Snoring and Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea (AP-ne-ah) is a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep.

Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes. They often occur more than five times an hour. Typically, breathing then starts again, sometimes with a loud snort or choking sound.

Sleep apnea usually is an ongoing condition that disrupts your sleep. You often move out of deep sleep and into light sleep when your breathing pauses or becomes shallow.

This results in poor sleep quality that makes you tired during the day. Sleep apnea is one of the leading causes of excessive daytime sleepiness.

Overview

Sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed. Doctors usually can't detect the condition during routine office visits. Also, there are no blood tests for the condition.

Most people who have sleep apnea don't know they have it because it only occurs during sleep. A family member and/or bed partner may first notice the signs of sleep apnea.

The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea. This most often means that the airway has collapsed or is blocked during sleep. The blockage may cause shallow breathing or breathing pauses.

When you try to breathe, any air that squeezes past the blockage can cause loud snoring. Obstructive sleep apnea is more common in people who are overweight, but it can affect anyone. For example, small children may have enlarged tonsil tissues in their throats, which can lead to obstructive sleep apnea.

Central sleep apnea is a less common type of sleep apnea. This disorder happens if the area of your brain that controls your breathing doesn't send the correct signals to your breathing muscles. As a result, you'll make no effort to breathe for brief periods.

Central sleep apnea can occur in anyone. However, it's more common in people who have certain medical conditions or use certain medicines.

Central sleep apnea often occurs with obstructive sleep apnea, but it can occur alone. Snoring doesn't typically happen with central sleep apnea.

Outlook

Untreated sleep apnea can:

• Increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity, and diabetes
• Increase the risk of, or worsen, heart failure
• Make arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, more likely
• Increase the chance of having work-related or driving accidents

Sleep apnea is a chronic condition that requires long-term management. Lifestyle changes, mouthpieces, surgery, and/or breathing devices can successfully treat sleep apnea in many people.

Reference: NIH.GOV

What is Narcolepsy?

The main characteristic of narcolepsy is excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), even after adequate nighttime sleep. A person with narcolepsy is likely to become drowsy or fall asleep or just be very tired throughout the day. Daytime naps may be physically irresistible. These naps can occur several times a day. They are typically refreshing, but only for a few hours. In addition, nighttime sleep may be fragmented with frequent awakenings.

Four of the other classic symptoms of narcolepsy are cataplexy, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations, and automatic behavior. These symptoms may not occur in all patients.

Cataplexy is an episodic condition featuring loss of muscle function, ranging from slight weakness to complete body collapse. Episodes may be triggered by sudden emotional reactions such as laughter, anger, surprise, or fear, and may last from a few seconds to several minutes. This is often frightening but is not dangerous. Hypnagogic hallucinations are vivid, often frightening, dreamlike experiences that occur while dozing, falling asleep or while awakening.

There are wide variations in the development, severity, and order of appearance of cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations in individuals.

Diagnosis is relatively easy when all the symptoms of narcolepsy are present. Two tests that are commonly used in diagnosing narcolepsy are the polysomnogram and the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT). These tests are usually performed by a sleep specialist.

Reference: Wikipedia

Could alcohol help us sleep better?

Alcohol has been used as a "sleep promoting chemical" for years.

However, studies have shown conclusively that although one or two drinks can help people fall asleep more quickly at first, doing so causes considerable sleep disruption throughout the night, leading to day-time fatigue and sleepiness. Though they fall asleep more quickly, even slightly inebriated people tend to wake up frequently afterward: trips to the bathroom, acid reflux, and dehydration, along with neurological symptoms such as suppression of the dreaming stage, and neuropathy (nerve pain) are among the many alcohol-induced disruptors of good sleep.

So what is a tip for good sleep? Have your last drink for the night 3-4 hours before going to bed. Sleep Well, Los Angeles!

How You Can Beat Insomnia?

1) Lie down intending to go to sleep only when sleepy.
2) Do not use your bed for anything except sleep. Do not read, watch television, eat, or worry in bed. Sexual activity is the only exception to this rule.
3) If you find yourself unable to fall asleep, get up and go into another room. Stay up as long as you wish and then return to the bedroom to sleep. Although we do not want you to watch the clock, we want you to get out of bed if you do not fall asleep immediately. Remember that the goal is to associate your bed with falling asleep quickly! If you are in bed more than about 20 min without falling asleep and have not gotten up, you are not following this instruction.
5) If you still cannot fall asleep, repeat rule 3. Do this as often as is necessary throughout the night.
6) Set your alarm and get up at the same time every morning, irrespective of how much sleep you got during the night. This will help your body acquire a consistent sleep rhythm.
7) Do not nap during the day.
8) Take a hot shower 2 hours before bed time.
9) Exercise before 3 PM, dim light during late evening, bright light in AM.
10) Get a good amount of sunlight in the morning.
11) If you drink coffee, stop before 3 PM.