What is Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a breathing problem that occurs while someone is sleeping. Apnea means “without air,” and it’s defined as 10 or more seconds without taking in a proper breath during sleep. Doctors also define it as a 4% drop in oxygen levels in the blood, but since most of us don’t sleep with oxygen meters attached to our fingers, we can’t detect that by ourselves. An individual apnea will usually jolt the sleeper out of a deep sleep, but the person might not always (or ever) fully wake up. Someone who suspects they have sleep apnea will usually be referred for a sleep study. Doctors define the diagnosis of “sleep apnea” as either no symptoms and 15 apneas or hypopneas (milder apneas) an hour, or else troublesome symptoms and 5 apneas/hypopneas an hour. Sleep apnea can be dangerous, both because of the troubles with breathing and because someone who is sleep deprived from them can make dangerous mistakes during the day. Sleep apnea can even lead to serious problems like strokes and congestive heart failure in severe cases.

What are Apnea Symptoms?
The primary symptom most people experience is fatigue and sleepiness during the day. Loud snoring can be a big warning sign, too, so often people don’t realize they have a problem until someone with whom they share a bedroom complains. However, not everyone with sleep apnea snores, and not everyone who snores has sleep apnea. To an observer, listening to someone experiencing an apnea usually sounds like several seconds of total silence followed by a loud gasp for air. People who have sleep apnea usually have symptoms of sleep deprivation, like falling asleep easily during the day, irritability, depression, and memory problems. Sometimes people with sleep apnea wake up with a dry throat.

What are Apnea Causes?
An apnea is caused by a problem with the brain, a problem with the breathing system, or both. Sometimes medical problems, medications, or other factors lead a person’s brain to stop sending the breathing signal to the diaphragm, something referred to as central sleep apnea. Even babies can have this form of sleep apnea. In obstructive sleep apnea, the breathing pathway becomes blocked in some way. The brain sends plenty of signals, but the airway is closed up, so the brain tells the person to wake up and breathe. The airway can be blocked by any number of things wrong with the nose, tongue, or throat, but it is most often caused by a throat opening. Obesity is a major cause of or aggravator to obstructive sleep apnea because of the extra pressure on the air system. People who are of African descent or from India seem to have the highest risks for sleep apnea, though we’re not sure why that is. Obstructive sleep apnea is what most people think of when they hear the words “sleep apnea.”

What are Apnea Treatments?
There are a lot of helpful treatments for sleep apnea currently available. Doctors first encourage patients to avoid sleeping on their back, which, while hard for some people, helps to drastically reduce nighttime apneas in some people. Treating obesity, hypothyroidism, heart disease, or other causes of sleep apnea are another major solution. A CPAP machine, which blows air into the person’s nose to hold their airways open during sleep, is the first line of defense for sleep apnea that is caused by structural problems. When those things don’t work to completely remove daytime sleepiness, doctors can prescribe medicines to help people stay awake during the day and dental devices to correct mouth structure problems, when applicable.

What are Apnea Cures?
People with obstructive sleep apnea can sometimes be cured with surgery to correct minor structural problems, and babies with central sleep apnea usually outgrow it. Otherwise, there is no real cure for sleep apnea, even though most people thrive under proper treatment from a CPAP machine, daytime stimulants, behavioral changes, and treating any underlying causes.

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