Sleep apnea is a disruption of breathing while asleep, causing periodic gasping for air or struggling for breath, sometimes hundreds of times during the night. Most people who suffer from this disorder do not realize they have it, because when they awaken they don’t remember having trouble breathing.

If not treated, sleep apnea can be life-threatening, so it is very important to ensure that your breathing is normal during the night. It is advisable to watch for the warning signs and seek out sleep apnea solutions as soon as possible. These warning signs can include very loud snoring or gasping; choking as if unable to get air into the lungs; sudden awakenings during the night, sometimes waking up sweating; and feeling exhausted during the day even with a full night’s sleep.

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What causes these awakenings? When breathing is interrupted due to sleep apnea, it changes the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. The imbalance of these essential chemicals signals the brain to restart the breathing process. These awakening incidents are necessary to restart breathing, but may not be remembered later. The result is feeling very tired and unrefreshed by any amount of sleep.

There are two main types of sleep apnea.

The most common is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), which is caused by an obstruction that blocks flow of air in the nose and mouth. With OSA, the throat collapses during sleep, obstructing the airway and preventing air from reaching the lungs. In a healthy person, the throat muscles keep the throat and airway open during sleep. In some people, however, these muscles can relax more than normal, due to age, alcohol, other sedatives, or even being overweight or obese. People with certain physical factors, such as large tonsils or tongue, deviated septum, or enlarged adenoids, can also be more at risk for sleep apnea. Even temporary factors such as nasal congestion can cause sleep apnea.

The other type of sleep apnea, though less common, is Central Sleep Apnea (CSA). This is a central nervous system disorder in which the brain signals instructing the body to breathe are delayed. CSA can be caused by a diseases or injuries of the brain, such as viral brain infections, strokes, brain tumors, or respiratory problems. CSA sufferers seldom snore. While the causes of sleep apnea are different in CSA and OSA, they both are serious conditions that result in a deprivation of oxygen and not enough sleep.

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The effects of sleep deprivation can include irritability, inability to concentrate, and a compromised immune system. The problems of oxygen deprivation are even more serious: heart disease, high blood pressure, sexual dysfunction, learning and memory problems, and depression. If you suspect you might have sleep apnea, try keeping a “sleep journal” for several nights (or have your partner record the data). Include information such as snoring, any choking or gasping sounds, and awakening during the night.

Also make a note of how refreshed you feel in the morning. You should also try losing any excess weight and refraining from sedatives before bed. After you have recorded a typical time period of your sleep (perhaps a week), consult a doctor or a sleep specialist. If they suspect you have sleep apnea, you will probably be sent for an overnight study in a sleep lab. By observation and measuring how frequently you stop breathing, a diagnosis can be reached and a cure for sleep apnea can be discussed.

The most important thing for your health is to make sure that you are getting a normal night’s sleep. Sleep apnea cures can be as simple as lifestyle changes so seek out help today.

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Sleep apnea happens when a person actually stops breathing in their sleep. This frightening condition is life-threatening, but often goes unnoticed. Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Central Sleep Apnea are the two main types of sleep apnea. Obstructive Sleep Apnea usually affects people who snore, causing air passages to become obstructed or blocked while asleep. Central Sleep Apnea is a neurological condition in which the brain fails to send proper signals to a person’s respiratory muscles to facilitate breathing during sleep.

Many studies have proven the link between sleep apnea and snoring. During sleep the brain will read the body’s carbon dioxide levels and sends the signals needed to the throat and trachea in order to control breathing. When Obstructive Sleep Apnea occurs the airways are restricted or outright blocked which makes it difficult for the body to breathe. This blockage, or narrowing of air passages, causes air to vibrate as it passes into and out of your body, creating the noise we all know as snoring. This means the individual suffering from snoring is not breathing for seconds at a time, even those mere seconds can lead to lasting health problems or death. While this usually affects older males, it can potentially strike anyone, regardless of age or gender.

Researchers have proven that there are numerous triggers that can lead to the development of snoring and apnea. Being overweight can cause excess fat deposits in the neck to narrow air passages in the throat. As they advance in age men become more and more susceptible to developing this condition. Use of alcohol relaxes muscles in the body, including the throat muscles, and this can lead to snoring. Smoking also increases the risk of snoring because it inflames the upper respiratory tract and narrows air passages. Enlarged adenoids or tonsillitis can also lead to sleep apnea or snoring. These are risks that can be reduced to maintain one’s health, as the dangers are not only death, but other health issues. Staring your brain of oxygen can cause exhaustion, poor concentration and generally low levels of mental alertness, This can also cause carbon dioxide to build up in the brain increasing the chance of heart attack or stroke. Researching sleep apnea solutions and finding a way to stop snoring altogether is extremely important to preventing apnea from happening, and will benefit the individual with greater general health.

Sleep apnea is common in overweight individuals, so naturally one treatment is to lose weight. Cutting your weight by a few pounds can help you sleep better. Stop taking sedative drugs or even stop drinking alcohol or using tobacco products can help alleviate sleep apnea. These aforementioned items relax the throat which makes snoring more prone to happening. Usually sleep apnea occurs when people sleep on their backs. Naturally sleeping on your side can prevent this. Anything to help stop snoring can help which can be done by raising your bed or your pillows.

Something that has worked for me was the use of nasal strips. These go across the bridge of your nose and open up the passageways. These work extremely well and helps me breath amazingly during the night. Those are some things you can do to help, but there are also other sleep apnea cures and medical treatments as well.

The most common and effective treatment is CPAP, or continuous positive airway pressure. Basically, you wear a mask while you sleep and it feed air through your nose as you sleep. This air prevents the airway from collapsing and doesn’t make you snore. The problem with this technique is that the mask is extremely uncomfortable. They have made some better masks now to wear to make this technique even better. Another option is surgery which can increase the size of the airway. This may include the removal of tonsils, adenoids, etc. This can eliminate sleep apnea all together.

One last option is jaw devices. These devices lower the jaw and push the tongue forward which opens up the airway all together. This has many side effects like a sore mouth. Overall, sleep apnea can be a nuisance, but there are many different ways to treat and alleviate it.

In sleep apnea, the problem is that there are interruptions in the normal breathing cycle of the sufferer. The breathing might be reduced partially or stopped for anywhere up to 20-25 seconds. These interruptions can be as frequent as 5 times to over 100 times in a single hour.

The person under the effect of this sleep disorder normally shows the symptoms, such as loud snoring during sleep, sudden awakening or getting up frequently during sleep, as well as excessive sleepiness during the daytime, while doing everyday tasks. In sleep apnea, the person loses focus very easily and often has frequent mood swings, with the person becoming more easily irritated.

The root cause of this sleep disorder is blockage of the air passage. The blockage can be due to many factors. The structure of your face and jaw might be the hindering force behind improper air passage. The overgrown tissue in the area of the nose, mouth, uvula, adenoid or throat is also among the common cause of airway blockage, which can cause sleep apnea. The overgrown tissue relaxes while asleep and thus the blockage occurs.

Being overweight is a serious problem that can result in sleep apnea. The enlarged tissue in the body parts like the adenoids, uvula or tonsils is also another factor that contributes to it.

There are two types of sleep apnea; the more common one is Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The other type of sleep apnea is Central Sleep Apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is more of a breathing disorder where the air passage is blocked. However, central sleep apnea is more on the neurological side, in which a central nervous system dysfunction occurs. In simple words the brain signal that tells the body when to breathe in, is delayed due to central nervous system disorder.

Sleep apnea can be a very serious condition and should not be left untreated. Consult a doctor if you think you may be suffering from this sleep disorder and with proper treatment it can be controlled and in some cases, completely cured.