LIFESTYLE NEWS - On 16 March, the world celebrated World Sleep Day, an annual celebration of sleep designed to generate awareness around sleep issues, including medicine, education, social aspects, and health concerns. Participants aim to lessen sleep problems through the prevention and management of sleep disorders.

Most of us know the irritation of losing out on a good night’s sleep but did you know that chronic sleep interruption can seriously affect your health? In order to function properly, we all need to sleep well and for sufficient hours. A lack of sleep or sleep interruption can lead to fatigue, sickness, and depression.

Snoring can be a major cause of chronic sleep interruption and can result in headaches, fatigue, irritability, depression, weight gain, and a decreased libido. It can also contribute to major sleep disorders such as sleep deprivation (a serious lack of sleep) and sleep-apnea, both of which can have life-threatening side-effects.

SLEEP-APNEA – A SNORE YOU CAN’T IGNORE
Have you or a loved one ever experienced the following while sleeping

• Very loud and heavy snoring
• Waking up gasping, snorting, choking or with a headache
• Long pauses in breathing
• Excessive daytime drowsiness

These are all signs of Sleep-apnea, a sleep disorder which can affect men, women, and children of all ages. Sleep-apnea occurs when the sufferer stops breathing for a moment when they are asleep. Occurring for a few seconds hundreds of times during one sleep cycle, these interruptions result in oxygen deprivation and, if left untreated, could be extremely dangerous. While the snorer might be unaware of this state, it prevents them from reaching a deep sleep and causes chronic sleep deprivation, increasing the risk of number of serious health conditions, including high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.

If you suspect that you have sleep apnea, you should consult a doctor immediately to determine the severity of your condition. Mild to moderate sleep-apnea can be treated in a similar way to the treatments used to help stop snoring such as weight loss, changing your sleeping position, or using an anti-snoring device.

Snoring isn’t just annoying; it can seriously affect the quality of your life and health.

To learn more, visit www.snoremeds.co.za.