Is Snoring Harmful to Your Health? - Bethwood, CT Patch

Sleep apnea is a common and serious health disorder that occurs when a person's breathing is interrupted during sleep. Sound like someone you know, or sound like something someone?has said to you?

To bring attention to sleep apnea and other sleep disorders, and to understand ways to treat them, Griffin Hospital will host ?Get a Better Night?s Sleep,? a talk by Dr. K. Marya Chaisson, director of Griffin Hospital?s Sleep Wellness Center, on Tuesday, April 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the hospital?s Meditation and Learning Center, 130 Division Street, in Derby. Register online or by calling 203.732.1511.

With sleep apnea, pauses in breathing or shallow breaths during sleep can last from a few seconds to minutes and can happen 30 times or more in an hour. Because this disrupts sleep, it can make a person feel tired during the day. However, that?s not the biggest issue. Recent research shows that sleep apnea can lead to many serious health issues including: High blood pressure, stroke, heart failure, irregular heartbeats, heart attacks, diabetes, depression, worsening of ADHD and learning disabilities in children.

Difficult to Diagnose

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep problems. Despite these numbers, sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed because physicians usually can't detect the condition during routine office visits and there are no blood tests to diagnose the condition. Because it only occurs during sleep, most individuals who have sleep apnea don't even know they have it. Usually, a family member or partner is the first to notice signs of sleep apnea.

There are two types of sleep apnea: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea.

OSA is the more common of the two forms of apnea. It is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses during sleep. For central sleep apnea, the airway is not blocked, but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe due to instability in the respiratory control center.

What to Watch For

Loud and ongoing snoring is one of the most common signs of obstructive sleep apnea. Pauses may occur in the snoring, sometimes followed by choking or gasping. However, not everyone who snores has sleep apnea.

Another common sign of sleep apnea is fighting sleepiness during the day. People with sleep apnea commonly find themselves rapidly falling asleep during the quiet moments of the day when they are not active.

Others signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include:

• Morning headaches
• Memory or learning problems and not being able to concentrate
• Feeling irritable, depressed, or having mood swings or personality changes
• Waking up frequently to urinate
• Dry mouth or sore throat when you wake up

In children, sleep apnea can cause hyperactivity, poor performance in school and angry or hostile behavior. Also, children with sleep apnea may breathe through their mouths instead of their noses during the day.

Who?s at Risk?

Sleep apnea can affect anyone at any age, but common risk factors include:

• Being male
• Being overweight
• Being over age 40
• Having a large neck size (17 inches or greater in men and 16 inches or greater in women)
• Having large tonsils, a large tongue, or a small jaw bone
• Having a family history of sleep apnea, Gastroesophageal reflux, or GERD
• Nasal obstruction due to a deviated septum, allergies, or sinus problems

Learn more about snoring, sleep disorders and sleep apnea at ?Get a Better Nights Sleep? on April 16. To register or for more information, call 203.732.1511 or click here. You can find out about upcoming Tuesday Talks and events at Griffin Hospital at griffinhealth.org/ProgramsEvents.

About Tuesday Talks

?Get a Better Night?s Sleep? is part of Griffin Hospital's Healthy U ?Tuesday Talks,? a series of free wellness talks featuring Griffin Hospital medical experts and community partners providing trusted health information and answers to questions on a wide range of topics.

Source: http://bethwood.patch.com/blog_posts/is-snoring-harmful-to-your-health

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