How Sleep Apnea Affects Your Overall Health

Sleep apnea is viewed as a chronic disorder wherein an individual’s breathing stops and starts repeatedly during sleep.  The long-term effects of sleep apnea can pose a serious threat to your overall health as well.  If your snoring is extremely loud and you feel tired after getting a full night’s sleep, you might be suffering with this condition.  Sleep deprivation is one of the side effects of snoring and that affects your health over time.

There are 3 types of sleep apnea to be concerned with:

• Obstructive sleep apnea or OSA – as the more common form of the disorder, OSA occurs when the muscles of the throat relax and cause a narrowing of the airway

• Central sleep apnea – typically occurs when a person’s brain fails to send the proper signals to those muscles that control their breathing

• Complex sleep apnea syndrome – this occurs when a person suffers with central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea

If you think you may have this condition/disorder, you should see your physician as soon as possible.  Treating sleep apnea will help to ease your symptoms as well as the side effects of snoring (see below) and help prevent serious or even life-threatening complications in the future.

For the unawares, snoring is considered to be the third leading reason for relationship issues. When you snore, the other partner gets equally disturbed and there is loss of restful sleep. Thus, not just the snorer but the bed partner is equally at risk of developing health issues. That is why it is important to consider seeking medical assistance initially. Additionally, you need to look for anti-snoring remedies to ensure that you don’t fester the issue and lead to complications later on.

Common Symptoms of Sleep Apnea and the Side Effects of Snoring

The symptoms and warning signs of OSA and central sleep apnea often overlap and occasionally make it difficult to determine the type you’re suffering with.  The most common warning signs of these two sleep disorders include:

• difficulties staying asleep (insomnia)
• dry mouth or sore throat in the morning
• excessive daytime fatigue or sleepiness
• gasping for air while sleeping
• headaches
• interrupted breathing during sleep (usually noticed by another individual)
• irritability and mood swings
• loud snoring
• trouble concentrating and paying attention

These symptoms indicate a serious problem that could adversely affect your health in the long run.  You should speak with your doctor as soon as possible about the potential long-term effects of sleep apnea.

How does Sleep Apnea affect Our Bodies?

The most common characteristic of OSA are repeated pauses in your breathing when sleeping.  When this happens, your body typically wakes you up so you start breathing again.  There can be dozens of these interruptions every hour and can prevent you from getting good quality sleep and leave your feeling exhausted during the following day.  However, sleep apnea does much more to your body than just making you sleepy.  It causes other side effects of snoring.  If left untreated, the disorder can contribute to diabetes, heart disease, and other health risks associated with the long-term effects of sleep apnea.  Here are 15 ways that obstructive sleep apnea can affect your body:

• Abnormal cholesterol levels – sleep apnea can cause people to be more prone to higher LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels
• Acid reflux or GERD – individuals suffering with this condition often complain that their sleeping disorder is worsening their heartburn
• Adult asthma – sleep apnea can increase the risk of complications from asthma
• Breathing difficulties – one of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea is numerous interruptions to a person’s breathing during sleep
• Decreased sexual drive – OSA curbs men’s sexual desires and may even contribute to ED (erectile dysfunction)
• Depression – individuals suffering with sleep apnea are more likely to suffer with depression than those who don’t have the disorder
• Fatigue – repeatedly waking up during sleep leaves you feeling fatigued and tired the next day
• Heart problems – sleep apnea has been associated with an elevated risk of heart failure, hypertension, irregular heart rhythm, and stroke
• Higher blood sugar levels – people with diabetes are more prone to suffering with sleep apnea and vice versa; it can also make managing diabetes more difficult
• Hypertension or high blood pressure – sleep apnea elevates the risk of hypertension which can make breathing more difficult
• Liver problems – OSA has been associated with fatty liver disease and higher-than-normal liver enzyme levels
• Lower oxygen saturation – repeated breathing interruptions can deprive the body of the oxygen needed for proper function
• Memory loss – the brain cannot properly consolidate memories when a person has sleep apnea, so they are more likely to struggle with memory loss
• Mental confusion – the lack of sleep can make it difficult to solve problems and think clearly
• Weakened immune system – a lack of sleep weakens your immune system and can leave you more vulnerable to illness and infections

If left untreated, the long-term effects of sleep apnea and the side effects of snoring can become potentially dangerous.  We’ve already seen how OSA can take a toll on brain function.  However, recent studies have shown that people suffering with sleep apnea demonstrated reduced levels of gray matter concentration (i.e. the cerebral cortex).  In addition to this, the long-term effects of sleep apnea are cancer, heart disease, and stroke, all of which can be fatal.

Although Asonor Anti-Snoring Solution isn’t a cure for OSA, it has been proven effective at reducing the intensity of snoring episodes. It helps to tighten the throat tissues when applied every night. That reduces the vibrations in the air passages and reduces the snores. As a non-invasive anti snoring solution, it is fast acting and has been lineally proven to be effective.

 To learn more about this product, contact Asonor by e-mailing your message to [email protected].