A good night’s sleep isn’t just about the rest your body needs. It’s much more than that. If you don’t get enough of it, you could develop a lot of medical troubles, all of which can affect the quality of life. Besides headache and dizziness, the two most common problems you should actually be concerned about are sleep apnea and insomnia. While both have similar outcomes, their symptoms and treatments are different. You need to know these differences so that you can determine the condition you suffer from and how you can cure it.
What is Insomnia
Insomnia is more about difficulty in sleeping or staying asleep. The intensity of this condition can vary for different individuals, and can last for a day, several days, a week, or even longer. Other medical conditions could also make insomnia worse over time. Most of the time, poor sleeping schedules, drinking, and smoking lead to insomnia.
What is Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a condition in which your breathing is affected while you are already asleep. This could cause you to wake up in the middle of the night. This condition is caused when the tongue blocks the airway, or when the brain is unable to send breathing signals to the body. Those who are obese and do not look after what they drink and eat, as well as smoke, are the ones who fall victim to this condition.
Major Differences Between the Two
- Causes: The causes leading to insomnia are physiological or psychological, while the causes leading to sleep apnea are physical. For instance, those who experience chronic pain or those who have anxiety or stress suffer from insomnia, while those who have nasal congestion, are obese, or drink and smoke a lot, suffer from sleep apnea.
- Symptoms: Inability to sleep or waking up frequently throughout the night are symptoms of insomnia, while snoring loudly, gasping, or choking while sleeping are symptoms of sleep apnea.
- Health Risks: Insomnia can lead to certain mental health problems like depression, or could also cause physical problems like diabetes or a weak immune system. Sleep apnea can lead to heart problems, cardiovascular diseases, and similar.
- Sleep Quality: Those who suffer from insomnia will always experience a lack of sufficient sleep, as well as next to zero quality sleep time. Those who suffer from sleep apnea might be able to sleep, but they will still not be able to have a well-rested body, leading to dizziness the next day and beyond.
- Treatments Available: Treatments for insomnia include learning relaxation techniques, sleeping medications, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Treatments for sleep apnea include weight loss programs, surgeries in rare cases, and the most common CPAP or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure therapy.
Despite the above differences, both sleep apnea and insomnia pose serious risks to one’s life if left untreated for a long time. So, it is essential that if you are witnessing symptoms of either of the conditions, you must get yourself screened at the earliest. This timely action can not only save your life but also ensure that your condition is properly treated and you are able to lead a quality life ahead.
Sleep apnea in particular is one condition that you must never take lightly. If you already know that you suffer from it, you must get its treatment done at the earliest. It may not affect you today. It may not affect you next year, but in the long run, its implications will be more severe, and worse than what you can handle. This will be certain to hit you physically, mentally, and financially. But your timely action can avoid it all!
So what are you waiting for? Get in touch with your physician and seek more information about sleep apnea treatment and procedures today.