Falling down to sleep is not necessarily a good thing
In the modern society where the pressure of life is multiplying, it is a rare state to sleep soundly. The “Sleeping God” who sleeps until dawn is especially envied. But a significant number of people who fall asleep too quickly are often accompanied by “sleep apnea,” which may raise blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease, according to a new study from Emory University.
“Sleeping on your back” is not necessarily a good thing
As the saying goes, “sleepy in spring, autumn and summer doze off, and winter and March when you can’t wake up”. As a necessary process of life, sleep is an important part of the body’s recovery, integration and consolidation of memory. In daily life, those who “sleep down” and “sleep until dawn” are often envied, and having these “sleep skills” is often regarded as healthy. But is this really the case?
It usually takes 15 to 30 minutes for people to go to bed and get ready to fall asleep until their brainwaves show that they enter the sleep state. Too short or too long time is actually an abnormal symptom. Too long is the familiar “difficulty falling asleep”. Type insomnia”; but too short is often overlooked and misunderstood. The actual situation is that “falling back to sleep” is likely to be a warning signal from the body and a precursor to the arrival of disease.
One study reported only severe sleep deprivation or those with certain sleep disorders such as “sleep apnea,” which refers to a pause in breathing during sleep The ability to “sleep right away” only occurs in people who suffer from mechanical problems in the brain, which can sometimes be a precursor to neurological disorders. Not only can these people “fall asleep” in bed, they can even fall asleep sitting or standing.
Experts point out that most patients with sleep apnea do not know they have the disease. After a long period of onset, we seek treatment in the sleep clinic. At this time, the brain and central nervous system, which have been in sleep hypoxia for a long time, may have suffered deep damage and lost the golden opportunity for early treatment.
Obstructive disorders predominate
How does sleep apnea “harm” the nervous system? Experts point out that clinically defined apnea refers to the interval between two breaths of at least 10 seconds, during which the human body will experience a drop in blood oxygen saturation and other phenomena.
Generally, sleep apnea can be divided into three types, obstructive and complex.
Central type means that the brain no longer sends corresponding signals to the tracheal muscles that control breathing, causing breathing to stop; Obstructive type means that the tracheal muscles physically relax, narrowing the trachea and temporarily blocking the passage; Hybrid is a mix of the first two.
The hallmark appearance of all three types is “thundering snoring”. Among the three types of sleep apnea, the obstructive type is the most familiar to the public and has the highest incidence, accounting for 84% of the total cases, while the central type and complex type account for only 0.4% and 15%, respectively.
Hundreds of breathing interruptions overnight
In patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSAS), the brain senses the body’s lack of oxygen , then commands the body to breathe hard, thus causing a brief awakening. Once awake, the throat regains tension, the airway is opened, breathing returns to normal, and the patient can fall asleep again. But after falling asleep, the throat began to relax and collapse, the degree of breathing force also increased, and sleep was interrupted again.
This vicious cycle will interrupt sleep hundreds of times every night, so that patients cannot have deep sleep, so they often experience drowsiness during the day, which affects work and even causes dangers such as car accidents. But most of the interruptions in breathing and awakenings were so short that the patients themselves did not remember them.
Experts pointed out that in addition to affecting people’s work and life, the more terrifying part of OSAS is that it can induce hypertension, heart failure, and myocardial infarction.
Good habits can relieve symptoms
Experts pointed out that although patients are eager to get rid of this disease, they should not go to the doctor indiscriminately. OSAS is a chronic disease closely related to lifestyle habits, which can be controlled but difficult to eradicate.
Therapeutic options;
Avoid drinking alcohol before bed, as alcohol can depress breathing and make breathing more frequent and severe after falling asleep;
Avoid taking sleeping pills, which can inhibit breathing, reduce the reflex of the throat muscles, and make the condition worse;
Sleep on your side, as some people only experience breathing interruptions when lying flat, but this This method is only effective for some patients;
Use some drugs to relieve nasal congestion. These drugs can be used to dilate the nasal passages and reduce snoring, but they can only improve the flow of nasal airflow, and cannot solve serious problems. Snoring or significant sleep apnea.
