Sleep Apnea. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute defines it like this on their website:
“Sleep apnea (AP-ne-ah) is a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep.
Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes. They may occur 30 times or more an hour. Typically, normal breathing then starts again, sometimes with a loud snort or choking sound.
Sleep apnea usually is a chronic (ongoing) condition that disrupts your sleep. When your breathing pauses or becomes shallow, you’ll often move out of deep sleep and into light sleep.
As a result, the quality of your sleep is poor, which makes you tired during the day. Sleep apnea is a leading cause of excessive daytime sleepiness.”
This Mindfunda helps you to determine if you might be suffering from sleep apnea. Always visit the doctor if you think it is likely that you suffer from it.
1: Chronic Fatigue and Sleep Apnea
You can imagine how sleep apnea interferes with your regular sleep cycle. Nature has provided five sleep stadia for our brain. Each stadia is typified by a specific amplitude of brain waves.
When sleep apnea causes a lack of oxygen, you wake up. When you wake up, you are not able to finish your sleep cycle.
If this happens at a regular basis, your health will be affected.
2: Sleep Apnea and Snoring
Snoring is an underestimated problem. It can cause a lot of trouble in a relationship. Not everyone who snores has apnea.
There is an app called Snorelab.You download it on your mobile phone. You put it on and lie it besides you on the bedside table.
It records the sound you make during your sleep and you can listen and analyse the moments that you snore.
3. Sleep Apnea and a Partner
Many people who suffer from apnea, are not aware of it. Because it has such bad health implications: an increased risk of vascular diseases, obesity and depression it is sometimes with the help of a partner that we can determine cheater we should seek medical help.
Many times it is a partner that tells you that you seem to stop breathing at night.
4. Sleep Apnea and morning headaches
When you wake often witha dry mouth (because your mouth was open) and a headache, it cold be a sign that you are suffering from sleep apnea.
Do you recognise one or more symptoms? Please visit your doctor. If sleep apnea is diagnosed you have several options to improve your situation. You will feel better.
Mindfunda is a blog from Dutch psychologist Susanne van Doorn.
Mindfunda publishes a blog every other day.
I have a new Mindfunda online event: The Mindfunda Midsummer Night Event. A week long reading, dreaming and contemplating around the theme of the summer solstice.
