Tempur-Pedic mattresses, vitamin supplements, miracle energy pills, white noise machines, Ambien or Sonata. So many promise a better nights sleep to thousands wandering through life exhausted and in desperate need of a "good nights sleep". The good nights sleep they never seem to get. Some times doctors tell them they have something like Chronic Fatigue syndrome or Fibromyalgia, or they need more exercise. They suffer from high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, muscle cramps, irritability and life just gets harder and harder.
So many of these people suffer from a under-diagnosed problem- Sleep Disorders.
How do I know? I have sleep apnea.
Over a year ago I was one of the thousand. I was always tired, I napped every day. Sometimes twice a day. Even after 8 hours of sleep I could hardly drag my ass out of the bed, and if I stay in it I would fall right back to sleep. The slightest irritant would make me mad, constant headaches in the morning, waking 5 time a night because my mouth was dry. Finally, I saw an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, he recognized my symptoms and sent me in for a sleep study. I was diagnosed immediately with Apnea and Hypopnea.
Apnea is the condition where your breathing is interrupted by a lack of signal from the brain or an obstruction in the mouth or throat. (Soft palate or tongue) You snore, stop breathing, snort or gasp, wake slightly and start snoring again. This pattern of waking causes you to drop out of deep sleep and so you never get rested.
Hypopnea is shallow breathing in which the air flow in and out of the airway is less than half of normal. You CO2 levels rise in the brain and you wake with headaches and other mental problems.
There are more than just two types of sleep disorders, and they can lead to death. If you experience some (or all) of the aforementioned symptoms take this sleep test and talk to you doctor.
I have been using a CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) machine for my apnea. I feel better than I have in years, I find 7 and a half hours of sleep fine. I seldom take a nap anymore. My blood pressure is much better, and I am happier. There is a link to a site with more information here.
Again, take the test if your sleep partner says you snore or gasp in your sleep or your tired for no good reason. Talk to your doctor.
My mom has that, but refuses to wear the mask to sleep. As a result, she sleeps off and on all the time, spending most of her time in bed. I'm glad you're wearing yours, sounds like it's worked wonders. I'm told by my daughter that I snore so loud the walls rattle, but I think she exaggerates lol.
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