Sleep Apnea
- Sleep apnea
- prevents you
- from getting a good night's sleep.
- If you suffer from sleep apnea,
- you
- just
- have a shallow sleep.
- Many people
- wake up tired
- even after
- they believe
- they
- have got a full night's sleep,
- and
- drag
- all through the next day.
- Sleep apnea
- not only reduces sleep quality
- but makes people feel tired
- during the day.
- You
- must recognize
- why
- you don't have a sound sleep.
- Sleep apnea
- may be one possible reason
- that is responsible
- for the shallow sleep.
- Sleep apnea
- affects the way
- you breathe
- when you're sleeping.
- You
- may not even know the problem.
- In untreated sleep apnea
- breathing stops
- for 10 to 20 second,
- and
- this
- occurs many times
- during the night.
- When
- a person stops breathing,
- oxygen levels in the blood
- decrease.
- Whenever
- the person
- runs out of enough air
- to breathe,
- our brain
- sends alerting signals
- to raise the level
- of stress hormones,
- and
- tells our heart
- to work harder.
- This happens
- again and again.
- The effects
- of sleep apnea
- are often compared to
- racing a car engine
- that has been running
- for long periods of time.
- Because of sleep apnea,
- our heart becomes overworked,
- and
- can cause heart attack.
- In other words,
- the more severe
- the sleep apnea is,
- the greater
- the chance of heart attacks will.
- There are two types
- of sleep apnea.
- One type of apnea
- is called
- obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
- This is the most common apnea,
- and
- it is caused
- by a blockage of the airway.
- The muscles in your throat
- get all relaxed
- and
- the tongue falls back,
- blocking the airway.
- This
- can happen
- over and over again
- as you sleep.
- Another
- is
- central sleep apnea.
- The brain
- temporarily stops
- sending signals to the muscles
- that control breathing.
- This type of sleep apnea
- is
- usually associated
- with an illness
- in which the lower brainstem,
- which controls breathing,
- is affected.