Top 5 Common Sleep Apnea Struggles and How You Can Fix Them

Sleep Apnea can be extremely hard to live with and cause a number of complications not only to yourself, but the people around you as well. Here is our top 5 list for the biggest struggles relating to sleep apnea. 

5. Memory Issues

 Sleep and memory actually have a lot of connection with each other. Depending on your age, your body needs a certain amount of quality sleep. keyword here is quality! With Sleep Apnea, your body never receives the type of sleep it needs to achieve that level of quality sleep. For example, the average adult needs 7-9 hours of quality sleep to function normally. Someone with severe sleep apnea could "sleep" for 12 and still not get the quality sleep they need. This is an even more dangerous symptom when you consider someone driving or operating heavy machinery on what is essentially, no sleep. 

As many studies have proven, lack of sleep will result in all sorts of cognition issues, including problems with memory. Some studies even point to a decrease in memory and learning abilities as much as 40%. So next time you or someone you know is visibly having trouble with memory, try and remember that its a possible symptom of Sleep Apnea.

4. Dry/Sore Throat

Constantly chocking and gasping for air many times throughout the night will surely cause some irritation in the throat. This can vary in severity depending on how severe the sleep apnea is and whether or not you have nasal obstruction. When the mouth is the only source of air, apneas, choking and gasping become more common, resulting in a more severe reaction when you wake up. These throat pains can last a few hours or all day and can be a massive distraction from important events in your life.

Often times, dry throat or pain will be misdiagnosed or looked past, which is part of the reason why many patients with sleep apnea get misdiagnosed or go totally undiagnosed. It is important to try and match a sore/dry throat to other possible symptoms you are feeling to optimize the accuracy of your diagnosis. 

3. Loud Snoring

This not only includes snoring, but the choking and gasping mentioned earlier. Causing a dry/sore throat isn't the only issue that comes from these loud occurrences. If you sleep with a partner, roommate or sibling in the room, these loud sounds at bedtime can easily cause sleeping issues for the people around you as well. Hearing you gasping and choking while you sleep can also cause severe stress for your partner and can even result in insomnia for both you and your partner. There are some nasal and oral appliances that prevent you from snoring but these often times will not effect Sleep Apnea in any way. 

2. Insomnia

Insomnia is defined as the persistent issue falling sleep, resulting in daytime drowsiness. Insomnia can occur through poor sleeping habits (lots of phone or TV before bed), anxiety, illness, lack of exercise or possibly some medications. The connection between Sleep Apnea and Insomnia is typically anxiety related. Many people struggling with Sleep Apnea become anxious before bed as the think about how their sleep is going to go, how they will feel in the morning, and how it will effect their partner, resulting in Insomnia. 

This is a common and very dangerous symptom as it is just another method of losing sleep. With Insomnia combined with Sleep Apnea, all of the symptoms mentioned prior and other symptoms related to sleep loss are amplified. This will heighten the chance of any risk for permanent damage to the body.

1. Increased Risks

High blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, abnormal heartbeat, diabetes. These are only some of the risks that are heightened with Sleep Apnea. This not only effects yourself but your entire family as they worry about your well being. Your body naturally regulates itself while you sleep by dropping blood pressure, regulating insulin, lowering/raising heart rate, etc. When you lack so much sleep or constantly interrupting the sleep cycle, this messes up the body's natural process and results in increased risks. 

This is easily the biggest worry people with Sleep Apnea have. With no treatment and many years of Sleep Apnea, the chances of you having severe complications become more and more likely. This is why it is important to catch and treat Sleep Apnea as early as possible so it can be properly treated and negate the extra risks. 

How Can I Fix It?

There are multiple ways to treat Sleep Apnea. Some include oral appliances, nerve stimulation implants, weight loss plans and surgery. That being said, just about every doctor will agree that the #1 best treatment in nearly all cases are CPAP/BiPAP machines. These machines are designed to keep your airways open by blowing air through the nose, mouth or both. Modern CPAP/BiPAP machines are designed to be quite, comfortable and super easy to use, making them a much more ideal choice than other, more invasive measures. 

At MyMedicalOutlet, we have a large selection of top of the line CPAP machines from well known, reputable brands such as Phillips Respironics and ResMed. We also have plenty of comfort add-on options, sanitizing supplies and all the replacement parts you'll ever need, ensuring a seamless, "one stop shop" experience.

If you have any questions about our machines/products, or simply would like some help choosing the right machine for your needs, don't hesitate to contact us at mymedicaloutlet@gmail.com