Do you wake up still feeling tired – even though you get the eight hours of sleep that health experts recommend? There are a lot of reasons this could be happening – sleeping on the wrong mattress is definitely one of them. (Fortunately, that particular problem is easy to fix with a visit to our Asheville mattress store!) Sleep apnea is another likely culprit if you are always tired, despite getting plenty of sleep.
According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, “Sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, have become a significant health issue in the United States. It is estimated that 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, with 80 percent of the cases of moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea undiagnosed.”
What Is Sleep Apnea?
According to the medical experts at the Mayo Clinic, “Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. If you snore loudly and feel tired even after a full night’s sleep, you might have sleep apnea.”
Lots of people find it hard to believe that snoring can be linked to a serious medical condition. That’s one of the reasons why sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed. But if left untreated sleep apnea can do a lot more than just leave you feeling tired all the time.
The American Sleep Apnea Association says that sleep apnea is linked to:
- high blood pressure
- chronic heart failure
- atrial fibrillation
- stroke and other cardiovascular problems
- type 2 diabetes
- depression
“In addition, untreated sleep apnea may be responsible for poor performance in everyday activities, such as at work and school, motor vehicle crashes, and academic underachievement in children and adolescents,” WebMD reports.
Common risk factors for sleep apnea, WebMD’s experts say, include:
- Being male
- Being overweight
- Being over age 40
- Having a large neck size (17 inches or greater in men and 16 inches or greater in women)
- Having large tonsils, a large tongue, or a small jaw bone
- Having a family history of sleep apnea
- Nasal obstruction due to a deviated septum, allergies, or sinus problems
If you think you might have sleep apnea, you need to see a doctor. There are treatments that can really help.
Of course, not everyone who snores has sleep apnea. If you (or your partner!) snores, you might want to think about getting an adjustable base for your bed from Natural Sleep Mattress of Asheville. And if you’re in the mood, you could look out some of our incredible mattresses – like the OMI organic mattress – that might also help improve the quality of your sleep.
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