CNN seems to be a few years behind important health news, especially news that heavy snoring may be a warning sign of sleep apnea.
The health story on CNN tells about the married life of Kim and Curtis Christiansen, married for about nine years, and who started having problems when Curtis began snoring. When Curtis began snoring about three years ago, CNN’s story relates, Kim took to sleeping on the couch.
Kim Christiansen was eventually able to get Curtis to make an appointment with a sleep specialist, as well as undergo a sleep study. The results show he has obstructive sleep apnea.
The CNN story goes on to give a brief overview of sleep apnea, as well as touch on some of the serious side effects of the sleep-breathing disorder.
A disorder in which breathing is briefly and repeatedly interrupted during sleep, apnea occurs when the muscles in the back of the throat fail to keep the airway open, despite efforts to breathe. That can cause broken sleep patterns and low blood oxygen levels. Doctors say these side effects can lead to hypertension, heart disease, and mood and memory problems.
In a recent study at the University of Maryland Medical Center, researchers found that sleep apnea can cause a rise in depression and that sleep-related breathing disorders can also worsen nightmares and post-traumatic stress disorder.
And because sufferers are usually sleepy during the day, apnea can increase the risk of automobile crashes. There’s no question it can be life-threatening, doctors say.
Almost everyone is likely to snore at one time or another, and while most people with apnea snore, not everyone who snores has apnea. It has been found in all age groups. Estimates of snoring vary widely based on how it is defined.
Habitual snoring has been found in about 24 percent of adult women and 40 percent of adult men. Both men and women are more likely to snore as they age. Men, however, become less likely to snore after the age of 70.
Obstructive sleep apnea is best treated by the use of a positive airway pressure device, such as a continuous positive airway pressure device, or CPAP, or a bi-level positive airway pressure device, or bi-level. Some people mistaken refer to all bi-level devices as BiPAP machines, although the word BiPAP is a registered trademark of Respironics, Inc., for a specific line of bi-level devices. The term xPAP is used when speaking of positive airway pressure machines, overall, when one specific type of machine is not being discussed.
Other treatments for apnea exist, though the success rate at eliminating the apneas — especially without surgery — are not close to the almost 100 percent success rate of xPAP devices. They include oral devices, including custom devices made by dentists; surgeries; and an implant that’s been on the market for a few years with mixed comments.
While many people with obstructive sleep apnea snore loudly and frequently, following by periods of silence when airflow is reduced or blocked, and then come to a conclusion when the person begins to make choking, snorting, or gasping sounds when the person’s airway reopens.
Signs of not getting enough sleep or sleeping poorly include consistently taking more than 30 minutes to fall asleep, awakening more than a few times or for long periods each night, feeling sleepy during the day, or having trouble concentrating at school or at work.
Keeping a daily sleep log, or diary, can help you track your sleep habits and identify what might be interfering with sleep. You may download a sleep diary. To download files from this site, you need to be registered as a site member to gain access. Once registered, simply login, and then download the files you’re interest in.
Links of interest
Have you had bouts of insomnia lasting two weeks or more? Do you walk around in a constant fog, feeling sleepy, fatigued, and as though you have no energy? Perhaps you "feel" older than you are, or maybe it’s all you can do to stay awake while driving. If any of that, or similar issues are familiar, or if you snore or have disrupted sleep, even if just a few simple, repeat trips to the bathroom during the night, check out these two online tests to help you get to the root of the issue. While they will not make a diagnosis for you, they will help you, your physician, or, more appropriately, a sleep specialist, find out what’s causing you the problem sleepiness.
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