Waking up feeling totally rested, refreshed and ready to face the new day can play an essential role in the overall outcome of your day. On the flip side, if you’ve ever experienced a truly bad night’s sleep, the devastating effects can certainly be felt and take quite the negative toll on the body.
Feeling like you can’t get going or catch up on even the simplest of tasks, coupled with that annoying headache and contagious string of yawns, are all-too-familiar signs of a restless night consumed by tossing and turning. Imagine feeling this way but on a larger scale, each and every day, from not just one but countless consecutive sleepless nights. Must be a nightmare, right? Just ask the millions of people suffering from sleep apnea.
A breathing disorder, sleep apnea is quite prevalent, with more than 12 million people facing this chronic complication, despite its often going unnoticed and therefore undiagnosed for years. Many are unaware they suffer from this condition, which causes at least one pause in breathing during sleep, lasting anywhere from a couple of seconds to prolonged periods of minutes. These episodes can occur a surprising five to 30 times or more within an hour until halted by an alarming choking noise or a snort, signaling the restart of normal breathing. Due to these loud noises during periods of sleep disturbance, it usually takes a family member to detect the issue and encourage his or her sleeping partner to seek help.
Typically an ongoing, chronic problem characterized by an interruption of sleep each week during at least three nights, the most common type of sleep apnea is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). In instances of OSA, the closing of a collapsed or blocked airway from soft tissue in the back of the throat leads to shallow or paused breathing. The pronounced snort or noticeable snoring sound that often follows is a result of air that manages to make its way past the blocked passage.
Since sleep apnea causes fragmented bouts of disrupted sleep patterns, preventing a person from reaching deep sleep, it is known as one of the leading causes of extreme daytime fatigue. While commonly associated with overweight males over the age of 40, it can impinge on anyone. That’s why it is so important to be aware of common signs and symptoms, along with risk factors that can lead to this unfavorable condition.
Symptoms to look for:
- Loud snoring
- Choking or gasping during sleep
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Falling asleep at inappropriate times such as while driving, eating or talking
- Waking feeling unrefreshed
- Memory and concentration problems
- Personality changes
- Morning or night headaches
- Swelling of legs if obese
- Getting up to urinate at night (nocturia)
- Sweating and chest pain while sleeping
Risk factors to be aware of:
- Obesity
- Age
- Large neck circumference
- Enlarged tissues of nose, mouth and throat
- Smoking
- Alcohol use
- Family history
- Ethnicity (African-Americans, Hispanics and Pacific Islanders)
- Bone deformities
- Deformities of the spine (scoliosis)
- Menopause
- Sleeping on back or using pillows
- Poor sleep habits
- Disorders of endocrine system
If untreated, can lead to possible:
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Memory problems
- Weight gain
- Impotency
- Headaches
- Job impairment
- Motor vehicle crashes
While sleep apnea is a serious condition that can impact normal daily functioning, there are various treatment options available that focus on restoring regular breathing patterns and relieving symptoms, such as snoring. These include options from mere lifestyle modifications, such as weight loss, for mild cases to the use of breathing devices for severe cases.
One common device utilized, a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, prevents airway closure by blowing air into the throat and requires a mask to be worn throughout the night. Other methods involve dental devices or even surgery to remove blockages or widen breathing passages. Treatment typically entails participating in a sleep study to assess sleeping and breathing patterns in order to apply the appropriate methods based on the severity of a person’s condition.
Sleep apnea can wreak havoc on those suffering from its debilitating effects, and it is particularly dangerous for those working in environments demanding an extra level of alertness, such as professional truck driving. This danger became all too familiar for Robbie Maschhaupt, transport driver for the No. 19 Richard Petty Motorsports team. Diagnosed with sleep apnea more than a year and a half ago, it took the continued efforts of Maschhaupt’s wife to encourage him to seek help.
After countless sleepless nights of nonstop snoring, Maschhaupt’s wife reached a breaking point, deciding it was time for an ultimatum. “My wife finally told me either I go find out what’s wrong or get comfy on the couch,” says Maschhaupt with a laugh. “And the fact that I travel with a roommate every weekend while driving the NASCAR circuit didn’t help matters; I kept him awake constantly.”
Maschhaupt’s first stop was to his primary care physician to address his snoring issue. Figuring it would involve a simple procedure like having his tonsils removed, Maschhaupt was referred to a specialist where X-rays were taken to target any issues with his tonsils or throat. However, he was shocked to find this wasn’t the problem after all. “The doctor asked me a couple of generic questions about my sleep history and pre-diagnosed me with sleep apnea right off the bat,” explains Maschhaupt.
With such a strong inclination that apnea was the issue at hand, the doctor immediately recommended he participate in a 10-hour sleep study, eight hours of which were for sleeping. After being hooked up to breathing and pulse ox monitors, Maschhaupt was videotaped sleeping by four separate cameras in the room.
While Maschhaupt was able to sleep, findings revealed that he stopped breathing a startling 112 times, actually holding his breath at one point for 58 seconds, quite a lengthy period of time. The specialist even commented he had never seen anyone wake up that much, further solidifying his prediction that Maschhaupt was suffering from severe oxygen deprivation throughout the night.
The next step involved a second sleep study to determine what kind of sleeper Maschhaupt was and to figure out how to alleviate the issue. Wearing a mask that covered his nose and mouth, along with hoses attached from Maschhaupt to the CPAP machine, doctors were able to monitor and adjust the amount of pressure needed throughout the night in order to keep his airways opened.
Maschhaupt recalls being worried he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep with all of the hoses. “I remember thinking there was no way I would sleep without tossing and turning and ripping out the hoses, but I woke up feeling great; it was totally life-changing.” For Maschhaupt, this explained his longtime symptoms. “I never ever felt rested and always had headaches. I basically felt like I could never make up the sleep that I was apparently missing out on,” describes Maschhaupt.
Using the CPAP machine every night is key in Maschhaupt’s ability to get a solid night’s sleep. “Even though I have a sleeping disorder, I can finally live a normal life. What I do for a living is such a stressful, draining job that used to leave me feeling like I could never keep up, but all of this has made a world of difference for me.”
Despite knowing how essential it is to use the breathing apparatus, Maschhaupt still has trouble adhering to the regimen every night, especially while on the road. “When it’s my turn to sleep and my co-driver takes the wheel, I have to crank that baby all the way up. Because there’s so much air blowing through that machine, I often get an inconsistent pattern of air from all the bumps and turns that come with driving. So I have to weigh the good with the bad. But when I don’t use it, I really see a huge difference,” explains Maschhaupt.
Regardless of whether he uses it every single night, Maschhaupt is such a believer in the positive effects of the machine that he’s suggested to several people who have described similar symptoms that they go in and get the sleep study.
While sleep apnea requires medical treatment, there are some simple adjustments you can make at home to encourage a more restful night’s sleep. Sleep has been shown to have a direct relationship to both mental and physical health. Besides causing major disruptions in sleep patterns throughout the night, sleep apnea essentially prevents you from reaching the deep stage of sleep, which is vital in restoring the frontal lobe of the brain that contributes to memory, concentration and overall physical vitality. So sleeping on a bed that enhances your individual comfort is crucial.
Try a new mattress, perhaps switching from spring to foam. According to BedInABox’s chief executive officer, Steve Nice, “Spring mattresses push on the skin and bones, cutting off circulation, causing the sleeper to move throughout the night, preventing deep sleep. Our BASF mattresses combine American-made memory foam with high-quality support foam, which together will promote a deep level of uninterrupted sleep.”
There’s no denying that sleep is important. Regardless of whether you suffer from sleep apnea, it’s safe to assume everyone has experienced the repercussions of a restless night’s sleep a time or two. However, if you have experienced any of the symptoms or simply wake up with suspicious bruises from a sleep partner elbowing you in the side all night due to snoring, maybe you should look into having a sleep study conducted. It could change your life; just ask Maschhaupt.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
