Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypesSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatmentNext in Sleep Apnea GuideUnderstanding the Types of Sleep Apnea

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Types

Symptoms

Causes

Diagnosis

Treatment

Next in Sleep Apnea Guide

Sleep apnea is a common condition that affects millions of Americans. The chronic breathing disorder in which one repeatedlystops breathingduring the night may be due to a partial or complete obstruction (or collapse) of theupper airway, typically affecting the base of thetongueand the soft palate.

It also may occur due to a depressed signal from the brainstem to initiate a breath. These events lare defined as lasingt 10 seconds or longer, and may occur hundreds of times per night. Someone with sleep apnea may experience loud snoring, brief pauses in breathing, and intermittent gasping. During apnea events, the oxygen level of the blood drops, the heart rate increases, and sleep becomes disrupted as the affected person wakes up to resume breathing.

Theeffects of sleep apneacan have significant consequences on one’s sleep quality, daytime function, and overall health.

Risks of Untreated Sleep Apnea

Types of Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a generic term that includes any disorder that causes pauses in breathing during sleep. It may affect someone at any age, but the prevalence of sleep apnea increases beyond middle age. There arethree main types of sleep apnea, which include the following:

Sleep apnea is not the only problem that can lead to difficulties breathing during sleep. There are a few other problems that do not cause a complete pause in the breathing but may still be problematic, such assnoring,Catathrenia(sleep groaning), or Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS).It is also important to recognize that oxygen levels may drop during sleep if lung function is compromised due to pulmonary disease, and this would require distinct treatment.

Sleep Apnea Symptoms

Aside from the pauses in breathing which are typical of the disorder, there are many other common symptoms in sleep apnea.These symptoms may include:

Not all of these symptoms must be present for the condition to occur, andchildren with sleep apneamay present with different complaints like growth problems, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and restless sleep.

Sleep Apnea Symptoms to Watch For

There are a few commoncauses of obstructive sleep apnea, and these situations could also make existing sleep apnea worse, including:

In addition, central sleep apnea may occur due to a stroke, heart failure, or the use of narcotic or opioid pain medications. Complex sleep apnea occurs with certain treatments.

Sleep apnea is actually relatively common. When sleep apnea is defined as having more than five apneic events per hour, then some 22% of men and 17% of woman would be afflicted with sleep apnea.

7 Diagnostic Tests for Sleep Disorders

There areseveral types of treatment for sleep apnea—it often takes trying different treatments (or a combination of treatments) to find what works. Some common treatments include the following:

For those who cannot tolerate CPAP, there are somealternative treatmentsto CPAP. These may includeoral appliances, positional therapy, orsurgeries.

In some cases, when excessive daytime sleepiness persists despite treatment, stimulants such as Ritalin, Provigil, andNuvigilmay be necessary to treat the sleepiness.Even quirky alternatives such as playing the didgeridoo have been shown to be an effective treatment.Some individuals may find benefits from caffeine or even scheduled naps. As always, individuals with sleep disorders benefit from observing better sleep guidelines.

Tips for a Better Night’s Sleep

Complications

There can be serious consequences—evenlethal ones—to untreated sleep apnea.These include:

There are separate consequences ofsleep apnea in children, which may includehyperactivity, slowed growth, and decreased intelligence.

Summary

Sleep apnea refers to any one of the common disorders that result from pauses during your breathing while you sleep. There are many possible contributing factors that could cause your breathing to be disrupted.

Natural Remedies for Sleep Apnea

10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Cowie MR.Sleep apnea: State of the art.Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2017;27(4):280-289. doi:10.1016/j.tcm.2016.12.005de Godoy LB, Palombini LO, Guilleminault C, Poyares D, Tufik S, Togeiro SM.Treatment of upper airway resistance syndrome in adults: Where do we stand?Sleep Sci. 2015;8(1):42–48. doi:10.1016/j.slsci.2015.03.001Cleveland Clinic.Sleep Apnea.Dempsey JA, Veasey SC, Morgan BJ, O’Donnell CP.Pathophysiology of sleep apnea.Physiol Rev. 2010;90(1):47–112. doi:10.1152/physrev.00043.2008Franklin KA, Lindberg E.Obstructive sleep apnea is a common disorder in the population-a review on the epidemiology of sleep apnea.J Thorac Dis. 2015;7(8):1311–1322. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.06.11Cleveland Clinic.Sleep Apnea: Diagnosis and Tests.Cleveland Clinic.Sleep Apnea: Management and Treatment.Rosenberg R, Bogan R.Armodafinil in the treatment of excessive sleepiness.Nat Sci Sleep. 2010;2:95–105. doi:10.2147/nss.s6728Puhan MA, Suarez A, Lo cascio C, Zahn A, Heitz M, Braendli O.Didgeridoo playing as alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: randomised controlled trial.BMJ.2006;332(7536):266-70. doi:10.1136/bmj.38705.470590.55American Sleep Apnea Association.What is Sleep Apnea?Additional ReadingAmerican Academy of Sleep Medicine. “International classification of sleep disorders: Diagnostic and coding manual.“2nd ed.Collop, N. “The effect of obstructive sleep apnea on chronic medical disorders.“Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 2007 74:1.Durmer, Jet al.“Pediatric Sleep Medicine.“American Academy of Neurology Continuum.2007; 153-200.Epstein, LJet al.“Clinical guideline for the evaluation, management, and long-term care of obstructive sleep apnea in adults.“J Clin Sleep Med.2009; 5:263.

10 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Cowie MR.Sleep apnea: State of the art.Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2017;27(4):280-289. doi:10.1016/j.tcm.2016.12.005de Godoy LB, Palombini LO, Guilleminault C, Poyares D, Tufik S, Togeiro SM.Treatment of upper airway resistance syndrome in adults: Where do we stand?Sleep Sci. 2015;8(1):42–48. doi:10.1016/j.slsci.2015.03.001Cleveland Clinic.Sleep Apnea.Dempsey JA, Veasey SC, Morgan BJ, O’Donnell CP.Pathophysiology of sleep apnea.Physiol Rev. 2010;90(1):47–112. doi:10.1152/physrev.00043.2008Franklin KA, Lindberg E.Obstructive sleep apnea is a common disorder in the population-a review on the epidemiology of sleep apnea.J Thorac Dis. 2015;7(8):1311–1322. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.06.11Cleveland Clinic.Sleep Apnea: Diagnosis and Tests.Cleveland Clinic.Sleep Apnea: Management and Treatment.Rosenberg R, Bogan R.Armodafinil in the treatment of excessive sleepiness.Nat Sci Sleep. 2010;2:95–105. doi:10.2147/nss.s6728Puhan MA, Suarez A, Lo cascio C, Zahn A, Heitz M, Braendli O.Didgeridoo playing as alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: randomised controlled trial.BMJ.2006;332(7536):266-70. doi:10.1136/bmj.38705.470590.55American Sleep Apnea Association.What is Sleep Apnea?Additional ReadingAmerican Academy of Sleep Medicine. “International classification of sleep disorders: Diagnostic and coding manual.“2nd ed.Collop, N. “The effect of obstructive sleep apnea on chronic medical disorders.“Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 2007 74:1.Durmer, Jet al.“Pediatric Sleep Medicine.“American Academy of Neurology Continuum.2007; 153-200.Epstein, LJet al.“Clinical guideline for the evaluation, management, and long-term care of obstructive sleep apnea in adults.“J Clin Sleep Med.2009; 5:263.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Cowie MR.Sleep apnea: State of the art.Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2017;27(4):280-289. doi:10.1016/j.tcm.2016.12.005de Godoy LB, Palombini LO, Guilleminault C, Poyares D, Tufik S, Togeiro SM.Treatment of upper airway resistance syndrome in adults: Where do we stand?Sleep Sci. 2015;8(1):42–48. doi:10.1016/j.slsci.2015.03.001Cleveland Clinic.Sleep Apnea.Dempsey JA, Veasey SC, Morgan BJ, O’Donnell CP.Pathophysiology of sleep apnea.Physiol Rev. 2010;90(1):47–112. doi:10.1152/physrev.00043.2008Franklin KA, Lindberg E.Obstructive sleep apnea is a common disorder in the population-a review on the epidemiology of sleep apnea.J Thorac Dis. 2015;7(8):1311–1322. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.06.11Cleveland Clinic.Sleep Apnea: Diagnosis and Tests.Cleveland Clinic.Sleep Apnea: Management and Treatment.Rosenberg R, Bogan R.Armodafinil in the treatment of excessive sleepiness.Nat Sci Sleep. 2010;2:95–105. doi:10.2147/nss.s6728Puhan MA, Suarez A, Lo cascio C, Zahn A, Heitz M, Braendli O.Didgeridoo playing as alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: randomised controlled trial.BMJ.2006;332(7536):266-70. doi:10.1136/bmj.38705.470590.55American Sleep Apnea Association.What is Sleep Apnea?

Cowie MR.Sleep apnea: State of the art.Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2017;27(4):280-289. doi:10.1016/j.tcm.2016.12.005

de Godoy LB, Palombini LO, Guilleminault C, Poyares D, Tufik S, Togeiro SM.Treatment of upper airway resistance syndrome in adults: Where do we stand?Sleep Sci. 2015;8(1):42–48. doi:10.1016/j.slsci.2015.03.001

Cleveland Clinic.Sleep Apnea.

Dempsey JA, Veasey SC, Morgan BJ, O’Donnell CP.Pathophysiology of sleep apnea.Physiol Rev. 2010;90(1):47–112. doi:10.1152/physrev.00043.2008

Franklin KA, Lindberg E.Obstructive sleep apnea is a common disorder in the population-a review on the epidemiology of sleep apnea.J Thorac Dis. 2015;7(8):1311–1322. doi:10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.06.11

Cleveland Clinic.Sleep Apnea: Diagnosis and Tests.

Cleveland Clinic.Sleep Apnea: Management and Treatment.

Rosenberg R, Bogan R.Armodafinil in the treatment of excessive sleepiness.Nat Sci Sleep. 2010;2:95–105. doi:10.2147/nss.s6728

Puhan MA, Suarez A, Lo cascio C, Zahn A, Heitz M, Braendli O.Didgeridoo playing as alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: randomised controlled trial.BMJ.2006;332(7536):266-70. doi:10.1136/bmj.38705.470590.55

American Sleep Apnea Association.What is Sleep Apnea?

American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “International classification of sleep disorders: Diagnostic and coding manual.“2nd ed.Collop, N. “The effect of obstructive sleep apnea on chronic medical disorders.“Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 2007 74:1.Durmer, Jet al.“Pediatric Sleep Medicine.“American Academy of Neurology Continuum.2007; 153-200.Epstein, LJet al.“Clinical guideline for the evaluation, management, and long-term care of obstructive sleep apnea in adults.“J Clin Sleep Med.2009; 5:263.

American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “International classification of sleep disorders: Diagnostic and coding manual.“2nd ed.

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