First, sleep is crucial for your heart. Sleep interacts with blood vessels and helps to lower the blood pressure as well as cholesterol which in turn lowers the chances of heart disease or stroke. Seven to nine hours of sleep each night has been shown to drastically lower the chances of either. Sleep might also be able to help prevent cancer, particularly of the colon or breast. This is due to the affects of melatonin (the sleep hormone) which can suppress the growth of tumors. To increase the production of melatonin make sure your room is dark during sleep.

It is also during sleep that our bodies do much of the work to repair the stresses of the day. During sleep our body is in an ‘anabolic state’ meaning that it produces more anabolic hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone. In children this is why sleep is crucial for growth, while for everyone it’s crucial for the repairing of the wounds and injuries, combating of diseases and the growth of muscle and other tissue. Growth hormone has also been shown to counter some of the effects of aging by healing the damage done to our cells. For this reason extended lack of sleep can lead to slow recovery from illness or injury and visibly faster aging. Sleep will, in short, minimize your chances of catching all illnesses then and even help turn back the clock.

Furthermore, sleep predictably has a large range of psychological benefits. While the purpose of dreaming is not fully understood by psychologists (everything from the random firing of pons to the expression of our unconscious desires has been suggested), it seems clear that it is, in fact, a necessary function. Psychological studies taking away patients’ ‘REM sleep’ (REM standing for Rapid Eye Movement and indicating the point at which we start dreaming) have shown that dreams will eventually begin to find their way into our waking hours as vivid hallucinations. Consistent lack of dreaming has been shown to eventually lead to psychosis and it seems that REM is the single most crucial part of sleeping for healthy brain function. REM sleep is however the final stage during our sleep cycle (which repeats itself about four times throughout the night), meaning that if you are constantly awoken through difficulty breathing then you will be likely to experience less REM sleep than you require (though due to it’s importance your body will eventually launch your straight into REM).

We hear about it in the news. With the increasing obesity level in the US (although that’s certainly not the only cause), per capita rates of apnea suffers are on the rise.

So, what IS Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a disorder which causes respiration to stop when a person is sleeping. A person suffering from sleep apnea will stop breathing from 10 seconds up to a few minutes. These pauses in breathing can take place up to 30 times in one hour. After one of these cessations of respiration, the patient will start breathing normally again, often with a snoring sound. Sleep apnea is a common disorder. According to studies more than 13 million Americans suffer from this condition. The patients are mostly men or people who are overweight.

Sleep apnea can manifest itself in two forms: Obstructive apnea and central apnea. Where central apnea is rare, obstructive apnea is the most common type. With this type of apnea something blocks the windpipe, causing the stop or blockage of air coming into the throat.

Though sleep apnea is a serious condition, it should be noted that it does not form a threat in the sense that it will not cause choking. Because of the lack of oxygen, the brain sends off a signal to the body. The patient will sleep lighter or even wake up. The throat relaxes, which allows the patient to breath normally again until the following apnea occurs.

Due to all the apneas, the quality of sleep for people suffering from this condition is very poor. Sleep apnea causes sleepiness during the daytime and also fatigue. This results in the patient falling asleep during day to day activities such as reading the newspaper or even driving. Other problems which result from sleep apnea are a lowered concentration and high blood pressure. The patient’s body and mind do not recover properly during the night-time which has the effect of shortening the patient’s life span.

Also, sleep apnea does not only influence the patient’s rest, but also the rest and sleep of the partner. Constant snoring and waking up can cause the significant other to also suffer from bad sleeping patterns.

• Lowered concentration and learning difficulties
• Excessive fatigue
• Having headaches for a longer period of time. Most patients who suffer from sleep apnea claim having headaches.
• Heartburn
• For larger people, swollen legs are a common symptom
• Need to urinate during sleep
• Excessive sweating during sleep
• Cramped feeling in the chest area
• Excessive snoring. However, this does not always have to be a symptom of sleep apnea.
• Choking sounds during sleep
• Gasping for air
• Restlessness
• Increased blood pressure
• Lowered sexual functions
• Depression or agressiveness

Older men and women have periods of cessation of respiration. This is normal, but makes it difficult to diagnose if they have sleep apnea.

Nevertheless, all the symptoms of sleep apnea are harmful to the patient’s health and rest. When experiencing any or a number of these symptoms or consider any of the range of sleep apnea treatments, consider seeing a doctor.