Has this ever happened to you? While sleeping, you suddenly feel like you can’t breathe and your sleep is interrupted. This happens because of sleep apnea. It’s a sleep disorder. Because of this, enough oxygen does not reach our lungs and brain. Starts to suffocate. In such a situation, the brain tries to wake us up somehow, which disrupts sleep.
Mild sleep apnea involves waking up 50 to 100 times per night. As this problem increases, so does the frequency of nighttime sleep disturbances. When the problem is severe, a person may wake up more than 250 times a night. As a result, sleep is not complete and fatigue persists throughout the day.
Due to repeated respiratory arrests at night, there is a lack of oxygen in the blood. As a result, all important organs of the body are affected. Due to lack of oxygen in the brain, brain function, memory and concentration weaken. Sexual dysfunction begins to occur. Sometimes even life-threatening illnesses, such as a heart attack or stroke, can occur.
According to an AIIMS study published in the famous journal “Science Direct”, 10.4 million young people in India face sleep apnea. This means that around 13% of young Indians suffer from sleep apnea.
so today’In the medical file“I’m going to talk about sleep apnea. You will also learn that-
What are the symptoms of sleep apnea? Can it lead to a life-threatening illness? Why do doctors forbid their patients from driving? What to eat and what not to eat if you have sleep apnea?
Before reading the article in detail, understand from one incident how costly ignoring sleep apnea can be.
The world has suffered a major blow from sleep apnea.
It was the spring of 1986 when a terrible explosion occurred at the Chernobyl power plant. In this accident, more than 50,000,000 people in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus were victims of radiation. Over the next few years, people affected by his radiation continued to die of cancer. Due to this, the Soviet Union suffered a loss of millions of rupees. It affected the whole world.
During the investigation of this accident, it was found that the technician who operated the switch was a patient suffering from sleep apnea and had not slept for 13 hours. He felt a deep sleep shortly before passing away and remained asleep. As a result, a terrible accident occurred. Lack of sleep and sleep apnea were considered to be the main causes of this accident. However, the Soviet Union was accused of having found such pretexts to hide the accident.
What are the symptoms of sleep apnea?
Dr Animesh Arya, head of the department of pulmonology and sleep medicine at Delhi’s Shri Balaji Action Medical Institute, says ignoring sleep apnea can be costly. Most people don’t recognize its symptoms. They therefore do not receive the necessary treatment. What are its symptoms, see in the chart.
How many types of sleep apnea are there?
According to the American National Sleep Foundation, there are three types of sleep apnea. The most common of these is obstructive sleep apnea. Apart from this, central and complex sleep apnea occurs. See details in chart-
Sleep apnea can lead to life-threatening illness
Dr. Animesh Arya says that sleep apnea seems to be a very common health problem in the early days. Most people don’t consider snoring to be a big problem, but because of it, our blood lacks oxygen every night.
Blood provides oxygen to all parts of our body. Due to lack of oxygen, the functioning of all parts of the body begins to be affected.
Since our brain is completely dependent on oxygen to survive, it is most affected by sleep apnea. Due to this, conditions such as memory loss, depression and mental confusion begin to form.
Sleep apnea can cause problems like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol. Because of this, life-threatening illnesses like heart attack and stroke can also occur. Check the chart to see what other conditions may occur due to sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea patients should not drive
Dr Animesh Arya says sleep apnea patients should not drive as they can fall asleep anytime and anywhere. Even a nap of just a few seconds while driving can put your life at risk.
Apart from this, doctors advise their patients not to use heavy machines. The Chernobyl power plant explosion is the best example of this.
Sleep apnea patients should also avoid cooking, as suddenly falling asleep in the kitchen can put them at risk of getting burned by hot oil or water.
Apart from that, see in the chart which tasks they should avoid.
Dr. Animesh Arya says that if symptoms of sleep apnea appear, it is important to seek treatment after consulting an expert. However, we can reduce the problems caused by this condition by taking certain measures at home. Look at the graph.
What are the important things to keep in mind when suffering from sleep apnea?
Dr. Animesh Arya says that in this condition, we need to pay attention to the quality of sleep first and foremost. To do this, set the right time for sleeping and waking up.
The bedroom should be completely dark and try to keep the bed in such a position that the side of our head is slightly elevated compared to the feet.
To avoid any fatal situation at night, it is important to eat dinner at least two hours before sleeping because in sleep apnea, there is a lack of oxygen in our blood during sleep. If we have eaten food just before sleeping, most of the blood flow needed for digestion will be around the stomach. As a result, there will be less blood flow to the rest of the body and there will be a lack of oxygen. This can create a fatal situation.
Apart from this, we also need to pay special attention to our eating habits. Check out the graphic on what sleep apnea patients should and shouldn’t eat.
……………………………. Also read these news 1. Health note – Why do you want to sleep in the afternoon: a nap of 5 to 30 minutes is magical, but more harmful.
According to a 2023 study published in the National Library of Medicine, a 5- to 30-minute afternoon nap protects the brain from information overload. This relieves stress and improves mood.
2. Health – The body repairs itself internally during sleep: the growing family of good bacteria in the stomach.
According to a study by Local Circles, 55% of Indians do not get healthy sleep. These people are either unable to sleep deeply or able to sleep less than 6 hours. 2.5 million people in the country suffer from sleep apnea.