Sleep Apnea

The first time I saw a sleep apnea machine, otherwise known as a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine I thought it was a machine to help prevent my grandfather from snoring. It took a few years, and experience working in a nursing home to learn differently. Move over, carbon monoxide. This is a new silent killer that we need to stop. Sleep apnea afflicts over twelve million people in the United States. Unfortunately, the vast majority of those people may never even realize that they suffer from this silent, but deadly condition.

Benefits of Sleep Apnea Machines

Sleep apnea is a medical condition where the person who has it repeatedly suffers from having their breathing stopped during the night. It means they wake up often, and rarely get a good night’s sleep.

There are several types of apnea; obstructive when the apnea is caused by blockage of the airway, while central apnea is caused by the brain not telling the body to breathe, and the third is mixed which is a caused by a combination of both central and obstructive. The condition is not limited to the elderly or obese, anyone including children can suffer from it.

Untreated it can lead to high blood pressure, headaches, and memory problems. When someone may have apnea usually a sleep study is done, where their sleep is monitored in a lab setting to see if they have any episodes during the night. Once apnea has been diagnosed treatment can be determined.

Most people choose to use CPAP or sleep apnea machines, as they are effective in treating obstructive and central apnea. CPAP machines require a physician’s prescription, and they must be properly calibrated to provide the right amount of positive air pressure to prevent apnea.

Different people need their sleep apnea machines set to different rates based on their apnea. CPAP machines have been found in research and lab settings to be effective in preventing apnea and allowing someone with sleep apnea to get a good night’s sleep. Many insurance companies offer coverage for sleep apnea machines, although before choosing a machine it is good to find out what machines are covered by your insurance.

Another important consideration in choosing the right machine is choosing the right mask. CPAP machines are attached to a flexible tube that carries air from the machine to your face through a mask. Having a mask that fits properly and comfortably is important, if the mask is uncomfortable you may find excuses to avoid using it.

Masks are sold with CPAP machines as well as individually, you can choose a mask by one company and a machine by another and they will work together. You wear the mask at night while you sleep, so again; comfort is important. My grandfather put off using his for years because he felt the mask was too big and uncomfortable. A new mask made a world of difference.

There are other treatments available for sleep apnea, but none have proven themselves as effective in prevention and treatment as the CPAP. Surgeries can widen airways and remove blockages, but surgeries cannot make the brain signal for breathing to occur. Mixed apnea and central apnea are not effectively treated by anything other than CPAP today. Using a sleep apnea machine is a non-invasive way to rest easily for those who have regular nightly struggles to enjoy a good night’s sleep.

Rudy Watkins writes about sleep apnea in children and other sleep apnea related topics at http://www.apneaguide.com

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Stop Sleep Apnea – The Silent Killer

Move over, carbon monoxide. There is a new “silent killer” in town that we need to stop. Sleep apnea goes afflicts over twelve million people in the United States. Unfortunately, the vast majority of those people may never even realize that they suffer from this silent, but deadly condition.

To stop sleep apnea, there are a wide spectrum of ways to deal with this condition. Solutions range from simple one-time “quick fixes” to long-term therapies, to surgical intervention procedures. Which solution you choose to go with depends on a number of factors: the severity of the problem, at what stage you have diagnosed the problem (if you catch the problem earlier on in life you may be able to deal with the problem very differently than if you catch the problem after years of suffering from it), how much you can afford to spend on treatments, and your own willingness to choose a solution that works best for you. Not all solutions are appropriate for everybody. There is no “one size fits all” type of solution.

It is highly recommended that you at least give natural solutions to stop sleep apnea a try first, before you venture out and attempt to use artificial solutions or seek medical help. Why? Just making a few minor adjustments to your lifestyle can make all the difference in the world, in curing this malady. Now, some of these natural solutions may sound overly simplistic. But it is in their simplicity that you will find some of the best solutions:

Lose weight. Being overweight means that you have increased mass. That mass is not just in your hips, thighs, and belly, or on your double-chin. But it also affects your nasal passages, your throat, your neck, and your chest cavity. Reduce your weight, and you will remove the conditions that make sleep apnea possible.
Don’t sleep on your back. Gravity is your nasal passages’ worst nightmare. Gravity will pull your tongue and your soft palate (the roof of your mouth) downward, creating the blockage that causes snoring and sleep apnea to occur.
Keep your head elevated. Keeping your head elevated helps to improve the flow of air in and out of your nasal passages,as there is less pressure on your nasal passages and throat to constrict the free flow of air.
Exercises to strengthen the muscles in your throat, nasal passages, and jaws. Snoring and sleep apnea are made possible by the fact your breathing air passages become partially blocked, constricting the smooth flow of air. This blockage does not necessarily have to be a fact of life. You can learn to control and prevent this blockage from occurring through a series of self-administered exercises to strengthen the muscles that control the parts of the body that create the blockage. By strengthening these as such, you are able to prevent them from passively succumbing to gravity.

These four solutions should be sufficient to stop all but the most severe cases of sleep apnea.

Want to cure your snoring problem permanently, once and for all? Why haven’t you tried these natural exercises to stop sleep apnea yet?

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