Sleep Apnea and Symptoms That Prove You Have It

There are conditions that we live with for a long time and walk around not realizing that we have them. It’s funny how we count some health disorders is normal and accept them when really, we are not supposed to. Sleep apnea is one of these disorders and affects a large portion of the population of adults in the world today. While most people recognize this as a disorder, they don’t really realize its implications and the underlying health issues that it signifies. A characteristic of this disorder is the frequent pauses and breaks in breathing when someone is asleep. This disorder is brought about by a number of things, one of them being that the brain does not receive communication from the respiratory system. In this case the respiratory system does not send breath signals to the brain therefore causing a pause in breathing. Physical blockages that interrupt breath also explain these breaks in breathing. For instance, the tongue may collapse in the airway and obstruct breathing. This obstruction is particularly common and accounts for 85% of all cases of sleep apnea disorder.

This is a disorder that people hardly notice because mostly it manifests when they are asleep. However, other symptoms that are experienced when not sleeping may signify the presence of the disorder. The first one is extreme mood swings. People tend to get moody when they’ve not had enough sleep and since sleep apnea affects the quality of sleep, it explains the moodiness. Short temper, irritability and general bad moods may be symptoms pointing you towards realizing that you have this sleep disorder. Since sleep apnea affects the quality of sleep, it also causes high blood pressure. What happens is that during a break when you are not breathing, the brain is not receiving enough oxygen and therefore the body responds by increasing blood pressure.

Another common symptom of sleep apnea is waking up with headaches. This symptom can also be explained by the issue of blood pressure where the brain receives very little oxygen and therefore Responds by causing an increase in the pressure of blood vessels. This increased pressure and blood vessels and the causing vascular headaches. Another cause of this sleep disorder is obesity and being overweight and this can be explained by the fat that builds up around the throat area and ends up being the physical obstruction to breathing therefore causing the breathing breaks and pauses. These are both symptoms and also causes of sleep apnea. The solution to curing sleep apnea can be as easy as losing weight among other options.

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