Symptoms for Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a disorder in which a person may struggle for breath during sleep, or even stop breathing altogether. There are two true forms of sleep apnea, OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea), and CSA (Central Sleep Apnea) although a third category MSA (Mixed Sleep Apnea) is recognised for people who are unfortunate to suffer from both OSA and CSA.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea is caused by an obstruction or multiple obstructions within the airways. Obstructions can be absolutely anything from fat tissues within the throat, to tonsils and adenoids, growths or inflammations, or a person may simply have very narrow airways by design. During sleep the typical symptoms of an Obstructive Sleep Apnea sufferer is snoring, wheezing or other noises which may suggest a person isn't breathing easy. After struggling for breath, a person may suddenly gasp out loud, as if choking, before returning back to sleep only for the same thing to occur again maybe multiple times throughout their sleep.
Central Sleep Apnea is caused by faulty brain signals. Whilst we are capable of forcing ourselves to breath, for the most part it is our brains which control breathing on autopilot without us having to think about it. In Central Sleep Apnea sufferers, for some reason or other the automatic signals the brain usually sends to the lungs aren't sent, which results in sporadic and complete suspension in breathing activity. A person may stop breathing for only a few seconds, but these suspensions can sometimes last up to a couple of minutes before breathing once again commences. This cycle can repeat several times a night.
Sleep apnea can be a very tricky disorder to spot, particularly for a person whom sleeps unaccompanied as much of the obvious symptoms for sleep apnea are experienced whilst asleep, therefore a person generally never realises upon waking. What may be obvious however is how the person feels upon waking, as there are many tell tale signs that sleep apnea has being experienced. Some of these signs might include heartburn, or persistent tiredness. Because a person has continually been forced out of deep sleep by the brain in an effort to begin breathing, a person isn't getting their full required rest. The effects of sleep depravation are many, such as irritability, lack of concentration, mood swings, emotional and physical deterioration. Danger factors of tiredness also increase as accidents on the road or workplace are far more likely among those who are tired. A person may also begin experiencing headaches which is down to the lack of oxygen received during sleep.
If you have a partner, they can also be affected greatly by your disruptive sleep behaviour and they are also put at a greater danger of being in tiredness related accidents. For you and the person you share your bed with, recognising and understanding these symptoms can be crucial.
Ask your partner if they will keep a record of your sleeping habits, by writing down what times you appeared to stop breathing, when your breathing started again, how often this occurred, any noises you made such as snoring or gasping for air. Everything they can log down will be helpful.
Another extremely good way to record your sleeping habits is to set an audiocassette or better still, a video recorder to record throughout the night, which you can then play back to make more notes from. For a person who suspects they may have sleep apnea but doesn't have a partner to help them gather evidence, making video recordings whilst you are asleep and making your own notes during the day on how you felt may provide critical evidence you can then present to your G.P. for a quicker diagnosis so you can become treated sooner. Sleep Apnea Articles |
