Sleep apnea. Now what?

What is the relationship between sleep apnea and diabetes? Why is it that roughly 50% of all patients who suffer from type 2 diabetes also suffer from obstructive sleep apnea.

Many people — women included — assume men are the only ones suffering from sleep apnea, which could not be further from the truth. A lot of women, particularly those in the postmenopausal phase of their lives, are at an increased risk due to hormonal and physical changes. Hot flashes and increased sweating related to the loss of estrogen and progesterone that occurs during menopause can affect sleep.

If talking to your kids about sleep apnea therapy is something important to you, there are a few ways to try and make it fun for the whole family. Your kids may initially be scared or curious about the device and mask and may even laugh at you when you’re wearing it, all of which are normal reactions. Helping to ease them into a basic understanding of what the device is and why you are using it can be helpful if this is the direction you want to take.

Did you know that even if you’re using your CPAP machine every night, you might not be getting the most out of your sleep apnea therapy? Without proper cleaning and scheduled replacement of your CPAP mask parts, you might not be getting optimal results. Here are the top three reasons you should be regularly replacing your CPAP supplies.

From SD cards to WiFi to smartphone apps, the development of new technology has allowed sleep medicine providers to more conveniently and efficiently view patient data.

Dreamstation Auto CPAP features

Sleep apnea is a chronic disorder that causes your body to stop breathing while you sleep. It’s a potentially fatal condition with harmful complications that affects 1 in 4 Americans.² However, more than 85% remain undiagnosed and untreated.³ Untreated sleep apnea is associated with a variety of dangerous comorbidities such as heart failure, stroke and obesity.

There are three main types of CPAP masks, and they’re generally available in all sizes. Some manufacturers like ResMed also offer “For Her” versions of these masks, designed specifically for the contours of a woman’s head and face.

More than 936 million people have obstructive sleep apnea—the disorder’s first prevalence update in more than a decade—according to The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Patients with untreated moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea were at higher risk for incident type 2 diabetes that was nonlinear along the continuum of apnea-hypopnea index, according to study results published in Chest.

There are three types of sleep apnea

1. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) – the most common – is when your upper airway becomes blocked.

2. Central sleep apnea (CSA) is related to the central nervous system and occurs when the brain stops signaling the body to breathe until it detects a lack of oxygen. 3. Complex sleep apnea (CompSA) is a combination of OSA and CSA.

The OSA Cycle Untreated OSA causes sleep deprivation and may increase the risk of Heart attacks, Strokes, High blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes.

What are the benefits of treating sleep apnea? When left untreated, sleep apnea can negatively affect your energy levels, productivity and mental well-being. It can also have long-term, adverse effects on your heart, metabolism and overall health.