Sleep Apnea - Research Paper Example

? Sleep is determined by ordinary brain action. An individual needs to have a definite quantity of deep sleep for his or her mind and body to be entirely refreshed. Having only restricted occurrences of deep slumber will leave an individual feeling extremely tired the following day. In order to purpose appropriately, most adults require about 7-8 hours of sleep. Approximately 15-25% of that moment should be used up in the deepest stage of sleep, identified as sluggish wave sleep. The most widespread sleep apnea is dubbed Obstructive Sleep Apnea condition. Sleep apnea depicts termination of panting. It is typified by repetitive incidents of upper airway hindrance that happen through sleep, frequently associated with a cutback in blood oxygen diffusion. In other terms, the airway becomes hindered at several probable sites. The higher airway can be blocked by surplus tissue in the airway, hefty tonsils, and a massive tongue and includes the airway muscles calming and failing when asleep. An additional site of hindrance can be the nasal channels. Sometimes the arrangement of the airway and jaw can be an issue in sleep apnea. This report is projected to assess the effects of sleep apnea, its causes, and treatment. In the subsequent content in the literature, a lot of the concerns have been covered including the description of the sleep apnea condition. Table of Content Section i. Abstract ii. Introduction iii. Literature Review iv. Recommendations v. Conclusion vi. References Introduction Sleep apnea is a widespread disorder in which an individual has one or added breaks in breathing or low breaths while sleeping. Sleep apnea frequently goes undetected. Doctors cannot discover the situation during regular office visits. Moreover, there is no blood analysis for the situation. The majority of people suffering from sleep apnea are not aware they have it since it only happens in sleep. A member of the family or bed partner could first detect the indications of sleep apnea. The mainly familiar nature of sleep apnea is disruptive sleep apnea. This most regularly shows that the airway has buckled or is obstructed during sleep. The obstructions may cause thin breathing or inhalation pauses. When an individual tries to inhale, whichever air that presses past the obstruction can cause noisy snoring. Disruptive sleep apnea is more general in individuals who are overweight, although it can impinge on anyone. For instance, small kids may have distended tonsil tissues in their esophagus, which can front to disruptive sleep apnea. Breathing breaks can last from little seconds to minutes. They regularly crop up 5 to 30 times or further an hour. Characteristically, normal inhalation then starts yet again, sometimes with a noisy exhale or choking reverberation. Sleep apnea habitually is a chronic condition that causes disruption to an individual’s sleep. He or she often budges out of deep slumber and into a light sleep when their inhalation pauses or becomes low (Hossen, 2010). This result in deprived sleep worth that makes an individual tired through the day. One of the primary causes of extreme daytime drowsiness is sleep apnea. People with sleep apnea not treated stop breathing continually through their sleep, occasionally hundreds of times. This illustrates that the brain plus the rest of the body might not acquire sufficient oxygen. If sleep apnea does not get diagnosed, it may lead to a rise in the blood pressure; resulting in a heart attack, growth of sicknesses such as obesity, diabetes, and stroke. It furthermore increases the threat of the heart failing. Sleep apnea as a chronic condition needs management in the long term. Lifestyle transformations, surgery, mouthpieces, and breathing appliances can fruitfully treat sleep apnea in lots of people. Literature review An apnea happens when breathing discontinues or is remarkably reduced (Hedner, Johannsson, Svensson and Grote, 2006). It usually lasts for around ten seconds. If a person stops breathing completely or takes less than 25% of customary breath for duration that lasts around 10. This is as result of lack of enough oxygen circulation in the blood which arises from reduction in the transfer of oxygen into the blood when breathing discontinues. It is usually experienced during sleep and when an individual experiences a bout of apnea, sleep is disrupted suddenly due to the individual’s inability to breathe adequately an experiences insufficient oxygen levels in the blood. In some instances, the affected person may awake totally. A hyperpnoea is similar to apnea only that it is not as severe as an apnea. Hyperpnoea often happens during sleep and can be described as 69% to 26% of a standard breath. They are highly disruptive of sleep. Symptoms According to Hossen (2010), sleep apnea is a probable life threatening condition that should be addressed immediately once observed. One should seek quick medical attention when they notice the symptoms of sleep apnea. There are two types sleep apnea; obstructive apneas happens when the airway is blocked while in central sleep apnea, airway is not blocked, however the brain is unable to signal the breathing muscles because of wavering in the respiratory manage center. Obstructive apnea is the more pronounced of the two and the hazards of its undiagnosed may result in heart attacks, strokes asymmetrical heartbeats, hypertension, importance and other heart related diseases (Stevenson, 2003). Furthermore it leads to sleepiness during daytime and mar result to accidents, loss of efficiency and interpersonal affiliation difficulties. The ferocity of apnea symptoms range from mild, modest to harsh (Hedner, Johannsson, Svensson and Grote, 2006). Several symptoms are associated with sleep apnea and they include loud snoring and morning headaches. As well as sleep that is not revitalizing. Sometimes the affected victim awakes up with a dry mouth feel perplexed upon awakening. People with apnea also find it intricate to muse and are promptly goaded. Apnea sometimes causes heartburns, chest retraction in children and extreme perspiration during sleep. Causes Everyone is liable to sleep apnea from toddlers to the elderly (Miller, McBrewster & Vandome, 2010). However, some danger factors have been linked with obstructive and central sleep apnea. Other factors that contribute to the rise of sleep apnea include, if one is related to a victim, if one is of male gender and those that are aged above 65. These are highly susceptible to apnea as well as people from the black, Hispanic or pacific island race. Smokers are also in danger of getting apnea. In addition, some physical attributes such as a person with a chunky neck, swerve septum, retreating chin, or inflamed tonsils or adenoids. Other causes of sleep apnea include allergies or medical conditions that result in nasal congestion and blockage. Effects In children apnea highly affects them in their activities. It leads to them paying attention in class as they are often disrupted from what is taught leading to declining in school performance. The child is also not active while playing with other kids as the kid feels worm out most of the time. Sleep apnea also leads to hyperactivity or daydreaming of people from what they are doing. People with this condition from time to time drift to daydreaming oblivious of their surroundings. Apnea also makes people to breath via their mouths instead of their noses as the nasal area is blocked leading to difficulties in breathing. It also causes change in people’s personality as victims become easily irritated, angry and display hostile behavior (Beebe and Gozal, 2002). Diagnosis It is crucial that the disorder is diagnosed early in order for the appropriate measures to be taken to contain the disorder. The diagnosis of this sleeping disorder is not apparent since sleep disorders may occur due to a number of factors (Kushida, Chediak & Berry, 2008). Medical practitioners carry out tests to determine if the lack of sleep experienced by an individual; is due to the disorder. The medical practitioners are specialized in that they have special training in the field of sleep disorders. One of the tests carried out to identify this disorder is through the use of the polysmonography test (Beebe and Gozal, 2002). This test records certain body functions that an individual experiences when asleep. Some of these functions include the movement of eyes, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, muscle movements among others. These activities are used to determine whether the individual has apnea and the severity of the disorder. The results from these tests will enable physicians to make a diagnosis on the sleeping habits of the individual. Another test that can be used by the health personnel includes the Multiple Sleep Latency Tests (MSLT). This test measures the speed at which an individual falls asleep. The physicians employ the tactic of giving the individuals several opportunities to sleep. The test is normally carried out during times that the individuals would have been awake. The threshold used in this test is that the individuals with normal sleeping habits take the duration of between 10 to 20 minutes to be asleep. The individual who will be able to sleep before the five minute mark elapses, will probably require some form of treatment for a sleeping disorder. Both the methods employed are effective methods of making diagnosis for Apnea. The tests are usually carried out in a controlled environment which mostly in sleep centers. However in the modern times new machines have been developed to facilitate for the tests to be carried out in the patient’s home. Recommendations Sleeping disorders are a big challenge in an individual’s life. This is so since when an individual is mot able to rest adequately, the individual will become less productive. This is because; sleeping is the body’s natural remedy for tiredness and repairs the body psychologically and physically (Shiomi and Sasanabe, 2009). It is therefore vital that sleep disorders to be controlled in order to make an individual live optimally. Apnea is cause by various factors that can be avoided. Since being overweight has been linked as a contributing factor in the sleep disorder, individuals should be encouraged to live a healthy life. This will include eating healthily and being active in exercising. Individuals should also stop smoking. Smoking has been cited to contribute in apnea since; it contributes to the inflammation of the throat which may hamper the breathing of a person. Individuals should also be advised to avoid the use of alcohol. Sleeping pills and sedatives should be avoided since they interfere with the breathing easier of an individual by relaxing throat muscles. It is also advisable to avoid eating heavily before to bed (Duguid, 2001). One should not overindulge two hours prior bedtime and should maintain sleeping hours that are regular. Some personal recommendations that individuals should know are that one should sleep on the side and also keep their airways open. These recommendations if followed will make sleeping for individual a restful experience. Conclusion Sleeping is crucial for individuals and it is essential that individuals should have adequate rest. Sleeping makes a person more productive hence is beneficial for individuals. Sleeping disorder like apnea can be diagnosed and treated to enable the individuals live a normal life. References Beebe, D. and Gozal, D. (2002). Obstructive sleep apnea and the prefrontal cortex: towards a comprehensive model linking nocturnal upper airway obstruction to daytime cognitive and behavioral deficits. J. Sleep Res. (2002) 11, 1-16. Chokroverty, S. (2009). Questions & answers about sleep apnea. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Duguid, N. (2001). Waking Up To Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The Canadian Journal of CME / April 2001. Hedner, J., Johannsson, G., Svensson, J. and Grote, L. (2006). Sleep apnea and quality of life in growth hormone (GH)-deficient adults before and after 6 months of GH replacement therapy. Clinical Endocrinology (2006) 65, 98–105. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2006.02555 Hossen, A. (2010). Identification of Obstructive Sleep Apnea from Normal Subjects: FFT Approaches Wavelets. International Journal of Biometrics and Bioinformatics (IJBB), Volume (4): Issue (2) Kushida, C., Chediak, A. & Berry, R. (2008). Clinical Guidelines for the Manual Titration of Positive Airway Pressure in Patientswith Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Journal of clinical sleep medicine. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, Vol. 4, No. 2. Miller, F. P., McBrewster, J., & Vandome, A. F. (2010). Sleep apnea: Obstructive sleep apnea, apnea, obesity hypoventilation syndrome, positive airway pressure, polysomnography, hypopnea, Sudden infant death syndrome, Ondine curse, acetazolamide. Lexington, KY: Alphascript Pub. Shiomi, T. & Sasanabe, R. (2009). Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea Syndrome in Japan. 52(4): 224–230. < http://www.med.or.jp/english/journal/pdf/2009_04/224_230.pdf> Stevenson, J. (2003). Diagnosis of Sleep Apnea. Wisconsin Medical Journal, 2003. Vol 102, No. 1. Read More