Sleep apnea is a disorder marked by repeated pauses in breathing or the taking of shallow breaths while you’re asleep. Apnea is the period of time when your breathing is reduced or stops. It can happen anywhere from a few seconds to whole minutes. When breathing resumes it is usually with a snort or choking noise. Sleep apnea is common, chronic, and it often remains untreated. Why does sleep apnea occur? As we sleep, our brain gives our breathing muscles instructions so these muscles know to take a breath. When our brain doesn’t send a signal to the muscles to…

A CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine is designed to relieve patients who suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that causes breathing to start and stop during sleep. This is caused by the softening of the throat muscles during sleep, blocking the airway. Often you may not know you suffer from sleep apnea. It can be more noticeable to a partner, as the number one symptom is loud snoring. Other symptoms of sleep apnea include: Daytime fatigue Dry mouth or sore throat in the morning Observed pause in breath during sleep, or sudden gasping…

Sleep apnea is a potentially serious health condition which causes the muscles in the back of your throat to relax during sleep. These muscles support the soft tissue in the back of your mouth, including the uvula, tonsils, and the side walls of the throat. The relaxation of these muscles causes the airway to become constricted while sleeping, not allowing air to enter properly. Over time, the amount of oxygen in the blood decreases. When the airway is closed, your brain senses the lack of breath and briefly wakes you up for a second. This is usually not noticed by…

Anyone suffering from sleep apnea knows that it is not just the poor sleep you have to deal with, it’s the added stress that comes with it, the feelings of hopelessness, often elevations in blood pressure, and feeling like a zombie the next day. But sleep apnea can also have an effect on your weight. If you are worried about recent weight gains, and you are someone suffering from sleep apnea, your lack of sleep may be to blame. Below are some of the ways that sleep apnea has been linked to weight gain. Imbalanced Hormones When people don’t sleep,…

The link between sleep apnea, high blood pressure and subsequent heart disease is increasingly being recognized. There is a strong correlation between people with high blood pressure, heart failure and tendency for strokes and the prevalence of sleep apnea. It is still unproven whether there is a direct link between sleep apnea and heart disease, but many medical professionals recognize that if you do have sleep apnea, the chances of developing hypertension in the future go up dramatically. Studies have also found that treating sleep apnea can significantly improve blood pressure. This could also be due in part to other…