Sleep Apnea is a condition when you temporarily stop breathing while you’re sleeping or the breaths that you take are shallow. The temporary breathing can last from a few seconds and go on for a few minutes. These breathing interruptions can happen so many times an hour, even more than 30 times within that 60 minute time span.
Afterwards, you would breathe normal again. It may be accompanied by loud snorting or choking. This condition can interrupt you from getting a good night’s sleep. It causes you not to get as much sleep as you need to. Sleep apnea causes you to be tired and sleepy during the day.
If you stop breathing for 10 or more seconds at a time and more than ten times an hour during sleep, and if you snore, you may have what has been widely diagnosed as Sleep Apnea. Many people, who are overweight fight an endless battle with restless sleep at night and find themselves nodding off during the day. If you stop breathing during sleep, your brain receives a signal telling you to wake up. The more times you wake from a deep sleep, the more restless you become. In the morning you awaken only to find that you feel like you never slept at all.
This condition is not one of those that are easily diagnosed. Also it is usually not detected during a regular exam with your physician. Because it happens while you are sleeping, you probably would not know that you had it unless someone notice an unusual pattern in your sleeping. If you suspect that you have Sleep Apnea, consult your health care provider who will send you to a specialist who can make the diagnosis.
The way that you may find out about it is if someone notices it while you are sleep. Even then, they probably won’t know that you may have sleep apnea.
Millions of adults are suffering from sleep apnea and don’t know it. The majority of them are overweight or obese. Men suffer from this condition more than women. The older a person is, the more likely they can inherit this condition. With women, they can develop sleep apnea in the post-menopausal stage of their life.
More minority groups, such as African-Americans, Hispanics and Pacific Islanders develop sleep apnea more than other ethnic groups. It can also be inherited from a family member. If you have small airways in your throat, mouth or nose, you are more likely to have this condition.
Sleep Apnea is a rather serious problem as it blocks the throat and causes the sleeper to stop breathing for several seconds. As a result you awaken several times a night trying to catch your breath. Such breaks in your sleep pattern can result in significant health issues. Over time snoring could lead to other problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, and stroke and in some severe cases even death. Other symptoms Sleep Apnea include choking/gasping while sleeping, morning headaches, and tiredness during the day, personality changes, memory impairment, poor concentration, poor judgment, mood swings, recent weight gain, polyurea, and impotence. The signs to look out for are obesity, senility, stress (including anxiety and depression), hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, hypothyroidism, and acromegaly, dislocated temporomandibular joint and neuromuscular disease. Tonsillar Hypertrophy is the most common cause of Sleep Apnea in children.
Young children that have larger than normal tonsil tissues can also develop sleep apnea. You can also be at risk for sleep apnea if you:
- Smoke
- Have high blood pressure
- Potential for having a stroke
- Heart Failure
The idea behind treatment of Sleep Apnea is to keep the airway open and prevent stoppages in breathing during sleep. Various methods used to alleviate Sleep Apnea include:
Behavioral Therapy, which should include avoiding alcohol and CNS depressants close to bedtime, weight reduction and sleep posture modification.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), which is an effective noninvasive medical treatment to eliminate snoring and prevent Sleep Apnea. The machine gently blows pressurized air through the nasal passage at a pressure high enough to prevent collapsing of the throat during sleep.
Oral appliances may be used to reposition the lower jaw and tongue, thus opening the throat to allow air to flow freely, while helping treat Sleep Apnea. There are various devices used to prevent the tongue from falling back over the airway.
Surgery such as Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP)
UPPP is the most common type of surgery used to treat Sleep Apnea. It removes all the redundant tissue from the pharynx.
Laser-assisted Uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP) is a procedure which is performed by a specialist in his/her office. It involves the use of a laser to remove a part of the soft palate, shorten the Uvula (the soft tissue that hangs from the roof of your mouth at the entrance to your throat) and remove excess tissue from the Pharynx.
Tracheostomy, in which a small hole is made in the Trachea or windpipe below the point of obstruction and a small tube is inserted. This tube is only opened during sleeping hours, so that air is able to flow freely and directly into the lungs, by bypassing the blockage that occurs in the throat during sleep.
Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) is a relatively new procedure. It makes use of radio frequency energy to remove tissue from the Uvula, soft palate and tongue thereby helping treat Sleep Apnea. The removal of enlarged Tonsils or Adenoids is the most viable option in the treatment of Sleep Apnea in children and adolescents.
Important Points About Sleep Apnea
Here are some important points that you should know about sleep apnea:
- Sleep apnea is a chronic condition in which your sleep is interrupted more than three nights every week.
- Because snoring is normal for some people, this sleep disorder can be easily undetected.
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea is the most common of the three that are mentioned.
- Being chronically sleepy in the daytime can cause you to have a work-related accident or injury.
- If you are overweight or obese and suffering from sleep apnea, work on getting your weight down. Once you do, don’t put the pounds back on.
- A family member can determine something may be wrong when the person is choking and gasping for air and not getting enough sleep.
- There are different ways to get treated for sleep apnea. Depending on the severity of your condition, the physician and sleep specialist will work to get the best treatment for you.
- People should not make fun of those who are suffering from sleep apnea. This is a very serious sleep disorder that should be treated with urgency.
- Children that have behavioral problems and issues with academics are often overlooked. These signs are usually not associated with sleep apnea.
Conclusion
With sleep apnea, it is a condition where the symptoms are not easily recognized. However, down the road, someone may notice something. Keep in mind that just because your snoring may be chronic, it’s not a guarantee that you have the sleep disorder. The only way that you’ll find out is through exams and sleep studies.
It’s important that if you or someone suspects something different in your sleeping pattern, that you consult a physician as soon as possible. It could mean the difference of getting treatment in time to prevent serious health issues.