Health Check: here’s what you need to know about sleep apnoea

[AussieNeil]

Many of us suffering from fatigue may feel that it is all due to our CLL, but there are many possible causes, with sleep apnoea high on the list for the generally older demographic where CLL is also more likely. "About 5% of people have treatable moderate or severe sleep apnoea, which means they stop breathing 15 times or more times per hour while asleep. A larger number of people – as many as 20% of middle-aged folk – have mild sleep apnoea, which means they stop breathing around five to 15 times an hour. Although this may sound pretty scary, it’s still not clear that this mild version causes ill health." Nathaniel Marshall, Senior Lecturer in Sleep and Clinical Trials at University of Sydney, Australia covers the adverse health effects of sleep apnoea - including a higher risk of developing cancer and finishes with the good news that treating sleep apnoea can greatly reduce your risk of illness:

theconversation.com/health-...

Neil:

Photo: Some Ibis in a eucalyptus tree. Towards sunset, flocks of these birds (about the size of a duck) begin to settle in their favourite gum tree, where they roost overnight.

[wroxham-gb]

Great photo's Neil.

[Ernest2]

Thanks Neil, interesting article. Any ideas what the dietary changes might be ?

Also cool picture - perhaps good for a caption competition.

Ernest.

[AussieNeil Administrator in reply to Ernest2]

Sleep apnoea is not something I've personally explored, so I've no idea about dietary changes. If you are particularly interested, you could join 'The Conversation' and reply to the article, asking the author. Or perhaps a member of our community could reply with what they know?

I've taken a few photos of the eucalyptus ibis roosting tree around dusk when there are between 10 and 20 of these big birds settling in for the night. Unfortunately, the photos doesn't come out well. While the white of the birds makes them fairly easy to spot, they are often moving around, jostling for favourite spots, so you get blurred blobs in the failing light. It's a huge tree, so a flash won't work.

[Cllcanada Top Poster CURE Hero]

I was 2 years on a CPAP machine, to increase nocturnal oxygen levels... finally I lost weight and started exercising and have been retested and the sleep apnea is no longer an issue... obesity is a factor in many, but not always...

~chris