Snoring is a common problem in many households, but you probably already know that. You’ve likely heard one or two people snoring loudly in your home, and maybe you just attributed it to one of their quirky behaviors. As you already know, snoring is involuntary; a person cannot control the actions that they take when they are sleeping, and with that being the case, it is often dismissed.

Snoring, however, can often lead to more serious problems and is often a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, which can have a significant effect on the individual’s life, causing problems up to, and including death, depending on the severity. So what happens during sleep apnea, and do you need home sleep study equipment?

The Effects of Sleep Apnea and Home Sleep Study Equipment

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when you are unable to take in oxygen during your normal sleep, and one of two things happen when your brain simply decides that enough is enough.

Your brain forces your body to wake up, causing you to experience an awakening with no idea why. Sorry, it’s not as if your brain can leave you a message that says “Hey, you weren’t breathing, so I woke you up”. Unfortunately, the signs are more subtle than that, but to be perfectly honest, if you DO wake up frequently during the night, it is a sign that you need to be wary of because that is far more than some other people get.

In some cases, when the individual’s blood oxygen levels drop, they will simply be pushed into a lighter stage of sleep. For example, they may go from stage 3 to stage 2, which would cause a significant failure to achieve the necessary sleep. Because you do not fully wake up during this incident, you may not know that you are suffering from sleep apnea.

As far as the second point goes, doctors have estimated, and sleep studies have a problem, that some patients will go through the cycle 60 to 100 times in a single hour, which is problematic, to say the least, especially when there is no blood test to prove that the situation is occurring.

Snoring is not an absolute indicator of sleep apnea, not by any stretch of the imagination. It can mean that the airway is narrowing, and it could also lead into sleep apnea given a few years and allowance for symptom development. While there is no way to tell whether or not a person is suffering from sleep apnea without extensive testing, there are definitely certain symptoms that need to be watched out for including:

• Irritability
• Exhaustion
• Trouble Concentrating
• Morning Headaches

While these symptoms are often present in those who suffer from sleep apnea, the symptom could simply be you, being tired throughout the day. If you’re not a morning person, you might want to start looking into the reason.

It’s a fact that individuals suffering from arrhythmia will be at a higher risk for health issues stemming from sleep apnea as the condition can actually mimic choking. Your body is naturally equipped to fight back in the event that it is being choked, causing heightened blood pressure and hormone levels. In addition to that, less oxygen to the brain can lead to a stroke, making it all the more vital to have the condition treated as quickly as possible.

Getting it Treated

The biggest problem with the condition is that even after the deployment of home sleep testing devices and services is that even after a proper diagnosis is rendered to the patient, treatment options are very limited. The FDA has not approved any medications (though there are currently a few in the works), and with that being the case, most people are given CPAP or APAP devices to control their apnea, which works, but definitely, isn’t preferred by the majority of people. Because most patients cannot stand the CPAP machine, mild cases of sleep apnea can be treated with surgery, though one would have to consult with their doctor beforehand to determine whether or not this was feasible.

Home study equipment can help to diagnose the condition and will ultimately help patients to reach a better quality of life.