INTRODUCTION TO SLEEP APNEA

Sleep apnea is one of the various sleep disorders that receive a lot of attention, both socially and medically. The most intriguing aspect about sleep apnea is that it does not affect the sleeping person as much as it does the sleeping partner. For that reason, it becomes a problem that is much more serious than it should be. Also, since the problem may never get a diagnosis or never get treated at all, it requires serious attention right from the start.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a condition in which a sleeping person has regular lapses in respiration. This makes the breathing slow down and even stop completely, at which moment the person will wake up with a start, often give a little snort and go back to sleep again. In a short while, the breathing lapse will occur again, making the person wake up and go back to sleep. Thus, a person who has sleep apnea will not have a regular peaceful sleep. It will be punctuated by several lapses in respiration which will make him or her wake up and go back to sleep again.

The frequencies with which these lapses occur differ from person to person. In some people, there may be up to five lapses an hour, while in some other people, there may be as many as thirty lapses an hour. Snoring is a very common associated problem with people having this condition because of the efforts they make in trying to breathe.

What are the Causes of Sleep Apnea?

There are three main aspects that can cause sleep apnea:-
1.The person may lose the ability to breathe during sleep because of a failure of the required signal from the central nervous system, or
2.There may be an obstruction in the respiratory passage which is not realized when awake, but disrupts breathing when the person is sleeping (this is the common obstructive sleep apnea), or
3.It may be a combination of both of the above factors.

How can Sleep Apnea be treated?

There is no treatment for sleep apnea and in many cases the problem is not even diagnosed because it happens only when the person is asleep. However, making some changes in the lifestyle can help the condition. If the condition has been caused by a physical problem such as an obstruction, then surgery can be done to solve the problem.

Sleep apnea is a condition that requires more patience on part of the sleeping partner than the sleeper. Methods are available to reduce the intensity of this condition, but to expect complete treatment can be quite a tall order.

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