A Look At Sleep Apnea And Its Cause, Signs and Tests

                                                                                         

The commonest form of sleep apnea is what is known as obstructive sleep apnea and is a condition marked by periods during which breathing ceases while sleeping. Sometimes this medical condition is called sleep apnea syndrome or obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

In otherwise healthy people the muscles that are responsible for controlling the upper section of the throat make sure that the flow of air in and out of the lungs is both steady and continuous. While you are sleeping these muscles relax slightly but nevertheless still do their job properly. However those people who suffer from sleep apnea generally have airways that are narrowed for one reason or another and therefore when the throat muscles relax the airway partially or completely closes thereby blocking the passage of air to the lungs. Labored breathing and snoring resulting in a sleep apnea episode will then occur.

In some people breathing can also cease completely during periods of deep (or REM) sleep and medical experts and researchers are not sure about why this happens. These periods during which breathing ceases can last for ten seconds or more and are referred to as sleep apnea episodes or apneic events.

These apneic events result in a degree of awareness that you have stopped breathing and you then struggle to breath again which is generally accompanied by choking, gasping or even snorting.

Thereafter it is normal to fall into a period of light sleep before the pattern of sleep apnea episodes returns.

The result is that a person suffers from sleep that is fragmented and does not allow them to get amount of rest that they require each night. This can lead to a host of health problems one of which is excessive daytime tiredness. One reason for this daytime symptom is simply that the level of oxygen in the blood stream falls tremendously during an apnea episode resulting in a condition called hypoxia.

It is important to realize that a lot of people who suffer from sleep apnea are unaware of their problem and frequently it must be left to others to point out the problem. Sleep apnea sufferers are frequently aware of being very tired during the day but do not always know why this is so.

The commonest signs of sleep apnea include loud snoring, awakening in the morning and not feeling rested, morning headaches, problems with concentration, alterations in personality, falling asleep at inappropriate times, high blood pressure, hyperactivity (in children only) and swelling of the legs.

The first step in diagnosing sleep apnea ought to a trip to the doctor who will take a full medical history and look at your mouth, throat and neck for signs of any growths or abnormalities. If sleep apnea is suspected your physician will send you for a sleep study and what is called a polysomnogram (or PSG). This test records eye movement, brain waves, muscle activity, breathing rate, oxygen levels in the blood, heart rate and how much air is being exhaled and inhaled during sleep.

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