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Sleep Apnea Information & Resources |
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Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder that affects almost 20 million Americans. The disorder involves pauses in breathing while sleeping which can be quite dangerous. Sometimes, more than one breath is missed and can cause the person suffering from the disorder to awake suddenly, short of breath. This can make sleeping soundly throughout the night quite difficult. Many people are not even aware of the breathing problems while sleeping, which can result in lack of oxygen to the brain, resulting in serious problems. The nose's shape, a person's weight, and their lifestyle habits such as smoking can all be risk factors for sleep apnea. Sleep apnea tends to affect men more than women, although a significant number of women suffer from the problem as well. Sleep Apnea – Basic Information Doctors will typically diagnose a patient with sleep apnea when they have five or more occurrences of breathlessness throughout a one night period. This can usually be determined by having the patient spend the night or several nights at a sleep clinic so that they can be observed. Most people do not know they have sleep apnea until they reach their middle age in life, usually in the late twenties to middle thirties. People who suffer from sleep apnea can experience lack of sleep, upper respiratory infections, and loud snoring. Those who are overweight or obese, smokers, and people who sleep on their backs are more prone to sleep apnea.
Types of Sleep Apnea The most common type of sleep apnea is called obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. This simply means that the symptoms of the apnea involve the cessation or obstruction of breath while sleeping. This form of sleep apnea can be dangerous because it can reduce the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream. The other type of sleep apnea is simply called central sleep apnea. With this type, breathing is reduced, but airflow does get into the lungs. This type of sleep apnea can still have detrimental effects including heart failure. Mixed type sleep apnea simply combines the two common forms together, so the patient has multiple issues with breathing while sleeping.
What is Snoring? Snoring is a loud sound that people often make while sleeping. It is typically caused by some kind of obstruction of the airway. The sound is produced when vibrations hit the soft palate of the mouth and uvula, which is the piece of skin that hangs in the back of the throat. Just because someone snores does not mean that they have sleep apnea, however it is a common symptom of sleep apnea, and tends to be louder and more robust in patients who have apnea. People who snore often wake up with a dry mouth and an unhappy partner, but there is little danger to their health unless the snoring is directly associated with sleep apnea.
Treatments for Sleep Apnea There are several different treatment options for sleep apnea. Some doctors simply tell their overweight patients to diet and try to shed some pounds. Stopping smoking can also alleviate the symptoms. Others may need to use a device called a CPAP machine. CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, and the machine looks like an oxygen mask. The patient wears this while sleeping and it continually delivers air into the nasal cavity to keep it open so you can breathe better. If no results are had, surgery on the nasal cavity is another option that works well for some.
Other Sleeping Disorders Many people suffer from other sleep-related disorders aside from apnea. A few of these include insomnia, restless leg syndrome, and narcolepsy. Insomnia is very common in people, and is simply the inability to sleep or to stay asleep at night. Insomnia can be dangerous since the body needs at least six to eight hour’s sleep each night to function optimally. Restless leg syndrome involves the feeling of uneasiness and restlessness in the appendages, which can result in sleepless nights. Narcolepsy involves constant, uncontrollable sleep that can also be dangerous, particularly if the patient is driving.
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