You think you are sleeping peacefully but unknowingly wake up in the middle of the night due to snoring.
Is this scenario familiar? If yes, you may be suffering from sleep apnea.
Everyone of us has experienced snoring when we are too tired.
But it is important to know if it is just snoring or sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is when you wake up from sleep because you have stopped breathing momentarily.
Sleep apnea is because of 2 reasons:
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea –
Obstructions like falling back of the soft palate leads to obstructive sleep apnea.
- Central Sleep Apnea –
The brain may be facing issues while sending signals to breathing muscles causing sleep apnea. There is no evident obstruction present. Central sleep apnea is usually associated with systemic issues like brain tumor, stroke, heart failure.
Sleep apnea is more prevalent in :
- Gender – Men
- Age – over 40 years
- Obstruction – deviated septum or airway obstruction
- Anyone who is overweight
- Large tonsils – someone with large tonsils
Sleep apnea may present with
- Waking up startled in between sleep
- Sleep is restless
- Snoring loudly
- Waking up tired even after sleeping for a long time
- Difficulty in breathing
Untreated sleep apnea may lead to serious issues like heart problems, stroke, depression, migraine and so on.
It is advisable to diagnose and treat sleep apnea sooner than later. Treatment includes :
- Sleeping position – sometimes a change in the sleeping position helps prevent sleep apnea episodes. Soft palate tends to fall back when one sleeps on the back. Try sleeping on the side to avoid sleep apnea
- Dental appliance – mild to moderate cases of sleep apnea can be treated with an oral appliance to correct the jaw position.
- Surgery – severe cases of sleep apnea may need surgical intervention when other treatment options have proved to be unsuccessful. Simple surgery like deviated septum can treat sleep apnea.
