Obstructive or Central Sleep Apnea
Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA is a disorder in which a person consistently stops breathing, or may breathe very shallow for short periods of time while sleeping. OSA is caused by a blockage of the airway passage due to relaxation of soft tissue in the back of the throat. This can happen, quite literally, hundreds of times a night, significantly compromising sleep quantity and quality, resulting in excessive sleepiness.
Symptoms of OSA may also include loud heavy snoring with choking sounds and or loud snorts followed by periods of silence. These silent periods can occur many times an hour and can last 20 seconds or longer. This results in reduced levels of oxygen in the blood and poor sleep. Other symptoms may include headache, energy loss, trouble concentrating, forgetfulness, mood or behavior changes, anxiety, and depression.
Untreated OSA can result in some serious health problems such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, psychiatric problems, impotence, cognitive dysfunction, and memory loss.
Central Sleep Apnea is defined as a neurological condition causing cessation of all respitory effort during sleep. This is often in conjunction with decreases in blood oxygen saturation. When the message from the brain stem center which reminds us to inhale or exhale, shuts down, breathing stops. The person then is known to jump when their automatic breathing reflex kicks in, causing them to awaken. This again results in poor sleep.
Although, CSA is a neurological disorder and OSA is a physical disorder, it is possible in some extreme situations to have a combination of the two disorders.
Some symptoms of sleep apnea are:
Loud frequent snoring, in conjunction with periods (at least 10 seconds) of silence. Followed by gasping jerking or jumping. Your bed partner may be more aware of these symptoms than you.
Excessive daytime sleepiness. Finding your seelf falling asleep during times of inactivity. Reading, watching TV, sitting at your desk, sometimes even driving.
Walking with a feeling of needing more sleep, grogginess, dull headed, headache, dry mouth.
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