Difficulty Staying Asleep
When you first consider sleep apnea and PTSD, you may not think that the two are linked. On the one hand, you have a sleeping condition. For someone who suffers from sleep apnea, they often stop breathing while they're asleep. Eventually, the lack of air forces them to wake up. As a result, they receive a poor night's rest. Many studies have been performed that show that a poor sleeping routine can negatively impact your health. It is while you're asleep that the body does a brunt of its healing and rejuvenating. The mind refreshes and relaxes. Without proper sleep, your stress levels rise, your attention becomes impaired, and it could lead to an increase in heart disease.
PTSD, on the other hand, is a result of a traumatic experience. For many soldiers, their actions and the situations they were placed in caused them to form PTSD. However, the condition isn't restricted to soldiers alone. Children who are abused or have seen a traumatic event can also develop PTSD. As can men and women who are sexually assaulted. One is certainly more psychological while the other is physical. Is it possible, however, that apnea and PTSD might be linked?
The Similarities
To understand this possible link, it's imperative to research PTSD. For many soldiers or suffers from PTSD, their sleep patterns are interrupted. In the specific case of soldiers, this is due to their infrequent ability to sleep while serving. They had to go long days without sleep or only receive a few hours before they were on the move again. This habit then followed them into civilian life. However, it might have cropped up as apnea instead. During apnea, the throat collapses while a person sleeps. This makes it impossible to breathe.
PTSD might cause a physical response like the throat to collapse while the person sleeps. It might also just cause them to wake at certain intervals through the night. While more research needs to be performed to determine if PTSD can either lead to apnea or increases the risk of developing it, there does seem to be some evidence to suggest a relationship between them.
Solutions In the case of apnea, there are solutions to help sufferers. A CPAP machine can be used to direct oxygen into their lungs. Without a CPAP machine, they are unable to breathe.
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