The Dangers of Ignoring Obstructive Sleep Apnea
The take-away
Basically, when facing a diagnosis of OSA, a patient is looking at some serious health issues if he or she does not seek appropriate treatment or doesn’t follow through with the doctor’s recommendations. In other words, if a person can’t get a decent seven to eight hours of sleep each night, then eventually, fatigue settles in, making concentration and completion of daily tasks difficult. When a person feels too tired, then he or she cannot get enough exercise which leads to weight gain and a whole host of medical issues that accompany the situation of being overweight or obese. Those conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, a stroke, and heart trouble will develop over time and tend to be much more of a challenge for doctors to treat.
One final factor to consider is that lack of sleep also affects one’s mental health. Depression can set in due to not having enough energy to maintain relationships with a person’s family and friends. The job situation can also suffer when a person doesn’t get enough rest, therefore leading to more stress which also has a negative impact on the mind and body.
All in all, if a person suspects that OSA might be the underlying factor of not feeling well, then a visit to the healthcare provider should be a priority.