💊Daily Pill: What is Sleep Apnea
Risks, Symptoms, and Solutions
The Daily Pill is a series of very short daily posts where I share the definition of a medical term I think we should all know. Read it every morning and build up your medical vocabulary.
🧬 Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by repeated interruptions in breathing during sleep. These interruptions, called apneas, can last from a few seconds to minutes and occur multiple times per hour. The most common type, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), happens when the muscles in the throat relax excessively, collapsing and blocking the airway. Central sleep apnea (CSA), in contrast, involves the brain not sending proper signals to the muscles that control breathing. At some point I’ll probably do a full post on this because the 💊 Daily Pill is too short to really cover everything.
🤔Why you need to know:
Because sleep apnea has a significant impact on health. Untreated sleep apnea can lead to a range of serious health problems, including high blood pressure, right heart failure, stroke, diabetes, and daytime fatigue.
Sleep apnea increases the risk of heart failure by 140% and the risk of coronary heart disease by 30%.
Sleep apnea can also contribute to weight gain and difficulty managing weight, as poor sleep affects hormones that regulate hunger and metabolism. Recognizing the symptoms, such as loud snoring, choking or gasping during sleep, and excessive daytime sleepiness, is essential for seeking timely medical intervention. Effective treatment like losing weight can improve sleep quality, overall health, and quality of life.
🧠Trivia:
Did you know that sleep apnea is often associated with a condition called "morning headache"? This happens because the repeated interruptions in breathing can lead to low oxygen levels and increased carbon dioxide levels in the blood, causing headaches upon waking.
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