Snoring, Sleep Apnea, and Weight Gain
Do you always feel sleepy even when you get extra sleep? Do you drift off to sleep if you sit still for more than a few minutes during the day? Does your partner complain that you wake him/her by snoring? If you can answer, "yes" to one or more of these questions, there is a good chance you have a condition known as sleep apnea.
There are 3 types of sleep apnea: obstructive, central, and mixed. Obstructive apnea is the most common form and is often linked to obesity. Obstructive apnea is so named because the airway literally becomes blocked or obstructed during sleep.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is an increasingly common disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. The term apnea comes from a Greek word meaning "without breath." Apnea is clinically defined as a cessation of breathing that lasts at least ten seconds. As your oxygen level falls, your brain rouses you in order to restart your breathing. Consequently, even though you may not remember awakening, you do not get a sound refreshing night of sleep. Experts describe the sleeping pattern of apnea patient's as fragmented. Many sufferers say that describes how they feel during the day.
Lack of restful sleep alters the levels of stress, hunger, and appetite hormones the human body produces. These hormonal changes cause sleep-deprived people to graze on sweet and starchy foods throughout the day in an attempt to boost their energy level. Not surprisingly this type of eating pattern often causes weight gain, which in turn worsens the sleep apnea.
The most common symptoms of sleep apnea are loud snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness, falling asleep easily, and sometimes at inappropriate times.
Who is At Risk?
Although the typical sleep apnea patent is, overweight, male, and over age forty, sleep apnea affects both males and females of all ages and is being seen in a more varied population as the obesity epidemic increases. In an obese individual excess fat deposited in the tissues surrounding the neck obstructs the airway during sleep.
More than twelve million Americans are known to suffer from sleep apnea, but the actual number of effected individuals is believed to be much higher. Experts estimate that at least ten million additional Americans are living with undiagnosed sleep apnea.
Life -threatening Side Effects
Left untreated, sleep apnea can pose life-threatening consequences, including high blood pressure and other cardiovascular complications. It is also associated with memory problems, weight gain, impotency, headaches, reduced job performance and increased risk of auto accidents.
Treatment
The American Sleep Apnea Association reports about half of the overweight people with obstructive sleep apnea show improvement after losing as little as 10% of their body weight. Because weight loss will take time and sleep apnea can be life threatening, your doctor will probably prescribe other treatment while you reduce your weight.
The most effective immediate treatment for sleep apnea is CPAP (pronounced C-PAP). It stands for Continuous Positive Air Pressure. CPAP is delivered from a machine through a mask worn by the patient while sleeping. The drawbacks of sleeping attached to a machine every night motivate many people with sleep apnea to lose weight.
About half the people with sleep apnea show improvement after losing just 10% of their body weight.
Your sleep specialist or primary care physician may refer you to a medical weight management clinic so that you receive the best possible supervision and behavior change training while losing weight.
