If you snore loudly and often, there’s a good chance you have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a severe sleep disorder that can cause health problems like high blood pressure and heart disease. It can also lead to fatigue and daytime drowsiness. Fortunately, sleep apnea is treatable. Several treatments are available in Surprise, AZ, including lifestyle changes, medications, and surgery. The best treatment for you will depend on your situation. Talk to your specialist in sleep apnea in Surprise for assistance.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder. People with it stop repeatedly breathing during their sleep, sometimes for up to a minute or longer. They may snore loudly and feel exhausted even after sleeping through the night.
The best way to describe sleep apnea is to say that you stop breathing when you’re asleep. When your brain realizes that your body hasn’t had enough oxygen, it forces you to take a breath. This break in breathing is called apnea.
What Causes Sleep Apnea?
A blockage of the airways causes sleep apnea. Extra fat around your neck and enlarged tonsils and adenoids may push on these passageways and narrow them. This makes breathing more difficult.
You may also have this condition if your tongue or extra tissue in your throat blocks the airways. Sleep apnea is most common in men and people who are overweight. But, it can happen to anyone of any age or gender.
Other conditions like allergies, long-term (chronic) lung disease and some medicines can also cause sleep apnea. Sleep apnea often runs in families, but doctors don’t know exactly why.
What Are the Symptoms of Sleep Apnea?
You may have apnea if you snore loudly. You may also stop breathing for short periods during your sleep. But, these don’t happen every night. You may not remember waking up feeling tired, but your spouse or bedmate may tell you that you stop breathing or snore loudly several times each night and morning.
How Is Sleep Apnea Diagnosed?
Your doctor will ask about your medical history and do a physical exam. They will check your breathing during sleep. You may need to visit a sleep clinic or other facility where your sleep can be monitored and recorded for several nights.
How Is Sleep Apnea Treated?
The first step in treating apnea is losing weight if you are overweight, stopping smoking, and reducing alcohol. Sleep apnea is often related to obesity, so this is an excellent place to start.
If lifestyle changes don’t help, your doctor may prescribe a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to keep the airways open when you sleep. You wear a mask over your nose while you sleep or nap. The mask delivers pressurized air through the hose to help keep the airways open. It allows air to flow normally, even when your throat muscles relax.
Your doctor may also prescribe medicine that can be taken before sleep or during the day if you have daytime sleepiness. Surgery is another treatment option for apnea. A surgeon may remove extra tissue or fat from around your throat or change the position of your jaw.
Sleep Apnea is treatable with a variety of methods. If you or someone that knows has been experiencing these symptoms, talk to your doctor about what options are available and which one might work best for you.
