Snoring is not only harmful to our physical health but it
affects all 6 pillars of wellness especially social wellness

When people are unable to dif­ferentiate between your snore and a locomotive engine or a trumpet that could break down walls, it may not just be a nuisance to your bed and housemates, but it may sig­nal a serious medical condition.

Loud snoring may be a warn­ing that you have Sleep Apnoea, a condition that opens doors to several serious life-threatening complica­tions. Not every snoring is associated with sleep apnoea and also there may be sleep apnoea without snoring. Sleep medicine is no luxury, we need to do everything possible to get good quality sleep, especially when sleep is one of the greatest legal performance enhancing “drugs” known to man.

In sleep apnoea, breathing repeat­edly stops and starts during sleep. It may be as often as 30 times in an hour. This shortchanges our brain of oxygen, and it is a potentially danger­ous sleep disorder.

Types of Sleep Apnoea;

• Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA)

o The commonest by far. Throat muscles relax and block flow of air

• Central Sleep Apnoea

o Brain does not send proper signals to muscles controlling breath­ing

• Complex Sleep Apnoea

What may signal Sleep Apnoea/ What to look out for

• Loud snoring.

• Episodes in which you stop breathing during sleep — which would be reported by another person.

• Gasping for air during sleep.

• Awakening with a dry mouth.

• Morning headache.

• Difficulty staying asleep, known as insomnia.

• Excessive daytime sleepiness, known as hypersomnia.

• Difficulty paying attention while awake.

• Irritability.

• You may just not be able to complete a movie.

• Involved in minor accidents at home, work or even on the road.

Get checked out. Even children may suffer from sleep apnoea.

What increases our chance of de­veloping Sleep Apnoea?

• Excess weight or fat.

• Neck circumference. People with thicker necks might have nar­rower airways.

• A narrowed airway. Tonsils or adenoids also can enlarge and block the airway, particularly in children.

• Being male. Men are 2 to 3 times more likely to have sleep ap­noea than women. However, women increase their risk if they’re over­weight or if they’ve gone through menopause.

• Being older. Sleep apnea oc­curs significantly more often in older adults.

• Family history. Having family members with sleep apnoea might increase your risk.

• Use of alcohol, sedatives or tranquilisers.

• Smoking. Smokers are three times more likely to have obstructive sleep apnoea

• Nasal congestion. If you have trouble breathing through your nose — whether from an anatomical prob­lem or allergies — you’re more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnoea.

• Medical conditions. Conges­tive heart failure, high blood pres­sure and type 2 diabetes are some of the conditions that may increase the risk of obstructive sleep apnoea. Polycystic ovary syndrome, hormonal disorders, prior stroke and chronic lung diseases such as asthma also can increase risk.

What complications may occur from untreated Sleep Apnoea

Sleep apnoea is a serious medical condition. Complications of OSA can include:

• Daytime fatigue. The repeat­ed awakenings associated with sleep apnoea make typical, restorative sleep impossible, in turn making se­vere daytime drowsiness, fatigue and irritability likely.

You might have trouble concen­trating and find yourself falling asleep at work, while watching TV or even when driving. People with sleep apnea have an increased risk of motor vehicle and workplace accidents.

You might also feel quick-tem­pered, moody or depressed. Children and adolescents with sleep apnea might perform poorly in school or have behavior problems.

• High blood pressure or heart problems. Sudden drops in blood oxygen levels that occur during OSA increase blood pressure and strain the cardiovascular system. Having OSA increases your risk of high blood pressure.

OSA might also increase your risk of recurrent heart attack, stroke and irregular heartbeats, such as atrial fibrillation. If you have heart disease, multiple episodes of low blood oxy­gen (hypoxia or hypoxemia) can lead to sudden death from an irregular heartbeat.

• Type 2 diabetes. Having sleep apnoea increases your risk of devel­oping insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

• Metabolic syndrome. This disorder, which includes high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol lev­els, high blood sugar and an increased waist circumference, is linked to a higher risk of heart disease

• Liver & kidney problems

• Sleep-deprived room or house mates

• Complications during surgery and also with some medication

Lifestyle Modifications that may help

• Lose excess fat. Even a slight weight loss might help relieve constriction of your throat. In some cases, sleep apnea can resolve if you return to a healthy weight, but it can recur if you regain weight.

• Exercise. Regular exercise can help ease the symptoms of ob­structive sleep apnea even without weight loss.

• Avoid alcohol and certain medicines such as tranquilisers and sleeping pills. These relax the mus­cles in the back of your throat, inter­fering with breathing.

• Sleep on your side or abdo­men rather than on your back. Sleep­ing on your belly has many posture related challenges but we may adopt that briefly as we work on definitive treatment.

• Don’t smoke.

Diagnosis and Treatment

There is help so if you think you may have sleep apnoea do not hesi­tate to speak to your doctor.

A few questions, examination and Sleep Studies and a diagnoses may be reached and the appropriate treat­ment, advice or support systems put in place.

Yes, the options vary from just lifestyle modifications to the famous CPAP, implants and even surgery BUT do seek help, not only will you feel brand-new when the condition is resolved, you may be saving relation­ships.

……definitely not all snoring is cre­ated equal. Find out about yours.

AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sug­ar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)

Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel

Health Essentials Ltd (HE&W Group)

(dressel@healthessentialsgh. com)

*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’

Thought for the week (1) – “I am hard pressed to choose the greatest legal performance enhancing drug. Is it good quality Sleep or Exercise?”

References:

1. www.mayoclinic.org

2. Team at Penn State Health Holy Spirit Sleep Center

• Snoring is not only harmful to our physical health but it affects all 6 pillars of wellness especially social wellness.

By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel

Ensure to have friends including children much younger than you

AGING can be beautiful, but it definitely comes with its own challenges and learning to em­brace the ones we have little or no control over may make life easier and more enjoyable for us.

Changes may include:

1. You do not move as quickly as you used to, and I agree you need to guard against falls.

2. You may lose some hear­ing.

3. You will need to protect your teeth, and the dentist can help.

4. You are more susceptible to eye diseases and challenges with sight.

5. You may start to shrink; start strength training immediate­ly.

6. You may have ‘senior mo­ments’ -minor forgetfulness.

7. You may look different; hair loss or thinning, greying of hair, skin changes such as sagging, skin tags, changes in nails, belly fat and many others.

8. You may smell different, and this may be due to multiple factors.

9. Urine may leak more than you would like- sometimes even when we cough, sneeze or laugh.

Many of us fret to leave a fortune (money) but I realise focusing on money or assets such as land, buildings and businesses may not be enough. These are extremely necessary though since they tend to make life much more comfortable for you.

When the dust settles, how­ever, having your memory intact (within reasonable limits) and having good social support may be the foundation that cannot be ig­nored. If your memory fails you or you do not have people who truly care about your wellbeing and will go the extra mile for you over the long haul, then no matter what your financial muscle you may never get anything close to what you would love for yourself.

Taking advantage of the various assets that you may have built over the years means you will be able to even earn money well into your golden years.

ASSETS TO TAP INTO.

At least three assets, Financial, Intellectual and Human Assets may be tapped into.

• FINANCIAL

o Different forms of invest­ments including money, land etc. Quite often this is the focus of most of us while 2 other forms of assets are neglected. DEFINITELY grow your financial assets but DO NOT exclude the others.

o If you are already enjoying “retirement” of a sort and your finances keep you awake at night, do not despair, take another look at your intellectual and human assets that you may have ignored. They may be solid gold!

• INTELLECTUAL

o Knowledge and skills you have developed over years can continue to be useful and earn an income after you retire from your previous job.

o Experiences over the years may serve as a guide to the younger generation and could be an avenue for speaking at events or coaching or mentoring others.

o Unique abilities are always a plus and we all know things that come easily to us when others struggle with same.

o Ideas? These may be gold­en, and you may be able to share for an income or to enhance your social capital.

• HUMAN

o Values – we often don’t put much emphasis on this, but it definitely opens doors for you or for your descendants.

o Kindness – this is a pow­erful tool in life that will yield benefits at all costs directly or indirectly. Be Kind!

o Social Contacts /Capital – DO NOT be an island. Expand your network and live a longer more fulfilling life.

As we work on all three forms of ASSETS lets us remember to protect our brain/ memory as much as possible and also spend time with our network of family and friends. In all things ensure you have FRIENDS (including your children) who are much young­er than you. This is PRICELESS, I guarantee that.

AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pres­sure, blood cholesterol, BMI)

Dr Kojo Cobba Essel

Health Essentials Ltd (HE&W Group)

(dressel@healthessentialsgh. com)

*Dr Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’

Thought for the week (1) – “The aging you want tomorrow begins with the choices you make today.” What choices are you making? Time to reflect.

(2) – “Mammograms are key to early detection of breast cancer, and they can also provide clues to heart health. Women who have calcium buildup within the arteries of the breast are at a 51 per cent higher risk for heart disease and stroke than women who do not.”

By Dr Kojo Cobba Essel