Exploring Bend, Oregon’s diverse and beautiful landscapes offers an unforgettable outdoor adventure. The Central Oregon area is home to a number of exhilarating hiking trails with stunning vistas of snowcapped mountains, old-growth forests, alpine lakes, rushing rivers, deserts, and rugged, jagged canyons. Every hiker will find something to their liking with Bend’s miles of well-maintained and easily accessible trails that traverse a variety of natural scenery.
Yet even in such a majestic setting, people can face certain challenges keeping them from immersing themselves fully in their adventure. One such challenge common among outdoor enthusiasts is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a serious sleep disorder that can cause significant disruption to sleep and overall well-being without proper management. If left untreated, sleep apnea can interfere with the quality of daily activities, including hiking. For those who love to take advantage of Bend’s plethora of hiking trails, it is especially important to understand what sleep apnea is and what interventions can help mitigate its negative effects to make the most of your outdoor experience.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder that causes a person to repeatedly stop and start breathing during sleep. There are two main types of sleep apnea: obstructive and central. The most common is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), an airway dilation that blocks the airways and causes the individual to stop breathing during sleep. When breathing is interrupted many times during the night, the body becomes starved for oxygen, leading to less than restful sleep overall.
The common warning signs of sleep apnea include loud snoring (with pauses in between), gasping or snorting during sleep, or even snorting and choking during the later part of the night. Yet not all sleep apnea sufferers snore, and some experience other symptoms as well, such as dry mouth or a sore throat upon awakening, morning headaches, irritability and sleepiness during the day, as well as difficulty concentrating or remembering things.
Interventions to Improve Your Hiking Experience
If you believe that sleep apnea is negatively impacting your outdoor experiences and you would like to investigate interventions to treat it, there are several things that you can do. To start, you should consult with your physician, who can help to evaluate and diagnose your condition. Once diagnosed with sleep apnea, your physician may recommend lifestyle changes, such as maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise, and also limiting alcohol consumption, which can make symptoms worse.
Your physician is also likely to discuss CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) therapy, which is widely recognized and the most effective treatment option for obstructive sleep apnea. This treatment uses a continuous flow of oxygen to keep the airways open during sleep and prevent the airways from collapsing. It can be done with a machine that delivers air through a mask worn over the nose, mouth, or both.
In addition to CPAP therapy, there are a number of other alternatives to consider to address the root causes of sleep apnea. Many individuals have found success with oral appliances, dental guards, or mandibular advancement devices which can help keep the yearways open during sleep.
Surgery may also be an option for some individuals, depending on the underlying cause of your sleep apnea. The procedures typically involve removing excess tissue at the back of the throat, which can block the airways or help pressure the soft palate against the back of the throat.
Better Sleep Means Better Hiking Experiences
Obstructive sleep apnea has the potential to seriously impact your hiking experience in Bend. Getting quality sleep is key to your physical and mental recovery, as well as your overall enjoyment of the great outdoors. It can be helpful to learn more about the potential causes of sleep apnea, as well as the interventions available to you. Making an effort to properly manage your obstructive sleep apnea may lead to better sleep, more resilient energy levels, improved health, and the ability to fully enjoy everything that your Bend hiking adventure has to offer.