Do you ever feel that, no matter how much sleep you get, you never find yourself completely rested?
Millions of Americans are affected by this same feeling every year, often due to obstructed breathing known as sleep apnea. Usually caused by soft tissue in the back of the throat collapsing and impeding oxygen flow, obstructive sleep apnea affects a significant portion of the population. Central sleep apnea, a similar but less prevalent form of the disorder, isn’t caused by airway blockage but because the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe.
While sleep apnea is a common disorder affecting men far more frequently than women, many people are unaware that they suffer from obstructed breathing because the halted breathing doesn’t trigger a full awakening.
So what ways are there for people to ensure they’re getting the quality sleep their body needs? The answer is monitoring your blood oxygen levels, one of the many insights provided by Biostrap technology.
One of the telltale signs that poor breathing is beginning to affect someone’s day to day performance is a lowered oxygen saturation level. Medically speaking, blood oxygen levels are expressed as a percentage of oxygenated hemoglobins, a protein found within red blood cells.
While a healthy blood oxygen level fluctuates with sea level, an oxygen saturation level of 96-97% is considered normal. Those suffering from severe obstructed breathing can see levels below 80%, but moderate effects can be seen below 90%. These depleted levels of oxygenated hemoglobins are known as hypoxemia with symptoms including breathlessness and inconsistent breathing.
Along with tracking HRV and resting heart rate, Biostrap is able to utilize the latest in pulse oximetry technology to monitor blood oxygen levels in an unintrusive manner. Using a red light to pass wavelengths that measure the absorbance of the pulsing arterial blood, Biostrap users can obtain up to date information on whether their body is getting the oxygen it needs.
Don’t waste another night with poor sleep. Take health into your own hands with Biostrap!
