Sleep apnea is a common breathing condition that can range from mild to moderate to severe. It's also a progressive disorder, which means that it gets worse with time.
Approximately twelve to twenty million people in the United States suffer from sleep apnea. Adult sleep apnea is as common across the globe as is adult onset diabetes. More men suffer from it than women. In addition, it's more common in those who are overweight and have a tendency toward loud, habitual snoring. According to The National Commission on Sleep Disorders Research, approximately 38,000 individuals die annually as a result of cardiovascular problems relating in one way or another to sleep apnea.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder differentiated by pauses in breathing during sleep. These pauses can cover anywhere from ten to sixty seconds at a time. In more serious cases, the breathing lapses can be even longer. These pauses or "apnea events" can occur as often as three hundred to four hundred times per night. Some people wake up during these episodes while others do not.
What Are The Different Types of Sleep Apnea?
There are three types of sleep apnea - obstructive, central and mixed. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common, afflicting nine out of ten individuals who suffer from the disorder. In the case of obstructive sleep apena, an obstruction is blocking the trachea (or wind pipe) from allowing air in and out of the lungs. Other causes of the obstruction include the possibility of too much fatty tissue in the area of the throat or that the throat muscles are too relaxed. The second type, central sleep apnea, results from the brain having crossed signals about normal breathing patterns. In this case "the muscles you use to breathe don’t get the ‘go-ahead’ signal from the brain. Either the brain doesn’t send the signal, or the signal gets interrupted." This form is extremely rare. The third and final type, mixed sleep apnea, is a combination of the other two, though it generally has more in common with obstructive sleep apnea.
How Do I Know For Sure If I Have Sleep Apnea?
There are a number of initial symptoms that should alert you to the possibility of sleep apnea. These include loud snoring, cessation of breathing during the night, and extreme tiredness during the day. If you exhibit any of these symptoms, your doctor can send you for a special sleep-recording test known as a polysomnography which can diagnosis the disorder.
Is Sleep Apnea Dangerous And/Or Life Threatening?
If left untreated sleep apnea can lead to more serious health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. The chances of having a car accident or a work-related accident are also increased for those suffering from sleep apnea.
Is There Anything That Can Be Done To Improve My Sleep Apnea?
Initially, making lifestyle changes can go a long way in preventing sleep apnea from growing worse. These changes can include losing weight, quitting smoking, limiting your use of alcohol four hours before bedtime, not using sleeping pills or sedatives, and sleeping on your side instead of on your back.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Sleep On It!
What do you think about before you go to sleep? Does it really matter? What you think about could be very beneficial and profitable to your life. While your conscious mind takes a break as you sleep, your subconscious mind actually stays very active. Because of this, the thoughts that you think about before you drift off to sleep are vitally important.
Many people end their day by watching the news, which is usually negative and depressing. When they go to sleep after pouring all that junk into their minds, they are basically saying, "Okay subconscious mind, work on all that stuff." And people wonder why they wake up depressed, negative, and with no ambition for the new day ahead?
Your subconscious mind is at work day and night, including throughout your slumber. Have you ever heard the expression, "I'm going to sleep on it?" I remember watching a movie and when faced with a problem, the main character said, "I'll sort it out in the morning." Many times after "sleeping on it," a person wakes up with a solution, or at least, a direction in which to proceed.
One day, a man had diligently worked for hours towards a solution to a problem, yet still knew that there was something missing. He went to sleep, still trying to grasp that missing piece. His thoughts before he fell asleep were focused on unearthing the solution. He said the next morning he suddenly woke up feeling "the greatest excitement." In a short amount of time thereafter, Albert Einstein wrote his first draft of a new article - a full thirty pages. It was the start to his theory of relativity.
There are a lot of people who wake up right before their alarm goes off. Does that happen to you? Is it just a habit, or, before falling asleep, do you consciously think about what time you want to get up? I think it is the latter.
Personally, the only time I use an alarm clock is when I need to get up much earlier than usual. However, every time, it seems like I still wake up before the alarm goes off. Before falling asleep, I was very aware that I needed to get up early…and the next morning, my subconscious mind stepped in, telling me it was 4:30.
Why not tell your subconscious mind some really positive things before you nod off to sleep? Things like, "I am going to wake up happy and refreshed," or "I am going to get some good, peaceful sleep and tomorrow I will get a lot done," are some excellent examples.
There are many programs that suggest doing your affirmations right before you go to sleep. Some recommend reviewing your goals at that time. The Bible talks about not going to sleep angry. Why? Because the Creator designed the brain and He knows that it's not beneficial to you.
Here's something to try. Take note of what kind of mood you are in as you go to sleep. Emotions are a product of your thoughts. Change your thinking so that you don't allow yourself to fall asleep in a doubtful mood, or in a depressed mood, or in an angry mood.
If you fall asleep in a negative mood, you are impeding the work that your subconscious mind could be doing for you while you sleep. You are losing ground and also losing precious time.
Whether it is your affirmations, or goals, or something you are working on and trying to solve, take careful note of what you are thinking about right before you fall asleep. Your subconscious mind is going to be working all night on something anyway, so why not give it something profitable?
Successful people develop successful habits - it just doesn't happen automatically. You can take charge of your life in so many little seemingly insignificant steps. However, some of these "little" things will reap enormously profitable dividends in your life.
So have a sweet, peaceful, productive sleep!
Many people end their day by watching the news, which is usually negative and depressing. When they go to sleep after pouring all that junk into their minds, they are basically saying, "Okay subconscious mind, work on all that stuff." And people wonder why they wake up depressed, negative, and with no ambition for the new day ahead?
Your subconscious mind is at work day and night, including throughout your slumber. Have you ever heard the expression, "I'm going to sleep on it?" I remember watching a movie and when faced with a problem, the main character said, "I'll sort it out in the morning." Many times after "sleeping on it," a person wakes up with a solution, or at least, a direction in which to proceed.
One day, a man had diligently worked for hours towards a solution to a problem, yet still knew that there was something missing. He went to sleep, still trying to grasp that missing piece. His thoughts before he fell asleep were focused on unearthing the solution. He said the next morning he suddenly woke up feeling "the greatest excitement." In a short amount of time thereafter, Albert Einstein wrote his first draft of a new article - a full thirty pages. It was the start to his theory of relativity.
There are a lot of people who wake up right before their alarm goes off. Does that happen to you? Is it just a habit, or, before falling asleep, do you consciously think about what time you want to get up? I think it is the latter.
Personally, the only time I use an alarm clock is when I need to get up much earlier than usual. However, every time, it seems like I still wake up before the alarm goes off. Before falling asleep, I was very aware that I needed to get up early…and the next morning, my subconscious mind stepped in, telling me it was 4:30.
Why not tell your subconscious mind some really positive things before you nod off to sleep? Things like, "I am going to wake up happy and refreshed," or "I am going to get some good, peaceful sleep and tomorrow I will get a lot done," are some excellent examples.
There are many programs that suggest doing your affirmations right before you go to sleep. Some recommend reviewing your goals at that time. The Bible talks about not going to sleep angry. Why? Because the Creator designed the brain and He knows that it's not beneficial to you.
Here's something to try. Take note of what kind of mood you are in as you go to sleep. Emotions are a product of your thoughts. Change your thinking so that you don't allow yourself to fall asleep in a doubtful mood, or in a depressed mood, or in an angry mood.
If you fall asleep in a negative mood, you are impeding the work that your subconscious mind could be doing for you while you sleep. You are losing ground and also losing precious time.
Whether it is your affirmations, or goals, or something you are working on and trying to solve, take careful note of what you are thinking about right before you fall asleep. Your subconscious mind is going to be working all night on something anyway, so why not give it something profitable?
Successful people develop successful habits - it just doesn't happen automatically. You can take charge of your life in so many little seemingly insignificant steps. However, some of these "little" things will reap enormously profitable dividends in your life.
So have a sweet, peaceful, productive sleep!
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Effects of Sleep on Weight Loss
Hi folks! I'd like for you to meet leptin and ghrelin.
No, those are not refugee orcs from "Lord of the Rings". Leptin and ghrelin are hormones, and research is indicating that, while they didn't have a role in the movie, they DO seem to have a role in weight gain and weight loss.
Two studies, one at the University of Chicago in Illinois and the other at Stanford University in California, indicated that sleep deprivation tended to alter the levels of these hormones in such a way that they did not efficiently fulfill their normal functions of controlling feelings of hunger and fullness. The short answer from these studies appears to be that being short on sleep, generally less than 8 hours a night, interferes with the work of these hormones, and that people getting less than 8 hours a night tended to be fatter than those who got the appropriate amount of sleep.
Here's a couple of important points:
1. Just getting more sleep is not the only answer to the weight loss problem. While getting more sleep can improve the body's ability to function in many ways, exercise and proper nutrition should still be components of any weight loss program. In fact, looking at it another way, some researchers have opined that getting a good night's sleep might help some people feel more energetic and this may cause them to become more active as well, thus aiding in weight loss and overall feelings of well-being. One researcher also pointed out that those short on sleep may resort to high calorie, empty carbohydrate snacks and meals to help them get through the day.
2. The number of hours of sleep may be important, but so is the quality of that sleep. For example, sleep apnea, a condition which tends to be more common in those who are overweight, can interfere with the quality of the person's sleep, so that even after what seems like 8 hours of sleep, they still are tired and worn out.
SLEEP, CORTISOL, AND WEIGHT LOSS
Cortisol is another hormone associated with appetite and weight loss and weight gain. Surely you have seen the ads in which it is referred to as "nasty". In actuality, it is nothing of the sort any more than blood is "nasty". It serves a purpose, in fact several purposes, but it is out of place in many of our modern situations, and the over production of cortisol can influence weight gain, and hamper attempts at weight loss.
The problem is that high levels of cortisol tend to help people pack on pounds. An elevation of cortisol commonly occurs when a person is physically or psychologically stressed. It is not enough that modern society produces a string of stressors which tend to kick the body into cortisol production mode. This is partly due to the body's inability to distinguish between a caveman being attacked by a bear, and a modern office worker being attacked by a "bear" of a boss! The roar of an attacking lion can produce an effect similar to the honking of angry drivers in road rage situation...particularly if you are the target.
Failure to get the proper amount, and quality, of sleep tends to increase the production of cortisol, contributing to the body's mistaken attempt to compensate for what it sees as an attack. Most real attacks would require vast expenditures of energy which would need to be replaced, so, cortisol signals the body to ingest large quantities of food to help replace the missing energy and perform repairs to the body. The problem is that if no energy has been expended, and you are merely suffering from lack of sleep, the body is going to get the same message as if you had escaped an attack, and the food taken in will just be stored as fat rather than being used to replace missing energy stores.
Lack of sleep also tends to produce its own state of agitation, which can induce the production of cortisol, and, to make things worse, worrying about your tiredness and inability to get a good night's sleep can initiate its own cycle of stress, thus...you guessed it, encouraging the body to produce more cortisol, which makes you want to eat more...
While this seems like a vicious cycle, and it is, it is not unbreakable. No one immediate action is likely to have you waking up tomorrow fit as a fiddle and twenty pounds lighter, but you can take steps to slow down the hamster wheel and eventually get off for good.
Plan to get more sleep. Plan to get more exercise. Plan to eat a healthier diet. Once you have planned, however, you must implement these steps. Do not expect to change everything all at once. Make a small change here, and, once that has taken hold, make a small change there. Trying to do everything all at once sets you up for failure and creates another stress in your life at the very time you are trying to reduce stress.
Go to bed a little earlier. Turn the TV off sooner. Learn a little bit about meditation. Take a walk. Lift that bag of sugar a couple of extra times (in each hand) before you put it in the cupboard. Park a few feet further away from your office or the grocery store than you did last time. You learned to walk one step at a time, and you fell down a lot, but you didn't let it bother you and you kept on until you finally achieved your goal and tottered a few feet on your own (and slept like...well...a baby). Don't let this get in your way either.
No, those are not refugee orcs from "Lord of the Rings". Leptin and ghrelin are hormones, and research is indicating that, while they didn't have a role in the movie, they DO seem to have a role in weight gain and weight loss.
Two studies, one at the University of Chicago in Illinois and the other at Stanford University in California, indicated that sleep deprivation tended to alter the levels of these hormones in such a way that they did not efficiently fulfill their normal functions of controlling feelings of hunger and fullness. The short answer from these studies appears to be that being short on sleep, generally less than 8 hours a night, interferes with the work of these hormones, and that people getting less than 8 hours a night tended to be fatter than those who got the appropriate amount of sleep.
Here's a couple of important points:
1. Just getting more sleep is not the only answer to the weight loss problem. While getting more sleep can improve the body's ability to function in many ways, exercise and proper nutrition should still be components of any weight loss program. In fact, looking at it another way, some researchers have opined that getting a good night's sleep might help some people feel more energetic and this may cause them to become more active as well, thus aiding in weight loss and overall feelings of well-being. One researcher also pointed out that those short on sleep may resort to high calorie, empty carbohydrate snacks and meals to help them get through the day.
2. The number of hours of sleep may be important, but so is the quality of that sleep. For example, sleep apnea, a condition which tends to be more common in those who are overweight, can interfere with the quality of the person's sleep, so that even after what seems like 8 hours of sleep, they still are tired and worn out.
SLEEP, CORTISOL, AND WEIGHT LOSS
Cortisol is another hormone associated with appetite and weight loss and weight gain. Surely you have seen the ads in which it is referred to as "nasty". In actuality, it is nothing of the sort any more than blood is "nasty". It serves a purpose, in fact several purposes, but it is out of place in many of our modern situations, and the over production of cortisol can influence weight gain, and hamper attempts at weight loss.
The problem is that high levels of cortisol tend to help people pack on pounds. An elevation of cortisol commonly occurs when a person is physically or psychologically stressed. It is not enough that modern society produces a string of stressors which tend to kick the body into cortisol production mode. This is partly due to the body's inability to distinguish between a caveman being attacked by a bear, and a modern office worker being attacked by a "bear" of a boss! The roar of an attacking lion can produce an effect similar to the honking of angry drivers in road rage situation...particularly if you are the target.
Failure to get the proper amount, and quality, of sleep tends to increase the production of cortisol, contributing to the body's mistaken attempt to compensate for what it sees as an attack. Most real attacks would require vast expenditures of energy which would need to be replaced, so, cortisol signals the body to ingest large quantities of food to help replace the missing energy and perform repairs to the body. The problem is that if no energy has been expended, and you are merely suffering from lack of sleep, the body is going to get the same message as if you had escaped an attack, and the food taken in will just be stored as fat rather than being used to replace missing energy stores.
Lack of sleep also tends to produce its own state of agitation, which can induce the production of cortisol, and, to make things worse, worrying about your tiredness and inability to get a good night's sleep can initiate its own cycle of stress, thus...you guessed it, encouraging the body to produce more cortisol, which makes you want to eat more...
While this seems like a vicious cycle, and it is, it is not unbreakable. No one immediate action is likely to have you waking up tomorrow fit as a fiddle and twenty pounds lighter, but you can take steps to slow down the hamster wheel and eventually get off for good.
Plan to get more sleep. Plan to get more exercise. Plan to eat a healthier diet. Once you have planned, however, you must implement these steps. Do not expect to change everything all at once. Make a small change here, and, once that has taken hold, make a small change there. Trying to do everything all at once sets you up for failure and creates another stress in your life at the very time you are trying to reduce stress.
Go to bed a little earlier. Turn the TV off sooner. Learn a little bit about meditation. Take a walk. Lift that bag of sugar a couple of extra times (in each hand) before you put it in the cupboard. Park a few feet further away from your office or the grocery store than you did last time. You learned to walk one step at a time, and you fell down a lot, but you didn't let it bother you and you kept on until you finally achieved your goal and tottered a few feet on your own (and slept like...well...a baby). Don't let this get in your way either.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
How To Stop Sleeping Too Much
While the more common complaints are from people who are having trouble falling asleep and getting "quality" sleep, some people have the opposite problem.
They sleep too much…
If you're having trouble getting yourself out of bed on time, and find yourself sleeping much more than you've planned too, you're not alone.
I personally used to sleep up to 14 hours a "night". Sometimes I'd hit the snooze button for HOURS.
Improving the quality of my sleep was absolutely necessary in order to reduce the amount of sleep I get. After replacing a few bad habits, I now sleep less and feel much more lively and energetic throughout the day, then when I had slept longer.
However, getting rid of some bad sleeping habits, and improving the quality of your sleep is only one part of the process.
As you know, when you wake up you're not completely in control of your thoughts and your actions. At this stage your subconscious is more dominant.
You may have to admit having some kind of emotional issues, which are suppressed deeply in your subconscious. The simplest way to say it is that you have a lack of motivation to wake up and get up.
Oversleeping can obviously CAUSE problems. The embarrassment when you fail to wake up on time, being late to work or loss of what could be your "free time", and the tiredness that usually comes after an excessive sleep episode, all of those aren't going to do you any good.
You should start putting your sleep system back to order, by going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day, no matter when you've gone to sleep, no matter what time you go to work, and even if you have a day off.
Practice it for at least 3 weeks (they say it takes 21 days to establish a new habit).
However, if you fail to wake up on time, you should focus on your self-discipline.
You see, most people wake up on time every morning, no matter how much or how well they had slept.
Don't beat yourself up when you fail. Instead, try to think what went wrong. Try to remember your actions and your thoughts at that morning. Then come up with a plan for tomorrow.
If you can’t even remember what went through your head when the alarm went off, try going to sleep earlier or setting the alarm to a later time. The idea is to get yourself used to be in control of your sleep and wake up habits.
Most importantly, dig inside yourself to find the reason you oversleep. Ask yourself a simple, yet hard question: "What are you running away from"?
They sleep too much…
If you're having trouble getting yourself out of bed on time, and find yourself sleeping much more than you've planned too, you're not alone.
I personally used to sleep up to 14 hours a "night". Sometimes I'd hit the snooze button for HOURS.
Improving the quality of my sleep was absolutely necessary in order to reduce the amount of sleep I get. After replacing a few bad habits, I now sleep less and feel much more lively and energetic throughout the day, then when I had slept longer.
However, getting rid of some bad sleeping habits, and improving the quality of your sleep is only one part of the process.
As you know, when you wake up you're not completely in control of your thoughts and your actions. At this stage your subconscious is more dominant.
You may have to admit having some kind of emotional issues, which are suppressed deeply in your subconscious. The simplest way to say it is that you have a lack of motivation to wake up and get up.
Oversleeping can obviously CAUSE problems. The embarrassment when you fail to wake up on time, being late to work or loss of what could be your "free time", and the tiredness that usually comes after an excessive sleep episode, all of those aren't going to do you any good.
You should start putting your sleep system back to order, by going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day, no matter when you've gone to sleep, no matter what time you go to work, and even if you have a day off.
Practice it for at least 3 weeks (they say it takes 21 days to establish a new habit).
However, if you fail to wake up on time, you should focus on your self-discipline.
You see, most people wake up on time every morning, no matter how much or how well they had slept.
Don't beat yourself up when you fail. Instead, try to think what went wrong. Try to remember your actions and your thoughts at that morning. Then come up with a plan for tomorrow.
If you can’t even remember what went through your head when the alarm went off, try going to sleep earlier or setting the alarm to a later time. The idea is to get yourself used to be in control of your sleep and wake up habits.
Most importantly, dig inside yourself to find the reason you oversleep. Ask yourself a simple, yet hard question: "What are you running away from"?
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Interesting Facts About Sleep You Probably Didn’t Know
The topic of sleep is so vast and yet so little seems to be known about this great subject which is a daily part of our everyday lives. There are many interesting facts about sleep which you may not know about yet knowing these facts can immensely enhance your daily sleep.
The more you sleep the more energetic you feel
This couldn’t be further from the truth as you don’t need ten or eight hours of sleep in order to feel energetic and in fact contrary to standard beliefs, you only require five to six hours of sleep. Astonishing as it may sound, less sleep means you can perform better. In fact some of the world’s greatest CEO’s, entrepreneurs and scientists sleep only four hours a day and wake up full of energy and ready for yet another challenging day of work.
Do these people have a secret? Not really, here is another crazy fact about sleep. The more you sleep the more tired you feel. You may or may not have heard about this but in case you didn’t know, over sleeping makes you lazy. This is pure common sense that if you sit in front of the TV all day doing nothing you’re going to become a lazy couch potato. Sleep is the same thing if you over do it as over time, you will become lazier and lazier. “Use it or lose it”, have you heard that statement before?
Less sleep means you can do more. What is the secret to the success for some of the world’s top performing minds? It may surprise you, but sleeping less means they gain extra hours per day instead of losing them. Imagine this scenario. You normally sleep nine hours a day. Deduct that from twenty four and you got fifteen hours to achieve your set goals for that day. Now consider someone who sleeps only four hours a day, they have an extra five hours to go after their goals. Here’s the part where it gets better, now calculate that for ten years, and see how many hours the second person would have had extra in comparison to the first. You will be shocked!
Here is another great fact about sleep. One third of your entire life is spent on sleep! How can so much time possibly be wasted. If every human being on this planet just cut down on one hour of sleep and devoted that one hour to work can you imagine how much more technologically advanced we would be today. Add up the man hours.
If you are someone who over sleeps, then try getting up early every morning and join the five O’clock club to see how this will affect your life. Believe me the results will leave you amazed at what you have achieved in that first single month in comparison to your previous year.
The more you sleep the more energetic you feel
This couldn’t be further from the truth as you don’t need ten or eight hours of sleep in order to feel energetic and in fact contrary to standard beliefs, you only require five to six hours of sleep. Astonishing as it may sound, less sleep means you can perform better. In fact some of the world’s greatest CEO’s, entrepreneurs and scientists sleep only four hours a day and wake up full of energy and ready for yet another challenging day of work.
Do these people have a secret? Not really, here is another crazy fact about sleep. The more you sleep the more tired you feel. You may or may not have heard about this but in case you didn’t know, over sleeping makes you lazy. This is pure common sense that if you sit in front of the TV all day doing nothing you’re going to become a lazy couch potato. Sleep is the same thing if you over do it as over time, you will become lazier and lazier. “Use it or lose it”, have you heard that statement before?
Less sleep means you can do more. What is the secret to the success for some of the world’s top performing minds? It may surprise you, but sleeping less means they gain extra hours per day instead of losing them. Imagine this scenario. You normally sleep nine hours a day. Deduct that from twenty four and you got fifteen hours to achieve your set goals for that day. Now consider someone who sleeps only four hours a day, they have an extra five hours to go after their goals. Here’s the part where it gets better, now calculate that for ten years, and see how many hours the second person would have had extra in comparison to the first. You will be shocked!
Here is another great fact about sleep. One third of your entire life is spent on sleep! How can so much time possibly be wasted. If every human being on this planet just cut down on one hour of sleep and devoted that one hour to work can you imagine how much more technologically advanced we would be today. Add up the man hours.
If you are someone who over sleeps, then try getting up early every morning and join the five O’clock club to see how this will affect your life. Believe me the results will leave you amazed at what you have achieved in that first single month in comparison to your previous year.
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