In The Venue

Insomnia and oversleeping, both are some of the common problems of today’s hectic lifestyle. Most people often ignore such problems and consider them too generic to consult a doctor. But the fact is that symptoms like insomnia or other sleep disorders can seriously affect the efficiency of a person. Sleep apnea is one such sleep disorder, in which a person gets breathing pauses, which can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. It is one of the leading causes of excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue. The sleep apnea symptoms may be mistaken to be the common problem of snoring, which makes sleep apnea treatment and diagnosis difficult.

Some of the sleep apnea symptoms are:

• Excessive tiredness.
• Waking un-refreshed in the morning.
• Constant headaches.
• Loud snoring.
• Waking up in the night and gasping for air, choking spells.
• Frequent silences during sleep.

In technical terms, sleep apnea causes imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood, which stimulates the brain to restart the breathing process. It causes sudden awakenings so that the muscles of the tongue and throat can increase the size of the airway, to let the carbon dioxide escape and oxygen to enter

Studies have shown that the primary causes of sleep apnea are:

Obesity
Although only about 50% of the patients of this sleep disorder have been found overweight, still obesity is considered as one of the primary reasons for most of the lifestyle diseases. The extra fat and soft tissue in the throat puts pressure on the airway, thus resulting in choking spells.

Large tonsils or adenoids

Physical features
Some physical features like shape of head and neck, receding chin, enlarged tongue, deviated septum.

Nasal congestion problems
Due to cold, sinusitis, allergies, smoking, etc. the airway passage gets choked, which aggravates the problem faced by sleep apnea patients.

Asthma
Asthma and allergies cause congestion in the airway and is thus, one of the worries of sleep apnea patients. Sleep apnea patients are usually prescribed breathing devices to prevent throat congestion and airway blockage.

Acid reflux disease or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
It occurs when the stomach acid flows out of the stomach, back to the esophagus, the sensitive lining of which cannot withstand the harsh acid, thus results in heartburn and sleep disorders like sleep apnea.

Alcohol and sedatives
Alcohol abuse and other sedatives make the throat muscles and tongue to relax and increase the risk of sleep disorders .

Lifestyle
Today’s hectic lifestyle is one of the main reasons for the increasing sleeping related problems.  Smoking irritates the throat and lungs, which increases the chance of airway spasms and throat congestion. Alcohol and some medications make the throat muscles relax, thus making it harder to keep the airway open while sleeping. Alcohol and tobacco use also increase the risk of gastroesophageal problems, which in itself is one of the causes of sleep apnea.

There are two types of sleep apnea disorders one is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and the second is Central Sleep Apnea (CSA). While this one is a more common disorder, which is caused due to breathing obstruction and airway blockage, the Central sleep apnea is a more dangerous disorder which is caused when the brain signal to the body to breathe is delayed. Though the symptoms of both the types are same, but through a proper sleep apnea diagnosis, the root of the problem can be detected. The central sleep apnea can be caused by disease or injury related to the brain, like a stroke, brain tumor, viral brain infection or a chronic respiratory disease.

Sleep apnea treatment usually includes medications that give strength to the patient to breathe. Administering oxygen level also becomes important in serious cases. For this, the patients can use sleep apnea breathing devices, while sleeping. If not treated on time, sleep apnea can cause serious damage and can prove fatal. Studies have shown that people suffering from sleep apnea are more prone to depression than general people.

Many a times, people having sleep apnea disorder don’t realize their having it and thus, they try to ignore it and don’t consult a doctor. There are also times, when symptoms of sleep apnea is taken as some hereditary problem of snoring and even if it gets diagnosed, taking a medication doesn’t seems to be that urgent. Such people can have a self-help treatment, by changing their lifestyle, like losing weight, avoiding alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse, elevating head of the bed by about 4 inches and by using a nasal dilator or saline nasal spray.

In case taking these precautions doesn’t solve the problem, then consulting a doctor becomes important. Although most of the patients get relief from medication, but in complex cases, surgery may be advised, which can solve sleep apnea disorder completely, but the risks of undergoing a surgery always remain.