Many of us tend are not aware that while we are sleeping. Among this is this common sleep disorder we hear as sleep apnoea. For the benefit of the people who are unaware of what sleep apnoea is, it is a sleeping disorder caused by abnormalities in breathing while a person is in this meditative stage.

We all tend to overlook this part of our everyday living. Usually, sleep disorders can be attributed to various reasons. Some of them can be traced towards stress, while others coming from hereditary reasons.

As explained by Wikipedia:

Sleep apnea or sleep apnoea is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. These episodes, called apneas (literally, “without breath”), each last long enough so one or more breaths are missed, and occur repeatedly throughout sleep. The standard definition of any apneic event includes a minimum 10 second interval between breaths, with either a neurological arousal (3-second or greater shift in EEG frequency, measured at C3, C4, O1, or O2), or a blood oxygen desaturation of 3-4 percent or greater, or both arousal and desaturation. Sleep apnea is diagnosed with an overnight sleep test called polysomnogram.

Clinically significant levels of sleep apnea are defined as 5 events of any type or greater per hour of sleep time (from the polysomnogram). There are two distinct forms of sleep apnea: Central and Obstructive. Breathing is interrupted by the lack of effort in Central Sleep Apnea; in Obstructive Sleep Apnea, breathing is interrupted by a physical block to airflow despite effort. In Mixed Sleep Apnea, there is a transition from central to obstructive features during the events themselves.

Regardless of type, the individual with sleep apnea is rarely aware of having difficulty breathing, even upon awakening. Sleep apnea is recognized as a problem by others witnessing the individual during episodes or is suspected because of its effects on the body (sequelae). Symptoms may be present for years, even decades without identification, during which time the sufferer may become conditioned to the daytime sleepiness and fatigue associated with significant levels of sleep disturbance. The definitive diagnosis of sleep apnea is made by polysomnography. – Sleep Apnea

Check out this cool design that makes you want to goto sleep. Although only a model, imagine the “real” vacation house version placed on your favorite beach. (Mine is Ocean Beach) With a big as* skylight and great views of the ocean AND sounds of the waves, that’d definitely put me to sleep everytime.)

Remember, if you have seen some cool designs like this, tip us! (We are running out of ideas…need your HELP!)

via treehugger

It’s probably true that getting enough sleep does help you think better and your brain probably thinks for you while you are sleeping. Here’s an interesting article about sleep and how your brain is still working while you are dozing off.

Dozens of intriguing studies over the past several years show clearly
that your brain is active—very active—during sleep. (Reference 1-7) It’s busy doing something miraculous, something that we can’t even come close to explaining.

Basically, your brain goes on automatic pilot. Without your being aware of it, something inside your head comes alive and starts mulling over all the things you learned that day. It sorts through them, organizes them, considers them, calculates them, decides what’s important and what’s not.

via smart-kit

Here’s a collection of how to sleep better articles we found on the web that might actually help you sleep better:

• How to Sleep better via Boing Boing
• 10 Tips for Better Sleep via Bettersleep
• How to Sleep better via BBC
• Dr. Orman’s Guide to Better Sleep via stresscure
• Tips for sleeping faster and better via to-done

And make sure to check out how well these animals sleep together.

Here’s a picture proving you need to wear something going to sleep just in case of fires…

via ugoto