Currently, approximately 20% of American adults are estimated to suffer from sleep Apnea. For the over-65s, this rises to over 40%! This is a shocking number, and what’s more, many people still do not know that they are sufferers from this condition. This, of course, is you are asleep when this happens. Unless you’re told you suffer from it, or it gets so bad that your obstructive events actually wake you up, you’re not in a position to observe it.
It’s a serious issue, as well- it’s been linked to heart failure and early death, respiratory failure, and impotence, as well as a raft of other secondary conditions and health complications.
Of course, one can be sceptical about such things-a lot of the information out there is provided by people or companies with a vested interest in selling you treatments for this condition. In this situation, it’s natural to assume that someone might overstate the dangers in the hope that you’ll buy a particular product.
It’s also true that the research is still in its infancy- there’s more to be discovered about this, before the conclusions become more solid. What is true is that issues such as irritability, depression and fatigue, and decreased mental faculties can be fairly reliably attributed to Sleep Apnea.
Treatment is possible, and can make a lot of difference on these issues. It’s also important to address lifestyle- the main cause of Sleep Apnea is still obesity, and that’s something that we can do a lot about. The first step to sorting out a problem is looking at the root causes, and then taking positive steps to address them.
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