Categories Of Sleep Apnea

There are three types of sleep apnea, however only two are discussed the most. There is obstructive sleep apnea, which is the most common type for this condition. With obstructive sleep apnea, your throat muscles collapse while you’re sleeping.

The other type of sleep apnea is called central sleep apnea. This type happens when your breathing muscles do not receive the right signals. The third one, which most people don’t experience, is called complex or mixed sleep apnea. This type is a combination of both conditions.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, blocks the air passage in your throat. Some other things that happen with this type of sleep disorder are:

· While you’re sleeping, the throat muscles collapse inward as you’re breathing.

· Air will go through the upper airway. This includes the nose, mouth and throat areas.

· As the muscles get wider, they block the collapse in order for the airway to remain open.

· You will have less oxygen in your blood. This causes your lungs to absorb air from the outside.

· Apnea happens when the back throat tissues are temporarily blocked. You stop breathing and if you wake up you may have to gasp for breath.

· Even if you do gasp for air or make snorting sounds, you may not necessarily wake up.

If you experience five or more apnea episodes per hour, it is considered to be part of obstructive sleep apnea.


Central Sleep Apnea

Central sleep apnea is not as common as obstructive sleep apnea. This type of sleep apnea starts in the brain (central nervous system). The brain will not send a signal to the airway muscles so that they can breathe.

The level of oxygen decreases and you will probably wake up. With this type of sleep apnea, people usually remember waking up. If you have heart disease or heart failure, then you are experiencing central sleep apnea.

Complex or Mixed Apnea

As mentioned earlier in this post, this is the combination of obstructive and central sleep apnea. With this type of sleep apnea, you will deal with obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA. In addition to that with good pressure from the airway, you will have constantly central sleep apnea.

If you are using CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure), the central sleep apnea will be acknowledged. This happens after the obstruction has been cleared.

What is Sleep Apnea ?

Sleep apnea is a condition when you temporarily stop breathing while you’re sleeping or the breaths that you take are shallow. The temporary breathing can last from a few seconds and go on for a few minutes. These breathing interruptions can happen so many times an hour, even more than 30 times within that 60 minute time span.

Afterwards, you would breathe normal again. It may be accompanied by loud snorting or choking. This condition can interrupt you from getting a good night’s sleep. It causes you not to get as much sleep as you need to. Sleep apnea causes you to be tired and sleepy during the day.

This condition is not one of those that are easily diagnosed. Also it is usually not detected during a regular exam with your physician. Because it happens while you are sleeping, you probably would not know that you had it unless someone notice an unusual pattern in your sleeping.

The way that you may find out about it is if someone notices it while you’re sleep. Even then, they probably won’t know that you may have sleep apnea.

Millions of adults are suffering from sleep apnea and don’t know it. The majority of them are overweight or obese. Men suffer from this condition more than women. The older a person is, the more likely they can inherit this condition. With women, they can develop sleep apnea in the post-menopausal stage of their life.

More minority groups, such as African-Americans, Hispanics and Pacific Islanders develop sleep apnea more than other ethnic groups. It can also be inherited from a family member. If you have small airways in your throat, mouth or nose, you are more likely to have this condition.

Young children that have larger than normal tonsil tissues can also develop sleep apnea. You can also be at risk for sleep apnea if you:

· Smoke

· Have high blood pressure

· Potential for having a stroke

· Heart Failure