Sleep apnea is a serious sleeping disorder where breathing can be interrupted while someone is asleep. People who have sleep apnea will pause in their breathing while they're asleep which can occur hundreds of time throughout the night. This interrupts an individual's natural sleep rhythm and pulls them out of deep sleep. When they wake up in the morning, they will experience daytime sleepiness and feel less energized. Over time, the lack of good sleep can have adverse health effects over time. 

Determining if Someone Suffers From this Sleep Disorder

One of the first steps towards dealing with sleep apnea is knowing is if you or a loved one suffers from the sleep disorder. The sleeping disorder test is one of the options people can turn too to determine whether they suffer from sleep apnea. One of the ways to find out is to go to a facility and take a sleep test, but getting comfortable to achieve deep sleep can be nearly impossible. People are in an unfamiliar environment and it will be difficult to replicate their sleeping conditions.

The test can be done in the comfort of a person's own home where they can easily replicate their sleeping conditions. The results from tests will be more accurate and from there they will be able to determine if they suffer from the disorder. In the case they do suffer from sleep apnea, from there it boils down to understanding which kind the person is suffering from. 

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common where the soft tissues at the back of the throat will relax and will block the airway. This will cause the sleeper to snore loudly while they're resting and may be annoying for their significant other. Central sleep apnea is less common but involves the central nervous system. This occurs when the brain will not signal the muscles that control breathing and people with this version of the disorder rarely snore. Complex sleep apnea is a combination of central and complex which can cause people to be pulled out of deep sleep. 

How Do You Manage It?

Taking the home insomnia test is the first steps towards managing this sleep disorder condition. Sleep apnea cannot be diagnosed with an everyday doctor’s visit and there is no blood test that exists that can determine whether someone suffers from the disorder. One of the first signs that a person may suffer from sleep apnea is if their bed partner notices they snore loudly while they sleep and start breathing again with a loud snort.

While the disorder is scary to have, there are ways to manage sleep apnea. It is a treatable condition and there are many lifestyle modifications that can go a long way towards helping to reduce the symptoms of this condition. While these changes will help to make sleep apnea easier to manage, they’re still not a replacement for medical treatment and evaluation.

Avoiding sedatives, sleeping pills, and alcohol around bedtime will go a long way towards making it easier to manage sleep apnea. These can cause the muscles in the throat to relax and can interfere with breathing throughout the night, leading to sleep apnea.

Weight can also be a factor when it comes to sleep apnea and individuals who are overweight have an increased chance of suffering from sleep apnea. Individuals who are overweight have extra tissues at the back of their throat. This extra tissue can fall over the airway and blocks air flow into the lungs while the person is sleeping. Even losing a little bit of weight can help to open the airway passages and help to improve sleep apnea symptoms. 

When you or a loved one is experiencing insomnia symptoms, it’s best to take part in a sleep test at home as soon as possible. This sleeping disorder is serious and adverse health effects can arise as a result of poor sleep quality. Understanding how sleep apnea works and the steps it takes to treat it will help to make it more manageable and will result in better quality of sleep. If you suspect you or a loved one may have sleep apnea, see a doctor about treatment and have a test taken immediately.