sleep apnea is a sleep disorder which causes irregular breathing and snoring patterns that can ultimately cause apnea which is where a person momentarily stops breathing altogether the inability to get restful sleep can also lead to severe exhaustion individuals can have obstructive sleep apnea Central sleep apnea are features of both obstructive sleep apnea is the most common form and it develops when there's a blockage of the Airways now air has to go from the nose through the naso fairings into the lingo fairings through the larynx and then into the trachea somewhere along that path there might be a blockage in the flow of air allergies might cause swelling in the tissues of the naso farings or there might be swollen adenoid glands or tonsils because of an infection there might be a severe overbite which pulls the jaw back and blocks the airway in individuals that are overweight there could be too much weight in the soft tissues of the neck which can weigh down the airway especially when a person's lying down these problems are most obvious at night because hormonal changes at night cause the muscles around the airway to become slightly less stiff while sleeping this means that they're less able to keep the airway open making it more likely to get a bit squashed or obstructed Central sleep apnea on the other hand refers to the fact that the the problems Central or related to the central nervous system this is where the brain intermittently stops making an effort to breathe for 10 to 30 seconds the apnea can persist for several seconds even after waking up triggering feelings of panic and further disrupting the Sleep Cycle Central sleep apnea starts with an initial episode of hyperia which is when the brain directs the lungs to start hyperventilating during sleep by increasing the respiratory rate this rapid breathing causes hypocapnia a drop in the blood's carbon dioxide levels when the carbon dioxide levels fall below a certain threshold the body slips into a state of apnea making no effort to breathe and taking in no oxygen this causes the carbon dioxide levels to rise back to normal levels and then as the apnea persists they keep rising to a point where it's called hypercapnea the really high carbon dioxide levels triggers hyperia again and the cycle starts all over essentially the respiratory system is going rapidly back and forth between two states first making no effort to breathe and then hyperventilating with no in between the most common symptom of sleep apnea severe sleep deprivation interrupted sleep can cause nocturia the excessive need to urinate during the night and stress induced insomnia the effects are also apparent during the day because the loss of restful sleep leads to difficulty concentrating headaches and fatigue apneic episodes are usually preceded by loud snoring which can interrupt the sleep of other people as well sleep apnea on its own is rarely fatal but it can worsen other health problems for example drops in oxygen levels can trigger anginal chest pain and can irritate heart cells leading to an arhythmia an irregular heartbeat broadly speaking individuals with sleep apnea have a higher risk for heart fail failure respiratory failure diabetes and certain types of cancer diagnosing sleep apnea requires a sleep study to help identify episodes of sleep apnea the more episodes the more severe the sleep apnea a sleep study usually involves getting monitored overnight with a polysomnogram a polysomnogram tracks things like brain movement oxygen and carbon dioxide levels Vital Signs and outward symptoms like snoring andov movement treating sleep apnea starts with avoiding things like sleeping pills Alcohol and Other depressive medications because they can relax the throat muscles around the Airways and make the Airways more likely to collapse during sleep in addition sleeping on the side instead of on the back can also help because it creates better air flow into the lungs for severe sleep apnea individuals can use a continuous positive airway pressure device or CPAP device for short this machine forces the air ways open with a steady stream of pressurized air delivered through a plastic face mask or nasal prongs used properly this is really effective but it requires continuous use many people eventually stop using it finding it annoying or difficult to wear and so the problem persists some people with obstructive sleep apnea can benefit from custommade oral mouthpieces that help improve air flow during sleep sometimes obstructive sleep apnea can be managed surgically for example removing large adenoid tissue or realigning the Jawbone these procedures though can be complicated because the anesthesia and surgical swelling can both worsen sleep apnea in the short term all right as a quick recap sleep apnea can be due to physical obstruction of the airway or from a neurological malfunction initiated by inbalances in the blood's oxygen and carbon dioxide levels which regulate breathing Cycles left untreated the condition can interact negatively with other underlying health conditions leading to serious complications helping current and future clinicians Focus learn retain and Thrive learn more