The Treatments for Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a potentially dangerous condition, which can
lead to serious disorders such as permanent brain damage,
coma or even death. A study stated that around 20% of
American adults have mild sleep apnea. Many people have
sleep apnea but they don't really know it or they take it
for granted.

Sleep apnea is a condition where the person's sleep is being
disrupted due to the lack of breath during sleeping. Lack of
oxygen in the blood is detrimental to the body. There are
numerous negative effects that are brought about by sleep
apnea such as sleepiness during the daytime, weakened immune
system, irritability, lack of body coordination, decreased,
lowered energy, inability to concentrate on one's job and
slowed reaction time. There are many causes of sleep apnea.

It can be caused by obesity because of the accumulated fat
in the throat and neck areas. It can also be caused by
gender (sleep apnea is more rampant in males than in
females). Older people are also more prone to sleep apnea
than younger ones. People who do not follow regular sleeping
hours are also at risk. Snoring can be seen as a result of
sleep apnea; however, it is also one of its main causes. The
vibrations in the palate area when snoring can affect the
airways and obstruct the airways. Respiratory diseases are
also one of the main causes of sleep apnea. There are two
main schools of thought when it comes to the treatment of
sleep apnea: the behavioral treatments and the physiological
treatments. . Taking medications is not really a good way of
treating sleep apnea. Let us first discuss the behavioral
treatments for sleep apnea. Behavioral Treatment

Behavioral treatments work for mild conditions of sleep
apnea. These are also referred to as self-help methods,
which you can do on your own.


-Losing weight Sleep apnea is commonly associated with
being obese or having excess fat around the throat area.
Less then 50% of the people who have sleep apnea are obese.
It has been found that people who lose even as little as ten
percent of their total body weight will be able to reduce
the occurrence of sleep apnea and will have a better
sleeping habits.

-Sleeping on your side Special pillows and sleeping on
one's side will induce a better flow of oxygen through the
body's airways

-Doing away with tobacco, coffee, alcohol and sleeping
pills The substances above are proven to disrupt the
sleeping habits of people because of their effects on one's
systems. Doing away with them will not only improve one's
sleeping habits but it will improve one's health also.

-Sticking to a regular sleeping schedule Being faithful to
a regular sleeping schedule will reduce the risks of
worsening sleep apnea.

Physiological Treatments

There are four prominent physical treatments for sleep
apnea. These are:

-Dental and jaw devices Devices are attached to the jaw or
in the teeth to be able to create more room for air to flow.
These devices keep the airway open when sleeping by bringing
the lower jaw and the tongue a little bit forward during
sleeping.

-Continuous Positive Airway Pressure More commonly known as
CPAP, the continuous positive airway pressure method of
curing sleep apnea is a method that utilizes a machine that
blows a continuous volume of air to the body through a mask.

-Surgery In serious sleep apnea cases, the need for surgery
is imminent. The airways of the body are surgically widened
by the removal of tissues that may be blocking them. There
are also cases where the jaw needs to be reconstructed.

-Oxygen administration This is a method of sleep apnea
treatment were a tube is connected to the nose from a source
of oxygen.

The different ways of treating apnea have different
advantages and disadvantages. Generally, the self-help
methods are usually advisable to those who have minor
conditions of sleep apnea because they can correct the minor
causes of the disorder. They are also cheap and
non-intrusive to one's privacy.

Sleep apnea should not be taken for granted. One thing can
always lead to another and sleep apnea is no exemption. Make
sure that you go to a doctor if you suspect yourself of
having seep apnea.