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Sleep Apnea |
Sleep ApneaSleep apnea in simple words is a serious sleep disorder that involves irregular breathing pattern in the sleep.
‘Apnea’ is derived from a Greek word which means ‘without breath’. If you are going through this disorder, you would tend to wake up in the morning tired even after a good night’s sleep.
You might feel sleepy during the day or even snore loudly while sleeping.
There are two main types of sleep apnea
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Central sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is the more common form which occurs when the muscles that support the soft tissues in the mouth relaxes.
In case of central sleep apnea, the brain fails to pass appropriate signals to the muscles which control breathing. Some people may also have complex sleep apnea which is basically the combination of both the types of sleep apnea that is obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.
Obstructive sleep apnea is twice as common in men as compared to women and affects two to three times more often in older peoples. However sleep apnea can occur to any sex and at any age (even a child can have sleep apnea).
Some of the risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea include obesity, high blood pressure, being a male, being older, neck circumference greater than 17 inches, family history, smoking, alcohol or sedative use. Some risk factors for central sleep apnea include again being a male, high altitude, heart disorder, impaired brain ability in case of a stroke or brain tumor and neuromuscular disorders.
Many a times the signs and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea overlaps, thus it sometimes becomes difficult to identify which type of sleep apnea a person is suffering from. Some of the common symptoms include snoring loudly, hypersomnia especially during the day time, headache in the morning, insomnia, and waking up with a dry mouth or sore throat.
Make sure to observe all the signs and symptoms and explain all the symptoms you are suffering from to your specialist in detail. Many people may not experience snoring even if they have sleep apnea or many a times some experience loud snoring. Explain all details to help your specialist diagnose they type of sleep apnea correctly. Your specialist may guide you to visit a sleep specialist if he detects some sleep disorder and the sleep specialist would perform certain tests like nocturnal polysomnography, oximetry or portable cardiorespiratory testing to detect your condition.
Sleep apnea is not as simple as it sounds, if appropriate treatment is not taken then can cause severe complications like cardiovascular problems, fatigue during daytime or sleep-deprived patterns. |
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