Why you need a sleep apnea testÂ
Life is fast paced and there is never any time to sit down and relax. Are you always tired everyday even on your day off; it could be sleep apnea. But how do you know if the tiredness is sleep apnea or just from your normal routine? A sleep apnea test can help provide you with the answer; these tests are now widely available in each country thanks to the advancement of technology and provide a whole host of analytics to the user.
While sleep apnea is not life-threatening, various studies have found that if a person does not get enough oxygen during sleep there can be an imbalance in antioxidants in cells and accelerate aging. This process can also lead to an imbalance of blood pH and hardening of the internal cardiovascular lining; which may lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and other medical issues.
Testing for sleep apnea at home can quickly and effectively help assess your blood-oxygen level while you sleep. If this blood oxygen level drops below the nominal level, then you should talk to your healthcare professional about this.
In addition to oxygen supply, a sleep apnea device can help assess if you are getting REM sleep; a deeper sleep that is needed to feel rested in the morning. Typically, this sleep is normally achieved in 2-hour segments with intermittent lighter levels of sleep caused by restlessness. In general, you need 4 hours REM sleep each night to be ready for the next day and a sleep apnea device can be used to monitor this in relation to body position, snoring and other key metrics.
Treatment of sleep apnea
A periodic sleep apnea test is useful during the treatment period to monitor and track progress of the prescribed treatment. Most obstructive sleep apnea cases are caused by a person being overweight and regular exercise and a healthy diet is prescribed and a medium to long term monitoring process required to assess the efficacy of the treatment.
For poor blood-oxygen levels continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is normally recommended in midrange to severe cases of sleep apnea. This helps improve the blood oxygen level while reducing the risk of soft tissue obstruction of the throat through using positive air pressure.
In general, sleeping on your side can help reduce the weight of soft tissue on the throat reducing the potential for obstruction to occur. To achieve this, it may be recommended that bedding supports are made with pillows or blankets to help reduce the potential of the sleeper from laying on their back. Alternatively, a wedge may be made to increase the elevation of the sleeper’s head and torso to also help reduce soft tissue pressure of the sleep apnea sufferer.
In a worst case scenario of obstructive sleep apnea some soft tissue is removed surgically from the sufferer such as tonsils, adenoids, soft palate or tongue to help reduce the risk of obstruction. These procedures are rare and normally associated with additional health issues.
The benefits of a home test
A sleep apnea test is typically used first before any treatment is prescribed to identify if a person has sleep apnea. Testing for sleep apnea at home is the easiest way to achieve this diagnosis as the devices are readily available and allows the wearer to sleep in their own bed instead of needing overnight observations to be scheduled. This method is now backed by insurance companies and doctors as the recommended first step in diagnosis and monitoring of sleep apnea, saving healthcare resources while providing effective diagnosis and monitoring.