sleep apnea
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Sleep Apnea

What is Sleep Apnea?

A disorder called sleep apnea causes you to stop breathing while you’re asleep. This occurs when your airway becomes blocked (obstructive sleep apnea) or when your brain is unable to regulate your breathing normally (central sleep apnea).

A survival reaction triggered by low oxygen levels awakens you up enough to start breathing again. Your sleep cycle is disrupted by that reflex, which also keeps you alive. This keeps you from sleeping soundly. Additionally, it can cause cardiac stress that, if left untreated, could be fatal.

To help you control your symptoms and avoid consequences, a healthcare professional can develop a treatment plan.

What are the types of sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea comes in three varieties:

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA): In this situation, surrounding tissue presses against your windpipe as the muscles in your throat relax while you sleep. This stops the flow of air.

Central sleep apnea (CSA): Your brain doesn’t send instructions to keep breathing-related muscles active when you sleep if you have this disorder.

Mixed/complex sleep apnea: This kind combines elements of central and obstructive sleep apnea.

How common is Sleep Apnea?

According to one study, obstructive sleep apnea affects over 1 billion people worldwide, aged 30 to 69. Although less frequent than OSA, central sleep apnea is not an uncommon problem.

Symptoms and Causes:

What are the symptoms of sleep apnea?

The following are typical signs of sleep apnea:

  • Pauses in breathing during sleep (which a sleeping spouse may notice)
  • Unusual breathing patterns include rapid, deeper breathing followed by shallower breathing until the breathing pauses and begins again.
  • Snoring
  • Feeling like you’re choking or having trouble breathing when you wake up
  • Fatigue during the day, drowsiness, or tiredness upon awakening

Other symptoms you might experience may include:

  • Headaches, particularly in the morning
  • Night sweats
  • Mood changes (depression and anxiety)
  • Nighttime restlessness
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Children may have varied symptoms of sleep apnea.

What causes sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea happens because of:

An obstruction in your upper airway that prevents airflow while you sleep
An issue with the way your brain controls your breathing when you’re asleep

What are the risk factors for sleep apnea?

This condition can affect anyone. Both adults and children are impacted. The following are some typical risk factors for sleep apnea:

  • Sleep apnea’s biological familial history
  • Heart disease
  • Stroke
  • High blood pressure
  • Large tonsils
  • Obesity
  • As you age, your risk increases. Male at birth (AMAB) individuals are more likely to be diagnosed before turning 50.

Additionally, although obesity increases your risk of developing sleep apnea, the disorder can affect people of any body size.

What are the complications of sleep apnea?

Numerous consequences, many of which are serious or potentially fatal, can result from sleep apnea. These consist of:

  • Excessive drowsiness during the day, also known as “microsleeps,” in which you doze off for tiny periods of time during the day (hazardous when driving or operating machinery)
  • Arrhythmias (atrial fibrillation or left atrial appendage)
  • High blood pressure
  • Heart damage and heart failure
  • Sudden cardiac death

Diagnosis and Tests:

How is sleep apnea diagnosed?

Your symptoms and medical history will be questioned by a healthcare professional in order to diagnose sleep apnea. They will suggest tests to confirm a diagnosis if they have any suspicions about the issue.

What tests diagnose sleep apnea?

The following are the most popular tests for sleep apnea:

Polysomnogram: Wearing sensors that track your heart rate, respiration, blood oxygen levels, brain waves, and other parameters is part of this overnight exam.

Home sleep apnea testing: This sleep research is conducted at home without the use of brain wave monitoring. This test has certain drawbacks, such as the inability to identify central sleep apnea.

You may be able to assist a medical professional in diagnosing sleep apnea if you believe you or a loved one has it. Videos and audio recordings of you or this person sleeping, particularly ones that show breathing, can provide important evidence that a clinician needs to expedite the diagnosis procedure. Another way to demonstrate air movement is to place a piece of tissue in front of a loved one’s face so that the movement can be captured on video.

What are the severity levels of sleep apnea?

The severity of a sleep apnea diagnosis is assessed by medical professionals using the apnea/hypopnea index (AHI). The average number of apnea (when you stop breathing while you’re asleep) and hypopnea (decreased airflow) occurrences per hour is measured by the AHI. The following are the severity levels of sleep apnea:

  • Mild sleep apnea (five to fourteen episodes per hour, or AHI)
  • Moderate sleep apnea (15-29 events per hour)
  • 30 or more episodes per hour indicate severe sleep apnea.
  • What organ does sleep apnea affect?

There is more than one organ in your body affected by sleep apnea. In actuality, it has an impact on numerous bodily systems. Your neurological system (brain) and circulatory system (heart) are the two most impacted.

Management and Treatment:

How is sleep apnea treated?

The kind and severity of sleep apnea will determine the various treatment choices that a healthcare expert recommends. These could consist of:

  • Using a breathing apparatus such as a machine that provides continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
  • Taking care of any underlying illnesses that contribute to or raise your chance of developing sleep apnea
  • Avoiding placing strain on your airways by sleeping in a different posture than on your back
  • Using a mouthpiece or other oral appliance to maintain an open airway
  • Keeping your tongue and upper airway muscles from obstructing your airway while you sleep by using a neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) device
  • Taking medications
  • Undergoing surgery

Sleep apnea surgery:

Sleep-related airway blockages may be avoided with the help of surgeries on your mouth, throat, and nose. Among these operations are:

Jaw surgery: Your jaw can be moved during various operations to prevent soft tissue from pressing back into your airway.

Nasal surgery: Septoplasty is a popular type of nose surgery. By doing this, the soft tissue in your nose is straightened, which facilitates airflow through your nasal passages.

Prevention:

How can sleep apnea be prevented?

Not every cause of sleep apnea may be avoided. However, you can lower your risk by doing the following:

  • Achieving and keeping a healthy weight for yourself
  • Consuming wholesome foods and engaging in regular exercise
  • Maintaining proper sleep hygiene (such as establishing a consistent bedtime and shutting off gadgets)
  • Taking care of any current medical issues, such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol
  • Getting a checkup with your doctor at least once a year
  • Refusing to smoke and consume alcoholic beverages

Summary:

Breathing repeatedly stops and begins when you have sleep apnea, a potentially dangerous sleep disorder. If you snore loudly and still feel tired after a full night’s sleep, you may have sleep apnea.

FAQ:

How can sleep apnea be treated?

Avoiding placing pressure on your airways by sleeping in a different posture than on your back. use a mouthpiece or oral appliance to maintain an open airway. preventing your tongue and upper airway muscles from obstructing your airway while you sleep by using a neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) device.

What causes apnea during sleep?

The most common cause of obstructive sleep apnea in adults is just being overweight. Because smoking produces inflammation near the airway, it also raises the risk of sleep apnea. Men are far more susceptible to obstructive sleep apnea than women, despite the fact that both sexes are affected.

Is it possible to treat sleep apnea?

Making healthy lifestyle choices can help treat your sleep apnea. These include minimizing alcohol and caffeine consumption, stopping smoking, keeping a healthy weight and sleeping patterns, and engaging in regular physical activity.

How is sleep apnea confirmed?

Among the tests used to identify sleep apnea is nocturnal polysomnography. You are connected to devices that track your blood oxygen levels, breathing patterns, arm and leg movements, heart, lung, and brain activity while you sleep during this test.

References:

  • Sleep apnea. (2025, January 22). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8718-sleep-apnea
  • Sleep apnea – Symptoms and causes. (n.d.). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sleep-apnea/symptoms-causes/syc-20377631
  • Wikipedia contributors. (2025, January 17). Sleep apnea. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea

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