Obstructive Sleep Apnea Causes, Risks and Remedies

Obstructive sleep apnea is a health condition whereby there are interruptions in breathing when a person is sleeping. This takes place because the airway is either narrowed or blocked. This pause or interruption in the normal breathing process is referred to as an apnea episode. While brief apnea episodes happen to many people due to the fact that the muscles relax during sleep, if the breathing is interrupted for more than 10 seconds at a time and it happens repeatedly throughout the night then it has become a problem that needs to be addressed.

Many people who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea snore. They do this because air is trying to make its way through a blocked or narrowed passageway. However everyone who snores does not necessary suffer from apnea. It is important to make this distinction.

There are certain factors that make some people more prone to obstructive sleep apnea than others. Those who have a large collar or large neck size which is to say 17 inches or more in males and 16 inches or greater in females are more prone to this problem as are those with large tongues that can easily fall back into their throats during sleep and block airflow. Some palates and airways are shaped in such a way that they are more likely to be narrower. In the same way, having large tonsils or adenoids during childhood can lead to breathing issues during sleep later in life. It is also believed that sleeping on the back can increase the episodes of apnea but does not necessarily contribute to its onset.

Many individuals who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea are not even aware that they have it. It is often another person sleeping beside them who will witness it and bring it to the person’s attention. It is not always pleasant to be the person in bed with someone who has this medical problem as it can lead to many sleepless nights.

The individual who has apnea will start the night by snoring heavily a short time after he or she has fallen asleep. The snoring generally gets louder and louder. At some point the snoring will cease and there will be a silence. This is when the apnea episode is taking place and the person has stopped breathing. As the individual comes out of this there will be a loud snort and a kind of gasp. This is happening because the person is trying to get air back into their lungs and to resume normal breathing rhythms. For the individual with obstructive sleep apnea this is only the start of a pattern that will continue to take place over and over again throughout the night.

It is common for a person with apnea to wake up in the morning and feel as though they have not had a good night’s sleep. They may feel tired and may go through the day feeling drowsy and as if they are sleep walking. Feeling this way the day after is what is referred to as excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS).