Sleep Apnea: What is it and how to live with it

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Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a condition where someone actually stops breathing when asleep. The word “apnea” is Greek and means “without breath”. While quite common, for many people it remains undiagnosed. Since there are no blood tests that “find” sleep apnea, many people do not know they have the disorder. Those that sleep in the same bed or in proximity to the person with sleep apnea may realize that the person has the condition. Generally, the person breathes so faintly or not at all that the other person wonders if the sleeper is still alive. Then all of a sudden, the sleeping person will move, usually making a snorting or choking sound. This happens because oxygen in the blood is too low and the brain is sending signals to the body to get air into the lungs, and consequently resume normal breathing.

Indeed, it seems rather frightening the first time one notices someone with sleep apnea. They also tend to snore more often than other people, although snoring alone is not indicative of sleep apnea, as snoring is caused by many factors. Because of the stress on the heart, it can also be dangerous if left untreated in certain individuals. Once sleep apnea is suspected, however, there are ways to diagnose the disorder and subsequently treat it. Further, it seems to be hereditary and is found more often in specific races of people. Oddly enough, medical researchers have not yet determined why.

Sleep apnea generally falls into three categories:

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common and is caused by a temporary obstruction of the airway at the back of the mouth. Sometimes, the person is overweight and the airway is being pressed upon to the point that air cannot make its way to the lungs. Other times, children suffer sleep apnea when their tonsils are too big.
Central sleep apnea happens when the brain does not send the proper signals to the muscles and the airway relaxes instead of remaining stiff to allow air to pass.
Mixed sleep apnea is a combination of the above two.

Moreover, the most common symptoms are choking, snorting, very loud snoring, sleepiness during waking hours, headaches, grumpiness, dry throat, and the inability to concentrate. These are caused because the person is too tired and in fact, did not get a good night's rest from being continually awakened. If the condition is chronic, it can lead to car accidents and other types of accidents when operating machinery. In addition, it may be difficult to learn or even remember simple things due to sheer fatigue.

If sleep apnea is suspected, the doctor will order tests to confirm the disorder. Usually patients are sent to a “sleep laboratory” where they sleep while being monitored by a polysomnogram which records brain activity, eye movement, breathing patterns, heart rate (in a very simple way, not comparable to the monitoring of heart disease patients), the amount of air that moves in and out of the lungs while sleeping, and the amount of oxygen in the blood.

Once the disorder is diagnosed, appropriate treatment will be recommended. Avoiding alcohol and sleeping medications can be beneficial to some patients. For some individuals, losing weight will rectify the problem. For others, sleeping on the side as opposed to the back increases airflow, and for other people, surgery to remove enlarged tissue cures sleep apnea.

But in many, continual air is required and thus, they are fitted with equipment called CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). The machine is set up in the patient's home and when he/she sleeps, he wears an air mask over the nose and mouth which gently blows air into the person's airway. The continuous air prevents the airway from relaxing or becoming blocked during sleep.

Finally, once patients diagnosed with sleep apnea take the required steps to alleviate the condition, living with the disorder should be much easier, as the disruptions during the night should cease. It is important to note, however, that by resuming old habits, sleep apnea will return.