Will Treating Sleep Apnea Help You Lose Weight
Evidence suggests that OSA patients who effectively manage their sleep apnea may find it easier to lose weight. In one study, ghrelin levels were higher in OSA patients than in people without OSA of the same body mass but fell to comparable levels after two days of using CPAP treatment.
Conflictingly, long-term use of CPAP, the most effective sleep apnea treatment, has been associated with weight gain in some studies. However, the reasons for this association are unclear, and more research is needed. Given the complexity of weight and sleep apnea treatment, overweight patients should not solely rely on CPAP therapy or apnea treatments as their sole means of weight control.
Why Choose Children’s Hospital Colorado For Your Child’s Csa
The Children’s Colorado is an excellent resource for treating children and adolescent with CSA. Or providers are known internationally for their expertise in sleep research and sleep treatments. The team is made up of sleep specialists trained in different aspects of sleep treatments, including:
- Sleep physicians who specialize in children’s breathing issues and children’s ear-nose-and throat problems
- A sleep-specialized psychologist
- A sleep-specialized respiratory therapist
- A dedicated sleep nurse
We often coordinate care with other specialists, like neurologists, and primary care physicians involved in each family’s treatment. Most importantly, we have very caring staff members who are willing to listen to families and “go the extra mile” to improve sleep and optimize development.
How Excess Weight Causes Sleep Apnea
Several health conditions increase the likelihood of developing sleep apnea, but OSA is most common in people who are overweight or obese. Excess weight creates fat deposits in a persons neck called pharyngeal fat. Pharyngeal fat can block a persons upper airway during sleep when the airway is already relaxed. This is why snoring is one of the most common sleep apnea symptoms air is literally being squeezed through a restricted airway, causing a loud noise.
Additionally, increased abdominal girth from excess fat can compress a persons chest wall, decreasing lung volume. This reduced lung capacity diminishes airflow, making the upper airway more likely to collapse during sleep. OSA risk continues to increase with a rising body mass index , which measures ones body fat based on height and weight. Even a 10% weight gain is associated with a six-fold increase in OSA risk.
Less common causes of sleep apnea include enlarged tonsils that block the airway, anatomical features such as a large neck or narrow throat, endocrine disorders , acid reflux, lung diseases, and heart problems. However, roughly 6090% of adults with OSA are overweight.
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Quitting Smoking And Sleep Apnea
In a hallmark 2014 study, researchers found that smoking raises the risk of developing sleep apnea. If you decide to quitcongratulations, first of all! Secondly, quitting itself isnt necessarily a cure, but it can certainly help.
If you do smoke and get poor sleep, its likely you are able to mask the symptoms of poor sleep through nicotine. Nicotine is a stimulant, so a few cigarettes a day will give you an extra energy boost in the same way a cup of coffee would, and you can hide those symptoms of poor sleep. Coffee has its pros and cons as they relate to sleep, but smokings overall impact on your respiratory system makes it worse for your sleeping. Smoking narrows your airway because of the swelling of tissues and mucus. Stopping can help because smoking makes blood oxygen level drops worse due to lung damage. These drops are slowed down when you stop smoking.
How Is Sleep Apnoea Diagnosed
If you think you or someone you know has the signs and symptoms of sleep apnoea, see a GP. If your GP suspects you may have sleep apnoea, you may be referred to a sleep specialist.
Depending on their examination and assessment, your GP or sleep physician may arrange for you to have a sleep study.
A sleep study is a medical test used to diagnose a range of sleep disorders including sleep apnoea. A sleep study looks at what you do when you go to sleep. Most sleep studies measure:
- brain signals
- oxygen levels in the blood
- sleep position and limb movements
- heart rate
- breathing and snoring.
You will be attached to a portable machine and monitoring leads will be placed on your body to track your sleep throughout the night.
Sleep studies can be done at home or by staying overnight in a special sleep clinic and are provided in public and private health services.
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How Is Central Sleep Apnoea Syndrome Treated
- MaturityApnoea of prematurity/infancy may improve as the child gets older and the respiratory centre matures. It is likely the sleep consultants will check this by organising follow-up sleep studies.
- Supplemental oxygenBreathing extra oxygen during sleep may help reduce the number of apnoeic pauses and lessen the effects of CSA by improving the oxygen levels in the blood.
- Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure BPAP is a form of breathing assistance using a ventilator device that delivers extra air pressure into the airway via a mask placed on the face. The level of air pressure provided varies on breathing in or breathing out. BPAP can also be set to deliver a breath if there has not been a breath within a certain number of seconds.
- MedicationsIt is possible that medication may be available to help stimulate breathing in patients with CSA.
- SurgicalIf the brainstem is affected by either an abnormality or a compression from the skull, such as in Chiari malformation, surgical options may be available.
Weight Loss: The Solution To Resolving Sleep Apnea For Most People
For the majority of people, OSA is tied to being overweight or obese. Because of this, weight loss is often the first and best option for resolving your sleep apnea. Carrying extra weight contributes to breathing problems during sleep, as fat or adipose tissues that line the neck cause narrowing of the air passages. For an overwhelming majority of patients , just getting to a healthier weight is enough to make their sleep apnea go away.
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Symptoms Of Sleep Apnea That Can Be Mistaken For Something Else
Sleep apnea, a condition that consistently interrupts healthy sleep, can affect many areas of your overall health. Since a lack of sleep can produce similar symptoms across multiple conditions, sleep apnea can be confused with other diagnoses. Here are three symptoms of sleep apnea that you might mistake for something else.
What Is Central Sleep Apnea
Central sleep apnea is a condition defined by pauses in breathing due to a lack of respiratory effort during sleep. Unlike obstructive sleep apnea, the pauses in breathing throughout the night are due to the lack of respiratory muscles activating or the brain failing to ask the respiratory muscles to activate.
To breathe in, our brain sends a signal to the diaphragm and the muscles of our rib cage to contract. The contraction of the diaphragm and rib cage muscles produces an inhalation. In central sleep apnea, there is typically a lack of communication from the brain to these muscles.
It is important to note that a few central apneas per night is considered normal. We often forget to breathe briefly as we drift off to sleep or after waking up.
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How Is Central Sleep Apnoea Syndrome Diagnosed
Breathing difficulties while sleeping can be caused by a variety of medical conditions, so a range of diagnostic tests may be needed to confirm or rule out CSA. Sleep studies are the main method of investigating CSA. A sleep study usually means an overnight stay in a sleep unit, where measurements of the childs breathing during sleep are recorded by technologists/physiologists experienced in working with children. The measurements are recorded using stick-on or wrap-around sensors and include respiratory rate, heart rate, oxygen saturation, chest wall movement, airflow, measurement of CO2, video and sound recording. The results are then interpreted by a paediatric sleep consultant, who can make a diagnosis of CSA.
The Link Between Ptsd And Sleep Apnea
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Sleep-disordered breathing can be a sign of untreated OSA, which is associated with worse symptoms of PTSD, as well as an increased risk of heart failure, dementia, and certain cancers. Sleep-disordered breathing is present in 95% of individuals who evacuated a fire, and 91% of victims who experienced consecutive crimes.
Veterans are up to three times more likely to have PTSD. Men, who represent a larger percentage of the veteran population, are also more likely to have sleep apnea. According to one study, 69% of Vietnam veterans with PTSD also had sleep-disordered breathing.
Among the general population, the risk for sleep apnea increases with age. However, young veterans with PTSD may have an outsized risk for their age group. One study found that 69% of young Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans screened positive for OSA.
Individuals with PTSD who also experience sleep problems such as OSA are likely to experience more severe depression, a higher suicide risk, increased substance abuse, and a poorer quality of life. Individuals who develop OSA before age 70 also have an increased risk of early death.
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What Is The Best Course Of Treatment For Sleep Apnea
Trick question: the best treatment for sleep apnea is the one that works best for you. If you think you have sleep apnea, consult with a physician to evaluate whether or not you need a sleep study.
If you do and it is concluded that you have any of the three types of sleep apnea, youll likely start with CPAP therapy. CPAP therapy involves using a mask that fits on your face, which blows air into your airways, so they stay open at night. While wearing a CPAP mask can take some getting used to, changes in technology have made CPAP therapy much more comfortable for wearers today. There are also other types of machines, such as an APAP and a BiPAP machine that can also help that course of treatment.
Its also entirely possible that with a little willpower and weight loss, your sleep apnea can resolve itself. Snoring in itself isnt indicative of sleep apnea. There are cases where its simply an irritating form of noise pollution. However, if you snore or have been told you do, you should certainly see a doctor to discuss whether or not you should do a sleep study.
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How Long Does It Take To Treat Sleep Apnea
Because there are several different ways that sleep apnea can be treated, each has a different timeframe for how long the condition takes to improve.
Surgical Procedure a surgical procedure can take several weeks or months to fully heal and allow the inflammation to go down. Because of this, the time to cure sleep apnea through surgery can be around 1-3 months.
Weight Loss As mentioned before, weight loss can have a direct impact on the severity of sleep apnea. Losing enough weight can potentially cure you of the condition. This means that the time to cure sleep apnea through weight loss is tied to just how fast you lose it.
CPAP Getting a CPAP machine can be one of the fastest ways to cure sleep apnea. Because the machine is essentially helping you breathe, you will be able to sleep through the night without an apneic event when you first start using it.
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Alter Your Sleep Position
Though a small change, altering your sleep position can reduce sleep apnea symptoms and improve your nights rest. A 2006 study found that more than half of obstructive sleep apnea cases are dependent on position.
have shown sleeping on your back called the supine position can worsen symptoms. For some adults, sleeping on the side can help breathing return to normal.
However, a found that children with sleep apnea sleep better on their backs.
Discuss body positioning and your sleep apnea symptoms with your doctor to evaluate your options for treatment.
Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome
Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome , often referred to by its older name “Ondine’s curse,” is a rare and very severe inborn form of abnormal interruption and reduction in breathing during sleep. This condition involves a specific homeobox gene, PHOX2B, which guides maturation of the autonomic nervous system certain loss-of-function mutations interfere with the brain’s development of the ability to effectively control breathing. There may be a recognizable pattern of facial features among individuals affected with this syndrome.
Once almost uniformly fatal, CCHS is now treatable. Children who have it must have tracheotomies and access to mechanical ventilation on respirators while sleeping, but most do not need to use a respirator while awake. The use of a diaphragmatic pacemaker may offer an alternative for some patients. When pacemakers have enabled some children to sleep without the use of a mechanical respirator, reported cases still required the tracheotomy to remain in place because the vocal cords did not move apart with inhalation.
Persons with the syndrome who survive to adulthood are strongly instructed to avoid certain condition-aggravating factors, such as alcohol use, which can easily prove lethal.
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Is Central Sleep Apnea A Death Sentence
Central sleep apnea is a condition in which a persons breathing becomes shallow or stopped during sleep. The apnea can last for up to 30 seconds, during which time the person may not be able to breathe. Central sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of death, and it is the most common type of apnea.
Studies have found that central sleep apnea is linked with an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and death from any cause. There are treatments available for central sleep apnea, and patients should see their doctor if they experience difficulty breathing during sleep. The term central sleep apnea is sometimes used to refer to OSA. However, this is not an accurate description of the condition as it also involves central apneas.
Can Sleep Apnea Go Away
For the most part, sleep apnea is a chronic condition that does not go away. Anatomy tends to remain fixed, especially after adolescence has ended. Therefore, children with sleep apnea may retain hope for the condition being successfully and definitively treated. The removal of tonsils and adenoids with tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy may be very beneficial for children with sleep apnea. The treatment of allergies and expansion of the hard palate with an orthodontic therapy called rapid maxillary expansion may prove helpful. After growth has ended, there remain additional treatment options.
Teenagers who have completed puberty and other adults have surgical options available to them that may prove useful. The most successful is jaw advancement surgery. This procedure, also called maxillo-mandibular advancement, can be highly effective, resolving sleep apnea in upwards of 80% of people. It involves major surgery in which the jawbones are surgically broken, moved forward, and then fixed in place, typically with titanium screws and plates. This changes the facial profile. Recovery typically takes several months.
In addition, there are some risk factors that are modifiable with other changes that do not require surgery.
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Cpap For Treatment Of Sleep Apnea
A CPAP machine is typically the go-to treatment for how to get rid of sleep apnea. CPAP, which stands for continuous positive airway pressure, is a machine that hooks to a hose and mask and is worn over the nose during sleep. The continuous pressure from the machine works to hold open your airway during sleep, allowing air to flow freely to prevent periods of apnea. In other words, it holds your airway open while you sleep so you can keep breathing.
The reason CPAP machines work so well is that generally, it is soft tissues in the neck, throat, and upper airway, along with the tongue, that relax during sleep and obstruct the airway. This obstruction is what causes you to stop breathing for several seconds or minutes while youre asleep. This type of sleep apnea is known as obstructive sleep apnea , and is the most common.
CPAP will not cure sleep apnea but can be an effective treatment if used properly.
Obstructive Vs Central Sleep Apnea: Key Differences And Treatment Options
Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that affects thousands of individuals. With this condition, you have an interruption in your breathing while sleeping that occurs through repetitive pauses, referred to as apneic events. There are several types of sleep apnea, but two prominent types include obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.
As a sleep technologist, its important for you to know the key differences between central and obstructive apnea so you know how to best treat your patients who may have one or the other disorder.
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