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Sleep apnea is a common disorder where the sufferer pauses in breathing or has shallow breaths while sleeping. Typically there are repeated episodes of airway obstruction that occurs during sleep. The upper airway can become obstructed by excess airway tissue, enlarged tonsils for example and it usually includes the muscles of the upper airway relaxing when asleep. The most common type of sleep apnea is normally termed Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
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Sleep apnea is considered to be a chronic condition and sufferers move out of deep sleep into light sleep when their breathing pauses. The pauses in breathe can last for a few seconds to minutes long and for sufferers, they can occur up to 30 times an hour. Breathing normally then restarts with a loud snort. The end result of Obstructive Sleep Apnea is poor quality sleep that leads to daytime tiredness.
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Sleep apnea is more frequent in men. For example, 1 in 25 middle-aged men suffer from sleep apnea compared with 1 in 50 middle-aged women have sleep apnea. Also the incidence of sleep apnea increases as you get older.
There is more than one cause of Sleep Apnea for Obstructive Sleep Apnea it is the result of airways blocking. When you are awake, the muscles in the throat keep your airway open so that air can easily enter into your lungs. When you are asleep, then the same muscles become relaxed. Now normally the relaxed muscles do not prevent the airway staying open during sleep, however, this is not the case if you suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea when the airways become blocked. There are a number of reasons why this may happen. These include:
Your tongue and tonsils are excessively large when compared to the opening into your oesophagus
You are carrying excess weight. The extra soft fat tissue can thicken the wall of the oesophagus, which causes the inside opening to reduce in size.
The physical dimensions of your head and neck may lead to a smaller cross-sectional area of your windpipe
As you get older then the quality of the brain signals to keep your throat stiff during sleep can decline and increases the chance that the airway will become blocked.
The initial outcome of sleep apnea is that insufficient air flows into the lungs when your airways are blocked. This can result in snoring and a drop in the blood oxygen levels. When the oxygen drops to low levels, then your brain is triggered to interrupt your sleep and the response is too tighten the upper airway muscles, allowing normal breathing to recommence.
The falls in oxygen levels and lack of sleep quality can release of stress hormones which increase heart rate and potentially increase the risk of high blood pressure with the corresponding issues that that brings.
One of the most noticeable symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea is chronic and loud snoring which may be followed by pauses. Choking sounds may then follow the pauses. Please note that snoring in itself does not indicate sleep apnea.
Treatment of Sleep Apnea
Changes of lifestyle possibly coupled with the use of mouthpieces are often sufficient to treat mild sleep apnea. Severe sleep apnea sufferers may need to resort to using breathing machines and/or surgery.
The changes of lifestyle most commonly suggested are:
lose weight
avoid alcohol
sleep on your side if possible
stop smoking.
Mouthpieces can be fitted by trained specialist which can adjust the lower jaw and tongue to assist keeping the airways open during sleep.
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is considered to be most frequent treatment for severe sleep apnea in adults. A CPAP machine operates using a mask that sits over your mouth and nose, gently blowing air into your throat. The pressure of the air is adjusted so that it's just sufficient to prevent the airways from becoming blocked during sleep.
Any information, advice, recommendations, statements or otherwise contained herein, or in any other communication whether oral or in writing, is not intended to replace or to be a substitute for medical advice trained by a trained physician or healthcare practitioner.
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