Dealing With Sleep Apnea And Depression
Of all the sleep disorders in the world, sleep apnea is definitely one of the most common. The term sleep apnea is used to describe a condition that involves repetitive pauses in breathing during sleep. In many cases a person suffering from this condition is unaware that there is any problem at all, except perhaps their snoring.
Symptoms
There are certain signs and symptoms that are commonly associated with this condition, including excessive daytime sleepiness, social problems, emotional problems, and restless sleep. More often than not it is loved ones, such as the person's partner or roommate, who recognize that there is a problem because of the incredible noise and makes the person seek help.
Associated features include loud snoring, morning headaches, constant drowsiness, irritability, heartburn, reduced libido, restless sleep, weight gain, difficulty concentrating, high blood pressure, confusion upon awakening, and chest retraction during sleep, to name a few. Sleep apnea and depression are a bad combination.
Factors
There are quite a few different conditions that are associated with sleep apnea and depression is one of the most common. Sleep apnea and depression can be a dangerous combination, especially if the depression is particularly bad.
People with sleep apnea and similar conditions often get depressed very easily, although once the sleep apnea condition is treated and under control most of the depression symptoms will let up as well. The main reason that people with this condition become so depressed is because they get sleep deprived and their life starts to be affected as a result.
Any patients with sleep apnea and depression are usually advised to work on treating their sleep apnea and depression before anything else. There are a few different treatments that you can choose to try, and one that has proven to be particularly effective is the CPAP or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure therapy, which involves being hooked up to a breathing machine.
This treatment involves the person wearing a close fitting mask over the nose which is attached to a supply of continuously flowing air, air which comes in through a flexible plastic hose from a medical air pump.
Sleep apnea is incredibly common and affects millions of people worldwide. It can definitely be frightening and hard to deal with, but know that if you find the right doctor and use the right treatment, you will be able to effectively deal with your sleep apnea and get to feeling like your regular old self again in no time.
