My Sleep Apnea

I have Sleep Apnea. For those without exposure to it, it’s the closing of the airways when the body is in a relaxation state (i.e., asleep). The symptoms include loud snoring and frequent (noisy) awakenings, called arousals. In the past, I would snore like a buzz saw; regardless of sleep position.

The closing airways cause me to fight my way back to a semi-awake state. This fight injects the heart with an unhealthy shot of adrenaline, shocking it to an elevated heart rate. These shocks are not a good thing if they happen too often. After a sleep study, the doctor advised me I was having arousals an average of 90 times per hour! More than once a minute, I was fighting for breath and stressing my heart. The study showed I was never getting into REM sleep (where the body recovers from fatigue and clears the mind of pent-up garbage) and never dreamed.

My father also snored like this. To this day, I attribute his early passing (of a heart attack under 60) to untreated sleep apnea that stressed his heart over the years.

When diagnosed (in 2002), my weight was an unhealthy 230 pounds. With this weight, my airways closed frequently, preventing me from getting any rest. After the diagnosis, I gained another 14 pounds in the year following, which would have made matters far worse, had I not been receiving treatment.

The most effective treatment for sleep apnea is the Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) machine with a mask that covers my nose. The machine applies a gentle positive air pressure into my nose, keeping the airways open. The headgear is a little wild to see, but easy to use: I forget I have it on. Once I started getting better sleep, I was able to awaken in the early morning to go to the gym on a regular basis. I didn’t feel like dozing off in the afternoons and was generally less crabby.

Losing weight also helps your airways from closing as well. I’ve dropped 44 pounds in the past three years, at a healthy rate through diet and exercise. I find that if I don’t use my CPAP I sleep and dream (evidence of REM sleep, which is good). However, I still use it nightly. At one point, my body weight will drop below my IQ (see my post on “IQ and Cholesterol Level”). At that time I might consider dropping it entirely, but it’s too soon to tell.

Mine is a happy story. If you snore or cannot sleep, talk to your health care provider and get a sleep study. Find out now.