When a person suffers from sleep deprivation, it is certain that their waking state will be affected. The disappointing fact about sleep disorders is that most people have suffered from it at least at one point in their lives. Though there are sleep disorders that are transient, some are actually stricken with the affliction for years, and even decades. Insomnia, for one, affects a considerable percentage of the world’s population. Ten to fifteen percent of the population has severe chronic insomnia, while another twenty-five to thirty percent has occasional or transient insomnia. However, insomnia is just one kind of sleep disorder that causes sleep deprivation. There is sleep apnea, which is characterized by the breathing pauses in a person’s sleeping state. Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS), on the other hand, is characterized by a person’s inability to wake up or fall asleep at his or her desired times.
Sleep deprivation, due to several sleep disorders, causes sleepiness, anxiety, restlessness, fatigue, disorientation when the person is awake. Many people have opted to use medications to help them with their affliction, and others have relied on natural remedies (lemon balm, kava, chamomile, oats, drinking warm milk, etc.) or methods (adjusting sleeping time, refurbishing their sleeping environment, exercise, etc.). Though there are some treatments that are left to be desired for their side effects (and yes, even some herbal remedies can have adverse side effects), there is a machine invented to treat sleep deprivation.
Treating sleep deprivation with CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) can work to relieve someone from their sleeplessness. Through a method of ventilating the respiratory system, this machine is usually used to treat people who suffer from sleep apnea or hypnoapnea. It can also help a person’s snoring problem. Treating sleep deprivation with CPAP does have its limitation. For example, when it comes to sleep apnea, CPAP can only treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is characterized by the constriction of the airways, but CPAP cannot treat central sleep apnea, which is caused by the break of communication between the brain and the body’s breathing pace.
A CPAP machine works by feeding pressurized air to the person through a mask. The machine keeps the airflow at a certain pressure, and this prevents the airways from getting constricted. A CPAP is not usually operated by the patients themselves. A professional generally manages the machine, and people have to go to a clinic (like a sleep clinic) to get this treatment. The pressure is adjusted according to how it eliminates apneas or snoring.
People who have tried this treatment may experience some discomfort in the beginning, especially when subjected to a mask (which normally has hoses for the nose, and such). Some struggle to get used to the machine. On the other hand, most were able to adjust to this method. Moreover, when administered by a trained technician, treating sleep deprivation with CPAP does not have any side effects, unlike other sleep disorder mediations or herbal remedies. It can be a bit costly, though. Yet it is also advisable for people to try this method and see if it works well for their sleeping disorders.