Written by marylyn | Posted in Health and Fitness |

A person with sleep apnea may find himself abruptly awakening in the middle of the night and gasping for air. This is because the cessation of breaths results to the lack of oxygen in the body. The body then reacts by telling the brain that it needs more air, and the brain sends signals to awaken the senses and immediately gasps for breath.

Once the person has returned to normal breathing and falls back asleep, the apnea recurs and the cycle repeats, making the patient fussy throughout the night and relatively loses the chance to sleep. The lack of sleep turns into fatigue and restlessness in the morning, as well as the inability to perform work.

Sleep apnea should be cured promptly and properly in order for a person to resume normal respiration during sleep. There are several options for treatment of sleep apnea. The most popular of these is the PAP or positive airway pressure machine, which comes in three different kinds: the continuous (CPAP), bilevel (BiPAP), and the automatic (APAP) positive airway pressure. There are also other treatments like dental devices (mandibular advancement device and tongue retaining device) and surgical procedures (UUUP, LAUP, pillar procedure, tracheotomy, etc.).

PAP machines are costly devices that make you pay not only for their maintenance but for the electric consumption as well. Dental devices are also expensive seeing that they should be custom-fitted for better use, and are sometimes uncomfortable. Surgical procedures are of course, the most expensive of all. Not only are they invasive, they can also bring about discomfort and pain after operation.

Good thing there are sleep apnea chin straps. While they are not effective with sleep hypopnea syndrome they are one of the most conventional ways of treating sleep apnea. These devices are not electronic, not expensive, and not invasive at all. They are basically what they are called, chin straps, or gartered straps that are fitted on the head and chin to keep the mouth of the patient closed.

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