My Life and Sleep Apnea

Besides sleep apnea, there are other sleep disorders. Like sleep apnea, they can be dangerous if left untreated. Insomnia is a pervasive sleep disorder that affects millions of people. The inability to fall asleep even when you are tired is emotionally draining as well as hazardous to your health. Narcolepsy can cause immense daytime drowsiness to the point of falling asleep at any point of the day and anywhere. Besides being embarrassing, it could be life-threatening if the narcolepsy patient is driving or operating heavy machinery. Night terror, unlike nightmares, usually can’t be recalled after waking up. Nightmares are dreams of frightening events, whereas night terror is the feeling of fear. Restless legs syndrome is the need to move your legs to stop uncomfortable feelings from happening while trying to sleep. Sleepwalking is walking or engaging in wake-time activities while one is still asleep. Stress, fever, and alcoholism are known triggers of sleepwalking.

There has been a lot written about OCD Obsessive-compulsive disorder over the past few years. It affects many people, including quite a few celebrities. I received an email about an article about OCD and how it affects the famous and successful folks also. It also seems that OCD can have an effect on your sleep, making sleep disorders worse including sleep apnea. What is OCD? According to the article OCD is “can affect people at different levels of severity and by manifesting itself through different behaviors or rituals, but it can really interfere with a person's everyday activities, commitments and schedule, relationships, and ability to deal with anxiety and stress.”    Sleep disorders and OCD Sleep disorders can be caused by a form of OCD called PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. An article in the NY Times Health site states that sleep disorders such as insomnia and sleep apnea can develop within a month after a traumatic experience. They als...

In today’s health conscious society taking vitamins have become a daily routine. While taking vitamins have been around for a long time it is especially essential for an older growing population. Vitamins and supplements are a billion dollar industry. Vitamins also are found to help with sleep disorders like sleep apnea and insomnia . The B vitamins in particular are found useful to promote sleep . What vitamins are beneficial to sleep disorders? Vitamin B6 – It has been suggested that B6 helps produce serotonin which triggers the hormone melatonin which helps you get to sleep.  Vitamin B5 – helps with stress and anxiety which in turn helps you sleep  Vitamin B1 – This is good for sleep apnea patients who have memory loss  Vitamin C – also helps reduce stress  There are also supplements and minerals that make sleeping easier. Calcium is one of them. A deficiency of calcium in the body makes us restless. That is why you hear so many people say that dr...

Are you a big coffee drinker or do you drink a lot of sodas during the day to stay awake? Caffeine can only help for a little while till you need another fix. Lack of sleep is quite a big problem today. Sleep disorders, especially sleep apnea can have quite a negative effect on your life. They make life a living hell as you try to stay awake during the day.Your quality of life takes a beating and your productivity lessens as you struggle to stay awake.  And the thing is that there are many reasons why you can't stay awake during the day. The other day I received an email from Jena Ellis. She gave me a blog link about eight reasons that you can’t stay awake during the day. The article describes such sleep disorders as sleep apnea which most people know about to less well known disorders. Something that I found interesting was that dehydration was on the list because it causes fatigue. It is a good post that is definitely worth checking out. Feel free to comment and pl...

It is common for most people to have nightmares, including those people who have sleep apnea. But what if the nightmare leaves you screaming and sweating in bed or maybe you begin to sleepwalk. You might have night terrors , a distressing event that leaves you scared and frightened to go to bed. If you have a sleep disorder, like sleep apnea, you may have increased your chances of have a night terror episode. Night terrors, also called parasomnia, are beyond the unpleasantness of a nightmare. The result of a night terror episode is usually waking up screaming and frightened out of your mind. You would probably be feeling disoriented and unable to wake completely. Children unfortunately have night terrors more than adults. Occurring shortly after falling asleep, children wake up screaming and unresponsive to a parent’s voice. With adults, they may actually get out of the bed and walk around before realizing that they had a night terror. Night terror can be connected to sleepwalking...

In the past I have written about how sleep apnea affects relationships and I have also written about sleep apnea and erectile dysfunction . Now there is a study out from the National Sleep Foundation that concludes that one in four couples avoid or skip sex because they are tired. Of course it isn’t all due to sleep apnea; there are other things that prevent people from sleeping and having sex. In the study it is reported that work schedules are the biggest culprit and that is certainly understandable. Stress and anxiety can also keep you from sleeping. And that isn’t surprising there seems to be a lot of stress and anxiety now a days. Not staying in shape and not eating right also plays a factor in losing sleep. Bad lifestyle choices can lead to illnesses that will certainly affect the amount of rest that you get as well. There are also sleep disorders other than sleep apnea to content with such as insomnia. During a regular year 30 to 40 percent of people have some kind of inso...

There are many sleep disorders besides sleep apnea, such as insomnia, restless leg syndrome, bruxism and snoring in general. There is one disorder that seems to resemble sleep apnea and that is the Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome or UARS. UARS is when there is distraction to breathing when sleeping. I know that sounds exactly like sleep apnea but it isn’t. Sleep apnea is when there is blockage but with UARS the airway is strained but not completely blocked there the airway is still open. What then happens is the body works harder to breathe causing ‘arousals’ which interrupts the sleeping pattern. All this increases daytime sleepiness because of the irregular rest obtained at night. This isn’t a common sleep disorder and it certainly isn’t as common as sleep apnea. But the fix for it is similar. Dental devices, cpap machines and the avoidance of alcohol before going to bed are instrumental in relieving sleep apnea and they are also helpful with UARS. The question that comes to...

When I was using the cpap mask years ago I probably made it through about 4 or 5 hours before I would pull off the cpap mask . After I did that it seemed like I slept better. Although looking back I probably didn’t sleep better with the mask off it just seemed more comfortable than having the mask off. From what I have read I’m not the only person who did that. In sleep apnea forums I have found that it is common for sleep apnea sufferers to wake up in the middle of the night with a dry throat, or dry gums or just irritated from having the mask on. Of course I used a full face mask which creates a whole series of problems for cpap users. The biggest problem with that is leakage; at least it was a problem when I used the cpap. I’m sure that there have been improvements made to the cpap masks now. Another problem is panic, as in panicking because you think that your air is being cut off. That happened to me a few times. I never had a problem with claustrophobia but some folks do ...

Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that causes excessive daytime drowsiness EDS and falling asleep without warning. Cataplexy is also a symptom which causes the loss of muscle tone and possibly brief periods of paralysis. This can be a serious illness if the narcolepsy sufferer falls asleep while driving or other activities that requires full attention. The actual cause of narcolepsy is unknown but it is considered to be a neurological and sleep disorder problem. Although there is no cure for narcolepsy a drug called modafinil has been approved by the FDA. Antidepressants are also prescribed along with behavioral modifications. Regular sleep habits and scheduled naps are suggested for narcolepsy patients. Medication and behavioral changes help patients with the most severe symptoms such as EDS and cataplexy but they don’t cure the narcolepsy. Some patients over sixty see a decrease in the narcolepsy as they get older. Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed ...