There are many things that could make us toss and turn instead of obtaining a good night's sleep: caffeine, stress, nicotine or even spicy food too close to bedtime. More often than not the things that make us wake up bleary-eyed and go through the day yawning can be remedied by change in lifestyle. However, the resolution of certain sleep issues requires a lot more than change in lifestyle, and sleep apnea is one of them.

Sleep apnea is a chronic medical condition that happens when a person temporarily stops breathing or takes shallow breaths a number of times as they sleep. The breathing pauses may be as short as a couple of seconds or as long as a couple of minutes. The problem commonly disturbs sleep between three and five times each week with the breathing interruptions usually occurring between 5 and 30 or more times per hour. Consequently, the individual usually wakes up feeling tired from the nights continuous deep sleep disruption.

Chronic snoring is easily the most common manifestation of obstructive sleep apnea, and daytime sleepiness is easily the most noticeable effect. But sleep apnea places one at higher risk for a range of serious medical issues, including high blood pressure levels, cardiac arrest, stroke, hypertension, obesity, diabetes and an rise in irregular heartbeats. Apnea, however, is not unique among sleep disorders in its tendency to lead to serious medical issues. All sleep problems compromise the immune system and place a person at higher risk for illness. When the body receives insufficient sleep, it suffers a loss of adaptive immune responses that are key to battling infections and diseases. A lack of sleep doesn't specifically lead to such maladies as cancer or even the seasonal flu, however it can increase the likelihood of these along with other maladies by compromising the immune system.

While people who suffer from unresolved sleep disorders might encounter health issues stemming from the compromised immune system, they undoubtedly suffer the superficial effects of receiving insufficient sleep. Concentration is affected, mood is altered, hunger increases along with a general sense of malaise often stand in the way of their achieving a sense of emotional and physical vitality. In addition, workplace performance and social interaction is usually compromised.

There are a number of herbal and chemical over the counter sleep aides, but the majority of them are intended for short-term use or aren't powerful enough to remedy serious sleep disorders. Physicians can prescribe more powerful medicine, but even prescription medications often address the effects of a sleep problem and not its cause when a patient doesn't receive a thorough evaluation, which should ideally consist of a psychological, a behavioral along with a physical examination.

Should you suffer insufficient sleep that doesn't resolve on its own and should not be attributed to things like excessive caffeine, a general change in sleep schedule or temporary stress, the very best idea is to speak to a clinic that are experts in sleep medicine. Unlike an ordinary doctor's appointment, a scheduled appointment with a sleep clinic is really a thorough evaluation of psychological, behavioral and physical factors to arrive at the main cause of a sleep disorder.

If you have a sleep problem, you might think only of the way the disorder affects your sleep. But sleep apnea, among other sleep issues, is a disorder that affects more than your sleep. Far from just causing nightly tossing and turning and snoring, sleep apnea may even lead to high blood pressure and heart failure.