Two people sleeping together in the evening can be a nightmare if one of them snores. Snoring is actually the vibration of respiratory structures. The resulting sound is due to obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping. Snoring is known to cause sleep deprivation to snorers and those around them, as well as daytime drowsiness, irritability, lack of focus, and decreased libido. Snorers can sometimes suffer severe impairment of their lifestyle. Overweight individuals are often diagnosed with sleep apnea. (Thin people can get this ailment too.)
A sleep disorder that snoring can be a sign of is sleep apnea is characterized by pauses in breathing (or periods of shallow breathing during sleep). Each pause can last for a few seconds to a few minutes and they happen many times a night. In the most common form, this follows loud snoring. There may be a choking or snorting sound as breathing resumes. As it disrupts normal sleep, those with sleep apnea may experience sleepiness (or feel tired during the day).
There
are three forms of sleep apnea: obstructive (OSA), central (CSA), and mixed.
OSA
is caused by partial or complete blockage of the airways during sleep. During
sleep, a person's throat muscles relax allowing the tongue and/or fatty tissues
of the throat to fall back into the airways and block airflow. Once a breath is
taken the brain returns to sleep, and the process begins once again. This
process can occur just a few times a night or hundreds of times a night
depending on the severity of the condition.
CSA
occurs when the brain temporarily fails to signal the muscles responsible for
controlling breathing. Unlike obstructive sleep apnea, which can be thought of
as a mechanical problem, central sleep apnea is more of a communication
problem.
Mixed
sleep apnea is a combination of both OSA and CSA symptoms. Some
patients being treated for OSA with the use of CPAP machines develop
symptoms of CSA upon PAP therapy. This phenomenon had long been noticed in
sleep labs, but had not been previously researched.
People with sleep apnea may not be aware they have it. In many cases it is first observed by a family member. Sleep apnea is often diagnosed with an overnight sleep study. For a diagnosis of sleep apnea, more than five episodes (arousal) an hour must occur. Without treatment sleep apnea may increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, obesity, and motor vehicle collisions.
For moderate to severe sleep apnea, the treatment is the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), automatic positive airway pressure (APAP), or a bilevel positive airway pressure (BPAP) device. With proper use, CPAP improves outcomes and appears to decreases the risk of death due to heart disease.
Evidence suggests that CPAP may improve sensitivity to insulin, blood pressure, and sleepiness. Although CPAP therapy is effective in reducing apneas and less expensive than other treatments, some people find it extremely uncomfortable. Patients complain of feeling trapped, having chest discomfort, and skin or nose irritation.
“Her blood-curdling snoring (with its gargling and squawking and its terrifying pauses) is like the sound the devil might make if he were alternately relishing and strangling on a pound of human flesh.” (Bailey White, author of Mama Makes Up Her Mind and Other Dangers of Southern Living)[i]
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| CPAP machine |
[i] Sources used:
·
“Sleep Apnea” from Wikipedia
·
“Snoring” from Wikipedia
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