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What Is Sleep Apnea?

What Is Sleep Apnea? | Symptoms and Causes

Sleep Apnea Testing & Therapy
Some people dream of a
good night’s sleep
Maybe you binge-watched too much Netflix. Or, the neighbor’s dog started barking at 4:00am. Perhaps you couldn’t stop thinking about work. We’ve all been there. We know what the effects of a poor night’s sleep feel like. Fortunately, for most of us, a bad night’s sleep is usually followed by a deep, restful, sweet dreams kind of slumber. But what if it wasn’t? What if every night’s sleep was a bad night’s sleep? And what if it wasn’t just bad, but dangerous? This is what life is like for people suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).
Contrary to what many people think
OSA is not a minor nuisance

Contrary to what many people think, OSA is not a minor nuisance. It doesn’t just mean you’re a loud snorer. In fact, not everyone who snores has sleep apnea. OSA is a life-damaging and, in some cases, life-shortening condition. According to MedLine Plus, a person with OSA can stop breathing 30 times or more – per hour – every night. And, as any doctor will tell you, when you stop breathing, regardless of the duration, it’s cause for concern.

While it’s hard to overlook the potential physical risks associated with OSA, what many people don’t think about is how it poses a risk to your quality of life.

Imagine waking up every morning having to fight to stay awake at work. Being too tired to go grocery shopping, or even walk the dog. The number of car accidents caused by drivers suffering from sleep apnea are – to put it mildly – eye opening.

Sleep apnea doesn’t just rob you of sleep. In many ways, it robs you of your life.

And, it’s a very common concern:
About 25 million Americans suffer from varying degrees of OSA
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OSA can affect men and women of all ages, races, and lifestyles

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1 in 4 middle-aged men has OSA

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80% of people with moderate and severe OSA go undiagnosed

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What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type of sleep apnea. OSA happens when the muscles of the throat intermittently relax during sleep. These relaxed muscles allow the inner structures of the throat – the soft palate, uvula, tonsils, and tongue – to fall into the throat cavity, blocking the airway during sleep. OSA causes sufferers to gasp for air and awaken several times throughout the night.

While it’s hard to overlook the potential physical risks associated with OSA, what many people don’t think about is how it poses a risk to your quality of life.

Imagine waking up every morning having to fight to stay awake at work. Being too tired to go grocery shopping, or even walk the dog. The number of car accidents caused by drivers suffering from sleep apnea are – to put it mildly – eye opening.

Sleep apnea doesn’t just rob you of sleep. In many ways, it robs you of your life.

Diagnosing Sleep Apnea

There are two types of diagnostic tools your doctor will diagnose sleep apnea – a sleep center study or an at-home sleep test, like the ARES Solution.

Sleep Center Study

You’ll pack a bag and travel to the sleep center of your doctor’s choice for a night or two. You’ll need to make overnight arrangements for your pets and kids, and you may need to take the next day off of work depending on your schedule.
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ARES Solution At-Home Sleep Study

With the ARES Solution at-home sleep study, you’ll avoid the discomfort and inconvenience of having to sleep in an unfamiliar sleep study center away from home. You won’t have to arrange for childcare, pet sitting, or take a day off from work to do an at-home sleep study like you would with an in-facility sleep study.

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Your ARES Solution Sleep Study device will be mailed directly to your home. The device is a small, comfortably fitting device that you’ll wear while you sleep for up to three nights. The device is worn around the top of the head like a tennis sweatband, so it doesn’t feel claustrophobic like some of the larger, more cumbersome at-home sleep study devices on the market.

While you sleep, the ARES device collects information on oxygen saturation, pulse rate, sleep time, physical movement, airflow, snoring, and sleep position. This data is collected within the device itself, so there are no binding wires that keep you strapped to your bed if you need to get up and go to the bathroom during the night. Once you’ve slept in the device for one to three nights, you’ll mail the device back to us in the pre-paid shipping envelope, and a board-certified sleep physician will contact you in 1 to 2 days with your diagnosis.

What Causes Sleep Apnea
Anyone can develop sleep apnea. But having certain risk factors makes it more likely that you may develop obstructive sleep apnea. Risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea include:
Smoking
Compounds in cigarette smoke are irritating to the delicate tissues of the throat, mouth, and sinus cavity. This inflammation of the tissues narrows the airway and contributes to sleep apnea
Being overweight
The majority of people who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea are overweight. Excess weight contributes to obstructive sleep apnea because the fat deposits about the upper airway obstruct breathing if they become too large for space.
Enlarged tonsils or adenoids
Enlarged tonsils and adenoids in the throat can narrow the airway and obstruct breathing.
Nasal congestion
Chronic nasal congestion blocks the flow of air from the nose, and drainage from the nasal cavity can irritate the tissues in the throat and cause inflammation that leads to sleep apnea.
Diabetes
People with diabetes are more likely to develop sleep apnea.
Being male
Men are twice as likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea as women.
Going through menopause
Post-menopausal women are more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea than pre-menopausal women.
Genetics
If someone in your family suffers from sleep apnea, you’re more likely to develop sleep apnea.

Treatments for Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is treatable! There’s no reason to struggle through drowsy days and irritable moods when there is help for sleep apnea sufferers. For milder cases of sleep apnea, lifestyle changes may be all that is needed to finally get a good night’s sleep. Lifestyle changes that can have an impact on sleep-apnea include:
Getting to a health weight
Quitting smoking
Using nasal decongestants
Taking antihistamines if allergies affect your breathing
Cutting back on drinking alcohol
Restricting the use of sedatives and sleeping pills