As Nigeria joins the world to commemorate World Sleep Day on March 13, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of sleep and while Nigerians recognise it is a priority, many don’t get the benefit of a good night’s sleep.
The annual event is a call to action on establishing healthy sleep habits. World Sleep Day are reminders to invest in personal health and well-being, as we continue to work towards better sleep for all.
As part of our work at Sleep Inc Limited, providing testing and treatment for sleep disorders like insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea, we make it a point to dispel a common myth that is held by many Nigerians, which is that snoring is a sign of good sleep. It is NOT. In fact, it could point to an underlying fatal condition.
One key feature of sleep is muscle relaxation that occurs between stage 2 and 3 of sleep. As your muscles relax, your breathing becomes shallow because you breathe with your muscles and now, they are relaxed.
Typically, you should be fine, since your body is in a state of rest. However, people that snore may experience some problem, because their airway narrows a lot more than they can cope with and so air has to be forced in and out of their lungs as they breath, causing vibrations along the now narrow walls of their throat which you snore as snoring.
In severe cases they experience a total collapse of their airway and you will notice that some loud snorers suddenly become quiet. People think they have stopped snoring, when in fact, they have stopped breathing. This condition is referred to as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).
Obstructive sleep Apnea is a sleep disorder in which a person repeatedly stops and starts their breathing process during sleep. It is by far the most common type of sleep apnea, and as it turns out, it is also probably the most likely reason that a person may die in their sleep.
It is caused by an obstruction that blocks the airway as a result of relaxation of throat muscles, the muscles; sagging of the tongue, uvula, tonsils, and soft palate can all play a part. Some people may have OSA without snoring.
People with OSA tend to wake up feeling tired, with a headache, feel sleepy during the day and may start to put on weight, become more forgetful and experience decrease in libido. This affects their performance at home and at work.
Over time, people with OSA are more likely to develop, hypertension, stroke, heart failure, diabetes, obesity, cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s dementia and cancer.
Many cases go undiagnosed—making it a true “silent killer” that many people remain unaware of.
How does it kill? People with OSA experience sudden drops in blood oxygen levels when they stop breathing and if they are already at risk for a heart attack, stroke, or heart failure, then OSA can trigger a sudden cardiac event and death may occur before they wake up.
What you should do
Talk to your Doctor to assess your risk for diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart failure.
Have a blood pressure check done regularly.
Talk to your Doctor about conducting a sleep test.
Get proper treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
Observe proper sleep hygiene.
Chike Opara, Lead medical officer at Sleep Inc Limited.
[email protected]
