Funny Sleeping Disorders?

The above clip is from perhaps the best comedy on television at the moment, Parks and Recreation.  It depicts the head of the parks department of fictional Pawnee, IN, Ron Swanson suffering from a hilarious episode of sleep fighting.  While the clip is rather funny, those of us with sleep disorders know that not getting a good nights rest can be detrimental to happy living.  This clip helps broach a subject that is near and dear to many Americans, and that is suffering from sleep disorders.

I personally suffer from sleep apnea, which causes abnormal pauses in my breathing while sleeping.  This obviously prevents me from kept me from keeping an normal sleep schedule until I got my handy dandy CPAP machine--which coincidentally makes me look like Bane from Batman:

If only sleeping disorders were as funny as Mr. Swanson's above.  But alas, tis the hand I have been dealt.  Can't change the cards, just gotta play the game as best as possible.

Until next time,

Sleep well

Celebrities Who Suffer from Sleep Apnea

Hello once again, audience!

As you may or may not realize, I suffer from sleep apnea.  This disorder affects my sleeping patterns, most notably because throughout the night my breathing will temporarily pause or stop.  This obviously does not make for a comfortable night's rest.  Before I got my CPAP machine, I was restless throughout the night which transferred to being tired during the day.  I didn't even know I had sleep apnea until I went to the doctor.  When I got diagnosed, I felt like I was the only person I knew with it, and it seemed like I was the only person on the planet with it.  But the reality is that over 100 million people suffer from this disorder.

After doing a bit of research, I have found a list of celebrities who suffer from sleep apnea, which really humanizes the disorder and actually made me feel a bit better about it.

Rosie O'Donnell-comedienne and talk show host
William Shatner-Star Trek Captain James T. Kirk
Adam Savage-Co-host of Discovery's MythBusters
Jeff Garlin-comic and tv star
Jo Koy-comedian
Shaquille O'Neal-former NBA All-Star
Warren Sapp-former NFL player

So there you have it, a few celebrities that suffer from the same disorder that I do (and perhaps you too).  So while it is frustrating, don't forget that others are in the same boat!

Enjoy and have a great day!

Sleep Apnea may be a telling sign of worse health risks

Hello readers!

Trekking the internet today brought me across an interesting article from The Huffington Post.  The article discusses how sleep apnea may be just the tip of the iceberg of health issues.  The implications are not a great outlook for sleep apnea sufferers.  I would say enjoy, but there's not much to enjoy about this one.

Hit the jump to find out more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-volpi-md-pc-facs/sleep-apnea_b_1468893.html

Have a great day!

Living a young life with sleep apnea

The beauty of life is that the next moment is not promised. Be that as it may, we endeavor to make the best of every moment as we do not know what will happen in the next moment. In this regard we seek to live in the moment to the best of our ability. The average life of a teenager is very active and activity filled. However, in my case, that was not to be. In my case, I was in the beginning not as active as the normal teenager. I was always lethargic and tired on a lot of occasions always feeling very sleepy. This left me out of the activities of my fellow teenagers. This feeling of being left out moved me to visit the doctor and consult him on exactly what my problem is.

Sleep apnea is a condition of the blocked airway. This condition makes an individual have a restless night waking up or experiencing light sleep every so often. If left unattended, sleep apnea causes one to wake up endless time during the night. One may experience sleep pauses several times a night. Constructive sleep apnea is a very common type of apnea. It leads to shallow breathing and sleep pauses are the major causes for apnea. This is due to blockage of the airway.
The other type of apnea is central sleep apnea. This type of apnea is associated with the failure of the brain cells to signal the muscles that breathe due to the instability of the respiratory center. It came as quite a relief to discover the cpap masks which when used with a cpap machine ensure a good night's rest. In this regard, I was consequently able to engage in the activities that my fellow teenagers engage in. This machine does come in handy as I am now able to sleep comfortably.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my new blog, this CPAP life.  As you may have gathered (or may not), I suffer from a sleep disorder called sleep apnea.  The disorder obstructs my breathing throughout the night if I don't use my lovely CPAP mask (think Bane in The Dark Knight Rises).  I am also an avid writer who enjoys connecting with people and spreading the word about sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea sufferer or not, I would love to hear from you, so please feel free to contact me at my email:  thiscpaplife@gmail.com.  Also please follow me on Twitter and Google+ by using the social buttons located on each page.

Thanks for visiting my blog and please check back periodically for new content!

Thanks,

-Alex