The Facts
Sleep apnea is a condition in which people literally stop breathing for
10 seconds or more, sometimes hundreds of times every night. It's one of
the most common medical conditions in adults, affecting up to 5% of women and
15% of men between the ages of 30 and 60.
Most people suffering from sleep apnea also snore, but there's a big difference
between the two conditions. While snoring can be annoying, sleep apnea can be
life-threatening. During an apnea episode, the body's oxygen levels drop noticeably,
carbon dioxide builds up, and the heart has to work harder to cope. Each time
it happens, the brain finally sends a signal to wake up so that the person can
breathe - and this means never getting a good night's sleep.
Causes
There are three types of sleep apnea:
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the most common type, happens when air
cannot get into the lungs because the upper airway has collapsed. It's more
common in men and in people who are overweight, especially those who sleep on
their backs. In people of normal weight who have the condition, there's often
an abnormality in the lower face, such as having a small chin, an overbite,
or a large tongue. OSA typically has three phases:
- First, the airway is partly blocked as the soft tissue at the back of the
throat relaxes and starts to close up, causing very loud snoring.
- Eventually, the airway collapses and the person stops breathing for at
least 10 seconds and up to 2 minutes.
- Finally, the sufferer wakes up briefly (although they rarely are aware
of it), struggling to breathe, snorting or gasping for air. Once a breath
is taken, however, the person falls back asleep and the cycle repeats itself.
Central sleep apnea, which is quite rare, results when the brain fails
to send signals to the chest to breathe properly while asleep. Here too, however,
the person ends up waking up repeatedly during the night to breathe.
Mixed sleep apnea, as the name suggests, is a combination of the first
two types. It always starts out as central sleep apnea, and then turns into
OSA.
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