Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep. People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times.

Sleep apnea is defined as a reduction or cessation of breathing during sleep. The three types of sleep apnea are central apnea, obstructive apnea, and a mixture of central and obstructive apnea. Central sleep apnea is caused by a failure of the brain to activate the muscles of breathing during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by the collapse of the airway during sleep. Obstructive sleep apnea is diagnosed and evaluated through patient history, physical examination and polysomnography.

There are two types of sleep apnea:

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA): The more common of the two forms of apnea, it is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses during sleep. Central sleep apnea: Unlike OSA, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe due to instability in the respiratory control center.

Sleep apnea can be diagnosed at a clinic specializing in a sleep study called a polysomnogram. However, many people have this problem and the worrying symptoms that go with it, without knowing they actually have a sleep disorder. Sleep apnea may be brought to light when a sleeping partner becomes concerned about the pauses in breathing or complains about his or her loud snoring.

Older obese men seem to be at higher risk, though as many as 40% of people with obstructive sleep apnea are not obese. Nasal obstruction, a large tongue, a narrow airway and certain shapes of the palate and jaw seem also to increase the risk. A large neck or collar size is strongly associated with obstructive sleep apnea. Ingestion of alcohol or sedatives before sleep may predispose to episodes of apnea.

In the most common form of the condition - obstructive apnea (also called upper airway apnea) - air stops flowing through the nose and mouth, but throat and abdominal breathing efforts are uninterrupted. The snoring that results is produced when the upper rear of the mouth (the soft palate and the cone-shaped tissue - the uvula - that descends from it) relaxes and vibrates as air passes in and out.

Treatment

To treat sleep apnea, your doctor will recommend you to stop drinking alcohol, smoke, and taking sleep medicines. All these things relax your throat muscles that can cause obstruction in breathing. Your doctor may also advice you to lose weight if you are overweight and sleep on your side instead flat on your back.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). If you have moderate to severe sleep apnea, you may benefit from a machine that delivers air pressure through a mask placed over your nose while you sleep. With CPAP (SEE-pap), the air pressure is somewhat greater than that of the surrounding air, and is just enough to keep your upper airway passages open, preventing apnea and snoring.Although CPAP is a preferred method of treating sleep apnea, some people find it cumbersome or uncomfortable.

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