For an Apnea-Hypopnea Index (or AHI) from 5 to 15 denotes mild sleep apnea. Fifteen to 30 is moderate, while a greater than 30 AHI is considered severe. AHI = sum of the number of apneas (pauses in breathing) plus the number of hypopneas (periods of shallow breathing) occurring, on average, each hour
I had a sleep study conducted last year. It was a take home study. When they called me with the results they indicated that I had mild sleep apnea, so mild in fact that on the scale where 5-15 waking episodes an hour represents mild apnea, I experienced 5.5 episodes. The choice of options suggested for me included
- CPAP machine
- Losing weight
- Oral appliance
Of course, being that my score was so low, I opted to lose weight. Been working on it. I’m not aware of waking during the night gasping for breath; rather, what I am aware of is that I occasionally during the period of falling asleep take an involuntary extra breath.
It is estimated that 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, with 80 percent of the cases of moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea undiagnosed.
Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. If you snore loudly and feel tired even after a full night's sleep, you might have sleep apnea. The main types of sleep apnea are: Obstructive sleep apnea, the more common form that occurs when throat muscles relax. Mayo Clinic
Insomnia is another sleep disorder impacting 60 million Americans.
According to a University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study, each year, about one in four Americans develop insomnia: 75% recover.
John Kline (Sleepless in America) notes in a Psychology Today article What Can You Do When You're Too Tired, Too Early? differentiates between two circadian rhythm disorders: advanced sleep phase disorder (you fall asleep too early) and delayed sleep phase disorder (you go to sleep too late).
Advanced sleep phase syndrome is essentially the opposite of delayed sleep phase syndrome. Those who experience it find that it becomes difficult to engage in evening activity because they have a strong propensity to fall asleep quite early. They then awaken at around 3:00 a.m. or even earlier. While delayed sleep phase syndrome is most often observed in young people, advanced sleep phase syndrome is more likely to occur in older individuals.
How’s your sleep?
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