Sleep Disorder Review
Experiences and questions related to the debilitating mental disorder Sleep Disorder should be added here.
I want to share my experience with a sleep disorder.
When I was in my 30's I was giving blood on a regular basis. One day I went to give blood and was not able to because my Blood pressure was to high. I was told not to worry about it to much that it was probably a fluke thing, so I didn't until the next time I went to give Blood and it was high again. It worried me so I went to the doctor. The doctor asked me a bunch of questions on how I was sleeping and after the question and answer session he asked me to have a sleep test done. So I did and found out I had severe Sleep Apnea. I would stop breathing 71 times an hour and because of that was not getting enough, if any, REM sleep.
I kind of always suspected I had Sleep Apnea but didn’t think it was a big deal. Looking back now I am amazed I never hurt someone while I was driving because I always fell asleep behind the wheel. I one time even fell asleep on a scaffold with a paint brush in my hand. Taking that sleep test and getting a CPAP machine was the best thing I could have ever done. I don’t wake up feeling like I never slept. Plus I haven’t had heart burn since the first day I used my machine and that was a few years ago.
Implantable device cuts obstructive sleep apnea symptoms
Since the 1980s, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) -- in which positive pressure is pushed through the nasal airways to help users breathe while sleeping - has been by far the most widely used treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). With more than 18 million people experiencing OSA, a number expected to rise, new results from a case study of a new device implanted in the chest called hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS) offers promise for patients with moderate to severe OSA who cannot tolerate CPAP. Ref. Source 3e.
Connecting the dots between dreams and brain disease. Scientists have unveiled a connection between sleep disorders and neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson's Disease. The work reveals REM-active neurons are responsible for turning on and off dreaming. Dysfunction in these cells, called REM sleep behavior disorder is associated in up to 80 percent of the cases with neurodegenerative disorders later in life. Ref. Source 6j.