Not getting sufficient, restful sleep is a big problem for millions of people around the world. Daytime sleepiness has been noted for irritability that can lead to fights, the cause of work-related injuries, and vehicular accidents. Sleep apnea is a very serious condition. It affects children and adults, as well as, men and women and, if not treated, can lead to serious health issues, including, diabetes, irregular heartbeat, heart attack, obesity, stroke, and heart failure.

Many people with sleep apnea don’t realize that they have it. They just think they didn’t sleep well and have “mental fog” or feel tired during the day. In a relationship, their partners notice it more because of the loud snoring and snorting their sleep apnea partner is doing throughout the night.

There are three kinds of sleep apnea: obstructive, central and a combination of both. Obstructive (OSA) is the most common and risk factors including being overweight, a family history of the condition, allergies, a small airway, and enlarged tonsils. In OSA breathing is interrupted by a blocked of airflow, while in Central (CSA) breathing stops due to a lack of effort to breathe. Basically, the brain’s respiratory control centers are imbalanced during sleep and the feedback necessary to keep blood levels of carbon dioxide in check do not react to maintain an even cycling rate so breathing stops. A person can “appear dead” because there are no chest movements and no struggling or gasping for air. Once the brain’s respiratory control centers turn back on there can be fast breathing as the body tries to make up for lost breathing during the apnea period. One can have a combination of the two Obstructive and Central apnea. To be diagnosed one has to experience a minimum of five apnea episodes per hour and have a sleep study done.

A good way to monitor your sleep to find out if you have sleep apnea is to wear the Go2Sleep device by SleepOn. Go2Sleep is a ring you wear on your finger before going to bed. Once asleep, the Go2Sleep ring monitors and tracks your pulse, heart rate, Sp02 blood oxygen level, and sleep apnea occurrences. Paired with your smart phone, the App gives very detailed reports and healthy ranges for total sleep, your sleep stage (how long you spent in deep sleep, light sleep and REM [rapid eye movement]), as well as your AHI (apnea-hypopnea index), resting heart rate per minute during sleep, the number of times you toss and turn during sleep, and the sleep deficient hours over a period of days. Plus, the App gives you reports by the day, week(s) and month and a sleep score so you know how well you are doing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having these reports are extremely helpful in seeking treatment for sleep apnea. My treatment included a CPAP machine and having the Go2Sleep ring with the SleepOn App has made me empowered to handle my condition with confidence. The information in the SleepOn reports regarding my sleep has helped me create healthful patterns to prepare myself to have a more restful sleep.

I would highly recommend getting the SleepOn’s Go2Sleep ring. It is easy to use; you just put it on your finger as noted in the user’s manual and go to sleep. Upon waking, you put the ring on its USB charging base until you are ready to use it again. You access the report information via your smart phone. It is an affordable health and well-being tool at $129 and is available through Amazon, eBay or AliExpress.