My Life and Sleep Apnea

A lot more goes on when you are sleeping then you would think. Instead of your body just hibernating for eight or so hours and then waking up, sleep performs many functions. As you probably know there are five stages of sleep that you routinely go through every night, not in any particular order. As you can imagine sleep apnea interrupts this process depriving you of the full affects of sleep, which are rest and important restoration of the brain and body, possibly the most important one the Rapid Eye Movement or REM . What is REM? According to  Free dictionary dot com “REM is a stage in the normal sleep cycle during which dreams occur and the body undergoes marked changes including rapid eye movement, loss of reflexes, and increased pulse rate and brain activity. It is also called paradoxical sleep.” A lot goes on during REM such as increased heart rate, brain activity and muscle relaxation. In this state dreaming occurs as well as memory and learning development...

Why is sleep important ? The easy answer is because our bodies and our minds need rest. Without it we would be restless, not alert and probably in a less than happy mood during the day. If you have sleep apnea or another sleep disorder like insomnia, narcolepsy or restless leg syndrome then you really know how important sleep is. But is there more to sleep than just rest? What is interesting about sleep is that it isn’t an inactive time for your body and brain. Everything doesn’t just “shut down”. Sleep is broken down into five stages with the REM stage probably the most well known. Some of the things going on during sleep 1. muscles and tissues are repaired and the body’s cells are being replaced 2. memory is being processed 3. our body conserves energy 4. dreams occur during the REM sleep stage Sleep apnea and other sleep disorder patients don’t receive the full benefits of sleep. That is why it is so vitally important to cure any problems that may be hindering ...

Sleep apnea causes many health related problems from heart disease to diabetes. Sleep apnea can also bring on anxiety, which can be just as bad as any other ailment. In a previous post I wrote about how sleep apnea had contributed to my depression . Not being able to sleep due to sleep apnea and feeling depressed is an awful combination if you are trying to get some rest. Since your mind doesn’t enjoy the rejuvenating effects of REM, your depression keeps on building. The same can be said about anxiety, without a deep sleep your brain never gets a break from anxiety. And it isn’t just the usual anxiety of everyday living such as dealing with relationships, work and money; it is also dealing with the anxiety that comes on because of sleep apnea. Every night you try to go to sleep only to wake up every few minutes. It gets to the point where you don’t want to even try to go to bed, but you do hoping that you will at least get a little rest. Night after night of this and you become ...

Did you ever wake up and couldn’t move? Unfortunately this type of temporary paralysis does occur. Even though it only lasts for a short it can be very frightening. This type of condition is called sleep paralysis . While in the REM stage of sleep the body is naturally paralyzed so no injury occurs. This is a concern because during the REM stage the brain is very active and without the paralysis the sleeper may try to “act” out their dreams which may include hitting, kicking or jumping out of bed. With sleep paralysis the sleeper wakes before the REM stage is over but the paralysis isn’t. Why this occurs is generally unknown but there is some suggestion that sleep apnea may have a connection with parasomnia conditions which is what sleep paralysis is. This condition is also referred to as “Hag phenomena” because at one time sleep paralysis was considered to the work of the supernatural. You couldn’t move because a witch was riding on your chest. I haven’t ever had this...

What occurs when you sleep? Is sleep just one constant pattern all night? No, there are five stages of sleep . The first four stages are considered nonREM and the last stage is REM sleeping. The first stage is between wakefulness and light sleep. It lasts only a few minutes. The heart rate slows and body temperature lowers during the second stage. Brain waves known as sleep spindles begin to occur. The third stage is where light sleep becomes deep sleep. The brain waves become deep and slow at this stage. Stage 4 is a deep sleep that only lasts for 30 minutes. The brain waves are very deep and slow. REM is stage five. In this stage dreams occur. The brain activity is increased and the body’s muscles are relaxed. Breathing becomes shallow and deep. There is rapid eye movement. This is the stage that Sleep Apnea patients never get to. The body will go through these stages about 4 to 5 times a night. Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed thanks