Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea (or Sleep apnoea) is a problem certain people have. When they sleep, they sometimes stop breathing for short periods of time. These periods can last for 10 seconds or more. 3-4 breaths are missed. As a result of this, those affected do not get restful sleep. They are often tired during the day.

Sleep apnea can occur when the muscles in the back of the throat relax too much to allow normal breathing. These muscles support structures including the back of the roof of the mouth (soft palate), the triangular piece of tissue hanging from the soft palate (uvula), the tonsils, and the tongue.

When the muscles relax, the airway narrows or closes when breathe in, hampering the breathing for 10 seconds or longer. This will lower the level of oxygen in the blood and cause a buildup of carbon dioxide.

Mainly because such people also tend to have microsleep, they should not drive vehicles. Sleep apnea is a treatable disease. There are different drugs, and there is a therapy which consists of wearing a special mask at night. This is connected to a machine that can detect when breathing stops and that can prevent some of these stops. As a result, the quality of the sleep improves.

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder. A large analysis in 2019 found that it affects 936 million—1 billion people between the ages of 30–69 globally, or roughly every 1 in 10 people, and up to 30% of the elderly. Sleep apnea is more common in men than women, roughly a 2:1 ratio of men to women. Older people are affected more often. Other risk factors include being overweight, a family history of the condition, allergies, and enlarged tonsils.

Signs and symptoms

Some signs and symptoms of sleep apnea:

• Observed episodes or periods of stopped breathing during sleep (>15 episodes in 1 hour indicates sleep apnea), followed by abrupt awakenings with choking and gasping, which then ends the episode
• Loud snoring
• Lowering of concentration
• Morning headache
• Difficulty concentrating during the day
• Mood changes, such as depression or irritability
• High blood pressure
• Decreased libido
• Awakening with a dry mouth or sore throat

Finding out if someone has sleep apnea

Some people with sleep apnea do not know they have the condition. In many cases it is first observed by a family member. The doctor might test someone overnight in special monitored rooms the patient sleeps in, monitoring them with a camera and machines to watch their breathing and other signs, to check for episodes of sleep apnea.

Treatment

Full face cpap mask

• In case the patient is obese, losing weight improves sleep apnea.
• Fixing the environment where they sleep
• There are special masks that can be worn. These are attached to a machine that supervises and controls breathing:
  • Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
  • Expiratory positive airway pressure (EPAP)
• Circular breathing technique (It makes muscle of the upper airway stronger, so airway remains opening when sleeping. Playing didgeridoo is good for learning this technique.

Complication

Diseases which may complicate sleep apnea are: obesity, high blood pressure, hyperlipidaemia, arrhythmia, polyemia, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes and others.

Sleep apnea is a risk factor of arteriosclerotic disease.

Effects

• Daytime sleepiness
• Depression
• Less concentration
• Snoring
• Headache when waking up

Where there are no observers, it may take time to discover this condition. When especially subjective symptoms are weak, the state will get worse gradually and it will start a serious problem.

Other websites

• JOURNAL about sleep apnea