Sleep Apnea

Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care,
Sore labour's bath,
Balm of hurt minds,
Great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in life's feast. - William Shakespeare.

Do you really know why we sleep?

'Sleep' is nature's gift to the human body where the body gets a chance to recharge and repair muscles and in building our immune system. During sleep, brain organizes and stores memories. The whole body goes in to "energy saver" mode. In very simple terms, a good night's sleep rejuvenates the body and the brain for the next dawn.

People who are unable to get a good sleep might run in to developing numerous sleep-related problems. These problems manifest into a large number of bodily disorders. Sleep Apnea is one such problem.

Apnea takes its origin from the Greek word, which means "Without Breath". Sleep apnea is a disorder where there is an interruption to breathing during sleep.  It is progressive as it increases with age.  In this condition, the patient misses a breath for about 10 to 20 seconds every time for around 40-100 times in a night's sleep.  In severe cases, it even touches 400 times in a night. Sometimes it can be quite dangerous. Sleep apnea is a progressive sleep disorder (it gets worse as you age).

Types of sleep apnea.

There are three types of sleep apnea; namely Obstructive, Central, and Mixed.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea is highly prevalent in the population compared to its counterparts. As the name implies it is caused due to an obstruction in the free flow of the air. During sleep, there is not enough air from nose to lungs as the windpipe is blocked or collapsed briefly during breathing, due to the relaxation of muscles.

The cause might be due to tonsils, overweight of the person, smaller airway, respiratory infection, improper facial structure, worn out airway muscles, obstruction in the nasal passages, reduction in blood oxygen saturation and sometimes the structure of the jaw.  It can prevail in people who take drugs too.  So little time is spent in deep sleep that the brain briefly raises to activity when they resume breathing, resulting in sleep deprivation. This causes tiredness, weakness and in advanced cases stroke, asthma and sometimes depression.

The second type is Central Sleep Apnea and is relatively rare.  As the name suggests, it is due to disorder in the central nervous system. It happens when the brain malfunctions and misses to send a "go-ahead" signal for breathing. Sometimes the signal sent is interrupted.  For a healthy person, at times of rest, breathing is normal. When oxygen levels suddenly go low and / or carbon dioxide levels climbs up, the brain immediately send signals to inhale more. In case of Central sleep apnea, this very basic control for breathing rate is malfunctioning, that causes failure to give the signals for inhalation, causing the individual to miss one or more breathing cycles.  This results in severe decrease in oxygen levels in the body leading to hypoxia.

Central sleep apnea results in insomnia, although they may also experience a choking or gasping sensation upon awakening.  In severe cases, right side heart fails and may even lead to death. It is also common in people suffering from one or more heart problems in conjunction with lung disorders.

The last type is Mixed Sleep Apnea, where a person having Obstructive sleep apnea prevailing for a long time and who is untreated develops Central sleep apnea.

If sleep apnea is untreated, it could lead to snoring, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, memory problems, weight gain, impotency, headaches, abnormal daytime sleepiness (including falling asleep at inappropriate times), limited attention span, lethargy and in severe cases swelling of the legs.  The need for the day is awareness in the public, without which the problem could go undiagnosed and untreated, despite the fact that this serious disorder can have significant consequences.

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