Sleep apnea is a type of sleep disorder, where a person suffers pauses in breathing while he sleeps. You might notice that you are sleeping quite well during the night and your roommate might complain of loud snoring sounds but yet you get tired during the day. With these situations and complaints it is important for you to opt for a sleep apnea testing at home.
Some recent studies have revealed that almost 25% of the men and 10 percent of the women all over the world suffer from sleep apnea because of different reasons. Sleep apnea can also affect babies and children, but is common among people above 50 years of age.
Types and symptoms of sleep apnea
- Obstructive sleep apnea: This is the most common type of sleep apnea that most people suffer. In this type of sleep apnea the blow of air through the mouth and the nose gets blocked as the muscles that support the airway of the soft tissues in the upper part of the airway relaxes.
The main symptom of this type of sleep apnea is loud snoring and interrupted breathing.
- Central sleep apnea: This type of sleep apnea is not that common and it involves the nervous system. When the brain stops signaling the muscles that control breathing, the person finds it difficult to breathe while he or she is sleeping.
This type of sleep apnea is caused by certain health conditions and people with this type of sleep apnea do not snore that much.
- Complex or mixed type of sleep apnea: This type of sleep apnea is a combination of both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.
In this type of sleep apnea the patient suffers from choking and coughing during sleep, loud snoring, tiredness during daytime.
The other common symptoms of sleep apnea that is noticed in all the types of sleep apnea are:
- Waking up with dry mouth.
- Disturbed or restless sleep, nighttime awakenings or even insomnia.
- Waking up at night because of breathlessness.
- Going to the bathroom too many times during the night.
Causes of sleep apnea
There might be various causes for sleep apnea varying from person to person. The causes of sleep apnea are different for the children and different for adults. There are various other factors, depending on which the causes of sleep apnea might be determined.
- Sex: Sleep apnea is more common in men than women, but after menopause the frequency of sleep apnea increases among women also.
In women, the activity of the upper airway dilator muscle is more than men and hence it ensures the upper airway closure less likely to occur during sleep and prevent sleep apnea. The difference between the shape of the upper airway muscles of men and women can theoretically increase the risk of sleep apnea in men as their upper airway is more likely to collapse during sleep.
- Old age: Sleep apnea can affect a person of any age and can affect children too, but it is more common among people above 50 years old.
With the increase of age, a person wakes from sleep during the night repeatedly and it might lead to hyperventilation and relative hypocapnia, which promotes respiratory instability and unstable breathing during sleep causing sleep apnea.
- Weight: Obstructive sleep apnea is more common with overweight people and higher in those who are obese.
- Anatomical differences: There are different physical attributes that might lead to sleep apnea. These physical attributes include a small upper airway, a small or receding jaw, a long soft palate, a high tongue position and enlarged tonsils and adenoids.
Treatments for sleep apnea
Various types of sleep apnea treatments are performed on a patient, depending on the cause of the disease.
- In children sleep apnea gets cured with time but the doctors perform regular testing for sleep apnea at home to track the improvement.
- The overweight patients are suggested to perform exercises and other weight loss routines.
- The patients with enlarged tonsils and adenoids are performed with tonsil removal surgeries.
- Continuous positive airflow pressure therapy is another treatment that helps in keeping the airway open and prevents pauses in breathing.
So, no matter what the cause of sleep apnea is, when a person suffers any issues in breathing or disturbed sleep, then he must immediately consult his general practitioner and seek proper advice regarding the treatment to avoid further health issues.
