Sleep 101: Understanding Sleep Cycle

Nearly everyone is struggling to meet the demands of modern life. For some, cutting back on sleep seems like the only solution. They need to manage a hectic schedule at the expense of sufficient rest and recreation. Having eight hours of sleep really sounds great, but how many people can really afford to spend so much time sleeping? Many adults today spend more time working and only get a few hours of slumber. They tend to forget the importance of sleep.

Sleep has different cycles and stages. Each can restore and refresh your body and mind. Minimal sleep loss may affect your energy, mood, efficiency, and ability to manage stress. If you want to stay healthy, or you want to be in your best form, you shouldn't consider sleep as luxury.

Sleep belongs to physical and physiological needs. People should know more about its importance. It is also advisable to know what people can do to recover from chronic sleep loss and how to get a healthy sleep cycle.

Importance of sleep

Sleep is the state of unconsciousness from which a person is aroused. During this stage, the brain is relatively more responsive to internal stimuli than external ones. Sleep is very important for the normal and healthy functioning of your body.

Everyone knows sleep is important for their health and wellness. Still, many people fail to get enough sleep. According to a National Sleep Foundation (NSF) survey, over 40 million Americans suffer from 70 different sleep disorders, and 60 percent of adults report having sleep troubles a few nights a week and more.

Most people with sleep issues do not really seek medical attention. The report also shows that around 35-40 percent of adults experience daytime sleepiness at least several weeks a month, severe enough to interrupt their daily routines. 20 percent of them report sleeping problems a few days a week or more. The findings also show that 70 percent of children experience one or more sleep disorder a few night or more during a week. These sleep problems are affecting the normal sleep cycle.
Understanding the human sleep cycle

The human body regulates through different processes in the cerebrum. The response depends on how long you've been active, and the changes between daytime and nighttime. At night, the body responds to the loss of daylight. This is because it produces melatonin, a hormone that makes people sleepy. During daytime, sunlight may trigger your brain to reduce production of melatonin. This causes the human body to feel more awake and active.

There are factors affecting the sleep cycle. These include travelling across time zones, working night shifts, irregular sleeping patterns, and rare disorders like the Pickwickian Syndrome.

What is Pickwikian syndrome?

Pickwikian Syndrome or PS is a condition, which occurs mostly to severely overweight people. People who suffer from this syndrome experience breathing difficulty during sleep. This can reduce blood oxygen levels and raise carbon dioxide levels. Signs and symptoms may include obstructive sleep apnea. It is a condition characterized by snoring. This condition may also result to excessive daytime sleepiness.

Georgina Taylor is a fitness instructor knowledgeable on the normal sleep cycle and Pickwickian syndrome.

Original article

Understanding Sleep Apnea

Understanding sleep apnea can help you realize whether or not you have the specific condition. Many people just let the condition go even when they don't know, causing for them to struggle some time in the future when they're not able to fix the problem that fast anymore. Understanding isn't exactly that difficult, and once you know how the problem occurs, you'll know all about the subject helping both yourself and other people.

What Exactly is Sleep Apnea?

Apnea is a sleeping condition that exists mostly in people who normally snore. Snoring is much more normal than most people think, but when snoring gets a little bit worse, it can become apnea. This condition is where a person has to naturally take around 1 or more stops in between their breathing. This happens when the passage airways just aren't opened enough for the breathing to be opened up. The truth is that this condition stops people from naturally breathing, so it can be a really serious problem when it comes down to leaving the condition alone. Most people are actually quite shocked to know that this can actually be deadly.

How is Sleep Apnea Deadly?

It's deadly because whenever you stop breathing, it creates carbon dioxide and even lowers down your oxygen levels. When this happens, it causes for it to create problems in the heart like high blood pressure and even heart failure. This happened many times to a variety of people, and those who weren't able to fix the problem weren't able to get better right away, or most of them did but after plenty of treatments. Most people die in different types of ways regarding problems with this health condition, and what's even more scary is the fact that some people have even died suddenly because of the problem. So, if you want to save yourself from getting extremely hurt, then you really need to cure the problem.

How to Cure Sleep Apnea

The best way to cure apnea is to learn how to cure snoring, as snoring is the main problem. What most people do to stop snoring is to simple sleep on their sides rather than on their backs. This helps open up the passageways more so than if you were to lay down on your back. As a way to cure it naturally, try to maintain a good sleeping schedule and always avoid heavy meals around two hours before bed time.

Apnea is one of the most common problems, but it's also very easy to get rid of them as well. I highly suggest that you try to educate yourself as much as possible to prevent yourself from gaining the problem. Most people have it, but most of them just let it go. Luckily, most of them are able to live through it. However, nobody ever said that you weren't allowed to fix the breathing problem. Try the few techniques above, as they can help you out a lot for getting rid of your sleep apnea. Understanding sleep apnea is great because you know what to do to avoid the problem.

Dalyn Baker, The Newbie Marketer, is a professional product review writer. If you are interested in finding out more information on sleep apnea and http://adultsleepapnea.com/ and receive your free access to my "Learn All about Sleep Disorders Newsletter " today.

Original article

Understanding Sleep Apnea and Its Effects

Sleep apnea refers to a sleeping disorder that is characterized by irregular pauses in breathing. Each breathing pause known as apnea can last from one second to a couple of minutes and it may occur five to thirty times or more times in one hour. Generally, it starts with normal breathing and it grows into loud snorts and sometimes a choking sound. Sleep apnea generally is a chronic condition that interrupts one's sleep. An individual moves out of deep sleep to light sleep when his/her breathing pauses. This causes a poor sleeping pattern to an individual thus making one tired throughout the day. In fact, doctors have termed it as one of the leading causes of too much daytime sleepiness.

Sleep apnea mostly goes undiagnosed since a doctor often does not detect this condition during routine check ups. Many individuals who have this condition do not realize that they have this sleeping disorder since it occurs only when they are asleep. In most instances, it is family members or a bed partner who notices the signs of this condition. It is important to note that loud snoring can be a symptom of this condition. Though sleep apnea is a treatable disorder, if it goes untreated, it can have dangerous and detrimental health effects. Thus it is important to seek doctors' advice if you suspect that you or your loved ones have this sleeping disorder. Some of health problem caused by untreated sleep apnea in a long run include high blood pressure, diabetes, weight gain, stroke and heart disease. You will be able to manage its symptoms with proper treatment of this disorder thus getting back your sleeping patterns on the right track.

However, you should adequately update yourself with the warning signs of sleep apnea so that you will be able to distinguish between normal and abnormal snoring, the treatment options available to you and what you can do in order to help yourself. There are many signs and symptoms that can help in identifying whether one has sleep apnea or not. These signs and symptoms include Chronic and loud snoring throughout the night, gasping when one is a sleep, prolonged breathing pauses and excessive daytime sleepiness regardless of the time you have spent in your bed. In addition, sleep apnea is manifested by morning headaches, restless sleeping patterns, insomnia, waking up with a sore throat, dry mouth, depression, difficulty in concentration and waking up during the night feeling out of breath. There are three types that affect people across the world. They include central, obstructive, and mixed sleep apnea.

Central sleep apnea:
This is a rare type which involves the central nervous system instead of an airway obstruction. This disorder occurs when the brain fails to send the necessary signals to the muscles in order for them to take a breath, thus there is no muscular effort in controlling the breathing process.

Obstructive sleep apnea:
This is the most common type of sleeping disorder that affects many people across the globe. This disorder occurs when the soft tissues in the back of throat relax when one is asleep, thus causing a blockage in the airway. This means one is unable to get enough fresh air through the mouth and nose into the lungs. When this occurs, the oxygen levels in one's blood drops significantly thus causing suffocation effects. Normal breathing resumes only after a snort. Mixed sleep apnea is caused by the presence of both central and obstructive sleep apnea.

About the Author:
Finding the best Dentist to take care of you, especially those near to you is easier online.
Click here for Sleep apnea.

Original article

Oxygen Is Important: Understanding Sleep Apnea Machines

Since our birth, there is usually someone around concerned about our breathing. Parents worry their newborn(s) will stop breathing and set up all sorts of safety monitoring. Every now and then a newborn will stop breathing for a few seconds. Then take a deep breath to the frantic joy and sweet relief of the nearby parent. Delayed or irregular breathing as a newborn is general but if it continues into later life, it can become a complicated medical nightmare.

Sleep apnea is the name for the condition when a person stops breathing while sleeping. It is more common in adults than children and small babies but the presentation is the same, interruption of a normal breathing pattern. Delayed breathing, long pauses and skipping breaths before starting to breathe again will cause medical problems.

The most common reason for this condition is when the body relaxes during sleep, the flesh around the neck and mouth collapse down cutting off oxygen to the lungs. The body chokes itself. If this happens five or more times in one hour, the medical diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is given.

One simple solution for sleep apnea is to create an environment where the neck's tissue does not cut off airflow. Lifestyles changes, oral mouthpieces and surgical correction to the inner throats structure will help a person troubled by apnea. The most common treatment is to use a sleep apnea machine at night.

A sleep apnea machine is known as a CPAP or "Continuous Positive Airway Pressure" machine. CPAP machines provide a constant flow of air opening your airway while asleep.

CPAP therapy is very effective for treating this nighttime breathing disorder. A doctor ordered sleep study would determine how much air pressure is needed. Then you are fitted with a mask that connects to the machine.

Basic apnea machines are small enough to fit on a bedside nightstand or table. It is important to keep the machine on a flat surface. Never on the bedroom floor. CPAP machines push surrounding air into a small hose connected to a mask that covers your nose and mouth or just your nose. It is important that the air around your breathing machine is pollutant-free.

In the beginning, this treatment can be difficult for some people to tolerate. Wearing a CPAP mask connected to a breathing machine is not a normal sleeping arrangement. If you are able to tolerate it, you will get a good night's sleep. For some, a good night's sleep is worth any early discomfort.

If you show any signs and symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea such as

snoringgasping for breath while asleepfatigued all day, every day

a sleep apnea machine and mask may help you breathe right during the night.

You should talk with a doctor if you have any questions or concerns. Your doctor can guide you to information about using the machine and obtaining sleep apnea machine supplies.

If you are interested in learning more about sleep apnea machines check out SleepApneaCPAP.info today.

Original article