Everything You Need to Know about Sleep Apnea
Two contemporary studies have found that individuals with sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder caus es fatigue, snoring and dangerous pauses or breaks in breathing at night. At night, someone with sleep apnea may continually stop breathing up to 30 times an hour, often for very fleeting instants of time and without being aware of it at all. In fact, a scary finding is that many people suffering from sleep apnea believe that they get good sleep.
This is frightening it’s more than just too much snoring , it’s a serious medical condition and can be dangerous. It can lead to many harmful signs and a reduced quality of life.
While it was always labeled as difficult health disease, studies now reveal that it is also connected to a high cancer risk. Long-term sleep apnea can cause stroke, heart issues, diabetes, obesity, depression and more. The new research states for the first time that this sleep apnea is invariably linked to cancer in human beings. It is said that nearly 28.5 million Americans have some type or form of sleep apnea and most of these cases remain undiagnosed.
The remedies for sleep apnea coincide with cardiovascular disease , diabetes , and obesity. The sleep medicine professor and an active member of a research team say that it’s the first time that this such a connection has come up. The medical fraternity has been rattled by this “very solid connection” and the association between sleep apnea and cancer looks very strong, at least by dint of the reports.
In one of the recent studies, experts and researchers in France and Spain studie d 7,000 patients at different sleep clinics. They found that those with the deepest and most serious types of sleep apnea had a 65% enhanced risk of inviting cancer of any form. Nearly 1,600 government employees in Wisconsin revealed that people suffering from breathing abnormalities or problems at nights had almost five times the rate of cancer death as compared to those without the sleep disorder. Both research unit s only assessed cancer reasons in general, instead of focusing on a type of cancer .
Both the studies were showcased in San Francisco some time back at an international seminar organized by the renowned American Thoracic Society. However, researchers ruled out the prospect of usual risk factors for or contributors to cancer like smoking, age, physical activity, weight , and alcohol use. They said that these factors don’t play a role here. The association between disordered or incorrect breathing at night and cancer remain quite even after adjusting these factors and auxiliary variables.
While delving for remedies for sleep apnea , you first need to need to understand its symptoms. These are morning headaches, excessive sleepiness during daytime, impaired mental or emotional functioning and snoring. Lifestyle changes are a significant factor in this condition. Doctors ask patients to sleep on their side. There are special pillows t hat help t o maintain the body position. An individual must avoid smoking and drinking alcohol within four hours of bedtime.
The remedies of obstructive sleep apnea depend on the magnitude of the condition. Your treatment options entail a host of remedies.
- Correct breathing devices
CPAP or continuous positive airway pressure devices are one of the most common remedies for sleep apnea both severe and moderate sleep apnea. Although the devices can take a substantial time to get familiar with, they are actually a very effective form of treatment. - Dental devices or apparatus
Also known as corrected oral appliances, dental devices are customized mouthpieces for positioning the tongue and lower jaw during sleep. It’s been found that dental devices are beneficial for mild cases of sleep apnea cases. - Surgical means
Doctors may recommend different surgical procedures for many cases of this condition. But there is confined evidence for the viability and effectiveness.
On diagnosis
The symptoms of sleep apnea are not that specific. It means that most people snoring at night or feeling fatigued during the day don’t necessarily have sleep apnea . To decide on the remedies for sleep apnea , your doctor may assess all medical reasons for sleepiness during the daytime. They refer you to a sleep center for all forms of diagnostic sleep evaluation.
Tips to improve your sleep
- If you are overweight, try and lose weight first.
- Maintain a healthy diet that includes high fiber and healthy fats.
- Exercise regularly