Sleep Apnea Treatments That Work

Life Threatening Revelation

Admin — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 02:54:00 +0000

This is quite a revelation. Sleep Apnea is such a little known disease .Many could be suffering from this serious ailment yet be completely unaware that it is life threatening…

The symptoms and real life experiences shared in the book are too close to home for comfort and it's a little scary that I too may be one of the "unknowing victims". The drowsiness one experiences whilst driving or even working makes this disease much more serious than it is regarded. I shudder to think of the consequences of falling asleep while at the wheel !

The all too many road accidents that involve buses etc. make me wonder whether the authorities should make it mandatory for all drivers of public transportation to do a sleep apnea test before being granted a license to drive ?

Worth every cent spent reading the book.

(Blog Post contributed by Flaneur – 18 Aug, 2011)

Types of Sleep Apnea Treatment

Admin — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:46:54 +0000

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder characterized by brief breathing pauses during sleep, if left untreated can lead to serious cardiovascular problems and premature death. Currently there is no complete cure for sleep apnea, but there are a number of treatment methods available. Diagnosis is done via a sleep study (polysomnography) and is usually conducted in a sleep lab. Home sleep test kits are available these days for those who may have problems sleeping in a foreign environment like a sleep lab.

There are a number of conventional treatment methods commonly used and these depend on the patient’s medical condition and also on the severity of the disorder. These conventional treatment methods for obstructive sleep apnea commonly recommended include:

Use of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine
Use of Oral or Dental Appliances
Throat or nasal surgery

Currently there is no medication available to treat obstructive sleep apnea. Provagil ^tm Modanifil has been recommended for some sleep apnea patients who complain of persisting sleepiness during the day even when using CPAP for several months. Provagil has been prescribed as an adjunctive treatment for patients who have not responded adequately to CPAP.

Of the three conventional treatment methods above the use of CPAP machine is by far the most popular and is relatively successful in treating sleep apnea. Unfortunately the compliance rate is not very high and many users have reported great discomfort in using a CPAP machine and sleeping with a mask attached. In fact the problems and side effects experienced with the use of CPAP mask and other oral dental devices have prompted many to look for other alternative treatments. Surgery unfortunately is more invasive and painful and has not had very good success rate either.

There have been some clinical studies and reported success cases on a number of alternative treatment methods. In fact some of these natural alternatives have been considered as complementary to the more conventional treatments.

Following are some alternative treatments:

Lifestyle changes can help sleep apnea

§ Diet, exercise and weight loss. Even a small amount of weight loss can open up your throat and improve sleep apnea symptoms.

§ Quit smoking. Smoking is believed to contribute to sleep apnea by increasing inflammation and fluid retention in your throat and upper airway.

§ Avoid alcohol and other muscle relaxants or depressant drugs a few hours before bedtime, because they relax the muscles of the soft palate and interfere with breathing.

§ Avoid having heavy meals and coffee a few hours before bedtime.

Sleeping Positions – avoid sleeping on the back. Sleeping on the back cause the tongue to fall backwards into the airway causing an obstruction in the airway leading to sleep apnea. There are a number of aids available to help avoid sleeping on one’s back. The most popular is a specially designed sleep pillow that makes it difficult for the user to roll over onto his/her back thus preventing the user from sleeping in the supine position.

Singing Therapy – singing therapy has been proven in scientific studies to help reduce the number of apneas significantly. There had been a number of successful clinical trials conducted at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. Weak vocal chord muscles and tissues in the throat tend to relax and collapse when we sleep resulting in a blockage of the airway causing apneas. The principle behind this ‘singing therapy’ is that by strengthening and toning the throat muscles it reduces the risk of the flabby soft palate tissues and throat muscles collapsing and vibrating hence reducing snoring and blockage of the airway, a major cause of sleep apnea.

Didgeridoo Therapy – A study done by Dr. Milo A. Puhan and his team showed that regular Didgeridoo playing is an effective alternative treatment for patients with moderate obstructive sleep apnea. To play the Didgeridoo correctly it requires a special breathing technique called ‘circular breathing’. This breathing technique requiring the coordinated movements of the tongue, mouth and throat help to strength the airway by toning the muscles surrounding it helping to reduce any blockage of the airway.

Acupuncture – Energy or ‘qi’ in ancient Chinese tradition flows through the body by way of ‘meridians’, i.e. invisible energy channels located throughout the body. This flow of energy like all flows can often times be blocked in the body. This blockage is attributed by Traditional Chinese Medicine as a cause of many health problems, sleep apnea being one of them. To unblock this flow of energy, acupuncture is often used as an effective healing technique.

Snoring and Sleep Apnea – The Misconception

Admin — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:12:35 +0000

There have been a lot of misconceptions with snoring and sleep apnea. In fact only yesterday I came across a recent article that said snoring is obstructive sleep apnea, which in some way instigated this blog post.

Just about everyone snores to some extent. Even children and house pets like dogs snore occasionally. Everyone snores but for different reasons.

What is snoring? – it is the sound of vibrating soft or flabby tissues in the soft palate, throat or nasal cavity during sleep when air flows over them when you breath and especially when there is a narrowing of your airway passage. This narrowing can be physiological or caused by abnormalities.

Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, and not everyone who has sleep apnea (depending on the type of sleep apnea) snores.

Most of us don’t think snoring is such a big deal unless the partner is giving us the ultimatum. But please recognize the fact that frequent snoring and especially if the partner is complaining about weird gasping choking sound then beware that it is a sign of sleep apnea. Most likely it is obstructive sleep apnea and sleep apnea is potentially a serious disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and the oxygen level in your blood drops.

These breathing interruptions or pauses can typically last for 10 to 20 seconds and can happen up to hundred times per night. When the breathing is paused your body’s reflex reaction jolts you out of your sleep so that you can resume that breathing rhythm which often happens with a gasping or choking loud sound in your snore. When this happens up to hundred times per night your body consequently loses that deep quality REM sleep and you wake up the next morning being sleep deprived and feeling tired, not rested and lacking energy.

The common misconceptions are:

You only snore if you sleep with your mouth open – you can snore even if you sleep with your mouth closed. Close mouth snoring indicates a problem with the tongue or tissues in your throat.

Only elderly men snores - everyone snores to some extent, even children and pets.

Snoring is sleep apnea – it doesn't equate to sleep apnea but it is a sign you could be having sleep apnea. Note that some sleep apnea sufferers don't snore (depending on the type of sleep apnea)

Some helpful tips to reduce snoring:

Lose weight – this can help reduce fatty tissue on the soft palate or in the back of the throat.
Clear blocked nasal passages – stuffy nose resulting from colds or allergies is a common cause of snoring. Solving the root cause of the stuffy nose will unblock the nasal passages.
Sleep position – experiment with different sleep positions. Most snoring happen with people sleeping on their back. Try elevating the head to encourage the tongue and jaw to hang forward, this may ease breathing.
Quit Smoking – smoking causes blockage to the airway passages by irritating membranes in the nose and throat and increasing inflammation and fluid retention in your throat and upper airway.
Avoiding alcohol or muscle relaxants a few hours before bedtime – alcohol and muscle relaxants relaxes the soft palate muscles and they become more flabby and causing blockage to the airway passage.
Avoid having large meals especially close to bedtime.