My Life and Sleep Apnea

There are two common tests to determine your quality of sleep . One is the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) and the other is the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The Epworth sleepiness scale was developed by Dr. Murray Johns at the Epworth Hospital in Australia. The scale is basically a group of questions that determine how sleepy you are during the day doing certain activities. Your score is tallied and from that your doctor will have a pretty good assessment of how tired you are. The scale is used a lot with sleep apnea patients. Dr. Johns Website is http://epworthsleepinessscale.com/ . The Pittsburgh Sleep quality Index was developed at University of Pittsburgh’s Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. It was developed because there seemed to be a connection between sleep disorders and psychiatric patients. It is a test that is composed of 19 questions. Like the ESS the answers will help your doctors to determine how bad your sleep disorder is and they can determine if y...

We have always known that sleep apnea can cause heart disease , but what about sleep apnea and brain damage ? As anyone with sleep apnea will tell you getting out of bed in the morning after a night of waking up constantly is very tiring and emotionally draining. A sleep apnea patient, due to blockage in the airway of the throat, is forced awake when the brain realizes that no oxygen is being received. The sleep apnea sufferer wakes with a snort, and then falls back asleep, repeating this pattern many times each night. Even though being tired and miserable during the day can be a serious problem with serious consequences the worst of it is the lack of oxygen. Besides being a cause of heart disease and high blood pressure , there is also a connection between sleep apnea and brain damage. According to a study done by the UCLA school of medicine sleep apnea patients have smaller Mammillary glands than people without sleep disorders. Mammillary glands are located underneath the brain...