Sleep apnea is a serious condition that can affect a person’s ability to safely perform normal daily [...]]]> Normally during sleep, air moves in and out of the lungs as the upper airway (throat), chest muscles, and diaphragm move in a coordinated fashion. In a person with sleep apnea, air movement is periodically disrupted or reduced.

Sleep apnea is a serious condition that can affect a person’s ability to safely perform normal daily activities. It is thought that approximately 25 percent of adults are at risk for sleep apnea. Men are more commonly affected than women; other risk factors include middle and older age, being overweight or obese, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The throat is surrounded by muscles that open and close the airway while speaking, swallowing, or breathing. If these throat muscles relax unnaturally during sleep or if the throat is unusually small, the airway may be narrowed. This can result in snoring and decreased air flow into and out of the lungs, which is called an obstructive hypopnea. Complete closure of the airway results in cessation of all air movement, and is called an obstructive apnea. A person can have apneas as well as hyperapneas during sleep.

Changes in blood oxygen and carbon dioxide levels occur when breathing is abnormal during sleep. Even if these levels change only slightly, the brain recognizes that there has been an interruption in normal breathing. The brain also recognizes when more work is required to get air into the lungs, as may occur when the throat is completely or partially blocked.

This causes partial awakening (arousal) from sleep. The brain can be partially awake and still the person may not sense that he is awake. When these arousals occur, the throat muscles contract, the airway is reopened and normal breathing resumes. This is often, though not always, associated with a loud snore or snort. The person often goes back to sleep quickly, usually without being aware of the episode. Alternately, some patients with OSAH awaken suddenly and completely with a sensation of gasping, smothering, or choking.

Once sleep resumes, the throat muscles relax, the airway closes, and the pattern repeats itself. This cycle of abnormal breathing, disruption of sleep, resumption of sleep, and recurrence of abnormal breathing can occur many times throughout the night. In this way, OSAH can cause significant sleep disruption and deprivation as well as notable episodes of reduced blood oxygen levels. This is true even if the person is not aware of the frequent interruptions. In addition to poor quality sleep, OSAH may be associated with an increased risk of or worsening of common heart problems.

The main symptoms of OSAH are loud snoring and severe daytime sleepiness. However, some people have no symptoms. For example, if the person does not have a bed partner, he or she may not be aware of the snoring. Sleepiness can also develop gradually over time to the point that the person accepts it as normal.
Other symptoms may include one or more of the following:

Restless sleep
Awakening with choking, gasping, or smothering
Awakening with chest pain or discomfort
Morning dry mouth or sore throat
Confusion arising in the morning
Morning headaches
Personality change
Memory impairment, difficulty concentrating
Impotence
Frequent awakenings to urinate

Surgery is generally reserved for patients who cannot tolerate or do not improve with non-surgical treatments such as CPAP or oral devices. The procedures followed in a surgery can cause structures in the upper airways to get reshaped or the jaw to reposition which is helpful to some patients. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures; it removes the uvula and excessive tissue in the throat, including the tonsils if present. Other surgical techniques include genioglossus advancement, maxillary-mandibular advancement, and radiofrequency ablation (RFA), alone or in combination. In general, it is hard to predict how effective a surgical treatment will be in reducing or eliminating sleep apnea. Thus, such treatments should be considered with caution.

The surgery involved in Tracheostomy causes a permanent opening in the neck. It is reserved for patients with severe disease in whom less drastic measures have failed or are inappropriate. Although it is always successful in eliminating sleep apnea, tracheostomy requires significant lifestyle changes and carries some serious risks (eg, infection, bleeding, blockage).

Click in the link to get more information about sleep related problems and insomnia.

In the natural world animals sleep easily but not if they feel stressed by fear if they are in danger As humans we [...]]]> Every animal sleeps and humans are no different so it should not be a problem and it makes you wonder about the reasons people regularly suffer from insomnia and other sleeping problems

In the natural world animals sleep easily but not if they feel stressed by fear if they are in danger As humans we do not usually get all stressed out worrying that we are about to be eaten but there are many other things that cause us stress.

Because we lead such busy lives and modern life is so very complicated we have multiple things going on at any time and we should not be surprised we find it all difficult to know how best to deal with so many different things. Having problems that remain unresolved when you go to bed means even if you are not thinking about them your brain never switches off completely and the worries are active in your subconcious.

You may feel very tired and want to sleep but while your mind is active worrying about things preventing you from relaxing and falling asleep. After a while of this failure to fall asleep you start worrying about getting to sleep and eventually you begin to feel annoyed when you know how badly you want to sleep.

If you are to relax and fall asleep you need to get over these problems which prevent you relaxing enough to drfit off to a restful night of sleep and allow yourself to get over the problems associated with insomnia. You might try resolving to deal with the specific problem the next day and you can relax and forget about the problem for now Sometimes making a positive decision like thiscan allow you to relax knowing you have taken an active step towards solving the issue I find this helps me deal with the worries of the day and I am able to relax and sleep because I know that the problem will be acted on when I wake up in the morning.

When preparing for bed getting all your daily worries out of your head will not help you find insomnia solutions and may prevent your relaxation and taking a book to bed to read works well in helping many people relax.

A lot of people claim warm milky drinks help then prepare for a good nights sleep but caffeine is probably best avoided at this time of day. Sleeping should come naturally and the way to achieve that seems to be learning how to relax properly and all the ways to fall asleep help us get there will assist in avoiding the problem of insomnia.

PreMenstrual Syndrome (PMS) symptoms can be dreadfully disturbing. However, they can be remedied and equilibrium can be established. In [...]]]> WHAT IS PMS?

For a lot of women, the time before menstruation may be filled with intense physical and emotional discomfort initiated by chemical-hormonal changes in the body. Nontheless, this condition and cause deserves a further look.

PreMenstrual Syndrome (PMS) symptoms can be dreadfully disturbing. However, they can be remedied and equilibrium can be established. In fact, with an adept master herbalist, who has a long established practice in Chinese medicine,most PMSconditions can quickly be resolved,get at the root concernwhile providinga natural solution. It is reasonable to expect initialrelief within 2 hours unless the individual has alongterm illness. With chronic situations, a realistic expectation would be 45-90 days.

PMS Imbalances fall into three categories:

1. Mild Menstrual symptoms – symptoms do not interfere with daily activities.
2. Moderate PMS symptoms – symptoms observably upset some of the activities of daily living.
3. Severe Premenstrual Imbalance – extreme symptoms which interrupt
   many activities of daily living (ADL).

Click here for more PreMenstrual Syndrome information.The actual condition isthe result of blood pollution and coagulation or toxic clogging. Most likely, because the the internal organs have become tired, the liver isn’t filtering the blood and the spleen doesn’t have the energy to quicken the blood as usual. Any stressors or life excesses may upset them easily. The above link goes to solutions that reverse this stress and aging process.

Additional PMS FACTS

• Scientific research has not determined the specific cause of PMS. Nevertheless, PMS is considered to be linked to both hormonal and neuro-psychological factors. The common element between the factors is the blood and its quality.
• {PMS is most prevalent among women in their late 20s to early 40s, with at least one child, or with a past history of either postpartum depression or an emotional disorder}.
• PMS is estimated to affect 75% of the women during their childrearing years.
• 5 – 7% of women have been determined to suffer from severe PMS.
• As many as 50 – 60% of women with severe PMS also suffer from a mood disorder, such as depression, anxiety, compulsive behaviors, insomnia, and migraines.
• PMS can affect women with normal monthly cycles.
• PMS may happen in women withnormal progesterone and estrogen levels.