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Monday, August 3, 2009

Aid For Sleep Apnea | Sleep Apnea Treatments - Review

Are you in need of sleep apnea treatments? Today I will share some of new sleep apnea treatments for your guidance and as aids for sleep apnea.

Many people have sleep apnea either seriously or not. For those who have seriously affected or not, please get some help and treatments. Why? You cannot assume and consider sleep apnea as a simple thing like lack of sleep or fatigue. This is due to sleep apnea would lead you to have serious repercussions later on and the most terribly happen is taking you death. It is good to start the treatment as early as possible to avoid the possibility of the condition getting aggravated. Prevent it now before it's happened.

What can sleep apnea treatments really do for you? Sleep apnea treatments and methods available nowadays are capable to treat the condition in an effective manner. Nowadays, many scientists and medical doctors work hard in research and development to find the best solution for sleep apnea treatments.

What should you do after having sleep apnea treatments? In order to overcome effectively sleep apnea, after the treatment procedures, you should change to healthier life style in all aspects. Such as, you should have adequate sleep. Also not forgotten, please change your unhealthy meals to the good and balance foods. Then, you will no longer have to suffer sleep deprivation. Trust me. If you are still afflicted with sleep apnea, you should try and change in lines of treatment and methods of sleep apnea. Try consult with medical practitioner to gain help and clear clarification from them regarding your sleep apnea.

Many people ignore and do not care much of sleep disorder because it causes little serious complications especially during the early stages of symptoms. But the effect can be more risky as sleep apnea may bring the result in frequent short supply of air to lungs. In other clear words, it can cause your heart to suffer constantly. Please don't take it easily. It is all about your life. Sleep apnea new treatments are for those who absolute necessity want to live longer and healthier.

Long introduction right? Alright, now let me explain you about a few of sleep apnea treatment methods.

First, have you ever heard the word CPAP? Actually CPAP means Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. In recent day, CPAP is one of the most widely used and accepted treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. How does CPAP work as your sleep apnea treatment? With CPAP treatment, air can flows into your lungs easily by using a mask and air pump that builds the air pressure. So with that process allowing you to sleep effortlessly. But it is not the best solution for sleep apnea. Actually, the constant use of masks and devices will leave patients irritated and many sufferer will look for better way of treatments.

Second, have you ever heard about UPPP? UPPP or Uvulopalatopharngoplasty is another line of sleep apnea treatments techniques includes surgical procedure. The excess tissues and palates will be removed from the air passage and throat by surgical method. For your information, UPPP treatment is being debated of its effectiveness and not well proof medicated. I would like give positive and negative effect and consequence for your consideration to decide in which is the best aids for sleep apnea.

Third. Again I humbly ask you. Have ever come across in your mind this four words, LAUP? LAUP is meant Laser Assisted Uvuloplatoplasty. LAUP is quite similar to UPPP and another treatment form of surgical procedure. What is the difference between LAUP and UPPP? The difference here is LAUP treatment uses laser to remove tissues, tonsils and other elements which responsible for making air blockage. Besides, the LAUP treatment is painless and takes less time to heal. This is a good news for you who don't like standard surgical procedures.

Fourth. Do you know what is Somnoplasty? Somnoplasty is one of the latest revolutionary sleep apnea treatments methods available nowadays. What can Somnoplasty really aids for sleep apnea? Somnoplasty treatment is functioning to increased air flow when you sleep by opening of an air passage in tissues such as through tonsils or tongue. Somnoplasty is very effective for long-term relief and it is believed to works best for cases of mild obstructive sleep apnea. Besides, Somnopalsty treatment has obtained the FDA approval. Another good news for you and it is a good option to consider for sleep apnea aids.

So, I have explained you in details about a few types of sleep apnea treatment. Hopefully you gain something in your mind and also give you aids for sleep apnea.

Cheers

Monday, July 20, 2009

Aids For Sleep Apnea | Sleep Apnea Solution | - Review

Many people having problems with their sleep. From reliable surveys conducted by some health organizations, they found that people suffer to have good quality of sleep. Why this happened? I have explained it before from previous posts. Kindly you have time to read through it. Most people find their hard way to get suitable aids for sleep apnea. I mean, sleep apnea solution or sleep apnea cure. Alright, we will discuss it later.

What on earth is sleep apnea? Sleep apnea is best described as a form of sleep disordered breathing (SDB). How many categories of sleep apnea? For your information sleep apnea can divided into three parts. You can give your time read through my previous post for further details of sleep apnea types. Which type is most commonly disturb people? Obstructive sleep apnea is the one which commonly be the found in most cases. It can cause the airway to partially or fully collapse and data collected from study over 18 million Americans are affected. What a number?

Please be noted, do not take this easily and remember it has its consequences. What are the consequence of sleep apnea? Consequences of sleep apnea such as life threatening, including hypertension, stroke and cardiovascular disease. Can sleep apnea be cured? Yes, sleep apnea solutions very, depending on the severity of the disorder and on the patient’s medical history. You will feel a little bit relief after this. Every disease has its own medicine, right?

Back to the point. The sleep apnea solution is ranging from lifestyle changes until to surgery. Sleep apnea solution also has a range of effects. You can simply do lifestyles changes such as using a humidifier during sleep. Please do seriously by breaking bad habits, such as overeating, imbibing too much alcohol and smoking which can be good solution and impact too. Another simple way is by clearing the nasal passages of congestion before going to bed. Also not to forget, please avoid sleeping on the back which can alleviate sleep apnea. Alternatively, you can go for hypnosis and using natural herbs and it is easy to do and to get now at pharmacies and clinics. Another way by using traditional way that is through acupuncture treatment which can also been suggested as possible sleep apnea solution.

For your information, the above simple sleep apnea solutions can not completely relieve the problem. What is other method to cure this sleep apnoea? You can use oral appliances. This device is similar to mouth guards that used in sports. It can function to keep the airway open. In the market and dental clinics it is called 'mandibular advancement device' (MAD) and works to push the lower jaw forward. A tongue-retaining device prevents the tongue from falling back over the airway. The MAD is often adjustable so that the dentist can adjust the jaw as necessary. Alright, nice information to relief your pain.

Is there other sleep apnea solution? The answer is yes. Pressurized air is another of the sleep apnea solutions. Medically known as CPAP , continuous positive air pressure. What is CPAP? It is kind of process where with a medical pump through a flexible tube attached to a mask. Then, a stream of pressured air is pumped into the subject’s mouth. This is for keeping the airway open. What type of CPAP is commonly used nowadays? CPAP, continuous positive air pressure is most commonly used and comes with a variety of type. These are including humidifier, variable inhalation and exhalation air pressures, and also an air heater. CPAP is clinically proven as one of sleep apnea solution.

Several sleep apnea solutions include the procedures to widen the airway. One such solution is tissue reduction. The object of treating obstructive sleep apnea is to relieve and remove the cause of obstruction. One of the most popular use is clinically known as RFTR (Radiofrequency Tissue Reduction). How RFTR can cure sleep apnea? With the use of a needle connected to a radio frequency generator which can reduce the inner thickness of tissue on the tongue, on the soft palate and also on the throat. By reducing the size of tongue aids provides more room in the airway and also reduce the tissue which can capable of creating a blockage.

People who has sleep apnea commonly choose surgical procedures as sleep apnea solutions as a last option. Most of the surgical procedures are designed to help open or widen the airway. In this term, there are several famous surgical procedures can be bare in your mind. The first one is Uvulopalatoplasty. This type of surgical involves in shrinking or removing the uvula that is a bit of tissue that dangles from the roof of your mouth. For complicated sleep apnea such as nasal congestion, the surgical is needed to straighten the septum that is the partition between the nostril. Another surgical procedures can effectively be sleep apnea solution are Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy.

For the most difficult sleep apnea cases, usually Maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) is suggested by specialist. MMA involves detaching the upper and lower jaw. Also moving them forward and reattaching them with pins or plates.This is the most invasive of sleep apnea solutions.

Hopefully those informationabout aids for sleep apnea solution will help you a lot.

Cheers.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

How To Find Sleep Clinics - Review

Are you in need of aids for sleep apnea? There are many ways to cure sleep apnea. It depends on the health condition of patient. Here is one article which described about people who has sleep apnea can has their treatment from trusted sleep clinic. There you will find specialist will guide and give treatment according to your level of sleep apnea. To know further, please give your time read thoroughly.

Imagine this scenario. Thousands of tired, sleep deprived patients are walking around in their pajamas trying to find a sleep clinic to cure their insomnia! Do you think they will have much success if they do not receive any guidance? How can they be expected to find a sleep clinic when they have not even slept for a week? These people need guidance and that is exactly why we are here! Finding one does not have to be a nightmare. Most people can get out of bed early in the morning and find a sleep clinic before 9 AM just searching through the phone book. They may even find themselves sitting in the waiting room of the clinic just before lunchtime! It really is pretty simple.

The internet is one of the best ways to find a sleep clinic or sleep center. Many people forget to search on the internet these days because the web is still such a new phenomenon. We are all still stuck in the bad habit of using the phone book! Once you get on the Internet, you will find that there is an organization called the American Academy of Sleep Medicine or AASM which gives its accreditation to certain sleep centers that pass specific guidelines for approval. You can easily find out which AASM accredited clinics exist in your state and which one is the closest to your home. There are also some advanced clinics that have special services. These clinics are called "Specialty Laboratories for Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders" and will usually be designated as such on the websites you search. All the other programs should at least be accredited full service Sleep Disorder Centers in order to have the necessary equipment that you will need. It is really that simple.

As an example, the state of California has over 40 accredited sleep centers to choose from. Most major cities, such as San Diego or San Francisco, usually have three or more centers to choose from so it is very likely that you can find a center that is within driving distance of your home.

Those who suffer from sleep deprivation or sleep disorders may want to be extra vigilant in determining the direction to the clinic! You do not want to waste your day driving all over the highways trying to find your way through a half dazed state of mind! It is best to get the phone number of the clinic and ask the secretary for detailed direction to the center. You can even schedule an appointment so that they will be expecting you when you arrive. Keep the phone number with you when you leave for the clinic in case you get lost! You can pull over somewhere and make another phone call to get yourself back on track. This is some very worthwhile advice for someone who has not been getting any quality sleep lately!

Finding a good sleep clinic is really not that hard but just takes a little careful planning and a few hours to schedule an appointment and drive to the clinic. Once you get there, you will begin to see how much these places have to offer and you will be very glad you took the time to consider the importance of your sleep habits. You may even be surprised to discover that your problem was more serious than you had first imagined and that there is a lot that you have not been doing to get yourself the correct amount of sleep.

Next time you have the thought that maybe you are not getting the right quality of sleep, do not just ignore the idea and hope that it goes away. Take the time to look on the Internet for a convenient sleep clinic near you. Make an appointment for yourself and get the directions so that it will be easy for you to go there at your convenience. Sleep centers are there for you to make the best out of your life and get you the required sleep you need. It is a lot more important than you think and it might save you from something much more serious in the future. Happy searching and happy sleeping!

Over 70 Million people in the USA suffer from some kind of Sleep Disorder! There are actually hundreds of ways to improve your sleep but the first thing that is needed is to raise more awareness! If you want to sleep better tonight, you can visit this information Sleep Aid Web Site that is packed with FREE information: http://www.Sleep-Aid-Solutions.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_M._Miller

Nice right. Alright so with the help of this article we can know another way to cope or to overcome sleep apnea, sleep disorder or sleeping problem. Don't worry every single disease has its own antidote. So, the aids for sleep apnea is still out there to search.

Cheers.

Sleep Disorder Centers | Sleep Disorder Clinics - Review

Everybody on earth need a quality sleep that is far away from sleep apnea disease or some of us call it sleep disorder.Nice rambling about sleep disorder. Alright then how on earth can this disease can be clinically cured? The answer is in this nice article which can be shared together. So give your time to read trough it.

A sleeping disorder is a condition in which a sufferer either cannot sleep enough, or sleeps too much, has greatly frightening nightmares on a consistent basis, and more. Patients with a sleep disorder should seek professional help to alleviate the problem. The physician often directs them to sleep disorder clinics or centers, depending on the severity of the problem. They are sent to the clinic with a record of their medical and family history. These clinics have doctors who specialize in the field of sleep disorders and sleep medicine.

Sleep disorder clinics are often attached to big hospitals, universities, or psychiatric institutes. These offer testing and treatment services to patients. They also undertake sleep studies to diagnose the real causes of the disorder. Specialists in sleep medicine prescribe medicines based on test results.

Most centers provide a questionnaire to first-timers, to form a basis for a diagnosis. Sleep facilities are staffed with somnologists who are trained in many medical and scientific fields. A typical sleep disorder team comprises a physician, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, and a surgeon. In some cases, a pediatrician also forms part of the team.

These centers deal with adults and children. They primarily function as outpatient centers where patients are interviewed, given psychological tests and, if required, made to stay for a day or two to have their sleep patterns recorded. A physical examination is also conducted in certain cases.

A letter containing information received and the sleep specialist's impressions is sent to the referring physician for future use.

Sleep Disorders provides detailed information on Sleep Disorders, Sleep Disorder Centers, Pediatric Sleep Disorders, Causes of Sleep Disorders and more. Sleep Disorders is affiliated with Central Sleep Apnea.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Seth_Miller

So with that thoroughly details explanation about sleep apnea or sleep disorder, hopefully someone who has trouble with this sleep apnea or sleep disorder can get their aid from nearby qualified specialist.

Till then.

Cheers.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Get The Sleep That You Need: Sleep Stages, Tips and Aids - Review

There are many aids for sleep apnea or sleep disorder. We can it either at market, pharmacies or clinics but the best way is to attain help from sleep apnea specialist. They can give you further information of your sleep apnea status. Then with their advices then we can buy medicine or what ever necessarily.

Below is some nice article that can be also shared together for those who is in the deep need of aids for sleep apnea.

During sleep, your muscles recharge, your mind sifts through the input of the day and your immune system revitalizes itself (and staves off disease and infection).

Sleep Stages

There are two primary states of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM). The body goes in an out of these states during four separate sleeping stages.

Stage one is a light sleep that is the bridge between conscious and unconscious states of being. Individuals who are in Stage one sleeping mode can be easily awakened.

Stage one is followed by stage two, which is characterized by the slowing down of brain waves. The eyes stop moving as the body begins to shut down.

Stages three and four are periods of deep sleep. Stage three features the appearance of slow moving delta brain waves mixed in with smaller and faster waves. By stage four, delta waves make up the primary activity in the brain. All muscle and eye movement has ceased at this point. Stage three and four are periods of deep sleep. It can be difficult to wake up someone who is in stage three or four of their sleeping experience.

After you've gone from stages one to four, NREM stops and REM sleep begins. The different stages, followed by REM sleep, represent one sleeping cycle. Multiple sleeping cycles are experienced throughout the course of one night. REM sleep happens a few times each night as you cycle through the different stages. It occurs about once every hour and a half or so.

REM is where the magic happens. You begin to breath irregularly. Your heartbeat becomes erratic. Muscles are paralyzed and your blood pressure rises. The electrical activity of the brain begins to act up, and you start to dream.

Sleep Tips

Try to form a regular pattern for sleep and food consumption. Avoid late night snacking. Try to cut back on alcohol and caffeine. When it gets late, forgo coffee, tea and brewskies entirely. Smoking less is always a good idea, especially if you want to get more sleep.

Sleeping only happens when you're calm and relaxed, so make sure these are states of mind that you can easily achieve. Practice meditating. Exercise and learn how to deal with anxiety. If you can find ways to properly channel your nervous energy, you can achieve a calm and clarity. Seriously. If you have issues sleeping, you need to come up with constructive ways to deal with stress.

Sleep Aids

There are plenty of sleep aids on the market that can help you achieve sounder rest.

Medication is available in both prescription and over-the-counter forms. If you suffer from chronic insomnia, or if you think that your trouble with sleep may be linked to another ailment (like restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea), then a doctor visit is surely in order. If your sleepless symptoms are acute, then a sleep aid like Good Night's Sleep can really help out. Good Night's Sleep is a night-time sleep aid that is administered as a mouth spray. Good Night's Sleep spray is quickly absorbed, for fast-acting relief of restlessness.

If you're not getting the sleep that you need, and you need help adjusting your way back to a regular sleeping pattern, then investigate the current sleep aids on the market, consult your doctor and develop a practical strategy for improving the quality of your sleeping habits.

Chris Stout offers intelligent advice and useful tips regarding sleeping disorders and natural relief and is dedicated to solving sleep related problems. Chris has become an expert on the subject as well as other health related topics and writes articles for Medgen where you can find more great information and products for sleeping disorders.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Stout

Hopefully this can relief you some little bit of your problem of sleep apnea.

Cheers.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Sleep Apnea Ranges From Fatigue to Death! - Review

Everybody on earth has potential to have sleep apnea. Even athletes also has potential to have sleep apnea. Why I said like that? We can get through by reading this article.

Do you know someone that has been diagnosed with sleep apnea and you did not dare ask what it is exactly? Are you aware that a lot of people are unaware of being affected by this sleep disorder? Could you or someone close to you be suffering from this disorder? Let’s find out!

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that affects both the quality of sleep but also more importantly, the breathing process. While sleeping, the patient will stop breathing for periods of 10 seconds or longer which will wake him up as he is struggling to breathe. These absences of breathing are called “apneas”. Usually the patient is unaware of these struggling episodes.

Is there more than one kind of sleep apnea?

Did you know that there are two types of sleep apnea? The first is called OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) which is caused by relaxed soft tissue blocking the passage of air during sleep.

The second type of sleep apnea is called CSA (central sleep apnea) which is caused by irregular signals from the brain that affect the breathing process. In some cases, patients suffer from a combination of both types of sleep apnea.

What are the symptoms of sleep apnea?

The symptoms of sleep apnea are: suffering from excessive sleepiness during the day, having headaches in the morning, feeling irritable, being affected by mood changes, suffering from anxiety, being affected by depression, becoming forgetful, snoring loud and gasp for air, having restless sleep, having trouble to concentrate and even falling asleep during the day. Please note that these symptoms vary from one person to the next. Also be aware that the severity of the symptoms and the combination of symptoms vary from one patient to the next.

A bit of history

Did you know that the first case of sleep apnea that was diagnosed happened only in 1965? This is a bit odd when you consider that so many people are affected by this sleep disorder. At first, only people suffering from certain health conditions such as congestive heart failure were diagnosed with sleep apnea. It was also noticed that problems related to sleep apnea happened following surgery particularly in people that are overweight, obese or had short necks. It was later on proven that while they were noticed in these particular cases, sleep apnea does not only affect people suffering from these conditions or displaying these specific characteristics.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

This type of sleep apnea seems more common in people that have a soft palate or other abnormalities such the ones related to the jaw, people who are obese or consume alcohol. Did you know that 2% of female and 4% of males diagnosed with a mild case of sleep apnea stop breathing at least ten times per hour?

To evaluate the severity of sleep apnea in a patient, the specialist will evaluate it by using the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). If a patient has less than 5 apneas per hour, it is considered normal. If it is between 5 and 15 it is mild, if it is between 15 and 30 it is moderate and over 30 is considered severe.

Also, the approximate time for each apnea (breathing interruption) is usually about 10 seconds but in more severe cases, it can reach 60 seconds.

In certain cases, sleep apnea can be cause by an external situation such as an accident, family problems, heart problems and narcolepsy. It was also held responsible either partially or totally for SIDS also known as sudden infant death syndrome.

How can it be diagnosed?

Sleep apnea is evaluated in a sleep laboratory. The patient spends the night in this laboratory and is closely monitored by both a technician with visual instruments as well as various medical resources that will also verify the level of oxygen in the blood, the breathing pattern as well as the activity of the brain.

What are the available treatments?

Well, according to the severity of the sleep apnea, a single type of treatment may help while some cases may require a combination of treatments. The available treatments are: medication, avoid antidepressants or relaxants, avoid alcohol, change of diet, quit smoking, surgery to enlarge the airways, devices to keep the patient from sleeping on his back, special pillows, oral devices and the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) which is a machine that uses a tube connected to a mask and sends continuous pressurized air to keep the airways open.

Can sleep apnea be fatal?

Sleep apnea can lead to death as it takes a huge toll on the body and affects other systems which can lead to fatal situations such as a heart attack, congestive heart failure, a stroke or the patient may fall asleep while driving for example and have a tragic accident.

It is important to know that while people between 65 and 100 years of age or that are overweigh are more susceptible to suffer from sleep apnea but it still can affect people that are not overweight, infants and children as well. That is why if you have any doubts concerning a close relative, a friend or even yourself, see a doctor as treated sleep apnea cannot only improve your quality of life but also give you the opportunity to live a long and happy life.

My husband has been diagnosed with sleep apnea a few years ago. He has followed certain treatments, such as surgery and CPAP and we believe that it has improved his quality of sleep which also allow him to lead a better life. If you wish to learn more about sleep apnea, I invite you to visit this site: http://sleep-apnea.findoutnow.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sylvie_Leochko

Hopefully this sleep apnea article can have you much.

Cheers.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Sleep Apnea - 7 Tips To Help You Sleep-Review

Here other nice article telling about to help you to cope sleep apnea.

Do you keep your partner awake at night with your snoring? Are you often tired during the day? Do you sometimes find yourself suffering from morning headaches, being a bit forgetful, unable to concentrate and irritable? If so, you may be suffering from sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a very common and often undiagnosed sleep disorder that, according to some estimates, affects five percent of the adult population. Characterized in particular by loud snoring and daytime tiredness, sleep apnea occurs because you stop breathing during sleep. This can occur literally hundreds of times each night and your breathing can be interrupted by up to a minute or more on each occasion.

Your breathing is interrupted either by a physical blockage to your airway (for example, loose skin in the back of your throat, or perhaps your tongue, blocking your airway), in which case you are said to suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, or by a failure on the part of your brain to send out the necessary signals to the muscles of your body that control breathing, in which event your condition is described as central sleep apnea.

It is also possible to suffer from mixed sleep apnea which, as the name suggests, is a combination of both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.

Both men and women suffer from sleep apnea, although the condition is more commonly seen in men and, in particular, men who are over 40 and overweight.

The main consequence of sleep apnea is that, because your sleep is very light, fragmented and of poor quality, you also suffer from insomnia, or excessive daytime tiredness. Your partner would probably disagree and say that the main problem is your snoring, but that’s a different story!

There are a range of treatments available for sleep apnea (including surgery in particularly severe cases), but in the vast majority of cases your quality of life can be improved considerably with a few simple lifestyle changes and natural remedies. Indeed, in mild cases, this is often all that is needed.

Here are 7 simple tips to offset the effects of sleep apnea related insomnia and restore some of that lost daytime ‘get up and go’.

Tip 1. Look at your weight.

If you’re overweight then this is undoubtedly contributing to your problem. Losing just a few pounds can make a significant difference.

Tip 2. Avoid alcohol.

Alcohol relaxes your throat muscles and this makes it much easier for these muscles to ‘collapse’ during sleep and block your airway. There’s no need to cut out alcohol altogether, but you should restrict your intake and certainly cut out alcohol in the three or four hours before going to bed.

Tip 3. Avoid sleeping pills.

Sleeping pills can also relax your throat muscles and cause similar problems to those seen for alcohol. Sleeping pills, however, can also cause a variety of other problems as well and there use is not recommended in cases of sleep apnea.

Tip 4. Avoid tobacco.

Smoking inflames your nasal tissues causing them to swell and restrict your nasal airway. Ideally, you should give up smoking altogether but, if this is too high a fence to jump, then try to cut down and, in particular, reduce your smoking during the evening.

Tip 5. Sleep on your side.

If you’re typical of the majority of sleep apnea sufferers you sleep on your back, making it far easier for the tissues in your throat, and for your tongue, to block your airway. Even if you go to sleep on your side, you probably roll onto your back shortly after falling asleep.

Try propping yourself up with pillows or cushions so that you sleep on your side. If this doesn’t work then sew something like a tennis ball into the back of your pajamas. You’ll find that rolling onto the tennis ball will be quite uncomfortable and it will soon condition you to sleep on your side.

If you can’t sew, find a shirt or tee-shirt with a breast pocket. Pop the tennis ball into the pocket and then wear the shirt back-to-front.

Tip 6. Improve your nasal breathing.

If you suffer from a ‘stuffed up’ nose, then try using a nasal spray to help open up your nasal airway. Nasal sprays should not however be used regularly or for prolonged periods, as they can cause damage to the tissues of the nose.

As an alternative, pop along to the drug store or chemist and buy yourself one of many very cheap devices that are available today to help keep your nose open while you sleep. Your pharmacist or chemist will be happy to show you what’s on offer and to help you to make the right choice.

Tip 7. Avoid sleep deprivation.

Make sure that you are getting enough sleep and that you’re following a regular bedtime routine. Also make sure that your bedroom conditions are set for sleep (the right temperature, quiet, dark etc.) and that you’ve dealt with the worries of the day and are relaxed and ready for sleep each night.

One of the major consequences of both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea is insomnia, and curing the insomnia associated with sleep apnea is a major step in the management of the condition.

These are just a few simple tips but you’ll be amazed at just what a difference they can make.

Donald Saunders is the author of a number of health related publications including: "How To Get A Good Night's Sleep - Simple Solutions To Help You Rest" Pick up your free copy today and discover the key to curing sleep-apnea

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donald_Saunders

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep Apnea in details

Sleep apnea (or sleep apnoea in British English) is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. Each episode, called an apnea (Greek: ἄπνοια (ápnoia), from α- (a-), privative, πνέειν (pnéein), to breathe), lasts long enough so that one or more breaths are missed, and such episodes occur repeatedly throughout sleep. The standard definition of any apneic event includes a minimum 10 second interval between breaths, with either a neurological arousal (a 3-second or greater shift in EEG frequency, measured at C3, C4, O1, or O2), a blood oxygen desaturation of 3-4% or greater, or both arousal and desaturation. Sleep apnea is diagnosed with an overnight sleep test called a polysomnogram, or a "Sleep Study".

Clinically significant levels of sleep apnea are defined as five or more episodes per hour of any type of apnea (from the polysomnogram). There are three distinct forms of sleep apnea: central, obstructive, and complex (i.e., a combination of central and obstructive) constituting 0.4%, 84% and 15% of cases respectively.[1] Breathing is interrupted by the lack of respiratory effort in central sleep apnea; in obstructive sleep apnea, breathing is interrupted by a physical block to airflow despite respiratory effort. In complex (or "mixed") sleep apnea, there is a transition from central to obstructive features during the events themselves.

Regardless of type, the individual with sleep apnea is rarely aware of having difficulty breathing, even upon awakening. Sleep apnea is recognized as a problem by others witnessing the individual during episodes or is suspected because of its effects on the body (sequelae). Symptoms may be present for years (or even decades) without identification, during which time the sufferer may become conditioned to the daytime sleepiness and fatigue associated with significant levels of sleep disturbance.