Sleep Apnea- Sleep Disorder

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Overview
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that is very serious and dangerous to the human body. Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder when an individual repeatedly go through a cycle of stopping and starting breaths (Harms, 2013). According to Myers (2011), 1 in 20 of Americans have sleep apnea (p. 92). Another statistic that is interesting is about every night, approximately 50 million Americans suffers with breathing cessations. In addition to that statement, this cycle can continue numerous of times for at least forty seconds or even longer. When the brain suffers from lack of oxygen for at least a minute, the skin and lips and can turn into a bluish color. When the brain senses that there is no oxygen, the sleeper awakes suddenly, and the throat and tongue muscles tighten, which allows oxygen to progress into lungs with cycles of snorting breaths. Oxygen is restored to the blood, which means everything goes back to normal, and the cycle continues repeatedly (Dement & Vaughan, 1999). Sleep apnea is dangerous and needs to be more recognized.
Two Main Types of Sleep Apnea
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
This type of sleep apnea is the most common. Obstructive sleep apnea is the third leading disorder to be identified (Dement & Vaughan, 1991). Obstructive sleep apnea is when the throat muscles temporarily relax, and blocks the throat airway while asleep. When an individual tongue and soft palate relaxes, then the airway is narrowed. This concept can be very dangerous because the individual cannot breathe at moments at a time. The most common sign of this type of sleep apnea is snoring. It is most frequent among middle-aged and older adults. It is also very frequent among obese individuals. Treatments for obstructive sleep apnea is the con...

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...e deaths. We as people need to be more educated on different diseases and disorders because if we know more about something, then we can prevent the disorder from happening. Sleep apnea is curable, so there are ways to fix the problem. We need to be more self-actualized enough to know the symptoms, risk factors, different alternatives of treatment and surgeries, and the types of sleep apnea, or even other diseases and disorders. Sleep apnea is becoming more common in Americans, and we as the people need to make a change.

References
Dement, W., & Vaughan, C. (1999). The Promise of Sleep. : Dolacorte Press.
Harms, R. (2013, January 1). Sleep Apnea. . Retrieved , from http://www.mayoclinc.org
Myers, D. (2011). Major Sleep Disorders. Exploring Pyschology. : Kevin Feyen.
Peretz, L. (2003). Restless Nights: Understanding Snoring and Sleep Apnea.: Yadioth Ahoront Books.

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