Sleep Apnea Symptoms Sleep apnea causes a person to stop breathing periodically throughout sleep, which upsets the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood.
The brain senses the reduction in oxygen and the increase in carbon dioxide and sends a signal to resume breathing. The person wakes up in response to the breathing arousal signal from the brain. The muscles of the tongue and throat awaken to enlarge the airway and allow carbon dioxide to escape and oxygen to enter. The waking episodes are necessary to restart breathing (and save the person's life), but they prevent the individual from getting high-quality sleep. It's actually very similar to starting an old Chevy.
Some of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea are excessive sleepiness during daytime and frequent episodes of obstructed breathing during sleep, which the patient is seldom aware of ... but their partners sure as hell know about it. The other symptoms of sleep apnea are morning headaches, dry mouth, over weight, depression, difficulty in concentrating ... just to name a few of them. In short, the symptoms of sleep apnea remarkably mirror a night of excessive drinking ... without the bar tab and the beer goggles.
Many serious health problems are associated with sleep apnea, including:
• stroke
• hypertension
• heart disease
• cardiac arrest
• chronic fatigue
• memory loss
• depression
• anxiety
• sexual non-performance
• headache (particularly in the morning)
If you or a sleep partner experiences symptoms that might indicate sleep apnea, seek the advice of a doctor for the most appropriate sleep apnea treatment.
Sam Fields
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