Treating Mild Sleep Apnea: Should You Consider a Cpap Device?
Snoring from a bed partner ranks highly on the list of noises that no one wants to hear. However, there are instances when that gruff, rasping noise poses a danger to one's life in addition to being bothersome. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which affects around half of the 90 million snorers in the United States and is associated with heart disease and even death, actually prevents people from breathing during sleep. What's worse is that you might not even be aware of having the illness.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of people don't seek treatment for snoring since they don't consider it to be a serious problem. Or they do, but they don't want to participate in an overnight lab sleep test (which is how OSA is typically diagnosed). Or perhaps they fear getting an OSA diagnosis
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disorder characterized by recurring episodes of partial or complete upper airway obstruction that cause awakenings from sleep and variations in oxygen levels while sleeping. This is not surprising given that OSA is thought to impact 20% of the general population and is significantly more common in people who are obese, have heart or metabolic disorders like diabetes, or are overweight.
There is mixed apnea, a combination of obstructive and central apneas, and central apnea, which occurs when the brain fails to regulate breathing appropriately.
When you're sleeping, OSA causes the muscles in the back of your throat to relax to the point where they can narrow or seal your throat. As you attempt to breathe while you sleep, you might snore, snort, or make other noises. Your blood oxygen level may drop as a result of the air loss, which may cause your brain to send you a signal to get up.
The number of respiratory sleep interruptions per hour of sleep during a sleep study, commonly known as the apnea-hypopnea index, determines the severity of OSA (AHI). In general, the more serious the sleep apnea, the greater the AHI. According to the majority of population surveys, 60% of OSA sufferers are classified as mild sleep apnea. Generally speaking, numerous studies show a linear link between the AHI and poor health outcomes, providing strong evidence for treating moderate and severe OSA, but less definite support for the clinical and/or cost-effective benefits of treating mild OSA.
Symptoms
Obstructive sleep apnea signs and symptoms include
- Extreme drowsiness during the day
- Noisy snoring
- Observed instances of breathing stopping while sleeping Sudden awakenings accompanied by gasping or choking
- Having a sore throat or dry mouth when you wake up
- Daily headache
- Concentration issues during the day Mood swings like depression or anger
- Excessive blood pressure
- Lowered libido
The most widespread type of sleep apnea, or obstructive sleep apnea, is characterized by frequent pauses and resumptions in breathing while you are asleep. Aside from obstructive and central apneas, there is also mixed apnea, which is a combination of the two. Central apnea occurs when the brain fails to regulate breathing appropriately.
When you're sleeping, the muscles in the back of your throat relax, causing your throat to narrow or close. In your sleep, you might snore, snort, or make other noises while you attempt to breathe. Since your blood oxygen level may drop as a result of the air loss, your brain may send you a signal to get up.
Patients with OSA may also experience concomitant insomnia, circadian (internal body clock) abnormalities, sleep movement disorders (such restless legs syndrome), and/or hypersomnia-related illnesses (such as narcolepsy). A thorough sleep-related history is required, and sleep disorders must be addressed via a comprehensive, multidimensional, and customized strategy in order to significantly enhance a patient's sleep and daytime performance.
What is a CPAP Machine
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is regarded as the first-line treatment when sleep apnea is moderate to severe, and is the recommended treatment by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). By removing snoring, breathing irregularities, and reductions in oxygen saturation, CPAP can effectively restore normal breathing patterns while you sleep. But for CPAP for obstructive sleep apnea to be most effective, it must be worn continuously while you sleep. Unfortunately, many OSA studies utilize a rather low threshold for treatment compliance (many use a four-hour criterion each night) and do not always consider treatment efficacy (whether sleep apnea and related daytime symptoms persist despite treatment).
A tube connecting a motorized, tissue-box-sized CPAP machine to a mask that covers your mouth and nose while you sleep. While you sleep, the machine softly breathes air down the tube and into your airways through a mask. A sleep tech can modify the machine to ensure that the mask fits comfortably and that the optimum amount of air is being blown through.
Recommended mild sleep apnea treatment should be based on the severity of your symptoms of mild sleep apnea, your preferences, and any other co-occurring medical conditions. You can try a step-by-step strategy in collaboration with your doctor; if one treatment doesn't work, you can quit it and try an alternative. When managing mild sleep apnea, you and your doctor will make decisions together. You should take into account how bothersome your symptoms are as well as other aspects of your health that could become worse if your mild obstructive sleep apnea is left untreated.
Although sleep apnea can affect anybody, men are more likely than women to get it (approximately 25% of men have the condition), along with persons over the age of 50 and/or those who are overweight, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
There is good news, especially for people who cannot tolerate the CPAP machine: Alternative sleep apnea therapies have been improved, and they may be more effective for some patients (which a sleep study can help determine).
For mild cases of OSA, a change in lifestyle is the first line of defense. Losing weight, avoiding alcohol, and giving up smoking are a few examples of this.
It may be advised to use oral appliances, which are mouthpieces that keep the airways open. They function by moving the jaw and have a retainer-like appearance. The tongue and other tissues won't re-enter the airway while the wearer is lying down.
Finding the right treatment for mild sleep apnea for you is equally vital to managing the illness and preventing the myriad of additional issues sleep apnea can lead to. OSA can cause mental health conditions, such as depression.
Since sleep disorders frequently co-occur, a thorough sleep assessment is required to properly identify sleep complaints. Sleep-related problems and your quality of life may improve by treating sleep apnea. When it comes to treating sleep disorders, there is no one-size-fits-all solution; rather, you need to take a multifaceted, tailored approach to determine what works for you.
