Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing or shallow breathing, both of which block air flow to the lungs. The pauses in breathing can, in some cases, last minutes and may occur dozens of times during the night. Left untreated, sleep apnea increases a person’s risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, and diabetes.
There are two types of sleep apnea. The first, called obstructive sleep apnea, occurs when a person’s airway becomes blocked during sleep or collapses altogether. The second type, central sleep apnea, happens when the brain doesn’t send proper signals to the respiratory system.
About half the people affected by sleep apnea are overweight. It is more commonly seen in men than in women, and risk increases with age. Those with small airways are also more likely to have sleep apnea, as are those with a family history of the condition.
Other than nasal sprays or allergy medications, doctors don’t usually prescribe medications to treat sleep apnea. Instead, they recommend losing body weight; the cessation of smoking; avoiding alcohol or medications that cause sleepiness; and sleeping on one side or the other. Mouthpieces and special breathing devices may help. Or surgery may be called for.
Sleep apnea often occurs without the person affected realizing it. Sometimes, the only way people find out is when someone else reports being bothered by the loud snort that commonly occurs when breathing starts up again after a pause or by loud snoring.
Larson Douglas Hanson is Chairman and CEO of Simplex Healthcare, which serves patients with sleep apnea through its CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) Care Club subsidiary.
Thanks to Soles4Souls, over 16 million pairs of shoes have been delivered to needy people around the world. Soles4Souls is a relatively new, non-profit organization formed in response to the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia, followed a few months later by Hurricane Katrina.
The organization acts as facilitator for large donations of shoes provided by footwear manufacturers, retailers, schools, churches, nonprofit industries, and individuals. Soles4Souls also manages a micro-enterprise operation in Haiti, in which networks of small businesses distribute used shoes throughout Africa and South and Central America. Often, the shoes are given to the distributors on credit, and they pay only for shoes they sell. The system creates a money-making opportunity that supports the local economy.
As an added benefit, Soles4Souls is environmentally beneficial, as donating gently used shoes to poverty-stricken people reduces the millions of shoes in America’s landfills. The shoes are put to good use and are often worn for years before they are finally discarded.
Larson Douglas Hudson, ACT, is chairman and chief executive officer of Simplex Healthcare, Inc. He supports a number of charitable organizations, including Soles4Souls.
