Sleep Apnea- Sleep Disorder

1195 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: obstructive sleep apnea essays

Overview
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that is very serious and dangerous to the human body. Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder when an individual repeatedly go through a cycle of stopping and starting breaths (Harms, 2013). According to Myers (2011), 1 in 20 of Americans have sleep apnea (p. 92). Another statistic that is interesting is about every night, approximately 50 million Americans suffers with breathing cessations. In addition to that statement, this cycle can continue numerous of times for at least forty seconds or even longer. When the brain suffers from lack of oxygen for at least a minute, the skin and lips and can turn into a bluish color. When the brain senses that there is no oxygen, the sleeper awakes suddenly, and the throat and tongue muscles tighten, which allows oxygen to progress into lungs with cycles of snorting breaths. Oxygen is restored to the blood, which means everything goes back to normal, and the cycle continues repeatedly (Dement & Vaughan, 1999). Sleep apnea is dangerous and needs to be more recognized.
Two Main Types of Sleep Apnea
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
This type of sleep apnea is the most common. Obstructive sleep apnea is the third leading disorder to be identified (Dement & Vaughan, 1991). Obstructive sleep apnea is when the throat muscles temporarily relax, and blocks the throat airway while asleep. When an individual tongue and soft palate relaxes, then the airway is narrowed. This concept can be very dangerous because the individual cannot breathe at moments at a time. The most common sign of this type of sleep apnea is snoring. It is most frequent among middle-aged and older adults. It is also very frequent among obese individuals. Treatments for obstructive sleep apnea is the con...

... middle of paper ...

...e deaths. We as people need to be more educated on different diseases and disorders because if we know more about something, then we can prevent the disorder from happening. Sleep apnea is curable, so there are ways to fix the problem. We need to be more self-actualized enough to know the symptoms, risk factors, different alternatives of treatment and surgeries, and the types of sleep apnea, or even other diseases and disorders. Sleep apnea is becoming more common in Americans, and we as the people need to make a change.

References
Dement, W., & Vaughan, C. (1999). The Promise of Sleep. : Dolacorte Press.
Harms, R. (2013, January 1). Sleep Apnea. . Retrieved , from http://www.mayoclinc.org
Myers, D. (2011). Major Sleep Disorders. Exploring Pyschology. : Kevin Feyen.
Peretz, L. (2003). Restless Nights: Understanding Snoring and Sleep Apnea.: Yadioth Ahoront Books.

Show More
Related

  • The Framingham Heart Case Study

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    Heart disease is one of the most common causes of the mortality and morbidity in most well developed countries. They come in different forms such as stroke and other cardiovascular diseases and it’s the number one cause of death in the state of America. In the year 2011 alone nearly 787,000 people were killed as a result of this epidemic. And this included Hispanic, Africans, whites and Americans. As for the Asian Americans or pacific Islanders, American Indians and the natives of Alaska, the concept to them was a second only to cancer. However, statistics has proved that a person gets heart attack every 34 seconds and in every 60 seconds, someone dies out of it which include other related event. Additionally, majority of the women are the

    Read More

  • Case Study: Case Management Process For Heart Disease

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and the estimated cost of treatment is $32 billion yearly. Approximately 5 million people living in the United States suffer from congestive heart failure (CHF) and half of those diagnosed will die within 5 years. An individual may present to the hospital with weakness, short of breath (SOB), swelling of the extremities, ascites, and breathing difficulties while lying down. The quality and length of life for someone suffering from heart failure can be improved with early diagnosis, medication, physical activity, and diet modification (CDC, 2013).

    Read More

  • Sleep Apnea Pros And Cons Essay

    3193 Words  | 7 Pages

    If you suffer with sleep apnea and are overweight, you are not alone. You’ve probably been told by one or more of your doctors that you’d be healthier if you lost weight. But, have any of them ever told you about a diet for sleep apnea patients, or better yet, about the 6 best diets for sleep apnea? No? Well, I will.

    Read More

  • Sleeping Disorders: The Impact of Stress and Medical Conditions

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sleeping disorders are a very common thing that people face every day. A sleeping disorder is when a person is unable to sleep or unable to stay asleep when they have the chance to do so. There are many things that impact a person through out the day, causing sleeping disorders but the two most common are stress and medical problems. Stress is so common in adults and college students preventing them from being able to fall asleep and getting the right amount of sleep they need each night. Medical problems such as sleep apnea and night terrors also do the same thing and are not curable. This is not good because many people cannot perform a normal day without the right amount of sleep the night before.

    Read More

  • Sleep Apnea: The Psychological Effects

    1679 Words  | 4 Pages

    These factors are relevant to the psychological effects sleep apnea can have on people. Using research available and a discovery of links between psychological effects caused and related to sleep apnea reveal pertinent information helpful to people living with this medical condition. Sleep apnea is defined as brief periods of recurrent cessation of breathing during sleep caused by obstruction of the airway or a disturbance in the brain's respiratory center and is associated especially with excessive daytime sleepiness. Obstructive sleep apnea is defined as sleep apnea caused by recurring interruption of breathing during sleep due to obstruction usually of the upper airway especi...

    Read More

  • Taking a Look at Sleep Apnea

    622 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder where breathing stops several times, and starts again often waking the person with the condition. The person is not usually aware when they wake up; it is only brief but takes away from their sleep cycle which causes them to feel tired during their day. Headaches are common from insufficient of oxygen to the brain, and also a lack of attention span plagues the victim. Snoring is a big part of sleep apnea, and it is one of the most common signs that one might have this condition. While sleeping on their side may help with the snoring it is not cure. Weight loss is also hindered by this condition as the body cannot properly digest while sleep is disrupted, and this only ...

    Read More

  • Sleep Apnea Essay

    1238 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sleep apnea is a very serious disorder because you can easily die from it because you totally stop breathing. The pause in breathing usually last only a few seconds but can happen 30 or more times in an hour. When breathing will resume in usually results in a snore or a choking sound. People with sleep apnea are usually tired more than most throughout the day because when they start to snore or have pauses in their breathing they move out of a deep sleep and into a light sleep. Sleep apnea is very hard for doctors to diagnose because it only happens when you are asleep. The only way to become aware of your sleep apnea is usually by a family member or a spouse who notices you snoring or have pauses when you are asleep. One of the most common types of sleep apnea is called obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is when your airway is blocked during sleep resulting in pauses of breath. This is most common in people who are overweight but doesn 't have to be. If sleep apnea goes untreated the consequences can be very dangerous. It could increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity, and diabetes. The four known ways to cure sleep apnea is lifestyle changes, mouthpieces, breathing devices, and

    Read More

  • Heart Disease in the United States

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both women and men in the United States. It is very important to learn about the heart to prevent heart disease. Many forms of heart disease can be prevented and treat with healthy lifestyle choices. For someone who has heart disease or does not; there is information, facts, symptoms, different types, diagnoses, tests, treatment, care, and living and managing that can be given.

    Read More

  • Sleep Apnea And Insomnia

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which breathing stops and starts repeatedly. Experts have estimated that 18 million Americans are affected by sleep apnea. There are three main types of sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common form that occurs when throat muscles relax. Central sleep apnea occurs when your brain does not send proper signals to the muscles controlling breathing and Complex sleep apnea syndrome, a combination of both obstructive and central sleep. Symptoms of sleep apnea include loud snoring, breathing cessation, abrupt awakenings accompanied by shortness of breath, dry mouth, morning headaches, insomnia, daytime sleepiness,

    Read More

  • The Effects of Alcohol on Sleep

    1441 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vaughan, Christopher and Dement, William C. Promise Of Sleep: Pioneer In Sleep Medicine Explores The Vital Connection Between Health, Happiness, And A Good Night's Sleep. Delacorte; Canada, 1998.

    Read More

  • Sleep Disorder And Insomnia

    643 Words  | 2 Pages

    Almost everyone seem to suffer from not being able to get enough sleep at some time in their life. If you are always tired then that means that you’re not getting enough sleep. As we all know, inadequate sleep which is referred to as insomnia. Insomnia is basically one of the many sleeping disorders that some people may have and is one of the most common sleep disorder. There are many different effects of insomnia which includes some may become less productive, less ambitious, have a poor performance at school, work, or their everyday life tasks. Insomnia is not an illness but it is a symptom which can typically last no more than maybe a few days or it could be long term for some people. Who gets insomnia? According to Bayer (2001) “Approximately 36 out of every 100 Americans have reported experiencing this symptom [insomnia]. However, only 5 out of every 100 Americans consider the problem severe enough to seek medical help” (p. 22).

    Read More

  • Essay On Sleep Apnea

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder which causes frequent pauses in the breathing process during the sleep.

    Read More

  • Sleep Loss: The Importance Of Sleep

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Yoonjung et al. reports that “short sleep duration causes adverse consequences in individuals’ physical and mental health.” Overtime, “Why Is Sleep” states that chronic sleep loss can lead to health complications such as heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke. “Sleep” states that lack of sleep can weaken the body’s immune system. The weakening of the immune system can make the body more prone infections or illness. “Why Is Sleep” agrees that sleep deficiency does make it difficult for the body to fight off infections. One issue of sleep loss that Perfect et al. discusses is sleep-disordered breathing. “SDB is diagnosed when breathing is occluded or nearly occluded in the upper airway for short segments of time during sleep” (Perfect et al.). Not breathing, even for short periods of time, can harm the brain due to lack of oxygen. Physical health can be impacted by short sleep duration by making the body fatigued, says Yoonjung et al. According to Yoonjung et al., shortened sleep duration in individuals could impact the public due to drowsiness in drivers. “Sleep” agrees that sleep loss does make someone fatigued and can also affect one’s driving. “Why Is Sleep” explains that shortened reaction time is dangerous in sleepy drivers. Perfect et al. mentions that less sleep can physically stress the body. If the body is properly rested with

    Read More

  • The Sleep Disorders

    2324 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sleep disorders are an underestimated public health concern considering that fifty to seventy million Americans are affected. Technological advances in the field of sleep have facilitated various theories to explain the need for and the purpose of sleep. Scientist have uncovered many types of sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy. Sleep disorders affect men ,women, children, the elderly, and the obese in different ways. Factors such as the number of children and the effects of menopause have been studied to determine their effects on sleep. Various treatments have been utilized ranging from non-pharmacologic to pharmacologic methods. Scientist have pinpointed areas of the brain that are involved in sleep deprivation and hormones that ultimately affect sleep.

    Read More

  • Sleep Apnea

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sleep Apnea (cessation of air flow at the mouth for greater than 10 seconds) can

    Read More

More about Sleep Apnea- Sleep Disorder

Open Document