The Right Way To Find Out If You Have Sleep Apnea

Whenever we hear someone snoring, we quite often say that they are "sawing logs", which means that they are sleeping rather soundly. But while snoring is definitely an indication that someone is asleep, it may not mean that they're sleeping deeply, particularly when the snoring results from sleep apnea. Probably the most common sleep problem worldwide, sleep apnea occurs whenever a person temporarily stops breathing or takes shallow breaths one or more times while they sleep. The breathing stops can be as short as a few seconds or even as long as a few minutes, and the condition typically disturbs a person's sleep between three and 5 times every week, with the breathing interruptions generally occurring between 5 and 30 or more times per hour.

Simply because a person snores does not mean that they have sleep apnea. However, when a person snores two or more nights per week and awakens feeling tired the next day, getting tested for the condition may be beneficial. Unlike most medical conditions, apnea can not be detected by blood test or urinalysis. Instead, your physician usually begins by observing your medical and family history, asking about apnea diagnoses inside your family and quizzing you on your sleeping and waking habits. To get the most thorough info, your physician may ask that you simply keep a sleep diary or suggest that you may well ask your bed partner whether they've heard you snore, cease breathing or gasp for air while you slept.

After the medical and genealogy comes an actual exam to examine your nose, mouth and throat for natural airway obstructions. For example, enlarged tonsils can block or partially occlude the windpipe when the head is in the sleeping position. If the physical exam does not reveal a cause of apnea, a sleep study is generally recommended. Throughout a sleep study, an individual usually stays overnight in a sleep lab to ensure that physicians can take notice of the patient's breathing as they sleep. While sleeping, the individual receives a polysomnogram, which measures brain activity, breathing and heart rate, blood oxygen levels, air movement through the lungs, eye movement and other motor activity. The polysomnogram is carried out by placing small sensors on the head, chest, limbs, face and finger.

Discovering if you have sleep apnea is actually as easy as taking a polysomnogram. Since it observes your vital signs and sleep behavior, its diagnosis is always precise. But arriving at the process begins with being honest about your sleep quality and how it truly is affecting your life. Believing that sleep issues don't represent a significant health threat; many people cope with sleep issues for a long period before confiding with their physician. But now that you know the seriousness of sleep disorders, contacting your physician or an independent sleep clinic should be your first priority if you've been snoring and are experiencing daytime tiredness on an on-going basis. If you've gotten accustomed to experiencing low energy form insufficient sleep, you may have forgotten how it feels to be physically and mentally vital both at home and at work. By resolving your sleep problem, you'll renew your vitality and prevent yourself from possibly experiencing serious health problems later on.

While conducting research for this article, I learned about sleep apnea obesity and sleep apnea without snoring at www.FusionSleep.com.