Sleep apnea can be a trigger for many ailments such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and other illnesses. It can also have an adverse effect on your cholesterol.
First of all there are 2 types of cholesterol, the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ cholesterol. It used to be that you would be given just one number to tell where your cholesterol level was. Not now, you also have to take in consideration that some cholesterol is good.
LDL is the bad cholesterol. It clogs up the arteries with plague which could eventually lead to complete blockage which could kill you.
HDL is the good cholesterol. It helps send cholesterol and fats back to the liver for recycling.
Sleep apnea can reduce the level of good cholesterol. Apnea affects the lipid metabolism which has a direct effect on the good and bad cholesterol, according to a German study done in 2006. In the same study it was found that the cpap helped raise the HDL cholesterol.
Of course being tired all the time can lead to poor eating habits. I know that I gravitate toward foods that have a lot of sugar in them, I imagine because it gives me a temporary pickup that I need to get through the day. I am also sure that if I exercised more than I would probably have better eating habits but as tired as I am during the day it is hard to get motivated to exercise.
Once again there is another reason to find relief from your sleep apnea.
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Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Sleep apnea and positional therapy
I read something interesting on one of the forums the other day. Someone wrote about how much better they slept when sleeping in a recliner. It seems that there may be some connection between sleep apnea and positional therapy.
Positional sleep apnea can sometimes be cured by sleeping on your side. If you find that it relieves your apnea then you probably didn’t have that severe a case of OSA. Another possible consideration for positional sleep apnea is having a foam pillow made specifically for sleep apnea patients. Once again I don’t know how effective that would be with severe sleep apnea.
It seems when you are sleeping in a recliner you are bend forward from your waist up which supposedly helps keep the airway open. I might give it a try but sleeping in a recliner all night doesn’t sound appealing.
As I have written before I used to sleep on my stomach until a back injury forced me to sleep on my back. I don’t think that was the only reason that I started to have sleep apnea problems. I also gained weight at the time. Another reason is the shape of my face and the size of my tongue which is very thick. But the way that I position my self in bed, pillows prop my head up (mostly because of acid reflux) doesn’t seem to be a particularly good way to sleep if you have sleep apnea. But unfortunately if I didn’t sleep that way the acid reflux would be gagging me every night.
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Positional sleep apnea can sometimes be cured by sleeping on your side. If you find that it relieves your apnea then you probably didn’t have that severe a case of OSA. Another possible consideration for positional sleep apnea is having a foam pillow made specifically for sleep apnea patients. Once again I don’t know how effective that would be with severe sleep apnea.
It seems when you are sleeping in a recliner you are bend forward from your waist up which supposedly helps keep the airway open. I might give it a try but sleeping in a recliner all night doesn’t sound appealing.
As I have written before I used to sleep on my stomach until a back injury forced me to sleep on my back. I don’t think that was the only reason that I started to have sleep apnea problems. I also gained weight at the time. Another reason is the shape of my face and the size of my tongue which is very thick. But the way that I position my self in bed, pillows prop my head up (mostly because of acid reflux) doesn’t seem to be a particularly good way to sleep if you have sleep apnea. But unfortunately if I didn’t sleep that way the acid reflux would be gagging me every night.
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Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Will you ever recover your rest from sleep apnea?
As the years go by and you struggle with your rest because of the sleep apnea, you have to wonder if you will ever recover the sleep that you lost. I know I do.
On a past post I have written about sleep debt and how your body’s loss of sleep builds up over the years. You have to wonder if that debt can ever really be paid off, especially if you are getting older. I’m 51 and it is something that I consider. I know of all the terrible things that sleep apnea; can do to your body like heart disease, high blood pressure, addiction and other health issues.
The question is can you catch up on the sleep that you have been losing?
Usually when sleep debt is mentioned it is referred to someone not sleeping very well for a few days or weeks. When compared to the loss of someone who has sleep apnea the number of sleeping hours lost isn’t that great. If you have cut back on sleep for a week, a few good nights sleep can usually get you back on track.
Of course if you have sleep apnea and the amount of sleep that you have lost amounts to many months even years how in the world would you ever make that up? I know that people who have successfully used the cpap masks feel a lot better than they did and I suppose some people have found relief with surgery. But is the amount of sleep that they are getting now ever going to eliminate the years of sleep apnea?
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On a past post I have written about sleep debt and how your body’s loss of sleep builds up over the years. You have to wonder if that debt can ever really be paid off, especially if you are getting older. I’m 51 and it is something that I consider. I know of all the terrible things that sleep apnea; can do to your body like heart disease, high blood pressure, addiction and other health issues.
The question is can you catch up on the sleep that you have been losing?
Usually when sleep debt is mentioned it is referred to someone not sleeping very well for a few days or weeks. When compared to the loss of someone who has sleep apnea the number of sleeping hours lost isn’t that great. If you have cut back on sleep for a week, a few good nights sleep can usually get you back on track.
Of course if you have sleep apnea and the amount of sleep that you have lost amounts to many months even years how in the world would you ever make that up? I know that people who have successfully used the cpap masks feel a lot better than they did and I suppose some people have found relief with surgery. But is the amount of sleep that they are getting now ever going to eliminate the years of sleep apnea?
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Sunday, November 1, 2009
Odd sleeping patterns and sleep apnea
My mother is 86 years old and she always talks about how little sleep she has to have. She can go to bed late and wake up early every day. I tell her that I also go to bed late and wake up constantly all night because of the sleep apnea.
Another strange thing about my mother’s sleeping habits is to this day she still doesn’t take naps in the afternoon. No matter how tired she is, she just can’t seem to lie down and rest. Even though she is overweight she doesn’t have sleep apnea or any other sleep disorder that I know of. As a matter of fact she never complains of not having enough rest which is strange considering how little sleep she gets. I can understand her getting up early because she grew up on a farm and folks on farms get up very early. But they also go to bed early.
I didn’t grow up on a farm but I always got up early growing up. Even though I didn’t have sleep apnea as a kid it seems like I was always tired and a good night’s sleep was hard for me to get. If I went to bed too early, I wouldn’t fall asleep and if I went too late I would be dead tired in the morning. So sleep has always been a problem for me.
As far as naps go for me, I could take a nap almost anytime. In fact, the sleep that I get from a nap seems to be some of the best rest that I get, which is strange considering that I still have sleep apnea when I take a nap.
I really have to wonder some times if I got my sleep apnea under control would I be able to get enough rest that I need or are there other sleep disorders that are being hidden by my sleep apnea.
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Another strange thing about my mother’s sleeping habits is to this day she still doesn’t take naps in the afternoon. No matter how tired she is, she just can’t seem to lie down and rest. Even though she is overweight she doesn’t have sleep apnea or any other sleep disorder that I know of. As a matter of fact she never complains of not having enough rest which is strange considering how little sleep she gets. I can understand her getting up early because she grew up on a farm and folks on farms get up very early. But they also go to bed early.
I didn’t grow up on a farm but I always got up early growing up. Even though I didn’t have sleep apnea as a kid it seems like I was always tired and a good night’s sleep was hard for me to get. If I went to bed too early, I wouldn’t fall asleep and if I went too late I would be dead tired in the morning. So sleep has always been a problem for me.
As far as naps go for me, I could take a nap almost anytime. In fact, the sleep that I get from a nap seems to be some of the best rest that I get, which is strange considering that I still have sleep apnea when I take a nap.
I really have to wonder some times if I got my sleep apnea under control would I be able to get enough rest that I need or are there other sleep disorders that are being hidden by my sleep apnea.
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sleep apnea pillow
If you are like me you have tried many things to help with your sleep apnea. Throat exercises, losing weight, cpap masks are among the few things that I have tried, although I haven’t tried to play the didgeridoo (maybe some day). I am now wondering if my sleep apnea would be better if I changed pillows.
Like most people who have sleep apnea and acid reflux I sleep with 2, sometimes 3 pillows stacked behind my head. That seems to help the acid reflux more than the sleep apnea because with my head pushed forward my throat becomes even more blocked. If I don’t have the pillows my head leans back and my throat does seem more open but the acid reflux would really be worse.
Years ago I slept on my stomach, it was bad on my back but I got a lot more rest. Unfortunately my back problems put an end to that. And I have also tried sleeping my side but with Meniere’s disease that sometimes throw off my balance.
I am thinking about changing pillows. Does anyone have any suggestions on a particular type of pillow that might ease the sleep apnea a little bit? Let me know.
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Like most people who have sleep apnea and acid reflux I sleep with 2, sometimes 3 pillows stacked behind my head. That seems to help the acid reflux more than the sleep apnea because with my head pushed forward my throat becomes even more blocked. If I don’t have the pillows my head leans back and my throat does seem more open but the acid reflux would really be worse.
Years ago I slept on my stomach, it was bad on my back but I got a lot more rest. Unfortunately my back problems put an end to that. And I have also tried sleeping my side but with Meniere’s disease that sometimes throw off my balance.
I am thinking about changing pillows. Does anyone have any suggestions on a particular type of pillow that might ease the sleep apnea a little bit? Let me know.
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Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sleep Apnea and Dreams
I have read that you dream during the REM stage of sleep. I have also read that sleep apnea patients don’t reach that stage of sleep. But sleep apnea patients still dream.
REM (rapid eye movement) is a stage of sleep that occurs 4 or 5 times a night. Usually it takes up about 20 per cent of your sleeping time. The brain is very active during REM and the body has a type of paralysis that it goes into. There is also a sleep disorder called sleep paralysis. REM is also the time of the most vivid and memorable dreams that you will have.
But I dream all the time and I remember the dreams? As a matter of fact my dreams go on for what seems like a long period of time. I have had the sleep studies and there is no doubt that I have sleep apnea but it seems strange that my dreams are so vivid. The only thing that I can think of is that I wake up (caused by apnea) then I fall asleep quickly and resume the dream.
Another reason that I don’t think that I reach REM is the paralysis that occurs. I know that on one certain occasion I had a vivid dream where I swung my arm over my body and hit the wall next to the bed. My hand was bruised for quite a while after that.
So if you have sleep apnea I would like if you remember your dreams the next morning or is everything just a blur.
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REM (rapid eye movement) is a stage of sleep that occurs 4 or 5 times a night. Usually it takes up about 20 per cent of your sleeping time. The brain is very active during REM and the body has a type of paralysis that it goes into. There is also a sleep disorder called sleep paralysis. REM is also the time of the most vivid and memorable dreams that you will have.
But I dream all the time and I remember the dreams? As a matter of fact my dreams go on for what seems like a long period of time. I have had the sleep studies and there is no doubt that I have sleep apnea but it seems strange that my dreams are so vivid. The only thing that I can think of is that I wake up (caused by apnea) then I fall asleep quickly and resume the dream.
Another reason that I don’t think that I reach REM is the paralysis that occurs. I know that on one certain occasion I had a vivid dream where I swung my arm over my body and hit the wall next to the bed. My hand was bruised for quite a while after that.
So if you have sleep apnea I would like if you remember your dreams the next morning or is everything just a blur.
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Thursday, October 22, 2009
What was your first sign of sleep apnea?
There had to be a point where you knew something was wrong. You were tired in the morning, even on the mornings where you could sleep in you were still tired. Or maybe your short term memory wasn’t as good as it used to be. You never felt rested but you just couldn’t figure what the problem was. What was your first sign of sleep apnea?
Although blockage of the airway is the common thread among sleep apnea patients, how you first become diagnosed varies greatly. It used to be before sleep apnea became known that people with OSA just lived with it or tried things like sleeping pills (which make matters worse). But today sleep apnea is widely known there shouldn’t be any problem being diagnosed.
Unfortunately there are still many people out there that don’t know that they have sleep apnea. They may think that they just have insomnia or some other problem, dismissing the idea that they could have sleep apnea. I could be that they are leery about sleep apnea because of the horror stories about the sleep study or the cpap masks or even the surgeries that don’t always work.
My story is similar to many folks, I had someone tell me my snoring was terrible and it sounded like I was gasping for air. As I written in many posts I have been to many sleep studies and have tried the cpap mask a few times. And I am going to give it another try, (soon I hope!)
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Although blockage of the airway is the common thread among sleep apnea patients, how you first become diagnosed varies greatly. It used to be before sleep apnea became known that people with OSA just lived with it or tried things like sleeping pills (which make matters worse). But today sleep apnea is widely known there shouldn’t be any problem being diagnosed.
Unfortunately there are still many people out there that don’t know that they have sleep apnea. They may think that they just have insomnia or some other problem, dismissing the idea that they could have sleep apnea. I could be that they are leery about sleep apnea because of the horror stories about the sleep study or the cpap masks or even the surgeries that don’t always work.
My story is similar to many folks, I had someone tell me my snoring was terrible and it sounded like I was gasping for air. As I written in many posts I have been to many sleep studies and have tried the cpap mask a few times. And I am going to give it another try, (soon I hope!)
Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed
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