Among breathing disorders related to sleep, obstructive sleep apnea is the most prevalent. When they sleep, people who have obstructive sleep apnea repeatedly stop and start breathing.
Sleep apnea comes in various forms. A patient with obstructive sleep apnea experiences airway obstruction due to relaxed throat muscles. This frequently occurs during sleep, on and off. Snoring is a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea.
There are ways to treat obstructive sleep apnea. A device that maintains the airway open while you sleep by applying positive pressure is one kind of treatment. Using a mouthpiece to move the lower jaw forward while you sleep is an additional option. For some individuals, surgery may also be a possibility.
Symptoms
The following are signs of obstructive sleep apnea:
- excessive drowsiness during the day.
- loud snoring.
- episodes of breathing stopping while you slept.
- waking in the middle of the night and choking or gasping.
- waking up in the morning with a sore throat or dry mouth.
- headaches in the morning.
- difficulty focusing in the daytime.
- alterations in mood, like melancholy or irritability.
- elevated blood pressure.
Causes
When the back of the throat muscles relax too much to permit normal breathing, obstructive sleep apnea develops. The soft palate, which is the back of the roof of the mouth, is supported by these muscles. The side walls of the throat and the tongue are also supported by these muscles.
As you breathe in, your airway narrows or closes as your muscles relax. This may result in a build-up of carbon dioxide and a decrease in blood oxygen levels.
When your breathing becomes difficult, your brain detects it and momentarily wakes you up to allow you to clear your throat. Usually, this awakening lasts for so little time that you forget about it.
Breathlessness upon awakening might occur, but it should subside in one or two deep breaths. Alternatively, you may gasp, choke, or snort.
All through the night, this pattern may recur five to thirty times or more every hour. Your ability to enter the deep, restful phases of sleep is impaired by these disturbances, and you’ll likely experience drowsiness during the day.
It’s possible that people who have obstructive sleep apnea are unaware of their sleep disruptions. Many people who suffer from this kind of sleep apnea are unaware that they haven’t had a good night’s sleep.
Diagnosis
Based on your symptoms, an examination, and tests, a member of your healthcare team assesses your condition. For additional assessment, a sleep specialist might be referred to you.
The physical examination includes a look at your nose, mouth, and back of the throat. We can measure the circumference of your waist and neck. You might also have your blood pressure examined.
A sleep specialist can assess you in more detail. The expert can make a diagnosis and assess the severity of your ailment. Your treatment can also be planned by the specialist. It may be necessary to spend the night at a sleep centre for the evaluation. Your breathing and other bodily processes are observed while you sleep at the sleep centre.
Examinations
Exams used to identify obstructive sleep apnea consist of:
The polysomnogram. You will be fitted with monitoring equipment to track your breathing patterns, heart rate, lung and brain activity, and heart activity during this sleep study. Additionally, blood oxygen levels and arm and leg movements are measured by the apparatus.
It’s possible that you’ll be watched for part of the entire night. We refer to a sleep study that involves partial night monitoring as a split-night study.
In a split-night sleep study, the first part of the night will be spent watching you. Staff members may wake you up and provide continuous positive airway pressure for the second half of the night if you are diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea.
The sleep study can also aid in the search for additional sleep disorders with distinct treatment options that may also result in excessive daytime sleepiness. Periodic limb movement disorder, which is identified by leg movements during sleep, may be discovered by the sleep study. The study may also be useful in assessing individuals with narcolepsy, a condition marked by unexpected nocturnal sleep episodes.
Tests for sleep apnea at home. You might be able to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea with an at-home version of polysomnography in some situations. A small number of variables are monitored by home sleep apnea testing kits in order to identify breathing pauses during sleep.
