What is Sleep Apnea?

An apnea is a pause in breathing. Sleep apnea is a condition when breathing ceases during sleep for periods of time, leading to lowered blood oxygen, irregular heart beat and disturbance of normal sleep so that a sufferer does not feel refreshed when they wake.

Roughly twenty million Americans suffer from sleep apnea- most of them without knowing it.

It can cause day time sleepiness, poor concentration, morning headaches and mood disorders like irritability and inability to deal with stress.

It is also a prime cause of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

There are simple cures for sleep apnea which can transform a sufferer's quality of life.

Types of Sleep Apnea

There are two kinds of sleep apnea- obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.

Central Sleep Apnea

This results when nerve impulses from the brain fail to regulate breathing. This occurs most often in people with heart disease. It can also occur at high altitudes or be an unforeseen outcome of some medications.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

This accounts for 90% of all sleep apneas. If you suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, the air passages in your throat become blocked as the muscles that normally keep them open relax during sleep. For a time, not enough air reaches the lungs and oxygen levels in the blood fall. When blood oxygen decreases significantly you wake, gasping for air and choking or spluttering.

You may experience this up to thirty or forty times an hour in any night. Most people won’t remember anything of this in the morning as they don't wake up completely. Sufferers may never enter the later, deep stages of sleep and are exhausted during the day as a consequence.

Some people suffer from a less acute condition called sleep hyponea. There is some restriction of air flow to the lungs and less oxygen in the blood than is optimal. Even though the sufferer may not wake, there is significant disturbance to sleep as measured by brain monitors.

Symptoms Associated with Sleep Apnea

• Snoring. The snoring sound is a result of vibration in the airways of the nose and throat and can be a sign that they are dangerously narrow.
• Regular waking episodes with coughing, spluttering or gasping for air- you may not be aware of these, only a sleep partner will notice.
  
• Morning headaches
• Excessive daytime sleepiness, irritability, poor coping with stress.

Physical Characteristics that predispose People to Sleep Apnea

• Large tongue
• Large tonsils
• Small jaw
• Thick neck
• Large uvula
• Obesity
• Receding chin

All of the above make it more likely that air passages will narrow during sleep.

Other Risk Factors for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

• Increasing age.
• Being male- men are three times more likely to suffer than women
• Being pregnant. Snoring increases almost three fold in pregnant women, a sign of increased breathing difficulty.
• Menopause increases the chance that women will suffer sleep apnea.

• Oxygen shortage causes heart irregularities such as brachiacardia and tachycardia. If sleep apnea is left untreated these heart irregularities often become chronic and occur even during waking hours. The whole, normal regulatory system of the heart is damaged.
• There is evidence that chemicals produced during sleep apnea contribute to progressive heart disease.
• High blood pressure increases the risk of strokes.
• The risk of work and driving related accidents doubles as a result of fatigue and poor resistance to stress
• Studies have shown evidence of irreversible shrinkage of parts of the brain involved in memory and reasoning.
  

Through a Sleep Center Study

Polysomnographs measure breathing, blood oxygen and brain activity to give data for a doctor to make a diagnosis. Sleep Center studies and polysomnographs are described below.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Sleep-Center-Study-How-Insomnia-and-Parasomnias-are-Assessed

Through a Home Sleep Study.

Some companies provide equipment for home testing. Sleep specialists interpret the data collected and devise a treatment program if needed or simply pass the data to your doctor for diagnosis

Life Style Changes

Weight reduction for the obese and giving up cigarettes helps breathing at night. Alcohol and sedatives reduce airway muscle tone and increase the risk of obstructive sleep apnea.

Raising the head of the bed can help in some kinds of OSA where the patient habitually and unwittingly sleeps in a way which makes breathing more difficult.

Positive Air Pressure Masks

Positive air pressure masks are the first choice treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.
The mask is worn at night during sleep. It is connected to a pump that gently blows air, creating enough pressure to keep the airways in the nose and throat open. Sleep studies determine what pressure should be used for a particular individual.

Surgery

Laser surgery of the top of the palette can be used to widen air passages. The base of the tongue can be surgically reduced to help breathing,

Oral Appliances

There a range of devices that can be worn in the mouth at night which pull the jaw or tongue forward and can stop airway blockages.

More Details on Sleep Apnea Treatment

Cures for sleep apnea-CPAP-Masks-Surgery-and-Oral-Devices

Treatment Outcomes

High blood pressure can be reduced by ten to fifteen points with treatment. The risk of heartattack and stroke is reduced.
Snoring is reduced with great benefits for relationships. People feel fresher, more able to concentrate and are less irritable.

Treatment Problems

Some people do not like the masks and sleep as badly with them as without them. Up to fifty percent of people stop using them after a short time. The cure for this is usually adjustment of the mask so that it is more comfortable to wear. A range of models is now available to meet different needs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_airway_pressure

Education

People who are taught just how dangerous sleep apnea can be, are more willing to persevere with the masks until they are used to them.