Obstructive Sleep Apnea

What is sleep apnea? It is a sleep disorder, where the breathing pattern is disturbed while the patient is sleeping or is falling asleep. The thing is that 90% people with sleep apnea aren’t even aware of it. A person might gasp for air or choke, but he won’t be aware of the sleep disruptions, in most cases.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea: Some of the signs to look out for include –

• Frequent silences while you are sleeping. This happens because of breaks in breathing.

• Loud snoring.

• Getting up from your sleep in a sweat and waking up suddenly to restart breathing.

• Feeling drowsy and lethargic during the day.

• You might fall asleep at inappropriate times during the day.

Sleep Apnea: So, what happens when you have an episode of sleep apnea? During sleep apena, a person stops breathing for a short while, which disrupts the fine balance between carbon dioxide and oxygen in the blood. This imbalance prods the brain to begin the breathing process again. You also get a signal from your brain to wake up so that the muscles of the throat and tongue can increase the size of your airway. You may find yourself gasping a little as your body attempts to exhale carbon dioxide and inhale oxygen as quickly as possible. If you suffer from sleep apnea, you may not notice these disturbances and even if you do, in all probability, you would not even remember anything. However, you are sure to feel the effects of this condition as you are bound to be sleepy and feel exhausted the next day.

Snoring and Sleep Apnea: Snoring and sleep apnea are two different things. Snoring might sound unpleasant to the person sharing the bed with you, but otherwise it is a harmless condition. However, snoring is one of the symptoms of sleep apnea but just because you snore, it does not mean that you definitely have sleep apnea. You would require an examination and a diagnosis to confirm this condition.

Types of Sleep Apnea

Types of Sleep Apnea: There are two types of sleep apnea.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA: This is the most common sleep apnea and occurs because of a breathing obstruction that stops the air flow in the mouth and nose.

Central Sleep Apnea or CSA: This is less common and is a central nervous system problem that occurs when the brain signal that generally tells the body to breathe is delayed. CSA often happens because of a brain injury like a viral brain infection, brain tumor, stroke, or chronic respiratory disease.

Risk and Causes of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: During obstructive sleep apnea, the throat collapses when you sleep and blocks the airway, which prevents the air from entering the lungs. Some of the causes as well as risk factors of sleep apnea include being obese or overweight, large adenoids or tonsils, distinctive physical attributes like enlarged tongue, receding chin, shape of the neck and head, and deviated septum. Nasal blockage or congestion, and hereditary factors can also cause sleep apnea.