Difference Between Sleep Apnea and Narcolepsy
There are many illnesses that are related to sleep that many of us face.
Two common types are narcolepsy and sleep apnea. Both are a cause of sleep disruption and make a person feel tired by the time he or she gets up. They have their own characteristics which are quite different from each other.
In sleep apnea, a person wakes up during the night due to difficulty breathing. This can be a hundred times in a day without the person realising it.
In narcolepsy, a person feels sleepy during the day and in severe cases may fall asleep uncontrollably.
Instructions
-
1
Sleep Apnea
As the person finds it hard to breath, the level of oxygen in the blood drops and the person will wake up again and again. Snoring is often associated with the problem as well. Sleep apnea generally starts in the age of 40’s.
The can be caused because of the brain unable to work properly during a person’s sleep. It can also be caused by the person having difficulty in breathing caused by a constriction in the respiratory tract. It is also possible that a combination of the two is actually causing the problem.
It can be treated and the person may be given medications or special masks in order to relieve him or her from the problem. It is best to seek the advice of a doctor to help treat sleep apnea as it can seriously affect your daily routine or work schedule.
- Image Courtesy: always-healthy.com
-
2
Narcolepsy
A person is too sleepy in this problem. It is also possible that a person occasionally hallucinates. Sleep paralysis is quite common in people with narcolepsy and can happen at the start of sleep or when a person is waking up.
A person generally starts suffering from the disease at an early age and it can start during adolescence. The cause of the disease is the malfunctioning of nerve cells known as the hypocretin neurons.
It can be managed well with a change in lifestyle and drug therapy. The course of action for a given case will depend on the severity of the problem. Visiting a doctor is necessary with this condition as it can be very serious to fall asleep uncontrollably. This can seriously hamper your daily activities and work related schedules.
- Image Courtesy: middlesexhospital.org
