Dr Ritesh Kohli, MD –
(Internal Medicine Specialist)
When you wake up, you should feel well rested and ready to start your day. Most importantly, you should feel very little sleepiness during the day, even when involved in boring activities.
Feeling sleepy and tired during the day means you may not be getting a good night’s sleep. This may mean that you have sleep apnea, a condition characterized by loud snoring and interrupted sleep. Most people don’t know they have sleep apnea until the person who shares their sleeping space says they are snoring loudly or snorting in their sleep.
Causes of Snoring
As you fall asleep and progress into a deep sleep, the muscles in the roof of your mouth, tongue and throat relax. Normal breathing continues as long as the throat does not narrow too much. Soft, rhythmic snoring is not believed to have any significant adverse effects on health. However, when snoring becomes loud because the airway gets smaller, breathing may become more difficult or may briefly stop and sleep is disrupted.
Snoring could be a sign of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea may contribute to more serious problems such as high blood pressure, a heart attack or stroke. Diagnosing and treating sleep apnea is very important.
What is sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is characterized by cessation of breathing during sleep. The period in which you stop breathing should be more than ten seconds and should occur thirty or more times during the night.
Types of sleep apnea
There are three types of sleep apnea:
Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common form and occurs when throat muscles relax and block breathing.
Central sleep apnea occurs when your brain doesn’t send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing.
Complex sleep apnea combines both obstructive and central sleep apneas.
Because obstructive sleep apnea is the most common, the rest of this article focuses on that condition.
Symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea
Persons with obstructive sleep apnea may have loud snoring with pauses in breathing during sleep, this may be associated with gasping sounds. When these persons wake up in the morning they may have a dry mouth and throat. They are also faced with excessive fatigue throughout the day, morning headaches and memory loss.
Complications of obstructive sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea can lead to many other problems.
Firstly, these patients may have a difficulty in concentrating, particularly in the morning. Sexual dysfunction is also another important feature of this condition. They may also have heart and blood vessel problems, such as hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke and heart failure. Since these patients have a tendency to fall asleep during the day, they may have road and other accidents.
Diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea
Consult your doctor if you snore loudly or have other symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. Your doctor may perform a physical examination and ask about your medical history. Your doctor may be able to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea based on your history and physical examination with emphasis on the examination of the nose, mouth, throat, and neck. If the size of your neck is greater than seventeen inches the chance of developing sleep apnea is more than 50 percent.
Self care
Let us now look at the steps that you can take to improve breathing during sleep. Firstly, you can sleep on your side or stomach instead of your back. You can also sew a rubber cricket ball or a tennis ball into the back of your pajama shirt, this may prevent you from rolling onto your back.
Secondly, weight reduction is helpful. The tissues in the throat chest and abdomen are smaller when you are at a healthy weight.
Thirdly, you should avoid substances that depress the central nervous system. Alcohol, some pain medications and certain sleeping pills that contain narcotics can depress the central nervous system and make sleep apnea worse.
Finally, you should avoid smoking, this may increase inflammation and cause fluid to build up in the upper airways.
Treatment options
If you have moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, your doctor may recommend one or more of the following:
Positive airway pressure (PAP) This device delivers pressurized air to the nose and back of the throat to keep the airway from collapsing during sleep.
Oral devices These are designed to keep your throat open by holding your tongue forward. PAP is more effective than oral devices, but oral devices may be easier for you.
Surgery For some people, surgery may be recommended. Surgical options include weight reduction surgery, tissue removal and jaw surgery.
Conclusion
The benefits of treating sleep apnea, including severe snoring, are many. It protects your health and greatly improves your quality of life and that of the person sharing your bedroom space.
