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As we approach Global Entrepreneurship Week, it’s important we ditch the idea that losing sleep = making big bucks.

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Is Sleep Apnea Dangerous? Understanding the Risks and Consequences of the Disorder - Ognomy

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Sleep apnea is a common disorder that affects millions of Americans and a billion people worldwide. Nevertheless, most people are not aware they suffer from it. It's characterized by disruptions in breathing while you sleep, leading to a lack of restful sleep and a whole host of potential health risks.

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Our goal is to improve the lives of one billion people worldwide that suffer from sleep apnea by making it easy for them to receive the sleep healthcare they need.

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Our goal is to improve the lives of one billion people worldwide that suffer from sleep apnea by making it easy for them to receive the sleep healthcare they need.

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What causes sleep apnea in adults? Studies have found that young adults with high blood pressure or “hypertension’ have a high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea. This can be due to several factors, including a sedentary lifestyle.

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When you think of sleep apnea, you might associate it with overweight, older men, who snore loudly and incessantly. Their bed partners suffer beside them, unable to sleep through the noise, crying out for someone, or some way, to stop the snore.

However, this is not always the case. Granted, a huge proportion of older and overweight men do suffer from sleep apnea, but in reality, it can actually affect anyone, at any age. This includes young, lean and fit men, women and children too, especially those with pre-existing chronic pain conditions. In this blog post we will discuss what causes sleep apnea in adults, as well as teens and children. We will also touch base on risk factors for sleep apnea in adults to be aware of. Keep reading to learn more about possible causes and treatment options for sleep apnea adults, teens and children.

What causes sleep apnea in Adults?

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is caused by the muscles in your throat relaxing at night and blocking your airway. This impairment to breathing causes the levels of oxygen in your blood to reduce. When you stop breathing, your brain is triggered to wake you from sleep, and the breathing and oxygen levels are restored through snorting, snoring, choking, or gasping to encourage better airflow. Sleep apnea can also occur without any obstruction in airflow, which is referred to as central sleep apnea. Learn more about sleep apnea here.

Sleep apnea in adults can present in many different ways:
Snoring
Loud snoring is one of the biggest signs of sleep apnea. If your snoring is loud enough to disrupt your partner's sleep, you might have a sleep disorder such as sleep apnea.
Excessive Daytime Fatigue
Adults with untreated sleep apnea don't get the much needed restorative sleep that they need. Seven to eight hours of quality sleep is very important for all ages since it's our body and brain's time to restore and rest. When someone has sleep apnea, they wake up for short periods of time continuously throughout the night. This results in extreme fatigue during the day, making them unable to focus on tasks and feeling motivated.

Waking Up With A Sore Throat and Dry Mouth

When you have sleep apnea, your breathing gets interrupted and you gasp for breath a significant amount of times during the night. As a result of constantly opening your mouth and gasping for breath, you might wake up with a sore throat or a dry mouth.
Restless Sleep
Sleep apnea in adults can cause a lack of restful sleep, which can manifest in physical movements such as tossing and turning, kicking, thrashing or jerking. If you find yourself frequently waking up in disheveled sheets, it may be a sign that you are struggling to breathe at night due to sleep apnea. As a result, your sleep patterns may be disrupted.

Other symptoms of sleep apnea in adults include morning headaches, mood swings, loss of interest in sex and night sweats.
Risk Factors for Sleep Apnea In Adults
Here are some factors that can increase your risk of sleep apnea in adults:

Excess Weight: Obesity greatly increases your risk of being affected by sleep apnea. Fat deposits around your neck can block your breathing.

Having A Neck Circumference Greater Than 17 Inches: People with thicker necks have narrower airways.

Being Older: Sleep apnea occurs significantly more in older adults.

Family History: Having family members with sleep apnea might increase your risk.

Smoking: Smokers are 3 times more likely to suffer from sleep apnea compared to people who have never smoked. Smoking increases the amount of inflammation and fluid retention in the upper airways.

Nasal Congestion: If you have trouble breathing through your nose due to allergies or anatomical problems, you are more likely to have sleep apnea.

Medical conditions such as hormonal and cardiovascular disorder

Low Thyroid Function: There is evidence to suggest that there is a connection between hypothyroidism and sleep apnea in adults, where hypothyroidism can affect the airway and cause difficulty breathing while sleeping, as well as damage to the nerves and muscles that are responsible for breathing, resulting in sleep apnea.

What causes sleep apnea in young adults (18-30 years)?

Studies have found that young adults with high blood pressure or "hypertension' have a high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea. This can be due to several factors, including a sedentary lifestyle. As a result of work from home jobs being the new norm, people have less reason to leave their house. A lot of young adults spend hours each day sitting at their desk or computer and as a result many have an increased BMI or gain weight as a result. Increased day to day stress at work or home, pressure to 'burn the candle at both ends' or a struggle to balance hectic schedules have also been shown to cause increased stress and hypertension. For these reasons, more exercise and an improved diet can help to reduce or prevent high blood pressure in young adults.

Interestingly, however, young, lean men are also at risk. The presence of OSA is sometimes associated with insulin resistance and a rise in insulin secretion to maintain normal glucose levels. One study showed that OSA may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes independently of traditional risk factors such as obesity and OSA may adversely affect glucose metabolism at a very young age.

Other research has shown that young adults with OSA are more likely to suffer from moderate to severe pain. Because of the high prevalence of chronic pain in younger adults, this study highlights the need to understand the impact of OSA diagnosis and treatment on pain intensity and how this might improve their quality of life.

pain intensity and how this might improve their quality of life.

The STOP-Bang questionnaire is a validated screening tool for measuring Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in young people. The four measures are BMI, Age, Neck circumference, and Gender (BANG) which help determine the severity of OSA when compared to a patient's symptoms: Snoring, Tiredness, Observed apnea (apneas are the pauses in breathing), and High blood Pressure (STOP).

In addition to the questionnaire, it has been advised that younger people also undergo pain intensity and psychiatric screenings. Some symptoms or warning signs include:

Headaches

High blood pressure

Pain caused by diabetes

Depression

Personality changes such as being moody, hyperactive, cranky or irritable

Post traumatic stress and substance abuse disorder

Snoring

Tiredness during the day

Falling asleep at your desk or at school

Lack of motivation to play sports or with friends

Night sweats

Frequent urination at night

Choking during sleep

What causes sleep apnea in teens (13-18 years)?

Little research has been performed on the prevalence of OSA during the transitional stage of adolescence. Teens are often seen as having trouble sleeping at night and as being sleepy during the day which means their symptoms are often overlooked.

However, some studies have shown that the risk for serious complications gets worse relative to the severity of the teenager's sleep apnea. Strong risk factors for severe OSA include a higher body mass index as teens grow and develop, a narrower upper airway, the size of tonsils and adenoids and a family history of apnea. In addition, teenagers already have various hormonal imbalances as they are going through puberty, and underlying sleep apnea can wreak even more havoc on this. The continual sleep disturbances put teens at risk for depression, atopic dermatitis, high blood pressure, pulmonary stroke, heart disease, and congestive heart failure ( IED). Another concern is weight gain, which will make the OSA and accompanying health risks worse.

This type of sleep apnea is commonly called pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (pediatric OSA), and it is estimated that between 1% and 5% of young children have it. Most of these children are between the ages of two and eight, but OSA can occur at birth. Up to 25% of children with pediatric OSA have reduced concentration, hyperactivity, or irritability; symptoms that mimic attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

As previously discussed, for adults the main contributing factors of sleep apnea are weight, neck circumference and age, whereas for children the most common cause is enlarged tonsils and/or adenoids. If these tissues are enlarged, they can contribute to difficulty breathing during the day and even more so when they are relaxed at nighttime, in the same way OSA occurs in adults. Childhood obesity is also a risk factor for older children and teens, aged 12-18 years. The more fatty tissues in the throat, the more likely that breathing will also be impaired.

Conclusion

In this blog, we have only really scratched the surface of the importance of treating sleep apnea. However, one thing is clear - the earlier the diagnosis, the better the prognosis. Leaving this disease unmanaged can result in a much reduced quality of life, a plethora of other secondary health issues, a lack of motivation or productivity in work or school and can be detrimental to personal or family relationships.

If you want to regain your better days - install Ognomy, start your journey, and finally Say Goodnight to Sleep Apnea.

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The Young & The Restless: How Sleep Apnea Can Affect Us At Any Age | What Causes Sleep Apnea in Adults

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When you think of sleep apnea, you might associate it with overweight, older men, who snore loudly and incessantly. Their bed partners suffer beside them, unable to sleep through the noise, crying out for someone, or some way, to stop the snore. However, this is not always the case.

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Ognomy provides sleep telemedicine services to sleep apnea disorders and treats patients by making it easy for them to receive the sleep healthcare they need. We offer ways to focus exclusively on patient care rather than administration.

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Telemedicine has been around longer than many of us realize. It has existed since the 1920s when radio was utilized to dispense medical advice to ships at sea. Technology challenges and other concerns limited its usefulness in the past, but tele-radiology, tele-pathology, and other treatment forms evolved over time and this modality flourishes today.

As a result of the sweeping cultural changes brought about by the Covid pandemic, remote connectivity is increasingly in demand for many services - particularly health care. In this blog post, we discuss the benefits of using sleep telemedicine services for both patients and providers.

Is Telemedicine Commonly Used for Sleep Patients?

In 2015, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine published a position paper regarding the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders via telemedicine. The use of which has grown tremendously since that time.

Studies have demonstrated effective implementation of telemedicine to diagnose and manage obstructive sleep apnea, for example - primarily to increase adherence to positive airway pressure therapy. The Journal of Clinical Medicine describes a pilot study in which the median CPAP adherence "considerably increased by 2.17 hours per night" and the "number of patients with poor adherence (less than 4 hours per night) was considerably reduced from 38 to 7."

How Effective is it for Sleep Patients?

Insomnia

Multiple studies have revealed that benefits resulting from cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) administered via sleep telemedicine services are comparable to those delivered during in-person office visits. These studies yielded similar findings for brief behavioral therapy for insomnia.

Pediatric Sleep Disorders

Sleep telemedicine has been applied to the management of sleep disorders in pediatric populations, as well. Telehealth follow-up visits, for instance, were used for chronic management of obstructive sleep apnea and CBT - when delivered via the internet were demonstrated to be effective in adolescents with insomnia.

How Does Telemedicine Work?

Technology enables this strategy to operate in two basic ways:

Synchronous

This dimension of telemedicine is the "real-time" component and typically consists of live video calls and two-way audio communication. It includes a patient located at an originating site and a provider at a distant site. It allows for the mirroring of an in-person visit and may include additional healthcare staff.

Asynchronous

This side of telemedicine does not use a real-time connection between patient and provider.

It allows a clinician to review symptoms, examine results (from a polysomnogram, for example), view patient-generated information such as compliance reports, etc.

Ognomy uses a combination of both of these, so our doctors can meet patients virtually as well as examine their results and provide on-going care.

Why Should Sleep Telemedicine be Embraced by Providers and Their Sleep Patients?

Sleep telemedicine services offers both patients and providers variety of benefits they can't have in a traditional setting:

Easy Access to Health Care

The biggest benefit that sleep telemedicine services provide is making it easier to access health care.Patients notoriously miss office appointments for various reasons. Telemedicine greatly reduces that problem by helping with:

Reduction of missed-work concerns

Relief from child-care issues

Elimination of transportation challenges

Minimizing the stress of visiting medical offices in person

Encouraging active participation with providers from a familiar at-home setting

Enabling video consultation from phone, tablet, or computer at any location with internet connectivity

Reduced Appointment Wait Time

The National Center for Biotechnology Information shared a study demonstrating that "telemedicine support for primary care effectively decreased the time to specialty consultation, reduced the number of waitlisted patients and allowed sicker patients to reach a specialist faster."

Sleep telemedicine services offer the speed and simplicity needed to schedule more visits per day and therefore reduces the waiting time for patients in need of a provider visit.

Lower Expense Out of Pocket

Another benefit of sleep telemedicine services is saving money! Some surveys and studies have revealed that families saved an average of 85 driving miles and $50 in costs per visit. And with the current high cost of gasoline, less travel time is certainly better! These remote visits additionally saved $24 per patient in labor costs. And with the current high cost of gasoline, less travel time is certainly better!

Considering patient costs of missed work, parking, transportation, and child care, it is clear that telemedicine can reduce patient expenses and is a better choice for many when searching for care.
Care in the Comfort of Your Own Home
It's very hard to fall asleep in a bed other than your own. A common problem in the testing of sleep apnea is that patients don't feel comfortable spending the night at a sleep center. Sleep telemedicine services solve this problem as sleep tests can be self-administered at home, making it easier for patients to feel comfortable and at ease.
Social Anxiety
It can be difficult for some individuals tobe around a lot of people, let alone sleeping in front of strangers in a sleep center. Sleep telemedicine services offer a solution by making all of the treatment steps accessible from your home. This way, there are no obstacles in the way of you getting the help you need.
Sleep Telemedicine Is Time Effective
Having your consultations virtually saves you from losing time commuting to a doctor's office. This makes life easier for busy people like parents, who have to be very conservative with their time. Your overall health should always be your number one priority, so sleep telemedicine services make managing your time easier.
Family Connections
When meeting with your physician, it can be beneficial to have a family member present to assist in providing information, asking questions and noting the doctor's responses. If that person is not able to be physically present, sleep telemedicine allows them to participate in the virtual visit, with your authorization.
Easier Medical Access For People In Rural Areas
Living in rural areas can be peaceful and enjoyable, but one of the downsides is that it can be challenging to access medical care quickly. Sleep telemedicine services offer a solution to this problem by allowing individuals who live far away from sleep centers to consult with a sleep provider remotely. This saves time and eliminates the need to travel during harsh weather conditions such as snowstorms or hailstorms, keeping people safe and comfortable in their own homes.

How Can I Use Telemedicine for My Practice or Care?

The Ognomy platform is the perfect tool for providers wishing to benefit from this technology and extend wonderful benefits to their sleep patients.

We offer ways to focus exclusively on patient care rather than administration. If you are a sleep specialist looking to extend your services in the sleep telemedicine space, contact us today!

Contact us today for more information and answers to your questions.

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Is There Such a Thing as Effective Sleep Telemedicine Services for Sleep Patients?

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Telemedicine has been around longer than many of us realize. It has existed since the 1920s when radio was utilized to dispense medical advice to ships at sea. Technology challenges and other concerns limited its usefulness in the past, but tele-radiology, tele-pathology, and other treatment forms evolved over time and this modality flourishes today.

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How do I know if I have sleep apnea? Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which your breathing is repeatedly interrupted throughout the night. There are a few telltale signs, such as snoring, bruxism at night, night sweats, and many more.

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Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which your breathing is repeatedly interrupted throughout the night. This disorder is extremely common, affecting over 25 million Americans. Nonetheless, it can be very serious, leading to many dangerous health conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Left untreated, sleep apnea can cause your health to suffer and your quality of life to decrease. Although sleep apnea is very common among adults, few people know they actually have it. Studies show that 1 of 50 people are not aware they have sleep apnea. Leaving sleep apnea untreated does not only put you at heart disease risk, it also makes you groggy, low energy and unable to enjoy the joyous moments in your life.

So, how do I know if I have Sleep Apnea?

There are a few telltale signs:

Snoring

Loud, chronic snoring is perhaps the most common symptom of Sleep Apnea. Has your partner complained about your snoring, or even left the bedroom completely because of it? If so, your snoring may be something to worry about. Not all snoring suggests sleep apnea, but when it starts causing people to speak up, it may be something that needs to be checked out. Ask your partner if they hear loud gasping or choking when you're asleep. They might even hear the telltale sign of loud snoring followed by a period of silence and then a loud snort or gasp of air. That sequence of events is a classic apneic episode.

Even if your snoring is soft, don't rule sleep apnea out of the picture. In addition, some patients have surgery or use devices to stop snoring. This could simply be hiding their underlying Sleep Apnea.

Teeth Grinding (Bruxism) at Night

People who clench or grind their teeth (brux) during sleep are more likely to have other sleep disorders, such as snoring and pauses in breathing which might indicate sleep apnea. Many research studies have found that a higher-than-expected percentage of people have both OSA and sleep-related bruxism.

Some studies, which examine patient records and datasets, identified that many people with OSA were also prone to grinding their teeth at night. One hypothesis presented that sleep apnea might give rise to episodes of teeth grinding, occurring as a response to the pauses in breath that happen because of OSA.

Others argue that when the airway becomes constricted from OSA, movement of the muscles of the mouth that are involved in chewing may help to reopen it leading to teeth grinding. Another possibility is that the clenching and grinding help to lubricate the tissue in the back of the throat that can become dried out from labored breathing as a result of sleep apnea.

Night Sweats

Excessive sweatiness at night can also be an indication of sleep apnea in both men and women. Some women attribute their hot flashes at night to menopause, when actually sleep apnea is the true culprit. Hot flashes exclusively at night, in fact, are more commonly induced by sleep apnea than menopause. Do you find yourself waking up sweaty during the night? Are you constantly taking your feet out from under the covers or completely taking the covers off during the night? If so, then sleep apnea is high on the list.

Waking Up With A Sore Throat and Dry Mouth

When you have sleep apnea, your breathing gets interrupted and you gasp for breath a significant number of times throughout the night. As a result of constantly opening your mouth and gasping for breath, you might wake up with a sore throat or a dry mouth.
Difficulty Concentrating During The Day
Sleep apnea disrupts your sleep and prevents you from getting restorative sleep. As a result of sleep deprivation, you might find yourself having difficulty focusing on tasks during the day. If you feel like no matter how much you sleep, you are always tired and can't focus, the chances are high that you might have sleep apnea.
Restless Sleep
Individuals who suffer from sleep apnea may experience a lack of restful sleep, which can manifest in physical movements such as tossing and turning, kicking, thrashing or jerking. If you find yourself frequently waking up in disheveled sheets, it may be a sign that you are struggling to breathe at night due to sleep apnea. As a result, your sleep patterns may be disrupted.
A Loss Of Interest In Sex
This might be surprising to most, but treating sleep apnea can improve both your sleep and sex drive. Sleep apnea can lead to a decrease in testosterone levels in men which can result in a decline in sexual desire. However, treatment for sleep apnea can help reverse this loss of testosterone and improve sexual drive.

According to the study done by Urology Journal, women with obstructive sleep apnea had several negative impacts on sexual function measures when compared to the normal population. These include: decreased sexual desire, difficulty becoming aroused and difficulty achieving orgasm.
Morning Headaches
Researchers believe that 18% of people who have sleep apnea experience morning headaches upon waking up, at least 15 days per month. These headaches, known as sleep apnea headaches, are characterized by a constant pressure-like pain that is usually felt on both sides of the head and can last for up to four hours. Unlike other types of headaches, sleep apnea headaches do not usually present symptoms such as nausea or sensitivity to light and sound.
Mood Swings and Bad Mood
Not getting enough quality sleep can have a negative impact on your mood, making you more irritable and easily angered. However, if left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea can lead to more severe mood disorders such as depression. This is due to the individual's inability to get a good night's sleep, which can worsen the symptoms of depression over time.

Treating sleep apnea can help reduce the symptoms of depression and lower the risk of developing it. It's important to note that the longer the sleep disorder persists, the more it can affect your mood and mental state.

Other Signs of Sleep Apnea

Likewise, do you ever wake up with jaw pain or a morning headache? Do you notice drool on your pillow or a dry mouth when you start your morning? Again, Sleep Apnea may be at play. How about experiencing excessive nighttime urination or nighttime heartburn?

If you experience any of these things, you may be suffering from undiagnosed sleep apnea. While some of these signs may appear to be benign, this might not be the case.

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness

One of the biggest indicators that you may have sleep apnea is excessive daytime sleepiness, or EDS. Being tired and groggy throughout the day may not be your fault. Have you been getting at least 8 hours of sleep, but still you can't shake the exhaustion? "Sleep apnea" (literally, "breaks in sleep") prevents regenerative and restorative sleep and will keep you tired throughout the day. As you're sleeping your brain wakes up, but you're not awake long enough to recognize it. With sleep apnea, you fall back asleep directly after the apnea event within seconds, without realizing your sleep has been disrupted. Have you asked yourself recently why you still feel so tired upon awakening? Think Sleep Apnea!

Depending on the severity of the disorder, you could be waking up anywhere from 5 to more than 150 times per hour. Your oxygen can sometimes fall to levels that equate with being at the peak of Mt. Everest! It's not rocket science that this would severely damage the quality of your sleep and even damage your brain. Humans spend almost a third of their lives sleeping. It is important to make sure that this time is spent properly, getting you well rested to seize the day.

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness is serious, and it affects around 20% of the population. Being chronically tired can have devastating effects on the quality of your life. Do you feel tired and work less productively? Do you have lapses in judgment? Are you not able to fully participate in the daily activities of life because you constantly feel lethargic and tired? Sometimes excessive sleepiness is not something you can overcome on your own. If you are worried, you should get checked out for sleep apnea by Ognomy.

Sleep Apnea can lead to major health issues

Sleep Apnea is not something you can simply push through, and excessive sleepiness can have drastic long-term effects, including cardiovascular problems and weight gain. If the sleepiness is connected to sleep apnea, the resulting health problems include heart failure, diabetes, high blood pressure, headaches, and cognitive problems. It is important not to let an issue like sleep apnea or EDS go unaddressed.

Luckily, getting diagnosed and on your way to proper treatment has never been easier than with Ognomy, our telemedicine platform. Just download the app, schedule a telemedicine appointment, and get connected to a board-certified practitioner.

What comes next?

After you schedule a telemedicine consultation, the doctor will ask about your medical history and perform a physical examination of your throat via your phone camera. From here, the next step usually entails the doctor ordering a home sleep test for you (as opposed to the more cumbersome sleep study in the Sleep Center), which ships directly to your home.

This easy-to-use test will monitor your oxygen and breathing levels. You simply wear the test (a few probes and a comfortable belt) for one night then you send it back in. The study will be reviewed and hand-scored by a sleep technician and then interpreted by your doctor, who will decide the best course of action depending on your results.

Next, you will be notified to schedule a follow-up visit with your doctor on the Ognomy application to review the results together and discuss a plan. If sleep apnea is clearly present, some patients require a sleep apnea machine called CPAP, but there are many other treatments to discuss with your doctor on Ognomy.

After this, you will be well on your way to a better night's sleep, without ever having to leave the comfort of your home.

We hope this blog post can answer some of your questions such as "How Do I Know If I Have Sleep Apnea?" If any of the symptoms above sounds like a problem that you experience, don't wait. Schedule a virtual appointment with one of our sleep specialists today to reclaim your sleep. Remember, every restful night of sleep counts!

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How Do I Know If I Have Sleep Apnea? - Ognomy

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How do I know if I have sleep apnea? Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which your breathing is repeatedly interrupted throughout the night. There are a few telltale signs, such as snoring, bruxism at night, night sweats, and many more.

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Are you looking for a home sleep test device? Ognomy provides a step-by-step guide to your home sleep study kit. Start using Ognomy’s services today, get a home sleep study covered by insurance, and receive personalized diagnosis and treatment.

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How to Use Our Home Sleep Study Kit & Test Device | At Home Sleep Study Covered by Insurance

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Your step-by-step guide to your home sleep kit Home sleep study kits allow you to safely and accurately test your sleep apnea, eliminating the need to travel and sleep in an uncomfortable sleep center. After your initial consultation with one of our sleep providers, we will send a home sleep study kit directly to you.