2023-06-30 11:39:25
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Like millions of people, President Joe Biden suffers from sleep apnea, a serious sleep disorder that causes people to stop breathing for 10 seconds or more at a time.
It is estimated that at least 25 million American adults and 936 million adults worldwide between the ages of 30 and 69 may have obstructive sleep apnea, and that many more people are not diagnosed.
This condition is known as obstructive sleep apnea because, unlike central sleep apnea, when the brain sometimes neglects to tell the body to breathe, obstructive sleep apnea is caused by blockage of the airways due to weak, heavy, or loose soft tissues.
Experts said muscle tone weakens with age, affecting the soft palate and neck, making sleep apnea common among people over the age of 50. However, studies have found that sleep apnea in older adults tends to be of the mild to moderate type, with younger ages experiencing more severe cases.
Biden is receiving treatment
And the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that, if left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression, and even early death.
This condition results in dozens of “partial awakenings” during the night, which impedes the body’s ability to complete a full sleep cycle. Symptoms include excessive daytime sleepiness, loud and noisy snoring, waking up with a dry mouth or sore throat, and morning headaches, according to the Mayo Clinic.
However, with treatment, breathing returns to normal and deep sleep can be achieved. Weight loss can significantly reduce or even eliminate obstructive sleep apnea, as the reduction in tissue mass in the mouth, tongue, and neck relieves pressure on the airway. Doctors may also prescribe an oral appliance designed to widen the airway by moving the tongue or jaw forward.
If you have anatomical problems, such as nasal polyps, enlarged tonsils, adenoids, or a deviated nasal septum, surgery may be recommended.
Mild sleep apnea may respond to “posture therapy”, which is a great way to keep sleepers on their side rather than their back while sleeping, which may improve airway flow and reduce snoring.
One of the most common treatments uses a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine that relies on a hose and mask to deliver continuous, steady air pressure to keep the airway open while the person sleeps. Today, the machines are so sophisticated that a doctor can remotely monitor a person’s sleep and help them adjust air pressure.
Experts believe the machines improve a number of complications associated with sleep apnea, including daytime fatigue, high blood pressure, and sexual dysfunction.
Why is deep sleep important?
During the first and second stages of sleep, the body begins to slow down its rhythms. Doing so triggers the third stage, slow wave, or deep sleep, where the body literally restores itself on a cellular level, repairing the damage caused by the day’s tiredness and consolidating memories into long-term storage.
Years of research have found that sleep, especially the deeper and more therapeutic kind, boosts immune function. During slow wave sleep, the body “takes out the trash” from the brain, including the protein beta-amyloid, one of the main markers of Alzheimer’s disease.
Deep sleep is considered one of the best indicators of sleep quality, because it is assumed that a person usually gets relatively uninterrupted sleep to achieve this. Because each sleep cycle is approximately 90 minutes long, most adults need seven or eight hours of relatively uninterrupted sleep to achieve restorative sleep, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Control (CDC).
However, people with sleep apnea can stop breathing 30 or more times an hour during the night and often wake up snoring, snoring loudly, or gasping for breath.
Constant interruption makes it difficult to get enough deep sleep right up to the final stage, REM or REM sleep, when dreams occur. Studies have shown that losing REM sleep can lead to memory deficits and poorer cognitive outcomes, as well as heart disease, other chronic diseases and early death.
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