Sleep Apnea: Causes, Symptoms, Types, and Treatments

Sleep Apnea is the disorder characterized by the inability to fall sleep. When a person consistently fails to sleep then he is said to be suffering with the sleep Apnea. A person who fails to sleep on 3 or more nights in a week is said to be suffering with the sleep Apnea. Many adult individuals suffer with it, but even some children are noted to be suffering with the sleep Apnea. If the sleep Apnea is not treated then it may get severe resulting in no sleep at all, which would ultimately put an adverse impact on the person’s health. The most surprising thing about the sleep Apnea is that majority of the people don’t know that they are suffering with sleep Apnea.

Causes of sleep Apnea:

Sleep apnea is basically caused by the pauses in the breathing during sleep. The repeated occurrence of these breathing wakes the person up and the sleep is disturbed. The breaks in breathing are noted be about 10 to 30 seconds longer. So, the deficiency of oxygen occurs and you get up from the sleep. Being overweight is noted to be one of the causes of the sleep Apnea. Some scientific studies suggest that aging is one of the major factors behind the occurrence of sleep Apnea. It has been noted that men above age of 50 yrs face the sleep Apnea problem more commonly. Sleep apnea is being observed to be hereditary in some cases. Suffering with asthma also causes sleep apnea some times. Having large tonsils also results in the failures to get good sleep.

Symptoms of sleep Apnea:

• Loud snoring is noted to be one of the most common symptoms of sleep Apnea.

• Sudden awakening from the sleep or 3 to 4 times waking up from the seep is certainly a very confirmatory symptom that you are facing the sleeping problem.
• Choking or gasping during sleep is noted in some people.
• Frequent silences during sleep, which occur due to the breaks in breathing.
• Daytime sleepiness is noted as the symptom of the sleep apnea.

Types of sleep Apnea:

Sleep Apnea is of three types:

• Central sleep Apnea: This is caused due to the instability in the respiratory control center. Due to this the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe, which ultimately results in the breaks in the breathing during the sleep and causes sleep apnea. This type of sleep apnea is noted in about 22% of the patients of this disease.

• Obstructive sleep Apnea: This is caused due by a blockage of airway. The blockage is formed when the soft tissue in the back of the throat falls on the respiratory tract during the sleep. As a result the person is not able to breathe properly and automatically his sleep breaks. This is most commonly occurring sleep Apnea (about 70%).

• Complex sleep Apnea: Complex sleep apnea is combination of central sleep Apnea and obstructive sleep Apnea. Very rarely noted type of sleep Apnea, but if you suffer with it then it is very difficult to cure it.

Treatments of sleep Apnea:
Sleep Apnea is not treated at the preliminary stage can result into heart failure, stroke, heart attack, or hypertension. So, it is necessary to treat sleep Apnea. One of the best treatments for the sleep Apnea is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device. This device helps to keep the airways open during the sleep. There is another device known as BiPAP that is noted to be keeping airways open and helping the person to exhale and inhale the necessary amount of oxygen during the sleep. Acetazolamide, the medication for blood pressure, is being noted to be very beneficial for the treatment of sleep Apnea. Surgery is also suggested in severe cases of sleep Apnea.