Real-life lessons about sleep apnea treatment

Sleep is easily one of the first things we take for granted. Whether there is a report to be submitted to your boss tomorrow or a party where you stay up till 3 a.m. just chatting with friends, sleep is the first thing to be sacrificed. Sleep disorders are fairly common in this day and age.

However, sleep is essential to maintain good health and well-being throughout your life. What occurs when you are asleep influences how you feel when you are awake. Your body is working to support optimal brain function and keep you physically healthy while you sleep. Everything is better with enough sleep, from memory to heart health to immune response.

It is no surprise that disruptive sleep and bad sleep quality cause multiple medical issues. In the long run, one condition that can affect your sleep is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is when you stop breathing in your sleep and your body wakes you up so that you breathe again. This can occur when your airway becomes blocked (obstructive sleep apnea), or it can also occur when your breathing is improperly controlled by your brain (central sleep apnea).

As a result, people with sleep apnea run out of oxygen, which triggers a survival response that briefly awakens you so you can start breathing again. While keeping you alive, that response also disrupts your sleep pattern. Never ignore the signs of sleep apnea.

SYMPTOMS OF SLEEP APNEA

Sleep apnea is more common than you think. Moreover, it looks different for different ages. Sleep apnea in children and adults presents differently. Look out for the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome or consult an expert sleep doctor at Ansh Obecure. They include:

Loud snoring.
Breathing stopping during sleep
Gasping for air during sleep.
Awakening with a dry mouth.
Morning headache.
Insomnia.
Hypersomnia.
Difficulty paying attention while awake.
Irritability.

While people tend not to take symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea seriously, sleep apnea may cause death left untreated. Undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea hinders you from getting a good night’s sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea can also end up straining your heart, which may have fatal results. Untreated, obstructive sleep apnea can cause serious complications. The good news is obstructive sleep apnea is often very manageable, especially with close adherence to treatments for sleep apnea.

Depending on the cause and severity, treatments of obstructive sleep apnea can range anywhere from simply changing your sleeping position to losing weight. Instead of sleeping on your back, it may be better to do it on your side or stomach. There are numerous tools available to support maintaining a secure position. In fact, obesity and diabetes play a major role in developing sleep apnea, especially obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). People with sleep disorders, or a health problem, who are at risk of sleep apnea should undergo a sleep study or sleep test to improve sleep. Here is what we know about treating sleep apnea.

A good lifestyle

The first line of defence against untreated OSA is a good lifestyle. Upon the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, drastic changes should be made. For sleep apnea patients, this means 3 nutritious meals a day with enough fibre and protein to sustain you, exercising for a minimum of 40 minutes a day, sleeping more than 8 hours a night and staying hydrated. While it does not guarantee remission, there are a lot of cases where modifying the lifestyle helps in sleep apnea treatment to t a point where it is not fatal anymore.

However, it is risky to let this be your only treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. Once a sleep expert conducts a sleep test – either in a sleep clinic, a sleep center, a sleep laboratory or with home sleep studies – on the person with suspected sleep apnea, by checking things like quality of sleep, problems per hour of sleep, sleep duration, sleep fragmentation, light sleep, his/her airway during sleep, sleep stages et cetera, they can help with the management of obstructive sleep apnea. They can also tell you how sleep apnea can affect you and how to get restorative sleep.

CPAP

CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. A CPAP machine that delivers air pressure through a mask while you sleep if you have moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. With CPAP therapy, the air pressure is just enough to keep your upper airway passages open, preventing apnea and snoring. It is slightly higher than that of the surrounding air.

Even though CPAP is the most widely used and effective treatment for sleep apnea, some people find it to be inconvenient or uncomfortable. Some people stop using CPAP devices. However, most people eventually pick up the skill of adjusting the mask’s strap tension to get a snug and comfortable fit.

To find a mask that is comfortable, you might need to test out a few different kinds. If you experience issues with your CPAP machine, keep using it. To find out what adjustments can be done to improve your comfort, speak with your healthcare practitioner at Ansh Obecure.

Additionally, if a patient with obstructive sleep apnea continues to snore or starts snoring again despite treatment, they should consult our obstructive sleep apnea specialists. The CPAP machine’s pressure settings may need to be modified if your weight changes.

Dental Appliances

Dental appliances that prevent the tongue from obstructing the throat and/or moving the lower jaw forward can be constructed for patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea. These gadgets support maintaining an open airway while you sleep. If this course of therapy is right for you, a sleep specialist and a dentist with knowledge of mouth equipment, for this reason, should decide together. At Ansh Obecure, we have the best team at your service to help you with sleep apnea treatment.

THERAPY

Orofacial therapy, which involves exercises for your mouth and facial muscles, can help alleviate sleep apnea in both children and adults. The muscles that regulate your lips, tongue, upper airway, and face are strengthened by this therapy, which also aids in improving the posture of your tongue.

Surgery

One of the most effective ways of sleep apnea treatment is to remove it from the roots. The way to do this is to lose weight. Pharyngeal fat is a type of fat deposit that develops as a result of being overweight. When the airway is already relaxed during sleep, pharyngeal fat might obstruct the upper airway. Given that air is literally being forced into a narrowed airway, snoring is one of the most prevalent sleep apnea symptoms.

In addition, a person’s chest wall may be compressed due to greater abdominal girth from excess fat, resulting in a reduction in lung volume. This decreased lung capacity decreases airflow, increasing the risk of the upper airway collapsing as you sleep. An increasing body mass index (BMI), which calculates a person’s body fat based on height and weight, is associated with an increased risk of OSA. The risk of OSA increases sixfold with even a 10% weight gain.

If different treatments are ineffective for you, surgery can be required. Surgical methods that might be used. This is where bariatric surgery comes in. Like many conditions, curing sleep apnea begins with modifying one’s lifestyle and behaviour. For the majority of OSA patients, this entails striving for a healthy body weight. Losing weight reduces fatty deposits in the tongue and neck, which can help to relieve airflow obstructions. Additionally, by reducing abdominal fat, the airway is less prone to collapse as you sleep by increasing lung volume and improving airway traction.

Additionally, many OSA-related symptoms, including daytime sleepiness, can be considerably lessened by losing weight. Other neuropsychiatric dysfunctions, such as irritability, also significantly improve. Cardiovascular health, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and particularly the quality of life have all shown improvements.

Regardless of technique, weight loss results in an improvement in OSA. As a result, patients should discuss with their doctor which weight loss plan is most appropriate for their unique situation, general health, and degree of OSA.

Early action is essential when it comes to weight and sleep in order to avoid injury and regain quality of life. Sleep apnea has a very good prognosis with appropriate treatment. Furthermore, adopting an active weight-control strategy is never too early or late. It’s crucial to visit us at Ansh Obercure for a precise diagnosis and personalised sleep apnea treatment choices if you suspect you or a loved one may have sleep apnea.

If you or your partner have noticed any sleep apnea symptoms, come to Ansh Obecure for the best sleep apnea treatment in Ahmedabad. A sleep apnea test, which uses technology to monitor your oxygen levels and breathing while you sleep, may be recommended by our expert. Whatever the outcome, you’ll sleep better knowing what to expect.