Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a type of sleep disorder in which a person’s breathing pauses and restarts, repeatedly. These pauses can vary in duration and may occur dozens of times in an hour. As a result, sleep quality is poor, causing the person to wake up tired, even after sleeping all night. In most cases, sleep apnea is a chronic condition.

The two most common types are obstructive and central sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition in which the airway collapses, inhibiting a person’s ability to breathe. Central sleep apnea is a condition in which the person’s brain fails to transmit the necessary signals to the muscles responsible for breathing.

Symptoms

Symptoms of both types are similar and known to overlap, making it difficult for a doctor to determine which type a person has. The most common symptoms include:

Hypersomnia (excessive sleepiness)

– Snoring (most prominent in obstructive sleep apnea)

– Breathing cessation

– Abrupt awakenings during the night (often an indicator of central sleep apnea)

– Insomnia

– Attention problems

– Morning headache

– Sore throat or dry mouth upon awakening

It should be noted that not everyone with sleep apnea will snore. Additionally, many people who do snore don’t consider it a serious problem. In any case, if you are known to snore loudly, it would be wise to see your doctor. This is especially important if your snoring is interrupted by periods of silence.

Causes

In the case of obstructive sleep apnea, the airway is blocked due to the relaxation of the muscles surrounding the throat. As a result of the inability to get a full breath of air, oxygen levels in the blood go down. The brain senses this problem and awakens the person, allowing them to reopen the airway, producing a snorting or choking sound. Although this process may occur many times each hour, it occurs so quickly that most people won’t remember it. These constant interruptions impair one’s ability to achieve a deep and restful sleep, leaving them fatigued during their waking hours.

Central sleep apnea is less common and occurs when the brain fails to send the required signals to the same group of muscles. When this happens, the affected person may have difficulty sleeping or staying asleep, often awakening short of breath. As with obstructive sleep apnea, sleepiness and snoring are common, although people who have it are somewhat more likely to recall waking up repeatedly. Heart failure is the leading cause of central sleep apnea, followed by stroke.

Treatment

Mild cases of obstructive sleep apnea may be treated with simple lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking and losing weight. If this doesn’t fix the problem or if the problem is more severe, there are some other treatment options. Some of them involve masks or other devices that are designed to regulate the air pressure delivered into the nose as the person sleeps. There are also devices available to bring the jaw forward, opening up the throat. In the worst cases, surgery to remove troublesome tissue or reposition the jaw may be required. In life-threatening situations, a tracheostomy is often the only form of treatment that will work.

For central sleep apnea, any associated medical problems may have to be treated, including neuromuscular or heart conditions. In some cases, the proper treatment of heart failure can actually eliminate central sleep apnea. Supplemental oxygen may be used, as well as some of the pressurized masks used in treating obstructive sleep apnea. There are also devices specifically designed for the treatment of central sleep apnea.

If you’re having trouble sleeping, the best thing you can do is talk to your doctor. Loss of sleep can be very dangerous when driving or handling machinery. Your doctor is the only one who can say with any certainty whether your drowsiness is due to sleep apnea or some other sleeping disorder.

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HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our blood alcohol, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years. Our team of health professionals, and researchers use peer reviewed studies as source elements in our articles. Our high quality content has been featured in a number of leading websites, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Live Strong, GQ, and many more.

Douglas Hinojosa
19. November 2017
Douglas Hinojosa
19. November 2017
Healthstatus seems like a really informative website about health disorders, their causes, symptoms and treatment. Apnea is one those lifestyle-induced disorders in which the major part of treatment lies in the answer to the question - how we handle our lifestyles. But, we need to take care before this disorder becomes life-threatening or else cuts on the body seem to do more harm than good!

Theodore
11. October 2017
Theodore
11. October 2017
My sister has had difficulties sleeping at night and has been feeling lethargic during the day. These symptoms have started occurring after she gave birth to her first son. Could pregnancy be a cause of sleep apnea? Thanks!

Sam Wilkins
21. September 2017
Sam Wilkins
21. September 2017
I didn't know that sleep apnea causes people to wake up many times during the night. My husband has been complaining about being exhausted lately and I've noticed that he's been snorting in the night. Maybe he should look into getting tested for sleep apnea soon.

Jalu Sakti
19. October 2016
Jalu Sakti
19. October 2016
I'm glad you talked about some of the causes of sleep apnea, like smoking or being overweight. I also wanted to add that I've heard that sleep apnea could be caused by side effects from prescriptions you're currently taking. I guess it's definitely worth a try to see if there are certain side effects that could cause it, and it's definitely worth going in to a professional who can help you pinpoint the cause, or at least help you find a solution. My brother has sleep apnea, so we are going in to a specialist to see what the cause of it is since we haven't been able to figure it out.

Faylinn
23. March 2016
Faylinn
23. March 2016
I have always had snoring problems and it is so bad sometimes that it even wakes me up while I am sleeping. Although I am not too sure that my snoring is sleep apnea, I really appreciate you mentioning the need to see the doctor anyways. What else besides sleep apnea could be causing my snoring?

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Written by HealthStatus Team
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our blood alcohol, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years. Our team of health professionals, and researchers use peer reviewed studies as source elements in our articles. Our high quality content has been featured in a number of leading websites, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Live Strong, GQ, and many more.

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