What is sleep apnea?
It is estimated that as many as 7% of men and 5% of women suffer from obstructive sleep apnea. This makes it a condition more common than many people reckon.
Is snoring normal?
How are snoring and sleep apnea related?
However, if someone notices another person snore loudly and then stop for a few seconds multiple times in their sleep, it is very likely that they have obstructive sleep apnea. The condition can take a toll on a person’s health, so it is important to set up an appointment as soon as it is noticed.
What causes snoring and sleep apnea?
Snoring is caused by anything which may obstruct the airway directly or do so indirectly by reducing the tone and causing it to collapse partially or completely. Some of the causes of snoring include:
- Sleeping while facing upwards
- Obstructed airway e.g. nasal polyps, deviated septum, sinusitis
- Enlarged tonsils or adenoids
- Alcohol consumption
- Poor muscle tone in the neck and throat
Obstructive sleep apnea has multiple risk factors that predispose to the condition. It shares some of its risk factors with the causes of snoring. These factors include the following:
- Obesity/significant weight gain
- Larger neck circumference (above 17/15 inches for men/women respectively)
- Allergies
- Smoking
- Advancing age
- Sleep position
How to identify sleep apnea?
You can know if someone has sleep apnea if you’re able to identify a specific set of symptoms in them while they’re sleeping. Most of these symptoms will occur repeatedly, at intervals, as they sleep. These include the following:
- Loud, intermittent snoring
- Lapses in breathing, seen as periods of silence
- Sudden choking or gasping sounds during sleep
- Stirring or waking from sleep repeatedly
While the above symptoms are those that only a partner will likely be privy to, there are some symptoms that the patient themselves may notice. For instance:
- Experiencing daytime sleepiness
- Headaches in the morning
- Sore throat in the morning
- Difficulty concentrating
- Mood swings
- Poor memory
What are the dangers of sleep apnea?
The most obvious annoyance of sleep apnea is the negative effect it has on an individual’s quality of sleep. It doesn’t just affect the patient alone in this regard, but anyone who is in the same bedroom as them as well.
Obstructive sleep apnea, when left untreated, can increase the risk ofa number of health issues. These include the following conditions:
- Mood changes, such as depression and anger
- Hypertension
- Stroke
- Heart attacks
- Behavioral changes in children, such as aggression
- Inattention may predispose to workplace and traffic accidents
How is sleep apnea diagnosed?
Sleep apnea is commonly diagnosed in two ways. One means is by the use of home sleep tests, and the other is with a more in-depth investigation known as nocturnal polysomnography.
Home sleep tests use a portable sleep monitoring device which is used when the patient sleeps at home. This device is able to monitor their heart rate, breathing patterns, and the saturation of oxygen in the patient’s blood. However, home sleep tests are not always accurate and nocturnal polysomnography may still be prescribed.
Nocturnal polysomnography is similar to the tests performed at home, but instead, the patient is measured with clinical-grade equipment in the hospital. These machines are able to measure the activity of the heart, lungs, and even the brain, as well as check the oxygen level in the blood and movements of the limbs.
How can snoring be treated?
After undergoing a balloon sinuplasty, patients should avoid blowing their nose for the first two days, as the nasal mucosa will likely still be inflamed and tender from the procedure.
They should generally avoid doing any activities which are strenuous, such as working out or lifting heavy loads, for a minimum of one week after undergoing the procedure.
If you feel the urge to sneeze following the procedure, it should not be suppressed. Instead, the pressure of the sneeze should be relieved through the mouth rather than the nose.
Finally, patients should avoid medications and substances that can thin the blood. This includes NSAIDs like aspirin and ibuprofen, and alcohol.
How can sleep apnea be treated?
The tips used to reduce snoring can be applied to sleep apnea too, but in some cases, they may not help in reducing the intensity of the symptoms to a significant enough degree. In these cases, there are treatments for sleep apnea, which are mostly machines used while sleeping. The most popular of these is a CPAP machine.
A CPAP machine, which stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, applies positive pressure to the airway through a mask worn while sleeping. This air being breathed in is at a greater pressure than usual, which allows it to keep the airways open and prevents them from collapsing.
There are modifications on the CPAP machine, such as the Auto-CPAP machine, which takes care of pressure adjustments automatically while sleeping. BPAP, or bilevel positive airway pressure machines, keep pressure higher when breathing in but drops it when breathing out.
Finally, there are devices worn around the head and jaw which are designed to keep the throat open when sleeping. These oral appliances may achieve this by pulling the jaw forward, for instance.
What are some other good resources on snoring and sleep apnea?
If you’re looking for supplemental information on snoring and sleep apnea, there are many great resources available online. Here are some of the best sources:
- WebMD (Snoring)
- WebMD (Sleep Apnea)
- NHS (Sleep Apnea)
- NHS (Snoring)
- Healthline
- MedicalNewsToday
- Medscape
