Sleep Disorders - Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
A common sleep disorder is Obstructive Sleep Apnea, which is when a person stops breathing repeatedly during sleep. Sleep Apnea is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition. When a person goes to sleep, the muscles that stiffen and open the throat will relax, leading to a slight sleep-related narrowing of the throat that can cause either partial or complete obstruction.
For a person with Obstructive Sleep Apnea, this narrowing of the throat is so great that breathing becomes very difficult, or the throat may close off completely. The person's brain senses this and makes an increased effort to breathe. This increased effort briefly awakens the brain in order to open the throat, and the person is able to breathe again with less effort and resumes sleeping. As soon as the person resumes sleeping, the throat will close off again, and the cycle begins anew. This can occur dozens to hundreds of times each night!
A person with Obstructive Sleep Apnea may not get a restful sleep or enough oxygen during sleep. This can lead to daytime sleepiness that affects work, social activities, and family life. Sleep Apnea can also increase a person's risk of high blood pressure, heart failure, heart attack, or stroke.
It is estimated that 4 in 100 middle-aged men and 2 in 100 middle-aged women have Obstructive Sleep Apnea. OSA can also occur in children and young adults. This means that OSA is as common as adult asthma, but most of these people remained undiagnosed and untreated.
There are many warning signs and symptoms of OSA. These include:
- Snoring, interrupted by pauses in breathing
- Gasping or choking during sleep
- Excessive leg movements
- Restless sleep
- Excessive sleepiness or fatigue during the day
- Falling asleep at inappropriate times
- Crowded airway
- Morning headaches
- Obesity
- Depression
- High Blood Pressure
- Irritability
