What is sleep apnea?
According to the Harvard Health Publishing website, obstructive sleep apnea “is a disorder in which the airway becomes blocked during sleep, interrupting breathing—sometimes dozens of times during a single night.” When you have obstructive sleep apnea, it puts you at risk for developing other conditions, including high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, and decreased quality of life. There is a strong connection between being overweight and sleep apnea since those who are overweight can have extra tissue in the back of their throat, which covers the airway and blocks air from getting into the lungs while they sleep. Losing weight is obviously easier said than done, but it produces real results and lowers the risk of overweight people of having sleep apnea and other related health problems. Some studies have even shown that losing just 10% of body weight can drastically change sleep apnea symptoms.
Before you can decide on a treatment, you first need to make sure that you have sleep apnea. Your breathing pauses when you are asleep, which is why most people with apnea have no idea they have it. Obvious clues include nighttime snoring and daytime lethargy. Your doctor can do a sleep study, which allows them to check your breathing while you sleep in a lab or through a monitoring device. In order to get an accurate diagnosis because the treatment you select will depend on how bad the sleep apnea is. When it comes to sleep apnea, you can’t just try one treatment and expect your symptoms to disappear. Instead, treatments are individualization.
How Losing Weight Can Help
It is very important that you lose weight in a slow manner and consult with a physician. When you lose weight rapidly and unsupervised, there is a chance that you will not be able to maintain your ideal weight over the long term. Weight loss may reduce the degree of snoring and your risk of sleep apnea, but it not a 100% guarantee depending on the severity of your condition. If you have persistent sleep apnea, you might be recommended to use the use a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device, which could end up playing an important role in your health and weight loss goals. There is also considerable evidence that getting adequate sleep may enhance your metabolism and reduce unwanted weight gain.
When it comes to losing, O’Connor Health Center uses a series of exclusive products over the course of your prescribed program to help you reset your metabolism. These products are safe and natural, and our current patients have not expressed any concern about side effects. Once you’ve signed up for the program, our doctor will sit with you and explain how to you should follow your plan. You will learn how to incorporate the system into your daily life, be introduced to various types of food and we’ll be with you along your journey to give you tips and ensure your success. Give us a call today to set up a consultation at (650) 334-1010.