Sleep Apnea
Learn about the pulmonary condition of Sleep Apnea including its common causes, symptoms, and treatments.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder which causes breathing to abnormally stop and start.
There are three types of sleep apnea:
- Obstructive sleep apnea – occurs when throat muscles relax; this is the most common type
- Central sleep apnea – the brain does not send the appropriate signals to control breathing
- Complex sleep apnea syndrome – occurs when someone has both obstructive and central sleep apnea
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea may include:
- Loud snoring
- A partner reports that you stop breathing for periods of time during sleep
- Gasping for air during sleep
- Waking up with a dry mouth
- Morning headache
- Difficulty staying asleep
- Excessive daytime sleepiness hypersomnia
- Difficulty paying attention while awake
- Irritability
Possible Causes of Sleep Apnea
Some possible causes of Sleep Apnea may be:
- Structural characteristics of a person’s neck, jaw, tongue, and tonsils may affect airflow
- Being overweight
- Use of sedatives, including alcohol
- People with a family history of sleep apnea
- People who smoke
- Sleeping on your back
- Nasal congestion or allergies
- Hormone abnormalities, like hypothyroidism10 (underactive thyroid) and acromegaly11 (excess growth hormone)
Risk Factors of Sleep Apnea
Risk factors of Obstructive Sleep Apnea may include:
- Being overweight
- Thicker neck circumference
- A narrowed airway – tonsils or adenoids also can enlarge and block the airway, particularly in children
- Being male – men are three times as likely as women to have sleep apnea, although women’s risk goes up after menopause
- Being older
- Family history
- Use of alcohol, sedatives or tranquilizers
- Smoking
- Nasal congestion
- Medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, hormonal disorders, prior stroke and chronic lung diseases such as asthma
Risk factors of Central Sleep Apnea may be:
- Being older
- Being male
- Heart disorders
- Using narcotic pain medications
- Stroke
Complications from Sleep Apnea
Complications from Sleep Apnea may include:
- Fatigue during the day
- Difficulty concentrating or staying awake
Irritability or depression, children with sleep apnea may have behavior problems - High blood pressure or heart problems
- Heart attack, stroke and abnormal heartbeats, such as atrial fibrillation
- Type 2 diabetes
- Metabolic syndrome
- Complications with medications and surgery
- Liver problems, such as nonalcohol fatty liver disease
How to Prevent Sleep Apnea
There is no way to completely prevent sleep apnea but some ways to reduce your risk may include:
- Lose excess weight
- Exercise
- Avoid alcohol and certain medications such as tranquilizers and sleeping pills
- Sleep on your side or abdomen rather than on your back
- Stop smoking
Learn about the Smoking Cessation program at Oneida Health