Snoring and sleep apnea are problems that affect sleep quality seriously.
For this reason, these problems, which arise due to various reasons, affect the quality of life of the person quite negatively unless treated.
Therefore, before the time passes, the causes should be determined in the first place and a treatment should be applied accordingly.
What is Snoring?
Snoring is a major problem that reduces a person's sleep quality.
It is also noticed by others, not by the person himself.
At the same time, it can cause a psychological pressure on the person with reservations as well as
being the subject of ridicule.
Causes of Snoring
Snoring occurs due to various reasons.
These reasons;
- Being overweight
- Use of alcohol
- Using muscle relaxant medications
- Strenuous physical activity
- Sleeping position
- Nasal curvature
Who is it seen in?
It is seen more in men than in women. This is due to the fact that body fat occurs in the lower regions in women and in the upper areas in men. In addition, snoring is more common in people between 35 and 50 years old and overweight.
How to Treat Snoring?
The treatment varies from person to person. For this reason, the cause of snoring should be determined before snoring treatment.
Snoring is mostly;
- Surgical interventions such as tonsil and adenoid removal performed by otolaryngologists,
- Radiofrequency-like methods,
- It is treated with intraoral apparatus (snoring device) applied by dentists.
- edilmektedir.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Snoring does not harm the person's health except that it reduces the sleep quality of the person and at the same time creates a social problem.
However, sleep apnea due to snoring is a health problem that needs to be treated. Sleep apnea causes breathing to stop for more than 10 seconds during sleep.
Therefore, interruption of breathing during sleep;
- Poor quality sleep
- Heart rhythm disorders,
- Hypertension,
- Paralysis,
- It may cause consequences such as sudden death.
Sleep Apnea Symptoms
The main symptom of sleep apnea is cessation of breathing during sleep. However, it also has different symptoms. Sleep apnea symptoms;
- Insomnia,
- Headache,
- Nervousness,
- Lack of concentration,
- Memory problems,
- Frequent urination,
- Restlessness during sleep,
- Snoring,
- Throat pain,
- Dry mouth.
Causes of Sleep Apnea
It is usually seen in people who are overweight, have large tonsils and adenoids. The main reason for sleep apnea is that the muscles in the throat relax enough to disrupt breathing.
How is Sleep Apnea Diagnosed?
People who have snoring problems first pass the sleep apnea test. For this test, called polysomnography, people stay in a sleeping room for one night. Then patients who are not diagnosed with sleep apnea are treated only with snoring.
Sleep Apnea Treatment Methods
For the treatment of sleep apnea, first of all, the type and depth of the disease, as well as the characteristics of the respiratory tract of the person should be examined. Treatment is decided after these examinations.
Sleep apnea treatment methods are as follows;
-
The mask attached to an air machine called CPAP is worn to the patient and the compressed air determined by the doctor is transmitted to the patient. The device should be used overnight. In this way, the closure of the respiratory tract is prevented thanks to the compressed air. Thus, the patient does not experience problems such as stopping breathing in his sleep.
-
People with sleep apnea need to make changes in their lifestyle. Therefore, it is extremely important for people to make changes in lifestyle to eliminate sleep apnea symptoms.
People with snoring or sleep apnea;
- Quit smoking and at the same time alcohol,
- Controlling their weight
- Doing sports regularly
- Do not eat heavy meals just before sleep,
- They need to make simple changes such as sleeping on their side.
A special apparatus prepared by dentists to open the airway by pushing the lower jaw
- Forward can be used.
- In case of negative results from the treatment options in the sleep apnea problem, a treatment that includes reducing or completely eliminating the tissues that narrow the airway during sleep in the throat can be applied.
