What is Sleep Apnea?

Today there are many people out there who are wondering, what is sleep apnea? Sadly, too many people don't even know what it is, and they may be suffering from it already. Well, sleep apnea is a very common problem when people pause one or more times while they are breathing or they can go into very shallow breathing while they are trying to sleep. These pauses in breathing may only end up lasting for a couple seconds, but they can last minutes as well. Usually they will occur from 5-30 times each hour, and in some cases they occur even more often. Usually normal breathing will start up again, and sometimes it is accompanies by a choking or snorting sound that is quite loud.

You'll usually find that sleep apnea is a problem that is ongoing and it can disrupt sleep at least three nights each week, if not more. Usually people dealing with it end up going in and out of deep sleep and back into light sleep when they deal with pauses in their breathing and when their breathing becomes too shallow. This can result in sleep that is of poor quality, which leads to extremely tiredness during the day. In fact, sleep apnea is actually one of the top causes of excessive sleepiness during the day.

Unfortunately, sleep apnea is a problem that goes undiagnosed much of the time. This is why it is so important that people ask, what is sleep apnea, and take the time to learn about it so that they know what they need to look for. Most doctors don't actually realize that their patients have this problem on visits that are routine, and there are no definitive blood tests that will diagnose this problem either. Most people just never actually realize that they have this problem because the problem only happens when they are sleeping. However, often a family member may notice some of the signs of this problem, since they see and hear them during the night.

There are a couple different types of sleep apnea; however, the most common type that people deal with is obstructive sleep apnea. This type of sleep apnea occurs because the airway is blocked while they are sleeping or it can collapse and cause this problem as well. When there is a blockage in the airway, it can lead to pauses in breathing or to very shallow breathing as well. While you are sleeping, as the air works hard to get past the blockage you are dealing with, you may end up snoring very loudly. While this type of apnea is more prevalent in people who are obese, it can happen to other people as well.

Another type of sleep apnea that is less common is central sleep apnea. This is a problem in the brain. The brain does not actually send out the signals that are to control your muscles for breathing, telling them that they should be breathing. This means that there can be brief periods of time when you don't actually breathe. It can occur alone, but it often goes along with central sleep apnea as well. Usually people who have central sleep apnea don't snore like people who have obstructive sleep apnea do.

There are a variety of different problems that can occur if you go on with untreated sleep apnea. First of all, it can increase the risk that you have for strokes, heart attacks, obesity, diabetes, and even high blood pressure. Heart failure can be worsened and your risk for heart failure can go up if you have this problem as well. The risk of driving accidents and work accidents are also more likely to occur to people who are dealing with sleep apnea.

After learning a bit more about the question, what is sleep apnea, it is easy to see what a serious problem that this can be. It's important that you get to a doctor as soon as you can if you think that this may be a problem that you are dealing with. There are various devices and mouthpieces that can help to treat sleep apnea, but lifestyle changes often help too. One product that you may want to add to your life to try to help treat this problem is Sleep Tracks. You'll find that Sleep Tracks is a simple product that uses new technology, brain wave entrainment, to train your brain to slow down the brain waves at night so you can get better rest. Even if it actually does not totally treat the sleep apnea problem, it is an excellent addition to any treatment plan.