Sleep apnea is a unique sleep problem that involves an interruption of a person’s sleep due to a lack of breathing and blockage of the airway due to snoring. There are a couple of types of sleep apnea such as central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea.
The are Various Forms of Sleep Apnea
There also mixed type sleep apneas and complex sleep apneas that together result in a cessation of breathing for several seconds of time during the sleep period. Let’s take a look at the types of sleep apnea and the different therapies recommended.
As mentioned, there are several types of sleep apnea: central, obstructive, complex and mixed. Each has a different set of circumstances surrounding it and each interrupts sleep so that you don’t get a good night’s sleep. Your sleep can be interrupted so much that you are tired during the day, even though it appears you are sleeping more than normal.
Obstructive Apnea Is The Most Common Type Of Sleep Apnea Known
It occurs as a result of being overweight or having a laxity of the throat muscles during sleep so that the throat closes off during sleep and you quit breathing. This wakes you up a little bit and you gasp your airways open. It is often found when a person has a secondary chest infection and is not generally dangerous but if it is chronic, then it must be treated with CPAP or continuous positive airway pressure that opens up the airway at all times. This type of sleep apnea is complicated by getting congestive heart failure.
The Form Of Sleep Apnea Known As Central Sleep Apnea
This form of sleep apnea actually originates within the brain the brain loses the signal to breathe, resulting in a jerking brain pattern of breathing. The brain can actually shut down its breathing practices so that you can become starved of oxygen and actually fail to breathe at all, resulting in death. This is an uncommon complication of the disease, however.
Some people develop both central and obstructive sleep apnea at the same time in what’s called a mixed pattern of sleep apnea. Complex sleep apnea is a newer form of sleep apnea in which the obstructive form of sleep apnea is taken care of but the central portion of sleep apnea persists after treatment.
The Basis Behind All Forms Of Sleep Apnea
The basis behind all forms of sleep apnea is that you need to get oxygen through the airways at all times.This involves using CPAP and really only works well for obstructive forms of sleep apnea. Medications can only work well for central sleep apnea. There are also medical procedures used for obstructive sleep apnea that involve surgery.
Believe it or not, changing your sleep position can work for both nixed and central apneas along with surgery to help open up the airways of the lungs. This keeps the symptoms away and keeps the symptoms from coming back. Depending on the type of sleep apnea you have, a treatment is available to manage the problem and give you some relief.
Tags: Sleep Apnea