It often goes undiagnosed, but it comes with surprisingly apparent symptoms that can significantly worsen your quality of life and also shorten it.
If you look at some of the most commonly treated conditions in any country of the world right now such as high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, erectile dysfunction, diabetes, anxiety, depression, and headaches - all of these can be medically associated with an obstructed airway.
Doctors say a healthier lifestyle including proper diet, exercise and weight loss can prevent sleep apnoea from occurring. However, if you're experiencing multiple symptoms, you should speak with your physician.
It is a common problem among all ages and both genders, but don’t let snoring ruin your relationship or a good night’s sleep. Learn what causes snoring and how you can put it to bed with our expert advice. If your partner has ever told you that you snore, bear in mind the danger you might be putting yourself in every single time that it happens. It may mean that you are suffering from obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).
Some heavy, regular snorers have sleep apnoea, a condition where the airways become completely blocked during sleep with symptoms that include large pauses in breathing, leaving them waking-up gasping for air. Many heavy snorers tend to wake themselves frequently in sleep, with the resulting patchy sleep leading to daytime sleepiness. Regardless of whether it’s snoring or sleep apnoea, it can easily and quickly be prevented.
Even for those who sleep alone, snoring is no laughing matter. According to the National Sleep Foundation in the USA, regular heavy snorers are more likely to experience thickening or abnormalities in the carotid artery, which can lead to atherosclerosis; a hardening of the arteries that is known to trigger numerous vascular diseases.
Daytime grogginess, irritability and mood swings, problems concentrating and remembering, and an increased likelihood of car or other types of accidents are just some of the complications arising from interrupted, snore-ridden sleep. Since almost half of us regularly snore, isn’t it worth knowing what’s likely to be causing it, and what are the most effective measures of putting it to bed?
Products are available to open the airway. The C-PAP machine is one of the most recognisable treatments, and is used to prevent both snoring and sleep apnoea. Other less aggressive options include custom-fitted mouthpieces that reposition your jaw and open your upper airways so you can get more oxygen while you sleep. Other types that you can shape for yourself are easily available and both kinds are medically approved.
SleepPro oral appliances are not only rated by the NHS in Britain as the top performing products in their extensive regular tests, but are also issued directly to patients who consult many of their Specialist Sleep Clinics. The NHS results were published in the Lancet in 2014, but regular testing still continues to ensure the correct products stay at the top of their recommendation list – position that SleepPro still enjoys.
There at least 120 such oral appliances licensed in the US, for example, but all are variations of the original appliance and stick to the same principle. The prices vary greatly and is another reason stated by the British NHS for using SleepPro, as affordability is considered to be important too.
While Mandibular Advancement Appliances (MAD’s) can be bought over the counter, or online, it usually pays long-term to have a customised one made and fitted to your dental profile. It feels more comfortable, works better and lasts longer. Having a custom-made one can, in time, become much more cost effective, and more effective overall.
It’s vitally important to remember that OSA is a serious medical condition and it should never be ignored – but it should be prevented.
John Redfern
]]>While we sleep our bodies are hard at work recharging and optimising our body’s functions. A recent study found that those who slept less than seven hours a night on average were three times more likely to get sick and suffer major health issues than those who averaged at least eight hours.
A recent study has shown that 41.5% of the British adult population snores at some time or other in their week. So most likely, even if you don’t snore, your partner does, and sometimes both of you have the problem. As such, more than 30 million people have a regular and ongoing problem with snoring and usually, men snore much louder than women.
The National Sleep Foundation estimates that 90 million Americans snore, 37 million on a regular basis. While all ages and genders snore, twice as many men than women snore nearly every night and most of them go through life undiagnosed. If you have trouble sleeping at night, it could be more than just a noisy disturbing inconvenience. In fact, you could be suffering from a serious medical condition called sleep apnea.
The reasons why we snore are pretty straightforward. When you fall asleep the muscles in your neck and throat relax. They then go floppy and the airways narrow, meaning there is less space for the air to go through. The soft tissue in this smaller space vibrates and rattles as the air passes through.
Snoring is also a symptom of sleep apnea which results in dangerous oxygen deprivation, as the sleeper’s airway becomes blocked, and deprives the brain of oxygen, As result it is unable to reach the cells and tissues, and dangerous conditions occur due to low oxygen over a long period.
If this is an issue for you, then there is a kinder, and more effective solution than kicking the person next to you and waking them up, or moving out. After all, that’s pretty counterproductive, and one of the main reasons why snoring is listed as the third most important factor that contributes to divorce. The medically recommended solution also makes quitting the marital bedroom to get some sleep something that is no longer necessary.
NHS Choices clearly gives the following information on their website:
‘If your snoring is mainly due to the base of your tongue vibrating, a mandibular advancement device (MAD) may be recommended.
It's designed to push your jaw and tongue forward. This increases the space at the back of your throat and reduces the narrowing of your airway that's causing your tongue to vibrate, resulting in snoring.
You can buy a MAD for around £30-50, which is suitable for most cases of simple snoring (snoring that doesn't cause any breathing difficulties).
However, if your snoring is associated with breathing difficulties, such as obstructive sleep apnoea, it's recommended that you have a MAD made specifically for you by a specialist using impressions of your teeth and jaw.
The cost of a custom-made MAD will depend on the complexity of the device and materials used, and can range from several hundred pounds to several thousand pounds. It's unlikely that you'll be able to obtain a custom-made MAD free of charge on the NHS.
An MAD lasts about 18 months before it needs to be replaced.’
Source: NHS Choices
Following an extensive testing programme, the NHS published their findings in The Lancet and recommended SleepPro oral appliances as their number one selection to prevent snoring, along with mild to moderate sleep apnoea. Many patients acquire SleepPro products online after consulting their Hospital or Sleep Centre where special literature is made available that describes the product range available and they can arrange special prices.
These are all problems that couples who snore may have to cope with later in life when they should be relaxing, enjoying life, and ticking off their bucket list but it’s never too late to take action.
Peace will return to the bedroom and your relationship will be the winner.
John Redfern
]]>Clenching or grinding your teeth regularly can also lead to pain in the jaw or in the muscles of the face. This is called Bruxism and it is the habit of clenching, gnashing or grinding your teeth. It happens mostly during sleep, but some people also suffer from this when they’re awake.
Who has bruxism?
It is thought that about half of the population grinds their teeth from time to time. But it may only be serious in about 1 in 20 cases. About 30% of children grind or clench their teeth too, but most children grow out of this and will suffer no lasting effects to their adult teeth.
How do I know if I have it?
You may not know that you grind your teeth while you are asleep. A bed partner may be the first person to notice the distinctive grinding sounds and noises. Other clues may be morning symptoms of a dull headache, jaw muscles that hurt or are tight, trouble opening the mouth wide, long lasting pain in the face, damage to the teeth and broken dental fillings.
If you’re not sure, your dentist can check and help you to work out if you have bruxism. He’ll ask you a series of questions and your overall dental health will be checked. This may include looking for any wear and damage to your teeth, checking the muscles in and around your jaw, and the function of the jaw joints, which are just in front of your ears. They may need to look at changes to your teeth and mouth over a number of visits to work out whether the cause is bruxism. It can take time to assess done this way and it can cost a reasonable amount of money to do so,
They may even suggest a sleep study may be needed. This will show how much you move your jaw while asleep. A sleep study looking for bruxism by itself is not common, but may also uncover other sleep problems that often accompany bruxism such as heavy snoring or obstructive sleep apnoea.
Bruxism is often increased as a problem by stress, concentration, or sickness, and can also be caused by excessive alcohol consumption and drug use. Most sufferers don’t know they have it despite the symptoms being clear.
What causes it?
There are many different and varied reasons for bruxism. These includes emotional stress such as anger and anxiety, drug use such as using stimulants, having to concentrate hard, illness, not having enough water in your body, the wrong diet, sleep problems, teething (in babies), bad tooth alignment and problems with dental work. Some people can also get bruxism as a side effect of taking antidepressants. If you let your doctor know of this side effect, you may be changed to a different drug.
How is bruxism treated?
There are many treatments available for bruxism, and they even include relaxation and awareness techniques. Counselling may be recommended as help to relieve stress in your life and improving the quality of your sleep can be of real benefit. This may include reducing the use of stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine, having enough sleep, making sure you keep a good bedtime routine, and stopping snoring by using a stop snoring device. Treating sleep apnoea in some people may also help to control bruxism.
There are no medications that will stop sleep bruxism and all dentists will suggest you use a mouth guard. They can be used straight from the box or one can be made to fit your dental profile exactly. Neither is expensive, and will save the dental problems as well as all the other issues. A fitted guard is obviously more efficient to use and more comfortable to wear.
It will help protect the teeth, muscles and jaw joint from the pressure of clenching and grinding. It will not stop the bruxism happening, but it will lessen the damage to your teeth and relieve much of the associated pain.
Can it get worse?
Many cases of bruxism are mild and cause little harm and if so, the person usually does not know that they are grinding their teeth. More serious cases may damage the teeth and result in facial pain and poor sleep. Nightly sounds can also wake other people sleeping nearby such as roommates and sleeping partners. If you know that you have this problem, then you should take immediate action to prevent any serious further consequences.
Don’t let life be a grind. Guard against it.
John Redfern
]]>Watch this BBC NEWS film that describes Obstructive Sleep Apnea
The breathing pause can last a few seconds or several minutes and may happen many times during the night. It has been linked to daytime sleepiness and a host of other diseases.
Risk factors for sleep apnea include obesity, being over the age of 55, and smoking. Tests have proven that sleep apnea can be hereditary, and men outnumber women among those who are afflicted with the disease. Consequently, stopping smoking or taking dietary precautions prompting weight loss can reduce or even eliminate the effects of many sleep disorders. However, no age group is immune to a sleep disorder.
The overall number of people with OSA is known to be increasing due to major lifestyle problems such as more people now being overweight. Actual numbers are difficult to record as most cases go undiagnosed, but the increased number of nationwide Sleep Disorder Centres in the USA gives us a good idea of the growth of OSA. They have risen in total from 2.280 in 2010 to just over 2,850 in 2016. Their estimated revenue shows OSA is costing $7 billion per year, estimated to rise to $10 billion by 2020.
Similar figures exist for other countries but the economic impact of sleep apnea extends beyond the economic revenue for those who are treated the disease. The annual economic burden of undiagnosed sleep apnea in the USA is about $149.6 billion, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. This includes nearly $87 billion in lost productivity, $26 billion in car crashes and $6.5 billion in workplace accidents.
Untreated sleep apnea leads to a host of other serious health problems including hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and depression. As a result, undiagnosed sleep leads to $30 billion a year in increased health care costs. The AASM estimates if everyone who suffers from sleep apnea received treatment, it would create a savings of just over $100 billion.
Chronic sufferers are advised to use CPAP machines every night when they sleep and this involves wearing a mask that fits over their nose, or their nose and also their mouth. The device increases air pressure in a patient’s throat, prevents the airway from collapsing, and eliminates obstructed breathing.
However a high number of patients struggle to adjust to CPAP machines and use other approved medical solutions and treatments such as an oral appliance that shifts the lower jaw forward opening airways during sleep. This Mandibular Adjustment Device (MAD) will successfully address the problem of obstruction of the airway and restore normal sleep.
As said earlier, men have a higher risk of sleep apnea, but recent studies are finding that women who have experienced menopause have the same risk as men. Weight and genetics also have an impact.
Some patients seek treatment after a partner complains about their loud snoring, or gaps in their breathing, but for those who live alone it might be tougher to diagnose.
Snoring is a common phenomenon, but some snorers may require medical treatment so they should look for the following key indicators that may indicate that they have sleep apnea. These include daytime fatigue, lapses into sleep during the day, and impairment of normal activity.
If snoring results in them having headaches in the morning, suffer from bouts of irritability, or have any of the other symptoms, or if it disturbs their partner, then they should seek to prevent this by using an oral appliance (MAD) which does not need a Doctor’s prescription, and do so immediately, and in severe cases they should seek out immediate medical advice.
John Redfern
]]>The latest research has now proved that sleep loss leads to extra calorie consumption – and the extra weight that is gained in the throat will make you snore, which will of course ruin your sleep and so on…and on…and on.
It’s a vicious circle – and you’re not the only the loser as it can disturb your partner or other family members too.
A study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who don’t get enough sleep consumed an extra 385 calories the following day. The findings are based on research by King’s College London, who also reviewed 11 older studies and compared people who didn’t get enough sleep and those who did and also looked at what they ate afterwards.
Some previous research studies had shown that if you woke in the night, it was quite likely that you’d get out of bed and make yourself a a drink, or more likely have a snack of some sort.
Unlike the ‘midnight munchies’, the research team didn’t find that sleep deprived people necessarily ate more. Instead they found that their choice of food the next day was sometimes different to those who had a healthy amount of sleep. This meant they tended to opt for food that was higher in fat and lower in protein. They didn’t see any change in the amount of carbohydrates they ate.
The result of this change led to an increase in calorie intake, with the risk of unwanted weight gain, because people in the studies didn’t use up any more energy, regardless of their sleep habits.
There may be some truth in the saying ‘early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy and wise’.
Lead author Gerda Pot from the Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Division at Kings College says in a statement: “The main cause of obesity is an imbalance between calorie intake and expenditure and this study adds to accumulating evidence that sleep deprivation could contribute to this imbalance.
Sleep deprivation followed by increased calorie intake could lead to sustained weight gain over the long term. “Reduced sleep is one of the most common and potentially modifiable health risks in today’s society in which chronic sleep loss is becoming more common,” says Gerda Pot.
One of the main results is heavy snoring due to the excess weight gained on the neckline, and often combined with ageing muscular structure, which allows the throat to close on itself more readily.
Catherine Collins, a registered dietitian who reviews articles for BootsWebMD, says the extra calories will almost certainly come from snack foods. “It will be biscuits, it will be cakes, it will be crisps and savoury snacks that tend to be lower in protein but have more fat – and probably more calories in proportion as well,” she tells us.
She says this is the first review that quantifies the calorific effect from poor sleep. “That is quite a substantial part of your 2,000 calories a day, which is why people are overeating. Three-hundred-and-eighty-five calories – put it in perspective, that’s like 2 packets of crisps, or it’s a decent sized bar of chocolate. It doesn’t seem a lot but here’s more than one snack there.”
The heavy snoring, or even obstructive sleep apnoea, results in oxygen deprivation, and if it is not controlled it has been proved that there is a huge list of potential problems. This includes stroke. Cardiovascular problems, hypertension, diabetes, short attention span, irritability, daytime tiredness and an increase in earlier onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Regardless of this most snorers and sleep apnoea sufferers ignore the problem and don’t prevent or control it by the use of the easily obtained simple oral appliances that are medically approved but need no prescription – they are easily available online at easily payable prices. They are great value when it is considered what they prevent.
Merry Christmas. Enjoy a ‘Silent Night’ – and do it often by acting now to stop snoring and prevent its dangers happening to you.
]]>The study evaluated the economic cost of insufficient sleep in the UK, US, Canada, Germany and Japan, and said the loss equated to an average of 1.86% of economic growth across the total number of countries evaluated.
The main impact was on health, with those sleeping less than six hours a night 13% more likely to die earlier than those getting seven to nine hours sleep each night.
Even though the impact of tired workers in the UK may sound bad, it still ranked better than both the US and Japan which lost the most working days due to lack of sleep. According to the study, the ‘healthy sleep range’ is anywhere between seven and nine hours per night.
In rank order, starting with the worst measured, the figures are as follows:
1. The USA loses 1.2 million working days a year, costing the country $411bn (£328bn) or 2.28% of GDP
2. Japan loses 600,000 working days a year, costing them $138bn or 2.92% of GDP
3. The UK loses 200,000 working days a year, costing the country about £40bn, or 1.86% of GDP
4. Germany loses 200,000 working days a year, costing $60bn, or 1.56% of GDP
5. Canada loses 80,000 working days a year, costing them $21.4bn or 1.35% of GDP
It is anticipated that similar figures, or perhaps worse for some, exist in all the other more advanced nations such as Australia, New Zealand, other European countries, and those in Asia.
Separate figures published for Australia state that sleeping conditions such as sleep apnoea cost the Australian community more than $5 billion a year in health and indirect costs, with the impact to quality of life estimated to be worth more than AUD $31 billion a year. It is growing worse as a problem year by year according to the Australasian Sleep Association.
The new report called on employers to recognise and promote the importance of sleep, even urging them to build nap rooms for staff to use. It said they should also discourage staff from “extended use” of electronic devices after working hours, and individuals were advised to wake up at the same time each day and exercise during the day to improve their sleep.
“The effects from a lack of sleep are massive. Sleep deprivation not only influences an individual’s health and well-being but it has a significant impact on a nation’s economy,” said Marco Hafner, a research leader at Rand Europe and the report’s main author.
Mr Hafner said that even small changes could make a big difference, adding that if those people in the UK who were currently sleeping under six hours a night increased this to between six and seven hours, it would add £24bn to the UK’s economy immediately.
In the US alone, the average worker loses 11.3 working days or $2,280 (£1,700) of productivity per year due to sleep deprivation, according to a report done by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. It has become so important now in the US that some companies pay their staff to sleep.
The staff at insurance group Aetna, are paid an extra $300 each year to get a good night’s sleep. Such is the US firm’s concern about the impact of sleep deprivation on employee performance, that it encourages its workers to sign up to a scheme that rewards them for getting at least seven hours of shut-eye per night. Aetna staff that participate earn $25 for every 20 nights in which they sleep over seven hours or, up to a limit of $300 in 12 months.
Introduced in 2014, 17,300 of the firm’s 49,500 employees participated last year, an increase from 12,300 in 2014. Staff are trusted to manually record how long they have slept every night. The firm’s staff are also given extra funds if they do exercise.
Insomnia, snoring, and sleep apnoea are the biggest causes, made worse by other things such as stress, alcohol, eating late and ‘blue light’ activity. All of these can be controlled and inexpensive, medically approved stop snoring appliances are available easily online.
]]>You’ll see lots of advice from many sources throughout the month. In the same way as getting proper nutrition and exercise matters greatly, sleep fulfils a vital role in keeping us healthy and happy. We need a good night’s sleep to ensure we’re feeling fit, thinking sharply and generally to give us the appetite and enthusiasm to make the most of everyday living. However, poor sleep and fatigue are common, affecting millions worldwide.
Just one bad night’s sleep affects our mood, concentration and alertness while long-term sleep deprivation through snoring or a similar disorder has far more serious consequences: it’s been linked to a number of serious health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke. More people need to be aware that cost effective treatment for snoring is right at their fingertips – and available online.
If you’re a poor sleeper then why not set yourselves the challenge of changing your habits for the whole month of September.
We’ve all heard plenty on the importance of getting a good night’s sleep so why is that when times get busy, sleep is often the first thing we sacrifice in the face of work deadlines and hectic social calendars?
While the myth of the eight-hour sleep no longer holds true – experts recommend between seven and nine hours of sleep a night for adults – your body and mind can’t function properly without sufficient sleep. It’s important that people start to realise that it’s all about the quality of your sleep, rather than the quantity.
Whether the issue is trouble getting to sleep because of anxiety or stress, or a snoring partner waking you up in the night, a sleep overhaul can help transform your sleeping habits – and open you up to the myriad benefits of high-quality sleep, night after night.
Here are some recommendations from a leading sleep physiologist, Joseph Gannon, of The Sleep Disorders Clinic, for his top tips on how to overhaul your sleep and why it’s worth it.
• Stop napping
Trying to catch up on poor sleep this way because research shows that this can lead to seriously increased levels of blood pressure
• Fight the temptation to sleep in
Sleeping in at the weekend doesn’t help us make up for a chronic lack of sleep but just throws us off our rhythms more
• Improve your diet
Don’t snack on the wrong types of food to keep energy levels up. According to the NHS it will make it more likely that you’ll gain weight and have a higher chance of becoming obese
• Solve your snoring problems
Many people are regular snorers, so whether your sleep is disrupted because of your own snoring or you’re living with a snorer, it’s worth examining the issue.
Gannon points out that snoring is also a key symptom of a potentially serious condition called obstructive sleep apnea, which causes pauses in breath during sleep and needs to be assessed by a specialist. Roughly 5%t of the population suffers from the condition and aren’t aware of it. It’s dangerous when lefty untreated. The immediate thing to do if you snore is to obtain an oral appliance or stop snoring mouthpiece and this will bring you immediate overnight benefits in the form of better sleep and you’ll wake feeling refreshed. It will also boost your mood and may prevent depression as well as improving concentration and productivity levels at work.
Medically recommended cost-effective treatment is available without a Doctor’s prescription and at prices starting as low as $40 for an effective and comfortable stop snoring mouthpiece that you can use while you are sleeping.
As you can see there’s very little to lose and lots to gain by sorting out your snoring problem.
]]>It’s a condition caused by the obstruction of the upper airway that results in repetitive pauses in breathing during sleep that can lead to daytime sleepiness or fatigue. Sleep apnea also increases health risks, such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, depression, weight gain and obesity.
You may not realise that you have sleep apnea but the most prominent symptom is loud snoring, with often your breathing stops because the back of the throat collapses during sleep, blocking the airway. This is then followed by a visible gasp for air as you wake briefly. If you sleep alone you won’t realise it’s happening even if you know that you snore. However not all people who snore have sleep apnea. It’s not unique to that condition.
If you think that you suffer from OSA it’s critical that you take steps to control it and prevent it developing. With a number of medically approved sleep apnea treatment products now available online, this isn’t hard to do. Many products claim that they have been tried and tested but only some, like those from SleepPro, have published the findings online. The British NHS put SleepPro through extensive testing and recommends them highly, publishing their findings in The Lancet, the leading British Medical Journal.
Their two key recommendations for custom-made oral appliances were:
The most prescribed treatment for sleep apnea in the past has been the nightly use of a CPAP machine which comprises a mask that fits over the nose and mouth that provides constant airflow, keeping the airway open and the sleeper breathing throughout the night. This is now often reserved for the chronic sufferer. Mild to moderate cases are usually recommended to use a custom-made mouthpiece, as CPAP rejection is high. Many of those supplied with this expensive and cumbersome equipment find it either an uncomfortable experience, and even claustrophobic, and consequently use it rarely which defeats the object. It is also not easily portable so not taken on holidays, weekends away, or when people travel on business.
Oral appliances are now the main sleep apnea treatment products used. This has happened for many reasons including the ease of availability with no prescription required, their cost, simplicity of use, the higher acceptance of the treatment, and also that it is a much more comfortable experience. They are easily portable of course and this can be important for some.
Custom-made sleep apnea treatment products can be expensive from some sources, but they are readily available online at reasonable prices. The SleepPro Custom is a prime example of this and has been widely used for a number of years by many satisfied online buyers all over the world.
If you know that you snore, but aren’t sure if you have obstructive sleep apnea then SleepPro will soon be able to help you find out easily with a simple, inexpensive home test unit that will give you the defined answer. Wear the watch-like data unit overnight and send it back to us so we can download the data. Our consultant physiologist will analyse this and we’ll contact you with the accurate medical findings, plus advise you of the best action on your part to resolve your problem. It will be a small price to pay for a longer life. The service will be UK based and it starts soon.
As ever, SleepPro strive to lead the way in online treatment products and services for sleep apnea so watch the website for an announcement of this new service. However if you’re a subscriber to the SleepPro Newsletter we’ll mail you all the details anyway.
]]>All this comes against a backcloth of the much easier availability of stop snoring treatment because it’s now so easy to obtain anti-snoring devices online – and with no prescription required.
According to a report just published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and reviewed in depth by CBS, if every patient in the United States who has Sleep Apnea were diagnosed and treated, it would result in an annual economic saving of just over $100 billion. If those figures were extrapolated to a world total they would multiply to an extraordinary level.
To arrive at their astonishing calculations, the study authors reviewed more than 100 studies on the impact of Sleep Apnea, and interviewed experts in the fields of economics, sleep medicine, productivity, mental health, and accidents. They then constructed detailed financial models taking into account treatment fees pulled from public sources.
An estimated 30 million American adults currently suffer from Sleep Apnea, or about 12 per cent of the U.S. population, the authors say. The worrying thing is that this figure is constantly rising, as it is in other parts of the world.
A simple, but accurate example of this comes from the other side of the world, where Christchurch Hospital in New Zealand is grappling with soaring demand for its Sleep Service as thousands more people struggle with insomnia and Sleep Apnea.
Driven by obesity, an aging population and tighter health and safety regulations, referrals to the hospital’s Sleep Service increased six-fold in 7 years – figures increasing from 800 in 2008 to 4500 last year.
The side effects of Sleep Apnea have costly real-life consequences. According to the study, the annual economic burden of undiagnosed Sleep Apnea among U.S. adults is approximately $149.6 billion. This includes almost $87 billion in lost productivity, $26 billion in car crashes, and $6.5 billion in workplace accidents.
Untreated obstructive Sleep Apnea can also contribute to the risk of other serious health problems, including hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and depression. As such, the AASM estimate that undiagnosed Sleep Apnea leads to $30 billion a year in increased health care and medication costs related to these co-occurring health risks.
Sleep Apnea is characterized by repetitive episodes of disrupted breathing from a complete or partial upper airway obstruction during sleep. It results in snoring or gasping or choking during sleep, often many times each night, which can lead to daytime sleepiness and fatigue. If you, or any family member suffer this way, it is vital to look for stop snoring devices online. These fast-acting, medically approved oral appliances will prevent the problem and any progression. As well as helping to reverse any health problems caused previously.
The proof of this comes in the form of further evidence from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
A second report by the AASM based on a survey of 500 patients found that participants reported better sleep, greater productivity, and a 40 per cent decline in work absences after undergoing treatment for Sleep Apnea. Four out of five people said their Sleep Apnea treatment was a good investment.
Whether you’re a chronic snorer, or you think you may suffer from Sleep Apnea, you should obtain an anti-snoring appliance online as soon as you can – you certainly won’t regret it.
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At one time the ‘gold standard’ CPAP treatment would automatically be recommended for anyone suffering from a problem such as Sleep Apnea, but this is no longer the case, as equally effective methods for many of these patients are now available. Attitudes in the Health Service have also changed, and the many patients that either refused CPAP, or merely constantly failed to use it, are now told that approved oral appliances are an acceptable substitute. This is vastly preferable to non-treatment.
Chronic snoring, and mild to moderate Sleep Apnea sufferers are now directed by most specialist Sleep Centres, and Hospitals, towards the use of a medically approved stop snoring mouthpiece, particularly as these are now quickly and easily available online from approved sources.
SleepPro products have been thoroughly tested and researched by the NHS in the UK, and lead the way in Britain and other parts of the world as a primary solution to the prevention of snoring and mild to moderate Sleep Apnea. They are approved and recommended for NHS patients in Britain, and are available directly from the NHS in numerous hospitals. However with online buying being easy and popular due to the growth of mobile phone usage, plus ever-tightening health budgets, the majority of NHS outlets now supply their patients with specially prepared literature that recommends SleepPro as being the best snoring products available online.
There are many stop snoring mouthpieces available via the Internet but few of them have been medically tested over time and most of them not at all. The majority are are simply ‘factory made items’ and as a consequence are available for low prices. Unlike SleepPro products, they are not produced in medical laboratories under strict guidelines, do not have medical approval, and don’t offer follow up support, advice or guidance.
SleepPro products on the other hand are ‘Made in Britain’ and are supplied from their own Dental laboratories where they are produced under the strictest guidelines to ensure they are exactly what is medically required.
Many SleepPro products even come with a 30-day money back guarantee and this shows the degree of confidence the company has in its products.
All the starter appliances offer this customer assurance, and with prices starting low (£39.99, AUD$ 64.99, US$ 44.95) the snorer can have real confidence in these tried and tested products. In fact the success rate is registered as 98% with customers coming back many times over the years. Online support is available is via a unique 24/7 Freephone Hotline service.
Purchasing is in a wide range of currencies is possible and all this has made SleepPro the supplier of the best stop snoring products available online.
Chronic snoring, along with Obstructive Sleep Apnea, or OSA, affects many millions of people worldwide and few of them realize its full dangers. As a consequence they leave it untreated for years before taking any steps to prevent it, and by then it’s sometimes too late. Snoring is an illness and needs to be treated quickly – just like anything else.
In a recent statement, Dr. Nathaniel Watson of the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Center and the immediate past president of the AASM, called for more aggressive and comprehensive treatment of Sleep Apnea.
“Dramatic improvements to individual health and public safety, and significant health care savings, can be achieved through comprehensive diagnosis, treatment, and long-term management of OSA. For a health care system that prioritizes services with lasting value, OSA diagnosis and treatment is a bargain.”
Remember that OSA is now considered a chronic disease throughout the world and its prevalence is rising.
Do you have a partner or family member who snores, gasps for air, or chokes during sleep? If so, they most likely have obstructive Sleep Apnea and it’s worth getting it checked out. Or maybe it’s even your problem. If so, do something about it now. Find yourself the best Snoring products online by checking out SleepPro, and seeing what they can offer to help you.
]]>According to NHS statistics published in the BBC publication The Radio Times this week, a quarter of the UK population snore but it is more prevalent in those aged 40-60, and twice as many men snore than women. Snoring noise is made by the soft palate and tissue in the mouth, nose or throat vibrating, and can disrupt quality sleep for both snorers and their bedfellows.
When breathing is partially obstructed in this way, snoring is the harsh sound that is created during sleep. It is a common condition that can affect any age group and could possibly be a sign of a more serious condition that’s causing it such as sleep apnoea.
The major outward signs of a snoring problem include drowsiness, irritability and a lack of focus. You should take immediate action if snoring is accompanied by symptoms of sleep apnoea such as daytime sleepiness, morning headaches or chest pain at night.
Untreated snoring caused by sleep apnoea can lead to greater risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and liver problems, and recently, it was found that the vibrations caused by snoring damaged the carotid artery. This leads to heart attacks or stroke.
Mild snoring can be curbed with some simple habitual and lifestyle changes, although these obviously take time – particularly weight loss. There are lots of health benefits to keeping your weight in check, and combatting snoring is one of them. Excess weight around your neck can restrict your airwaves while sleeping, making you more prone to snore. However heavier snoring and sleep apnoea are very much a medical problem if left untreated.
Reuters also newly report that people who have had a procedure to open blocked heart arteries, untreated sleep-breathing problems like snoring or apnoea may raise the risk of a future heart attack or stroke, researchers say.
Patients who had artery-clearing procedures after experiencing chest pain or a heart attack were more than twice as likely to have heart failure, a heart attack or a stroke in the next five years if they also had any sleep-based breathing problems.
Intermittent low-oxygen periods during sleep may increase stress or activate inflammatory responses that damage the heart, said lead author Dr. Toru Mazaki of the department of cardiology at Kobe Central Hospital in Japan.
Sleep-disordered breathing has been associated with cardiovascular risks and symptoms like high blood pressure, elevated glucose and abnormal heart rhythms, said Dr. Nieca Goldberg of NYU Langone Medical Center in New York, who is also a spokesperson for the American Heart Association and was commenting on their behalf as he was not part of the new study.
It goes without saying that patients who are not sleeping well often become depressed. No one wants to spend their nights looking at the ceiling, or tossing and turning, trying to find a comfortable position in which to sleep. Patients with sleep apnoea often experience depression related to both their symptoms and the severity of their disease. Control of apnoea not only leads to improvement in physical health but can improve depression according to a new report. In a further Australian study Patients were screened for depression using the Public Health Questionnaire.
It’s important that we listen to the experts and take the right steps to preserve our health, so wearing a simple mouthpiece at night, and making a few lifestyle changes, will go a long way to making a remarkable difference to both life quality and longevity.
]]>Evidence has recently emerged showing that Botox treatment may trigger a dramatic loss of bone density in the jaw, with parts of the jaw losing up to 40 per cent of bone volume after just one single treatment. What’s more, nobody knows when, or if, the weakened bone will fully regain its strength.
Botox jabs in the jaw are big business today. The paralysing effect is widely used to prevent tooth grinding, and also used by cosmetic doctors to slim the lower face. The treatment reduces the size of the masseter muscles, which are the large chewing muscles located on the jaw in front of the ears, and can cause dramatic cosmetic changes in a matter of weeks.
Teeth grinding, known as Bruxism, not only damages the teeth but can also cause headaches and facial pain, known as temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) or temporomandibular joint pain (TMJ pain).
Injecting Botox into the masseter muscles means you’re unable to bite down with the same force but the evidence is emerging that the treatment may trigger loss of bone density
One of those leading research in the field is Dr Karen Raphael, professor of oral and maxillofacial pathology at New York University College of Dentistry who became concerned after reading animal studies that showed very dramatic losses in bone density after Botox for was used for these conditions – even after just one single injection of Botox. Researchers found that after only four weeks, the bone in the injected area was ‘severely decreased’. Three months later only half the lost bone had been restored.
Researchers said that in humans this significant degree of bone loss could be ‘a risk factor for fractures’. Normally, changes caused by Botox are assumed to be temporary, but even as early as 2004, doctors noticed that changes to the jaw were long lasting. Yet TMD and facial slimming patients are encouraged to repeat their treatments every 12 weeks.
So how might Botox be linked to bone loss? Our bones are constantly renewed. Old bone is dissolved while cells that are called osteoblasts are making new bone. They produce new bone in response to tugging by muscles and impact. But when masseter activity is reduced by Botox, it can’t push and pull the jaw as powerfully, reducing the amount of bone remodelling and thus bone density, explains Caroline Mills, consultant maxillofacial and facial plastic surgeon at Wexham Park Hospital, Berkshire.
‘A colleague recently saw a patient who had Botox in the masseter for ten years and has discovered her jaw joint is literally melting away.’ This loss of bone in the jaw is linked to an increased risk of loose or lost teeth.
She says the side effects of long-term Botox use in the jaw could include pain, increased risk of jaw fracture and even a need for joint replacement. She says doctors and dentists offer the treatment in good faith but may fail to warn patients of this risk because they themselves are unaware of it.
Six million people in the UK are thought to have Bruxism and should note that a mouth guard worn during sleep is a safer and more effective option to combat the problems and side effects of teeth grinding and clenching.
Allergan, the company that manufactures Botox have now said:
‘It’s important to note that Botox is not approved in the UK for the treatment of bruxism, temporomandibular muscle and joint disorder or for slimming of the lower face. While there are studies exploring the effects of muscle weakening on bone density, the clinical significance of these findings is as yet unclear.’
Allergan is conducting studies exploring the safety and efficacy of Botox when injected into the masseter muscle, the company added.
]]>Sleep disorders are so painfully common among the general population, but there’s one demographic that suffers significantly more than the rest of us: athletes. A new study from Finland has some good news for this group, though, because researchers now say that for the first time ever, they’ve shown just how treatable sleep disorders among athletes really are.
The survey revealed that one in four of the athletes involved in the study suffered from significant sleep problems, including having trouble falling asleep, snoring, and unbelievably, having serious issues with their breathing, such as sleep apnoea. Most of the athletes surveyed admitted to sleeping too few hours and one in six of them even used sleeping pills.
Although many of the athlete’s sleep troubles were classified as “significant” the study showed that general sleep-related guidance and personalized treatment plans greatly improved their sleep. Simple ‘Stop snoring mouthpieces’ and more customised versions can restrict or even eliminate the problem and greatly improve their performance and fitness as a result. Lack of sleep can reduce performance quality, though, and as many as one in four athletes involved in the study reported that sleep-related guidance helped to improve their athletic performance.
Aside from affecting how good someone is at sport, lack of sleep can also have serious health consequences and also lead to weight gain.
Sleep disorders among many groups of professional sportsmen and sportswomen are a widely reported problem, and researchers have suggested a variety of issues that might cause them. Intense training, rigorous schedules, and frequent traveling, sometimes across world time zones, are only some of the factors that may disrupt sleep patterns.
Professional athletes travel a great deal, often flying overnight before waking up to an early-morning practice or next-day game, and share risks for sleep problems with other high-frequency travellers and people who work non-traditional schedules. People in these jobs are at higher risk for sleep disorders such as insomnia and obstructive sleep apnoea. They also can be at elevated risk for health problems associated with poor sleep, including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
The professional sports world appears to be continuing to turn a great deal of attention to what has previously been a much-overlooked issue: sleep.
In the USA, it’s the National Hockey League that is leading the way and that is addressing sleep problems on several fronts. Last year, teams like the New York Jets decided to hire sleep specialists to work with players on improving their sleep habits, and the sleep-friendly adjustments made to the team’s practice schedule improved their overall performance considerably.
At the same time numerous players of American football have recently headlined with major sleep apnoea problems but after watching a football game, it’s hard to believe that any of these big, tough men might be seriously ill. Injured, maybe. But sick? It seems very unlikely.
However, according to a recent study by New England Journal of Medicine, this might well be the case. Sleep apnoea affects about 4% of the general population, but when football players participated in sleep studies, the percentage rose to 14% of all players. Offensive and defensive linemen had an even higher prevalence of apnoea with 34% of them affected, probably due to their higher weight.
All sports are affected – even Sumo wrestlers in Japan – and many of them have serious problems with sleep apnoea caused by extra weight, which in that particular arena is an obvious advantage. Or is it? New investigations conducted by the Douai Hospital in Tokyo have determined that if the wrestler suffers from obstructive sleep apnoea, he lacks the concentration needed for the sport. This may be causing injuries and is also causing those wrestlers to lose more matches than is normal or to even miss tournaments.
The problem is easily solved for all these sportsmen and women – just as it is for the rest of us. If you suffer from sleep disorders or obstructive sleep apnoea you must deal with it. It’s easy and inexpensive to do so and can have a major effect on your life whether you’re a sports professional or not.
Results show that women who typically slept less than the recommended 7 hours of sleep per night and were frequent snorers in the years before their cancer diagnosis experienced a poorer cancer prognosis.
The findings were especially robust for women who were diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer patients who reported sleeping 6 hours or less per night and snoring 5 or more nights per week before their diagnosis were 2 times more likely to die from breast cancer (hazard ratio = 2.14) than patients who reported sleeping 7 to 8 hours per night and rarely snored.
The study results are published in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
In a week where scientists have revealed extensive data on the world’s sleeping patterns, leading researchers have told the BBC that society has become “supremely arrogant” in ignoring the importance of sleep. They say people and governments really need to take the problem seriously.
The body clock drives huge changes in the human body. Cancer, heart disease, type-2 diabetes, infections and obesity have all been linked to reduced sleep. It alters alertness, mood, physical strength and even the risk of a heart attack in a daily rhythm.
Sleep experts worldwide, including many who are based in the UK, endorse these statements. They include Dr Akhilesh Reddy, from the University of Cambridge, who said that the body clock influences every biological process in the human body and the health consequences of living against the clock were “pretty clear cut”, particularly in the case of breast cancer.
But the pressures of work and social lives mean many people cut their sleep during the week and catch up at the weekend. Researchers are investigating whether there is a health impact.
The study, by a team at the University of Bristol in the UK and Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, assessed “sleep debt” – a measure of the difference in the nightly hours asleep on weekdays and at the weekend.
“We found that as little as 30 minutes a day sleep debt can have significant effects on obesity and insulin resistance,” said Prof Shahrad Taheri from Weill Cornell. He added: “Sleep loss is widespread in modern society, but only in the last decade have we realised its metabolic consequences.
“Our findings suggest that avoiding sleep debt could have positive benefits for waistlines and metabolism and that incorporating sleep into lifestyle interventions for weight loss and diabetes might improve their success.”
The study was funded by the UK’s Department of Health, where 10% of healthcare budgets are already spent on treating diabetes. Perhaps they’ll act on it accordingly.
Information on global sleep habits has been equally informative and it was clearly evident that there was a conflict between our desire to stay up late and our bodies urging us to get up in the morning.
Prof Daniel Forger, one of the researchers, said “Society is pushing us to stay up late, our body clocks are trying to get us up earlier, and in the middle the amount of sleep that we have is being sacrificed; that’s what we think is going on in global sleep crisis.
The study found people in Japan and Singapore had an average of seven hours and 24 minutes sleep while the people in the Netherlands had eight hours and 12 minutes. People in the UK averaged just under eight hours – a little less than the French. The study also showed women had about 30 minutes more per night in bed than men, particularly between the ages of 30 and 60.
The message to everyone is very evident.
Sleep enough – Stop Snoring – and don’t ignore the opinions of the experts.
There’s much more than that however, so whether you are up until the early hours of the morning watching the shows on Netflix, or simply staying up late because there’s too much work to do, one thing’s for sure – your body’s taking the brunt of your actions. But why is sleep so important? Not getting enough shut-eye can lead to other bad results as well as health and here are just some of the problems with comments from the experts in each case.
You gain weight
If you’re looking to shave off those stubborn extra pounds then lack of sleep certainly doesn’t help. In fact, it does the very opposite says nutritionist Dr Marilyn Glenville, author of the Natural Health Bible for Women.
“People who are sleep-deprived have an increased appetite. Inadequate sleep lowers the levels of leptin, a hormone that suppresses appetite. At the same time it increases leels of grehlin – a hormone that increases food intake and plays a role in long-term regulation of body weight. Sleep deprivation makes weight loss harder because it causes your body to work against you.”
Your immune system is compromised
Lack of sleep is known to lower the body’s immune response. A recent study found reducing the amount of sleep time every night lowered the number of “natural killer cells” which are responsible for fighting off invaders such as bacteria and viruses. Nutritional therapist Geeta Sidhu-Robb, who is the founder of Nosh Detox, says “A lack of sleep can impair the body’s ability to fend off diseases and inflammation, which in turn, can cause us to catch more colds or slow down the processes of recovery. No sleep means your body doesn’t have time to build up its defence system – the antibodies and cells that attack viruses and unfriendly bacteria.”
Your stress levels rocket
Inadequate sleep can also affect your cortisol levels – the hormone that help us manage stress, and Sidhu-Robb adds “Lack of sleep increases stress which produces the hormone cortisol, and it can also reduce collagen in the skin, which is what keeps it looking young and provides elasticity.”
Stress and ageing skin is not a combination worth losing your sleep for.
Your heart weakens
During sleep, the heart powers down significantly – reducing both your blood pressure and the heart rate, which is important for the health of the organ. By not getting enough sleep, your heart might not have enough time to lower your blood pressure to necessary levels.
“Research shows that those who sleep five hours or less a night are twice as likely to suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart disease as those who sleep for seven hours or more,” says Dr Marilyn Glenville.
A study conducted by a team from Mount Sinai Hospital showed having less than five hours of sleep each night had an 83% increased risk of stroke compared to sleepers who got seven to eight hours of shut-eye.
Your brain becomes foggy
Sleep deprivation affects our ability to learn and retain new information and can lead to poor long and short-term memory, as well as poor decision-making. “When we sleep our body and brain don’t actually shut off – we have light sleep phases and deeper ones,” says Neil Robinson, Sealy UK‘s resident sleep expert. “While we sleep in the deeper phases, our brain stays busy, overseeing an internal maintenance schedule that keeps us running in top condition. This helps the body repair itself and build energy for the day ahead – our muscles and tissues recover, our immune system gets a boost and all the information we have absorbed during the day gets consolidated in our memory. Without enough hours of this type of restorative sleep, we won’t function, work, learn, create, and communicate at effective levels.”
Your skin starts to age
Sleep deprivation leads to inflammation that can lead to poor skin conditions such as dullness, dryness, spots and dark circles under the eyes, and It can also age your skin.
“We all know that we look and feel worse after a bad night’s sleep,” says Georgie Cleeve, founder of skincare company OSKIA. “There is a real biological reason why a bad night’s sleep can play havoc with your skin.
“When we sleep the brain produces a brilliant chemical called Adenosine Triphosphate, or ATP for short. It’s essentially our cell battery power and runs all our cellular processes throughout the day. So less sleep equals less ATP. And that means less collagen production.”
It’s Stop Snoring Week – Be sensible and act on it.
]]>It found obesity in men has tripled and more than doubled in women.
The world’s newspapers, plus the leading TV stations and Internet News Channels, have all headlined with the story this week that obesity is quite literally a massive growing world problem.
No country is excluded from this. The study, which pooled data from adults in 186 countries, found that the number of obese people worldwide had risen from 105 million in 1975 to 641 million in 2014. This equates to 266 million obese men and 375 million obese women in the world at the end of 2014.
It’s a vicious, ever turning circle. Health research has shown that disturbed nights due to either snoring or sleep apnoea causes late night snacking and as a consequence weight gain – and as a result the increased weight also narrows the throat to cause even worse levels of snoring.
The research also found:
Other statistics from the study include:
In comparison in the UK the study found 6.8 million obese men in 2014, and 7.7 million obese women.
The average adult in the United Kingdom sleeps for 6.8 hours a night, which is below the 7.7 hours people feel they need according to the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), and the figures according to other sources are almost identical for the North America, Australia, and Europe
This lower sleep level doesn’t sound much but it amounts to losing an entire night’s sleep over the course of a week.
The RSPH, which represents around 6,000 public health specialists, said poor sleep has been undeniably linked to a range of conditions including:
It has called on the Government to introduce national sleep guidance and both instigate and support policies that reduce and control sleep disorders.
“We do need to wake up to the benefits of sleep – there is a wealth of evidence that lack of sleep is damaging the public’s health,” said Shirley Cramer chief executive of RSPH.
She added: “Efforts to combat this shortfall could be as critical to optimising our health and wellbeing as maintaining an active lifestyle or having a healthy diet.”
Yet again this is conclusive evidence that snoring, sleep apnoea, and other sleep disorders damage your health. You need to do something about it yourself if the Government won’t act on your behalf.
]]>In the Health section of the morning’s topical news programme ‘Lorraine’, hosted by Lorraine Kelly, the well-known resident Health expert Dr. Hillary actually wore and demonstrated the product live on air.
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