Sleep Apnea at Night Nearly Killed Man During Day.
http://www.wcsh6.com/story/news/health/2015/10/27/sleep-apnea-night-nearly-killed-man-during-day/74205874/
“I was driving along a state highway heading home on a summer afternoon. I dozed and drifted onto the gravel shoulder toward a drop-off onto someone’s lawn. The bang of my right side mirror striking a mailbox woke me up. I swerved left and skidded back into the road. Safe this time, but frightened.”
Dan was often sleepy during the day. He decided to see his doctor and told him about his near miss and some other things that had been happening lately.
He fell asleep at night the moment he put his head on the pillow.
Sometimes he’d wake with a start during the middle of the night.
Many mornings he woke up tired.
He’d often think about grabbing a nap during the day.
He’d doze off while reading or watching TV, in waiting rooms and sometimes, during phone conversations.
His wife often woke him up and told him to stop sleeping on his back because he was snoring.
Dan’s doctor referred him to a lung specialist, who noticed a few other things. Dan was over 65, he was overweight and had a thick neck. He doesn’t drink or smoke and exercises regularly, but he had enough symptoms to warrant an overnight test at a sleep lab.
“My job was to sleep as usual,” he says. “The technician attached leads all over my head and body. We talked about the Red Sox as I watching part of the game on the TV. Disappointed in our team, I lay down and went to sleep. The leads and lines bothered a little, but I could still sleep. The lab’s equipment measured every little thing overnight, including how many times and when I stopped breathing, how soundly I slept, how much I had slept on either side and my back, and what went on with my heart.”
THE DIAGNOSIS? SLEEP APNEA.
If you have apnea, your breathing stops and starts all through the night. It can be serious. There are three main types of sleep apnea.
OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA
Happens when throat muscles relax. It’s the most common type of sleep apnea. For a variety of reasons (see risk factors below), the muscles can relax as you breathe in and narrow or close your airway. If you can’t get your breath, the oxygen level in your blood may lower. The brain realizes what’s going on and wakes you up so you can breathe. It can happen many times all night long and when it does, you may snort or gasp. You might not remember a thing in the morning, but your body will not have had a good night’s sleep.
