Health

Are You Snoring Yourself to Death?
CNN NEWS: SNORING, FATIGUE, SLEEP APNEA All Related. Dated: 11/17/2002

Snoring is often a precursor of serious upper airway disorders such as OSA (the closing of the upper airway while asleep.)

Some symptoms are

• Limb jerking, punching and kicking
• ADHD symptoms (hyperactivity)
• Morning headaches, bloodshot eyes
• Multiple trips to the bathroom during sleep time
• Heartburn (Acid Reflux)
• Waking up very tired (feeling exhausted) and thirs
• Weight gain and love handles in men over 35
• Irritability
• Poor ability to concentrate
• Poor motor skills
• Daytime fatigue

Like allergies, most people are not born with a snore; they simply acquire it over a period of time almost without exception, we sleep with our mouth closed. However, as we grow, some people develop the habit of sleeping with their mouth open. This bad habit allows the jaw to relax and drop excessively during sleep time. As a result, the skin, tissue and muscles in the throat and mouth area are stretched beyond their intended range for an extended length of time (several hours each night).

Unless deliberate corrective action is taken, this condition usually last for the lifetime of the person! In most cases, this sets the stage for snoring and the possible Development of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

Other risk factors include habitual snoring, which is often a precursor of serious upper airway disorders and OSA. In fact, results from a recent study indicate that one in three men and nearly one in five women who snore habitually suffer from some degree of OSA.

Sleep apnea sufferers can have 20 to 60 or more involuntary breathing pauses -- called apneic episodes -- per hour, each lasting 10 seconds or longer. People with sleep apnea usually snore between episodes, and then snort, gasp or choke when they start breathing again. OSA sufferers never get a "good nights sleep" because repeated arousal's deprive patients of REM (deep-sleep stage) leading to chronic daytime exhaustion and long-term cardiovascular stress.

Consequently, OSA causes a drop in one's blood oxygen saturation (SaO2) and an increase in the blood’s carbon dioxide (CO2). When the SaO2 drops the heart will start pumping more blood with each beat the SaO2 continues to drop the heart will start beating faster and faster. As the CO2 increases the brain will try to drive the person to breathe. The effort and action of the abdomen and chest will increase. Eventually that action can become severe enough to cause an arousal, (but the arousal does not fully awaken the person) clearing the upper airway blockage, allowing the person to breathe. Then you go back to sleep and it happens all over again.

It is also important to remember that when the immune system is compromised by a lack of oxygen, we are more susceptible to opportunistic bacteria, viral, and parasitic infections and colds, as well as flu. Oxygen deprivation can also lead to life-threatening disease, such as cancer. Cancer and most other infections or disease cannot live in an oxygen-rich environment.

"Cancer has only one prime cause. It is the replacement of normal oxygen respiration of the body’s cells by an anaerobic (i.e., oxygen deficient) cell respiration."

Dr. Otto Warburg, The Prime Cause and Prevention of Cancer, The Lindau Lecture, Germany, Wurzburg, Germany: K. Trilsch. 1966, English, translation by D. Burke, 1969.

"All chronic pain, suffering and diseases are caused from a lack of oxygen at the cell level."

Arthur C. Guyton, The Textbook of Medical Physiology, Fifth Edition, W. B. Saunders Co., PA, 1976.

"Virtually all heart attacks come down to a failure to deliver oxygen to the hardworking heart muscle."

Philip Stavish, M.D., "Oxygen Deficit Linked to Heart Problems," Journal of Longevity, Vol. 4/No. 5, 1998.

Over the long term, OSA is associated with greater risk of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. The National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research estimates that 38,000 cardiovascular deaths, due to sleep apnea, occur each year. However, OSA was not well understood or recognized by the medical community until recently, and only a fraction of OSA patients have been diagnosed and treated.

What types of sleep disorders are there?
With the increased awareness in the doctor and patient communities, a growing number of new patients are expected to be identified in the next few years.

Researchers and clinicians have recognized sleep apnea as one of the most common sleep disorders and with perhaps the greatest medical and social impact on society in terms of morbidity and mortality. The syndrome strikes all sexes and all races, ages, socioeconomic strata, and ethnic groups, though it is less common in women prior to menopause, and may be more common in blacks than in whites.

Sleep apnea is among the most common and most dangerous types of sleep disorders. An estimated 18 million Americans have the condition, which is marked by repeated episodes of cessation of breathing during sleep that over time can lead to high blood pressure, cardiac disease, and disordered thinking.

Obstructive sleep apnea is by far the most common type. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by the closing of the upper airway while asleep. The uvula and soft palate relax and collapse on the back wall of the upper airway. Then the tongue relaxes and falls backward, collapsing on the back wall of the upper airway. The uvula and soft palate form a tight blockage, preventing any air from entering the lungs. The effort of the diaphragm, the chest and the abdomen only cause the blockage to seal tighter. In order to breathe, the person must arouse or awaken, causing tension in the tongue thereby opening the airway, allowing air to pass into the lungs. The arousals usually offer hundreds of times each night, but they do not fully awaken the person who remains unaware of the loud snoring, choking, and gasping for air that are typically associated with OSA. As a result, OSA sufferers never get a :good nights sleep" because repeated arousals deprive patients of REM (deep-sleep stage) leading to chronic daytime exhaustion and long-term cardiovascular stress. People who are obese are likely to have OSA due to the excess tissue around the throat and neck. Those with receding chin lines are also at higher risk for developing obstructive sleep disorder.

Central sleep apnea is the least common. Breathing is stopped not because the airway is closed but because the diaphragm and chest muscles stop working.

Chronic insomnia is often a symptom of a serious underlying medical disorder. Depression and other psychiatric disorders account for many cases of insomnia, as do physical illnesses, such as asthma, arthritis, Parkinson's disease, kidney or heart disease, and hyperthyroidism.

Hypersomnia is defined as excessive, constant, inappropriate, and undesirable sleepiness during waking hours. In general, a person with hypersonic has trouble keeping awake, takes frequent involuntary naps, and experiences problems with concentration and motor control. Simply getting to bed too late and not sleeping enough caused daytime drowsiness. The two primary hypersonic disorders are narcolepsy and sleep apnea, although hypersonic can also occur without any identifiable disorders.

Idiopathic hypersonic occurs without any identifiable disorder. This where your body never shuts down to be able to fall asleep. Therefore may cause fatigue, depression, anger, and cause you not to have the patience needed to handle day to day activities. Your body needs time to shut down in order to register new information in the morning or you could have an overloading feeling of pressure the next day.

Narcolepsy is excessive sleepiness during the day with episodes of falling asleep rapidly and inappropriately while performing tasks. Researchers have found that low levels of dopamine and nor epinephrine, which are important neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain), that could account for daytime sleepiness. They also have a hypersensitive cholinergic system, a pathway of neurotransmitters and nerve cells, that affect REM sleep.

Cataplexy is an abrupt loss of muscle weakness or tone triggered by sudden emotions, such as anger, fear or humor

Twenty-four percent of adult men and nine percent of adult women are estimated to have some degree of OSA.

ADHD in Children
CNN Headline News recently reported on a study that new research suggests children who snore face nearly double the risk of being inattentive and hyperactive, providing fresh evidence ofan intriguing link between sleep problems and attention deficit disorders.

Children's behaviorial problems may be linked to their sleep habits, according to a new study. Children who snore often are nearly twice as likely as other children to have attention and hyperactivity problems, found a new study by the University of Michigan Health System. The results, published in the March issue of the journal Pediatrics, provide some of the most solid evidence ever of a link between sleep problems and behavior. The link is strongest in boys under 8. Snorers in this group were more than three times more likely than non-snorers to be.

Depression and Insomnia in Women
One of the main concerns with lack of sleep for women is depression contributed to lack of sleep. If you suffer from sleep apnea your unable to get the needed rest to handle the day to day activities. This affects a woman's hormone level which will cause more sensitivity, mood swings, and irritability. Many American women who are in search of more satisfying slumber are buying a hormone called Melatonin. Doctors have found that most depressed patients suffer from insomnia as a main reason for their depression. Women have a higher chance of insomnia after menopause. The American College of Cardiology found that 33 percent of 71,779 female nurses aged 40 to 65 who snored were more at risk of developing cardiovascular disease that those who did not snore. Sleep apnea affects up to 2 percent of the female population.

Love Handles and Fat Gain in Men
Men who suffer with obstructive sleep apnea often gain weight in the abdomen due to the process of age. As men age, they typically get less and less sleep. With less deep sleep or slow wave sleep there is less bodily production of the growth hormone. That deficiency is associated with increased fat tissue and abdominal obesity, reduced muscle mass and strength, and reduced exercise capacity, Obstructive sleep apnea suffers never get a good nights sleep, because repeated arousals deprive the patient of deep-sleep stage, leading to chronic daytime exhaustion and long-term risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. 10 percent of all men snore in the United States, 2 percent of those actually have the disorder.

OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea) is an extremely serious, life threatening, condition. As in the case of any serious medical conditions, always seek the advice of a medial doctor before using any other medical device.