Sleep Apnea – Sleeping Disorder
Sleep apnea defined broadly is a form of “sleep” disorder. Some other examples of sleeping disorders are narcolepsy or sleep walking. Patients with sleep apnea stop breathing regularly during their sleep. Their breathing is stopped anywhere from a few seconds all the way up to a minute. This period ends when the patient gasps for air and takes a breath with a choking sound. This process can repeat many times within the hour. The more of these episodes the patient has and the longer they last the more severe is their condition. Sleep apnea disrupts more than a restful night of sleep. It disrupts the flow of oxygenated blood to vital organs in our body (e.g. heart, brain) and increases our risk for heart attacks and strokes.
Impact on Brain Health & Function
A restful night of sleep is impossible when someone has sleep apnea. Patients with sleep apnea do not recall the episodes where their awakened from their sleep just long enough to take a breath. But their “minds” feel foggy and unclear. These patients will often fall sleep sitting down somewhere to do a mundane activity like watching TV or reading a book. We’ve all experienced these events, but usually after a large meal or late at night, not in the middle of the day when we are supposed to be fully alert. Patients suffering from un-diagnosed sleep apnea perform poorly at their job or school. What they could once easily accomplish or overcome has now become an obstacle. That’s because sleep apnea gets worse over time. Brain death starts within 4-6 minutes of the time the patient stops breathing, say in a drowning accident. The total period of time the brain is without adequate oxygen in a sleep apnea patient every night is way more than 4 to 6 minutes. This episodic drop in oxygen levels in the brain cells over time leads to premature aging of the brain cells and lower academic/professional performance.
Impact on the Cardiovascular System
During the periods when the patient stops breathing there is a dramatic drop in the blood oxygen levels. The cells in our organs cannot survive without proper oxygen levels. Consequently, the cells start being more and more stressed and eventually die off. In a heart attack, the supply of oxygenated blood to the heart muscle itself is compromised leading to cell death in the heart organ. The same process of low oxygen levels to the heart happens in patients with sleep apnea, and not just once. Repeated bouts of low oxygen levels start causing irreversible damage to the heart increasing the risk for an eventual full-scale heart attack. It is no coincidence that most heart attacks occur early in the morning. After a stressful night on the heart, the patient then wakes up to face the regular stresses of daily life. This increase in the stress level at one point will become great enough to overwhelm the body.
Impact on Family & Society
Sleep apnea hurts not just the patient, but the people around the patient. Numerous high-profile accidents in the transportation sector have been directly related to untreated sleep apnea. The family unit at home becomes stressed as one partner is unintentionally hurt by the other’s actions. The partner often feels neglected or taken for granted even after desperate attempts at communicating these feelings. However, since the patient is not mentally alert they often forget these conversations and fail to address them properly. Professional athletes (e.g. NFL players) have been affected by this disease as well. You often see a few players that make “dumb” plays. Some of this is bad luck. Some are attributed to the player not remembering the play they are running and thus goofing up.
To learn more about this disease, follow this link to WebMD for sleep apnea.
Treatment Recommendations
The treatment for this condition depends on the diagnosis. To determine if you suffer from sleep apnea you start by taking a simple survey. Your answers to the questions will determine a score for you which can then be compared against a normalized range. Based on your score, your medical doctor may recommend a sleep study for you or will refer you to a sleep specialist who will then do so. Once the data from the sleep study is reviewed you will be given a working diagnosis. Follow this link to learn more about treatment options for sleep apnea.
sleep apnea in children
This disorder can also be found in children as young as 1-2 years old. It can also develop as the child enters preschool or later depending on a number of factors. A child’s body and brain and everything else undergoes a tremendous transformation from the day the child is born to their late teens. Follow this link to learn more about sleep apnea in children.