GETTING A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP: COMBATING SNORING AND SLEEP APNEA
Sleep occupies a third of our lives, yet for many of us, sleep is not the pleasant experience it is supposed to be. If you are suffering from chronic airway-digestive inflammatory disease (CAID), you might not be getting a restful sleep because either your nose is congested, and/or you have other blockages in your airway that cause you to snore.
Snoring
seems innocuous, but in fact it makes many people miserable. Those who snore can unknowingly be awakened several times during the night and are often tired during the day, even though they might think they slept well. In addition, one person’s snoring commonly affects the sleep of their significant other as well as everyone else in the household. You may even have experienced leaving the bedroom in the middle of the night so that your partner can sleep. It’s then no surprise that snoring is the number one medical reason for divorce. Approximately 25 percent of Americans snore, with a larger percentage of
male snorers, almost four to one. Men begin to snore in their 20s or 30s, whereas women usually don’t complain of snoring until their 50s.
Many sufferers of CAID also experience sleep apnea, a serious medical condition that can be fatal. Sleep apnea occurs when snoring is interrupted by silent pauses, during which time the person stops breathing because his or her airway has become completely blocked. The individual’s oxygen levels drop: the brain and heart do not get the oxygen that they need. This condition is directly linked to heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Therefore, if you know that you snore or have been told that you snore, it is important that you not only treat your symptoms but determine whether or not you are suffering from sleep apnea. Unfortunately, because snoring and apnea cause no pain to the sufferer, most people do not seek help, unless their significant other forces them to. Even then, sufferers, to their own detriment, are reluctant about seeking treatment.
