What you should know about sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common disorder that causes people to stop breathing during sleep, and, according to the National Sleep Foundation, it affects more than 18 million American adults. The disorder is characterized by a person experiencing one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while sleeping, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The length of breathing pauses vary from a few seconds to minutes, and may occur 30 times or more an hour. Individuals typically begin to breathe normally after pauses, which usually is identified with a loud snort or choking sound, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Sleep apnea tends to be a chronic condition and causes individuals to routinely move out of a deep sleep and into a light sleep.

Causes of sleep apnea

According to the Mayo Clinic, obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the muscles in the back of the throat relax. These muscles support the soft palate, the uvula, the tonsils, as well as the side walls of throat and the tongue.

As the muscles relax, an individual’s airway narrows or closes while breathing in, and is unable to inhale enough oxygen. This occurrence may lower the level of oxygen in the blood, the Mayo Clinic reports.

The brain senses the inability to breathe and briefly wakes the individual from sleep to reopen the airway. People usually do not remember the awakening as it is typically brief, according to the Mayo Clinic.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, there are several ways a person’s airway can become partially or fully blocked during sleep,

• The throat muscles and tongue relax more than normal.

• The tongue and tonsils are large compared with the opening into the windpipe.

• An individual is overweight, and the extra soft fat tissue can thicken the wall of the windpipe thereby narrowing the inside of the windpipe, which makes it harder to keep open.

• The shape of a person’s head and neck may create a smaller airway size in the mouth and throat area.

• The aging process tends to limit the brain’s ability to keep the throat muscles still during sleep.

Sleep apnea symptoms

Individuals with obstructive sleep apnea are generally unaware that they have the disorder and that their sleep is interrupted. Most people are alerted to the possibility of having sleep apnea from a family member or a loved one.

Source: Medical News Today