What is Sleep Apnea & Why Do We Snore?
The most common types of sleep disorders are sleep apnea and snoring disorders. The first step is to review your history to determine if you may have a potentially life threatening disorder known as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome or OSAS. The term “apnea” is Greek for “without breath.” Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing at night. This blockage is most commonly caused by collapse of your upper airway. Your upper airway begins with your nose and throat and ends at the entrance to your lungs in your chest. If there is a collapse at night in this system you may develop sleep apnea. One way to determine if you may have a sleep related disorder is take a quick screening test called the Epworth Sleep Test. We’ll ask you to take this test at your visit
What You Need To Know About Your Anatomy…
OSAS and snoring occur when there is a collapse of the upper airway causing vibration (snoring) or blockage (apnea). The most common areas of collapse occur in the nose, causing mouth breathing, or the back of the throat from sagging of the muscles and soft tissue. This includes the uvula (the bell in the back of the throat) and the soft palate (the arch shaped soft portion of the back of the throat), which may also cause snoring. The tonsils and tongue may also cause obstruction particularly when you lay on your back. Being overweight may also cause pressure on the airway reducing airflow.
If you have a collapse of the upper airway it may completely or partially block your breathing at night. This pause in breath reduces the amount of air and oxygen that reaches the lungs. Your brain then senses this decrease in blood oxygen causing you to unknowingly open your airway by gasping erratically at night, interrupting your sleep. As a result you do not achieve deep (delta) sleep that is required for restfulness and you wake up tired and unsatisfied. This tiredness may lead to depression and weight gain causing a vicious cycle and worsening sleep apnea.
Untreated Sleep Apnea is Dangerous…
More importantly, with the decrease in oxygen your heart and lungs have to work harder to keep you body oxygenated. This increased work causes high blood pressure or hypertension and eventually results in heart and lung disease!!!
