Tips to Understanding and Dealing with Sleep Apnoea

Sleep apnoea can be a deadly disease. It can lead to strokes and heart attacks which can lead to death. An article from http://www.healthcentral.com has offered some facts and tips about sleep apnoea:

• Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore revealed that men aged 40 to 70 with severe sleep apnoea were twice as likely to die as men in the same age group who did not suffer from the disorder.

• Many accidents are caused by people who fall asleep at the wheel, a common result of sleep deprivation caused by sleep apnoea.

• It's believed that over 12 million Americans have obstructive sleep apnoea.

• Excess weight increases flab in the throat area that can clog airways. The bad news is that sleep apnoea can cause weight gain by increasing the appetite for poor food choices and hormonal changes also lead to weight gain. Also, because sleep apnoea leads to sleep deprivation and inability to be as active as you once were, weight loss through exercise is less likely.

• The use of alcohol can cause disrupted sleep patterns and can also loosen the muscles in the throat which can cause obstruction of the airways.

• Medications can also create problems for the sleep apnoea victim. Muscle relaxants, like alcohol, loosen muscles and bring about obstruction of the airways. Sleeping pills cause a deeper sleep, making it more difficult to awaken and resume breathing during an apnoea.

• Sleep apnoea is worse for those who sleep on their backs. One way to facilitate sleeping on your side is to sew tennis balls or something similar into the back of your pajama top to make it difficult to lie on your back.

• Another two-way street is sleep deprivation. Sleep apnoea, with it's restless sleep, naturally causes loss of sleep and loss of sleep tends to worsen sleep apnoea.

• Smoking is just generally bad for anyone, but for those with sleep apnoea with air passages already sore from snoring and gasping for air, smoking just adds another irritant to increase the poor condition of throat and mouth.

• A person's own anatomy can also play a part in adding to the misery of sleep apnoea. Enlarged tonsils and adenoids, deviated septum or enlarged uvula are all risks of worsening sleep apnoea. It's also been noted that people with large necks, especially if they are obese, are also more likely to be at risk for sleep apnoea.

Read more here:

http://www.healthcentral.com/sleep-disorders/c/5954/84879/sleep-apnoea/

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