What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea disorder is common in many Americans, leading to hypertension, heart attack, depression, and death.  Definition of Sleep apnea means without breath, think of it as not breathing for a short duration of time, several times an hour.

Chronic sleep apnea that disrupts sleep 3 or more times a night can move you from deep sleep which we need to a shallow sleep that does not recharge our batteries as good or feeling well rested.  You would wake up repeatedly during the night, having shortness of breath.  The most common type of sleep apnea is known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Signs and Symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea disrupts sleep, being sleep deprived for an amount of time will hinder your thinking, concentration, or the ability to remember as well during the day. Accidents has been attributed to obstructive sleep apnea, people are three times more likely to get into a car accident.

Some warning signs are frequent silences during sleep, choking or gasping for air, loud snoring, sudden awakenings to restart breathing, or daytime sleepiness.

Signs and Symptoms of Central Sleep Apnea

Central sleep apnea is a central nervous system disorder. The brain signals between the body is delayed to breath. Central sleep apnea can be caused by disease or injury involving the brain stem, such as a stroke, a brain tumor, a viral brain infection, or a chronic respirator disease.

The causes of sleep apnea is different between Central and Obstructive, but the symptoms are much the same – deprivation of oxygen and poor sleep.

Sleep Apnea in Children

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a common problem in children. Symptoms in children is snoring, mouth breathing, excessive daytime sleepiness, and cognitive and behavior problems.

One of the causes of sleep apnea in children is being overweight. Medical conditions could be allergies.

Main treatment for kids with obstructive sleep apnea is the removal of enlarged tonsils and adenoids.

Causes of Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea can be caused by an obstruction in your airways, blocked or narrowed during sleeping. This is called obstructive sleep apnea.

The reasons could be: throat muscles and tongue relax, your tongue and tonsils are larger than normal, being obesity as extra tissue can thicken the walls of the wind pipe, bone structure of the neck and head creating a narrow airway.

What is dangerous about obstructive sleep apnea is the amount of air flow into the lungs. When oxygen drops to dangerous levels, the brain will trigger a defense that will disturb your sleep.

Obesity health problems is another cause, more than half of the people with sleep apnea are overweight.  Simple diet and exercise can reduce sleep apnea symptoms and futher along a restful night.