If quite often, despite a prolonged sleep, you feel absent-minded and tired in the mornings, then perhaps you need to contact a specialist. In this way, regular respiratory arrests occur during sleep, which doctors call “apnea syndrome”. This disease is often detected in those who snore. Usually such people have excessive body weight, a short and thick neck. Apnea is more often observed in representatives of the male half of humanity. The likelihood of an ailment increases over the years. Smokers and hypertensive patients are also at risk. The process of the development of the disease depends on the anatomical features of the larynx, pharynx and nose. In the case when the respiratory tract is narrowed (regardless of the cause), the likelihood that respiratory arrest occurs in a dream increases.
Apnea: Symptoms
Symptoms of the disease can be noticed first of all by close people who are awake. With genuine anxiety, one can observe how snoring suddenly stops during apnea and breathing stops. Then the sleeping patient snores quite loudly and begins to breathe again. At the same time, he often tosses and turns, moves his legs or arms. In one night, up to 400 such respiratory arrests can occur, the total time of which is 3-4 hours.
What happens when you hold your breath?
Apnea is a disease in which respiratory arrest most often occurs due to mechanical blockage of the process of oxygen production by the body. This variant of the disease is called obstructive. In this case, the walls of the respiratory tract for some reason completely collapse and block the air access to the lungs. Then a protective reaction of the body manifests itself in the form of an imbalance in it between carbon dioxide and oxygen. This becomes an incentive for the center of respiration, and breathing occurs again. At the same time, an alarming signal enters the brain, and a person wakes up for an instant. This process is repeated again repeatedly, of course, sleep is disturbed, as a result of which there is an increase in blood pressure, a broken condition and the risk of an accident. Apnea is a disease that can result in a heart attack or stroke.
Methods of dealing with the disease
Adhering to some rules, you can independently overcome the disease:
- Sleep exclusively on its side. With the body position on the back, the tongue sinks, violating breathing.
- Ensuring an elevated position of the head. When it is thrown back, the process of supplying the body with oxygen stops.
- Refusal from all kinds of sleeping pills and sedatives, which reduce muscle tone, which helps to relax the muscles of the pharynx.
- Ensuring a free respiratory process through the nose (its difficulty enhances snoring and causes respiratory arrest).
- Use of oral contraceptive devices for snoring. Apnea is a disease in which they often act effectively, but, of course, are not a complete solution to the problem. The use of devices is recommended for mild snoring.
Rejection of bad habits
Apnea is an ailment whose development is possible due to smoking, drinking alcohol and weight gain. Therefore, you should abandon bad habits and overeating, which provoke respiratory arrest. Otherwise, the result may be disastrous.