Sound Sleep Guide

Posts Tagged ‘health’

Sleep apnea is possibly the most commonly seen sleep disorder and affects in the region of 18,000,000 Americans. A sleeping disorder which is characterized by interrupted breathing while sleeping, it is also without doubt the most dangerous of all sleeping disorders because it starves the brain of critical oxygen and occasionally proves fatal.

There are two very different types of sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea is essentially a neurological condition in which breathing is broken because of signals sent out by the brain. Obstructive sleep apnea is essentially a mechanical problem where the windpipe is obstructed either by too much tissue or as a result of the unusual collapse or relaxation of the muscles around the windpipe. In both cases however the results are effectively the same with repeated interruptions to the breathing that starve the brain of oxygen and place sufferers at greater risk from such things as high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack.

Regrettably, diagnosing sleep apnea can be difficult because snoring, which is one of its commonest symptoms and frequently leads to sleep apnea being called the snoring disease, is also often seen as a symptom of various medical conditions. Snoring is certainly normally present with sleep apnea as the brain counters a lack of oxygen by awakening the sufferer sufficiently to restart breathing and this usually produces snoring.

This frequent awakening throughout the night also results in a poor quality of sleep and it is quite common for sleep apnea sufferers to get up in the morning feeling even more tired than they were when they went to bed. This also results in a feeling of sheer exhaustion during the course of the day and an overwhelming wish to sleep.

However, tiredness resulting from a poor quality of sleep is just part of the problem and a variety of other symptoms will also generally be seen including headaches in the morning, a lack of memory and a problem in maintaining concentration.

Left untreated the increasing exhaustion from sleep apnea can lead to major psychological difficulties starting with simple tetchiness and moving on to depression with clear changes in both mood and behavior.

Both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea can be treated and, provided the problem is diagnosed at an early stage, treatment can often be fairly simple. For instance, mild cases of obstructive sleep apnea caused by nasal congestion can generally be treated with nothing more than a course of decongestants. Likewise, many cases of sleep apnea which are not too serious may be treated with the use of a mask that is worn during sleep and that delivers air at a constant pressure in order to keep the airway open. Lastly, in the most severe cases surgery might be necessary and can be very effective, although it may also lead to numerous complications and must be considered with care.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about sleep apnea is that because it carries the potential risk of respiratory failure sufferers ought not to be tempted to use sleeping pills or to take other types of artificial sleep enhancers without first seeking the approval of a doctor.

Natural sleep remedies can without doubt provide an effective complement to prescribed treatments and herbal remedies which are designed to improve both the duration and quality of sleep can be helpful in the management of the excessive daytime sleepiness often brought on by sleep apnea. Also, such things as chromatherapy, aromatherapy and guided relaxation and meditation can help in reducing the anxiety and insomnia that come with sleep apnea.

Despite the fact that we have known for a long time that children who suffer from sleep apnea commonly get relatively low scores on IQ tests (normally scoring an average of 85 as opposed to a score of 101 for children who are not suffering from sleep apnea) one thing which has not been known until recently is that this arises out of chemical changes within the brain. As a result an otherwise bright child may well produce a second-rate performance as a result of nothing more than a sleeping problem that, in almost all cases, can be treated quite simply.

In a recent study carried out in Baltimore, 31 kids aged between 6 and 16 (19 of whom were suffering from severe sleep apnea) were examined with a special form or MRI and it was discovered that those children suffering from sleep apnea displayed significant changes in the right frontal cortex and hippocampus which are areas of the brain which are associated with learning and higher mental function.

This study also discovered that these kids were suffering from levels of three brain chemicals which were indicative of brain damage. This change to the chemistry of the brain resulting from sleep apnea may or may not be permanent and, at this point, further studies will be necessary to see if this effect can be reversed.

Even if reversal is possible however and the brain chemistry and cognitive function can be normalized, kids with sleep apnea will suffer learning problems as long as they have untreated sleep apnea and will certainly not be able to rewind time and regain this period of learning.

Parents should of course already be looking out for the signs of sleep apnea in their kids but this study clearly indicates that an early diagnosis and treatment of this sleep problem may have a substantial affect on a child’s success in life.

The signs of sleep apnea include frequent pauses in breathing during sleep which often result in an arousal from sleep and to tossing and turning in bed. Children may also display labored or loud breathing, snoring, gasping, coughing and, sometimes, bedwetting at an age when should generally have passed.

Parents might also notice that a child is sleeping in a strange position, perhaps with their bottom pointing up into the air and their head tilted back in an unconscious effort to keep their airway clear.

In very many cases child sleep apnea can be treated by removing the tonsils and adenoids, or excess tissue from the nose or the back of the throat. In addition, a continuous positive airways pressure machine (or pediatric CPAP) may also be employed to give the child a flow of air delivered through a mask worn while sleeping to keep the airway open.

In itself sleep apnea is debilitating for any child and the effect of night after night of inadequate sleep are going to take their toll on your child. But, when you combine this with an impairment of your child’s IQ, it becomes essential that you act at the earliest possible opportunity to get the condition diagnosed and treated.

It has been believed for some time now that too little or poor quality sleep in teenagers leads to a drop in performance at school, but it was not until fairly recently that a formal research study confirmed that teens with poor sleeping habits do in fact suffer from lower grades.

Below are 10 simple tips to ensure that an otherwise healthy child does not suffer from sleeping problems and gets the quality of sleep needed to perform well in school.

1. Decide upon a regular time to go to bed and try not to vary this time by more than a matter of a few minutes from day to day.

2. Ensure that you get up at the same time in the morning, whether or not it is a school day. Teenagers commonly have a lie-in on weekends and during the school holidays and, rather than helping to make you feel better, this merely disrupts your pattern of sleep.

3. If you find that you cannot fall asleep within approximately 15 minutes of climbing into bed then do not simply lie in bed trying to get to sleep, because the more you try the more difficult it will get. Instead, climb back out of bed and do something like reading a book or listening to some relaxing music. Once you begin to feel tired, climb back into bed and you will be asleep in next to no time.

4. Do not be tempted to stay up late doing your homework or studying for a test. Although this could appear to be the answer to a specific problem in the short term, and may well keep you out of trouble for handing your homework in late or see you through a test, in the longer run your performance will drop and any shorter term gain will soon be lost.

5. Avoid the temptation to take a nap in the afternoon school. Should you find that you are so tired that you cannot keep your eyes open then take a nap but for no more than an hour.

6. Do not consume any form of drink which contains caffeine after about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. This of course applies to tea and coffee, but also includes colas and chocolate drinks.

7. Do not eat a heavy meal too close to bedtime. You certainly should not go to bed hungry and having a light snack prior to bedtime is fine, however climbing into bed on a full stomach will make it difficult for you to fall asleep and affect the quality of your sleep.

8. Although teenagers will sometimes spend a lot of time in their bedroom and turn it into more of a ‘living’ than a ’sleeping’ room, avoid the temptation to use the bed for anything other than sleeping. Do not sit in bed reading, writing, playing games, watching TV or anything else but keep it only for sleeping so that your body associates climbing into bed with going to sleep.

9. Avoid strenuous exercise within several hours of bedtime. If you wish to play baseball or engage in other sporting or vigorous activities then do these shortly after school and not an two or three hours before you go to bed.

10. When it comes to bedtime ensure that your bedroom is quiet, dark and cool. Do not shut your bedroom up, turn up the heat and get into bed to watch TV. Instead, lower the heat, open the window a bit if you can to allow in some fresh air and make the room as dark as possible.

If you follow these 10 tips you will find that within no time at all the quality of your sleep will improve, you will feel much more awake and active throughout the day and your grades will improve.