Sleep Apnea
What is
Sleep Apnea?
What is Sleep Apnea?
During sleep with the lack of the muscles strain cause the collapse of the airway. The position of the sleeping and the position of the tongue can affect the breathing. The collapse of the airway will cause poor ventilation and sleep disruption. Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that causes repeated lapses in breathing during sleep. If the breathing pauses last minimum 10 seconds it is defined as a sleep apnea. The severity of this problem classified due to the time of the apnea and the frequency apnea.
Who Have the Risks to Have
Sleep Apnea?
Studies have shown that the most important factor is weight gain and sedentary life. According to a study by the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of people with apnea in the world is much higher than estimated and continues to increase. Interestingly, this rate is increasing much faster in countries that are both economically and culturally advanced. In the United States, the number of registered apnea patients is 25 million. Especially individuals over the age of 30 who are not in the habit of eating and exercising regularly and who gain weight as a result of this are all at risk of becoming patients with sleep apnea.
Besides, if we are to make a title in general,
- Being overweight and gaining excess weight
- In people whose lower jaw is positioned behind (especially in our children, this problem can be diagnosed during the school period and this problem can be eliminated with orthodontic treatment.
- Allergic patients with allergic rhinitis in the nose or bone formation in the nose that prevents air intake. These patients should also be seen and evaluated by the Ear Nose Throat (ENT) department
- Drinking alcohol
- Smoking
- In individuals with a thick neck
- Genetic predisposition
What are the symptoms of the
Sleep Apnea?
- The most important symptom of sleep apnea is snoring. Unfortunately, snoring is not easily accepted and denied because it is often not heard by the patient himself/herself. This complaint is usually detected by the spouse, children or roommates and the patient with apnea is forced to solve the problem.
- Another most important finding is waking up tired in the morning. The individual who wakes up in the morning cannot get a full sleep and wakes up tense. If there is sleep apnea with teeth clenching, the patient may also feel pain in the joint area. Again, the person with apnea may wake up with a headache in the morning. It is normal to have headache especially in our body that cannot be fed with enough oxygen during sleep.
- Again, one of the most common situations we encounter is the state of sleeping all the time. He sleeps in the waiting room, sleeps in the car, sleeps in the guest house. He is constantly in search of sleep, but he thinks that he sleeps at night. Unfortunately, because he cannot fall into deep sleep at night, his body wants to fall asleep as soon as possible and let the brain go into rest mode. He wants to sleep when he has the opportunity, but this reduces the apneic individual in daily life to a disreputable or fond position in the eyes of the society.
What else other serious problems will cause
Sleep Apnea?
We should know that sleep apnea causes irreparable problems not only individually but also socially. The most striking example in this regard is the Chernobyl disaster. It is known that the Chernobyl accident developed as a result of the wrong application of the authorized person due to sleep apnea. In another study, the rate of people with apnea causing traffic accidents is approximately 4 times higher than people without apnea.
In addition to these problems, it can also cause individual cases that seriously reduce the quality of life.
Hypertension
Patients with apnea who do not get enough air during sleep at night have enlarged hearts. It has also been observed that patients who do not get enough oxygen have heart rhythm disturbances.
Excessive sweating at night
The patient sweats as a result of the effort and exertion of not being able to breathe.
Nervous waking up during the day
The mental health of patients with apnea who cannot fall asleep deeply enough at night and cannot get enough rest is also negatively affected.
Frequent urination at night
Normally, 1 time urinating at night can be considered normal. Between 6-8 hours at night, our body does not produce urine during the resting sleep period. However, this cycle is disrupted in sleep apnea patients (nocturia). Individuals who cannot enter deep sleep are observed to urinate frequently at night.
Inability to focus and distraction
It is seen that the brain and body, which cannot rest enough, cannot focus on situations that require excessive attention. This is especially seen in children who cannot breathe easily due to allergies during certain periods. Serious conflicts can be seen in academic success and social life.
