Wondering how to stop a man snoring? This video—presented by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health—shows how Jim, the father of two young girls, has coped with having sleep apnea. Symptoms such as waking up tired and falling asleep while driving long distances made Jim concerned about his health. While Jim was sleeping, his wife noticed snoring and long periods of silence followed by gasps. Wanting a better quality of life, Jim sought the advice of his doctor, who recommended a sleep study. As a result of the sleep study, Jim was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea and prescribed treatment with cpap machines. CPAP provides mild air pressure to keep the airways open during sleep. Jim explains that adjusting to CPAP treatment was hard at first, and his inability to stick with the treatment led to more symptoms. However, after using the CPAP machine regularly, Jim feels better and has more energy to do activities with his children. He also started using a cpap beard sealant to maintain his beard and mustache while using the machine.

Sleep apnea is a common condition in the United States. It can occur when the upper airway becomes blocked repeatedly during sleep, reducing or completely stopping airflow. This is known as obstructive sleep apnea. If the brain does not send the signals needed to breathe, the condition may be called central sleep apnea.

Healthcare providers use sleep studies to diagnose sleep apnea. They record the number of episodes of slow or stopped breathing and the number of central sleep apnea events detected in an hour. They also determine whether oxygen levels in the blood are lower during these events.

Also view this video at www.nhlbi.nih.gov
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