Learn about the symptoms, causes and treatment options for sleep apnea.
Is there anything more detrimental than a restless night’s sleep? After a sleepless night, your brain becomes foggy, you yawn, and you lose focus on everything, making it harder to do anything from take care of the kids to work. For a few of us, this is an infrequent event. A bad night’s sleep can result from caffeine overindulgence late in the day or anxiety over an upcoming project. However, for some people, being tired and drowsy all day is a regular issue. Sleep apnea, a disorder that can lead to much more serious issues than mild cognitive impairment, is the cause of this condition for a large number of Americans.
According to Dr. Sheila Tsai, pulmonologist and head of the sleep medicine section at National Jewish Health in Denver, “obstructive it syndrome is a sleep disorder characterized by recurrent pauses in breathing during sleep, which result in decreased oxygen saturations and disrupted sleep.” In plainer terms, “it is the inability to breathe and sleep at the same time,” according to Dr. Peter A. Fotinakes, medical director of St. Joseph Hospital’s Sleep Disorders Center in Orange County, California.
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Types of sleep apnea
There are actually a few different types of it , including:
- Obstructive sleep apnea. A blockade of the airway prevents the free flow of air in and out of the lungs during sleep.
- Central sleep apnea. The airway isn’t blocked, but the brain doesn’t signal the muscles to breathe properly, causing cessation of breathing during sleep.
- Complex sleep apnea syndrome. It’s possible to have both primary types of it at the same time.
Symptoms
“Obstructive is the most common and is easily recognized by its most prominent symptom, loud, pervasive snoring broken by hesitations, gasps and snorts,” Fotinakes says.
Other signs or symptoms of sleep apnea may include:
- Daytime sleepiness or poor sleep.
- I woke up feeling unrefreshed and with a dry mouth.
- Frequent awakenings occur during sleep.
- Waking up gasping or with the sensation of choking
Causes
Fotinakes says that obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a narrowing of the airway during sleep. “When you breathe, air passes through the nose, down the throat, down the windpipe and into the lungs. The throat is the only portion of the airway that has flexible walls.” It’s made of soft tissues behind the tongue, and this flexibility can become problematic by narrowing as muscles in the throat relax during sleep. “Sucking air into the lungs creates a negative pressure along the entire airway that then pulls the throat walls close and obstructs the passageway,” he explains. Because you’re asleep when this occurs, you “don’t lie passively asphyxiating.” Rather, the body tries to continue “desperately breathing against the obstructed throat, trying to reopen the airway.”
Complications
In addition to being groggy all day, each one of these cycles places a strain on the cardiovascular system. “That strain adds up night after night and year after year,” Fotinakes says. This increases the risk of:
- Hypertension.
- Heart attacks.
- Heart arrhythmias.
- Strokes.
- Cardiovascular disease.
Other complications may include:
- Depression and anxiety
- Metabolic abnormalities.
- Type 2 diabetes.
- Liver problems.
- Accidents related to sleepiness.
- Reduced memory and concentration.
- Other sleep disorders include restless leg syndrome, sleep walking and insomnia.
Risk factors
So, who’s more likely to develop sleep apnea? “The stereotypical sleep apnea patient is an obese, older man,” Tsai says. “That being said, we have plenty of thin patients with sleep apnea and women with sleep apnea.” Several factors can increase your chances of developing sleep apnea, including:
- Anatomy. “The risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea is dependent on the size of the throat,” Fotinakes says. Therefore, the shape of the jaw, mouth and face can all impact whether or not you develop sleep apnea. “A person with a flat face, a narrow face or a ‘weak jaw’ may be more predisposed to apnea.”
- Body weight. “As a person gains weight, fat is deposited in the walls of the throat, making the caliber of the throat smaller. Depending on the combination of anatomy and body size, there is a critical weight at which a person begins to snore and have apnea. Most obstructive sleep apnea occurs because of a combination of body weight and anatomy. A minority of patients who are often overlooked have apnea purely as a result of their anatomy,” Fotinakes explains.
- Genetics. Obstructive sleep apnea tends to run in families, which makes sense given that many of us look like our parents and have similar body types or body weights. If you have a close family member who has sleep apnea, you’re more likely to develop it, too.
- Sex and age. Though anyone can develop sleep apnea at any time, the ASAA reports that it’s more common in men over the age of 40.
- Use of certain substances. “Medications and substances such as narcotics, alcohol and benzodiazepines (which are sometimes used as muscle relaxants or anti-anxiety medications) can worsen sleep apnea,” Tsai says.
Diagnosis
Any sleeping partner of the person with sleep apnea has probably noticed some of the symptoms, even though the person may not be aware that they have the condition. “Sleep apnea is easily recognized by the characteristic snoring that is habitual, pervasive and broken by hesitations, gasps and snorts,” Fotinakes states. “A study of 1,000 of my patients found that the sleep partner was correct in diagnosing treatable sleep apnea 90% of the time simply by recognizing these symptoms,” says Fotinakes. Make an appointment to see a healthcare professional if you suffer from chronic fatigue during the day or if your significant other is complaining about your snoring or gasping at night. Sleep testing is one way to determine what’s wrong.
Treatment
There are several ways that sleep apnea can be treated.
- CPAP technology
- Dental appliances
- Surgery
- Hypoglossal nerve stimulator.
- Nasal expiratory positive airway pressure device.
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Disclaimer: The opinions and suggestions expressed in this article are solely those of the individual analysts. These are not the opinions of HNN. For more, please consult with your doctor
