Driving and Obstructive Sleep Apnea
The primary concern with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and driving is the associated daytime sleepiness. You should never drive if tired, regardless of the cause. Several studies have demonstrated that driving and cognitive performance is impaired in people suffering from OSA. Indeed, researchers have found strong relationships between obstructive sleep apnea and motor vehicle accidents.
Tired driving slows your reaction time as it becomes difficult to focus and remain alert. For this reason, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) considers obstructive sleep apnea as one of the medical conditions that serve as a Red Flag for driving impairment. In the UK, if you have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea you have a legal responsibility to inform the DVLA immediately. This does not always mean loss of license.
Ask your doctor or state motor vehicle authority about the laws regarding obstructive sleep apnea and driving in your community. If you think that sleep apnea is affecting your driving, you should see your doctor. Obstructive sleep apnea responds very well to treatment and it is most likely that you will retain your license if symptoms are controlled. If you are tired, you should not drive. Think of the safety of others as well as your own.
Controlling the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea is certainly a worthwhile pursuit. As well as the clear motor vehicle dangers, the cognitive difficulties brought about by this condition may also lead to accidents in the workplace, impaired performance at work, embarrassment and even depression.
What is Obstructed Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a disorder that commonly affects more than a million people in the world. Obstructive sleep apnea is much more frequent than central sleep apnea, but it is also a common state in many areas of the world. Since the tonality of muscle of the body usually slackens during the sleep, and since, on the level of the throat, the human air ro...
Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Vacations - The CPAP Can Come Too
CPAP home air compressor machines used to be quite cumbersome and noisy pieces of equipment that the user and anyone else sharing the bed would have to listen to. As with most things technology has caught up and CPAP machines are now much smaller and, perhaps more importantly, much quieter. So sufferers of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea...
Sleep Apnea Cures
Sleep apnea (apnea from the Greek meaning without breath) is a sleep disorder characterized by frequent pauses of breathing during sleep. These pauses can occur up to a hundred times a night, and can last as long as a minute each. Generally, sleep apnea is a chronic disorder, meaning once diagnosed, it lasts a lifetime. According to the National...
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment
Patients that are obese, snore heavily and are chronically sleepy during the day may have obstructive sleep apnea. Lab studies done on the patient can confirm if this is the case. The symptoms and testing results will determine the severity of the sleep apnea. Once the patient has been properly diagnosed then obstructed sleep apnea treatment soluti...
Types and Causes of Apnea
What are the causes?It can be caused by either a complete blockage of the airway (called Obstructive Apnea) or by a partial blockage (called Obstructive hypopnea, where hypopnea is a shallow breathing).What are the types?- Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) - Most common type- Central Sleep Apnea- Mixed Sleep ApneaObstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is caused...
Sleep Apnea Pillow
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by frequent pauses in breathing during sleep. Three types of sleep apnea exist: central, obstructive and mixed. Obstructive is the most common, resulting from over-relaxation of throat muscles, causing the windpipe to collapse and block the airway. Treatments for sleep apnea range from simple lifesty...
Sleep Apnea and Depression
Many people have wondered whether there is a correlation between sleep apnea and depression. There have been studies done on the correlation between them and the majority of studies have concluded that there is an association. These same studies have determined that depression symptoms lessen with the treatment of sleep apnea. If sleep apnea is unt...