Sleep 8 Hours But Feel Tired?
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Are you plagued by tiredness? Do others say you snore? Are you at least slightly overweight? If so, you could have sleep apnea.
If all these are true, don’t wait! Sleep apnea could be shortening your life. Have your doctor prescribe a sleep study to find out whether you have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition where you are holding your breath and then gasping for air man times a night. Here’s one reason why you shouldn’t wait: it will shorten your life. You are at increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and other cardiovascular disease including aneurism. Here’s the other reason why you shouldn’t wait: there’s treatment.
In sleep apnea, the airway collapses during an intake breath. Fatty tissue lining the airway causes the airway to lose elasticity. At least a bit of excess weight is therefore generally necessary for sleep apnea to occur. Sufferers generally also snore.
After the airway closes, the oxygen level in the blood drops. Blood pressure shoots up. The sleeper struggles to breathe and begins to wake up. Returning to consciousness, the sleeper opens the airway, and the breath is completed. The sleeper falls back to sleep. The cycle begins again, perhaps many times per minute. Breath cessation for 10 seconds will bring you a diagnosis of sleep apnea.
The spiking blood pressure is what wears out the cardiovascular system. The semi-conscious effort is what deprives you of sleep.
Oddly enough, you may not even be aware that you hold your breath while sleeping. Only the telltale tiredness will tip you off that you are in fact sleep-deprived.
The sudden rise in blood pressure many times a night is what can kill you, by leading to heart disease or stroke.
What to do?
Effective treatment comes through a system that supplies mild air pressure to your nose and mouth as you sleep. This continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) system consists of a fan inside a box, a hose, and a mask. The fan pressurizes the air, delivered through the hose and mask to the nose and mouth. The pressurized air keeps your airway open as you breathe in, and isn’t enough to prevent you from exhaling.
One downside is that the mask can be uncomfortable. But a variety of suppliers offer options now, one of which will probably fit your face.
A further drawback is the fact that you always have to wear the CPAP, even when camping or traveling.
Is the fan noise a problem? Users say no; the white noise can actually help them fall asleep.
So, do a quick risk analysis. Is the risk of early death worth the inconvenience of wearing a mask and finding an electric outlet whenever you fall asleep?
