytime drowsiness
- Headaches
- Frequent urination through the night
- Heartburn
- High blood pressure
- Mouth breathing
- Inability to focus or concentrate
- Short attention span
- Personality changes
- Snoring
- Sexual dysfunction
- Waking up still tired
If not treated, sleep apnea can cause serious health conditions. These include congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and stroke. Untreated sleep apnea may also be responsible for motor vehicle crashes, endangering not only your life but innocent others. Fortunately, sleep apnea is definitely treatable. There are even apnea home treatments that are possible. Many options exist and more are being found every day. For more resources and articles on treatment options for this illness please feel free to visit my website. Luckily, I never was in a car crash, so if I can help others with this knowledge then I will feel like the site was worthwhile.
Disclaimer: You should always consult your own physician before taking any other medical advice as they know you best.