Most people have already heard about sleep apnea but don’t know how to define it precisely. Well, experts say that sleep apnea is defined as the cessation of breathing during sleep.
Most people have already heard about sleep apnea but don’t know how to define it precisely. Well, experts say that sleep apnea is defined as the cessation of breathing during sleep. To elaborate, sleep apnea is a sleep disorder where you may stop and start breathing at times. These pauses may last only seconds or sometimes a few minutes, and they happen multiple times a night. People with sleep apnea may experience fatigue, snoring, and may have a harder time concentrating.
The fact is that sleep apnea specialists all agree that there are three different types of sleep apnea — these are obstructive, central, and mixed types. Of these three different types, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common. Not too many people know that the inability to fall asleep is also considered as a part of this sleep disorder, because insomnia is actually one of the common sleep apnea patient’s complaints.
Sleep apnea can be a difficult condition to deal with, as it makes sleeping extremely difficult, and can very in severity depending on the case. What else should you know about the symptoms of sleep apnea, and how
Experts estimate that about 18 million Americans have sleep apnea. Men and people who are over 40 years old are more likely to have sleep apnea, but it can affect anyone at any age.
Types of sleep apnea
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Obstructive sleep apnea
This is the most common type of sleep apnea. It is important to know that obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by repetitive pauses in breathing during sleep. All this is due to the obstruction or collapse of the upper airway. Reasonably, breathing pauses are usually accompanied by a reduction in blood oxygen saturation, and followed by an awakening to breathe.
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Central Sleep Apnea
This is a bit more serious type of apnea because Central Sleep Apnea is defined as a neurological condition characterized by cessation of all respiratory effort during sleep, usually with decreases in blood oxygen saturation. The fact is that if the brainstem center controlling breathing shuts down there's no respiratory effort and no breathing and what happens: the person is aroused from sleep by an automatic breathing reflex, so may end up getting very little sleep at all. Several researches have proven that this pattern can repeat itself 20 to 30 times or more each hour, all night long. The consequences are clear- these disruptions impair a person’s ability to reach those desired deep, restful phases of sleep, and he or she will probably feel sleepy during normal waking hours.
Important thing to know about this disorder is that it has a neurogical background and it is very different in cause than the previous type, which is a physical blockage - though the effects are highly similar.
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Mixed apnea
Mixed sleep apnea, as the name suggests, is a combination of the previous two. An episode of mixed sleep apnea usually starts with a central component and then becomes obstructive in nature. Generally the central component of the apnea becomes less troublesome once the obstructive apnea is treated.
Cardinal symptoms
- Fatigue and tiredness during the day.
- Loud snoring accompanied with choking sounds
Other common features are:
- Obesity
- Small jaw, thick neck
- High blood pressure
- Restless sleep
- Depressed mood and irritability
- Reduced sex drive and impotence
- Snorting, gasping, choking during sleep
- Insomnia
Not as commonly reported but may be present:
- Feeling that sleep is strangely unrefreshing
- Difficulty concentrating
- A dry mouth upon awakening
- Excessive perspiration during sleep
- Heartburn
- Rapid weight gain
- Morning headaches
- Change in personality
- Memory lapses
- Intellectual deterioration
- Frequent nocturnal urination
- Confusion and severe grogginess upon awakening
- Large tonsils and adenoids
Possible causes
Well, everyone knows that in normal conditions the muscles of the upper part of the throat keep this passage open to allow air to flow into the lungs. It is proven that some individuals have a narrower passage, and during sleep, relaxation of these muscles causes the passage to close, and air cannot get into the lungs. Of course- this leads to the loud snoring and labored breathing occur. Although no one really knows why is this happening, but in deep sleep, breathing can stop for a period of time and these periods of lack of breathing are followed by sudden attempts to breathe. What is the result? Well, the result is fragmented sleep that is not restful, leading to excessive daytime drowsiness.
Risk factors
It is proven that older obese men seem to be at higher risk, though as many as 40% of people with obstructive sleep apnea are not obese. Of course, some physical predispositions such as nasal obstruction, a large tongue, a narrow airway and certain shapes of the palate and jaw seem also to increase the risk. Most recent studies have also suggested that a large neck or collar size is strongly associated with obstructive sleep apnea. Ingestion of alcohol or sedatives before sleep may predispose to episodes of apnea.
Read More: Sleep apnea
Treatment of sleep apnea
Mild sleep apnea is usually treated by some behavioral changes. Losing weight, sleeping on your side are often recommended.
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Therapies
Continuous positive airway pressure is one very good therapeutic machine that delivers air pressure through a mask placed over patient’s nose while asleep.
There is also one another option- wearing an oral appliance designed to keep throat open is very good method
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Surgery or other procedures
Important thing to know is that the goal of surgery for sleep apnea is to remove excess tissue from nose or throat that may be vibrating and causing a patient to snore. These parts of tissue can also blocking upper air passages and causing sleep apnea. Surgical options may include: Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) , Maxillomandibular advancement and Tracheostomy!
Inability to fall asleep and insomnia
Like it was already mentioned, insomnia is one of the common symptoms of sleep apnea! Insomnia is a sleep disorder and it is important to know that it is a symptom and not a disease. When we talk about how to cure insomnia therefore we are not talking about curing insomnia directly, but are looking at treating the underlying cause or causes.
In its simplest form insomnia disorder can be defined as difficulty in falling asleep, staying asleep or waking after too short a period of sleep.
Different types of insomnia
There are several different types of insomnias. Several researches done in the past have came to the conclusion that the Initial Insomnia is most common type that occurs in sleep apnea! Beside this type there are several others:
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Transient insomnia
Transient insomnia lasts for just one or two nights. It can be provoked by some important upcoming meeting or a minor illness. Important thing is that, as the underlying cause passes-sleep pattern returns to normal.
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Intermittent insomnia
If transient insomnia starts to occur frequently-then insomnia could be termed as intermittent insomnia.
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Chronic insomnia
Once a patient reaches the stage at which sleep is being affected on most nights then you are suffering from chronic or severe insomnia.
Specific difficulties a patient encounters in sleeping divides insomnia into three types:
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Initial insomnia- difficulty in falling asleep
This form of insomnia is the most common for sleep apnea! If a person finds difficulty in falling asleep, typically taking 30 minutes or more to get to sleep, then there is a great chance that she or he is suffering from initial insomnia.
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Middle insomnia
Important thing to know is that, in the case of middle insomnia you experience problems in staying asleep.
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Late or Terminal insomnia
In late or terminal insomnia, patient falls asleep with relative ease and sleep through the first part of the night but then wake early in the morning. Patients usually have less then six hours of sleep!
Causes of insomnia
There can be many causes for insomnia and the common cause of an interrupted sleep pattern is increased alcohol ingestion. Several researches have confirmed that approximately 80% of individuals do report dreams during, and we do know that REM sleep does produce the excretion of acetylcholine. The fact is that experts know that increased alcohol ingestion definitely interrupts, and even inhibits REM sleep, although they are uncertain of the exact physiological mechanism. Of course, some other factors such as tension, stress, anxiety, conflicts in the home are more common causes of insomnia.
The side-effects of insomnia
There are many side-effects accompanying insomnia but perhaps the most significant are:
- Increased accident rate
Reasonably- accidents at home, at work and particularly on the road can often be traced back to insomnia. Recent statistics attribute fatigue to some 100,000 vehicle accidents and 1,500 deaths in the Unites States alone during 2004.
- Premature death
Several researches done in the past have came to the conclusion that people who regularly take sleeping pills do have lower survival rates than the general population. These deaths therefore, while not directly resulting from insomnia, must certainly be attributed to it.
- Stress and depression
Insomnia can have a significant effect on mood and increased hormonal activity. It can lead to anxiety, stress and depression.
- Heart disease
There is some evidence to suggest that severe insomnia can produce activity within the heart and nervous system that, in turn, may lead to heart disease.
- Headaches
Insomnia can often lead to headaches during the night and early in the morning.
Read More: Insomnia, Stress and Immune System
Treatment of insomnia
- Exercising during the day or going for a short walk an hour or so before bedtime.
- Taking a warm bath or drinking a glass of warm milk before bedtime.
- It is often possible to break the cycle of insomnia by staying awake for an entire night.
- Medicines may be prescribed when the cause of insomnia includes a particularly stressful situation or pain from some physical condition.
- www.stanford.edu
- www.help-me-to-sleep.com
- www.sleepquest.com
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_Apnea
- Photo by shutterstock.com