Breathe easy: Don't let sleep apnea sap your energy
DEAN OLSEN GATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

JONATHAN KIRSHNER/THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER State Journal-Register medical reporter Dean Olsen, 47, learned he has mild sleep apnea after undergoing a sleep study at the St. John's Hospital's Sleep Center in Springfield, Ill.

Here I was, lying on a strange bed with a nice woman pasting 20 wires to my scalp, jaw, chest and legs while a photographer recorded the event.

Exposing sections of my very imperfect body to newspaper readers was scary.

But I wasn't about to let a little fear and vanity stop me from trying to solve a serious problem I discovered that I share with millions of other people in this country: sleep apnea.

Experts estimate that between 12 million and 18 million Americans have the condition, in which breathing stops during their sleep - sometimes hundreds of times a night. For these people, sleep is interrupted, and many never enter the deep sleep that allows them to wake up refreshed. One study said the problem leads to fatigue that results in hundreds of U.S. trafficrelated deaths each year.

Long-term, sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure, heart attacks and potentially fatal heartrhythm problems, not to mention the toll that fatigue takes on family life. And falling asleep at work can get you fired.

Researchers suspect that at least 90 percent of people with sleep apnea don't know they have the condition or refuse treatment even after finding out.

"People with sleep apnea may be unaware of their condition and go decades without reporting anything to their doctor," said Michael Twery, executive director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

"These people may believe that daytime exhaustion and sleepiness are normal for them," he said.

My doctor referred me to Springfield Clinic sleep specialist Dr. Salah Aboubakr for an evaluation. Aboubakr suggested I undergo what's known as a sleep study to determine whether I had sleep apnea.

I thought I would go to sleep right away about 11 p.m. Nov. 5, in a room at St. John's Hospital's Sleep Center. The wires on my body and bands on my chest and stomach - designed to measure brain activity, heart rate, breathing and eye movement - restricted my movement and weren't comfortable. Still, I was tired.

As it turned out, I had a hard time getting any sleep, or so I thought.

The sensor attached to one of my fingers to check blood-oxygen levels made me feel the pounding of my pulse.

I was glad when morning came, though I felt like a zombie all day because of the lack of sleep.

Aboubakr told me later that I did sleep during the night and showed signs of a mild level of obstructive sleep apnea. The study showed that I stopped breathing an average of six times an hour.

There's no pill or shot to cure most forms of sleep apnea. Surgery can help some people widen their upper airway, bu t Aboubakr said that option isn't appropriate for most patients.

The best option is losing weight, because fat can build up around the neck and cause the windpipe to narrow, he said.

What is sleep apnea?

The obstructive variety - the most common form - occurs when your throat becomes blocked during sleep and not enough air flows to your lungs. The other variety - central sleep apnea - happens when communication fails between the brain and the breathing muscles, causing irregular breathing.

What are the reasons for airway blockages?

Airway and tongue muscles relax more than is normal during sleep. The airway also can become obstructed if you have large tonsils or adenoids, extra fatty tissue in your throat from being overweight, or a naturally smaller airway.

Who gets it?

Those most likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea are older males who are overweight and use tobacco. Alcohol use also can increase your risk of sleep apnea. But you don't have to be a middle- aged man with a potbelly to have the condition. Women develop it, too, but not as often, and not all people with sleep apnea are overweight.

What are the symptoms?

Excessive daytime sleepiness, loud snoring, observed episodes of breathing cessation (apneas) during sleep, abrupt awakenings accompanied by shortness of breath, morning headache, awakening with a dry mouth or sore throat, difficulty staying asleep.