Types of Sleep Apnea and Its Symptoms

Sleep apnea is now considered a disease in current days and it has become the most common problem for every individual. It refers to the sleep disorder. It is caused by low breathing while sleeping. Abnormal pauses in breathing become the main reason of sleep apnea and each pause in breathing lasts for five to thirty times from few seconds to minutes and even to hours. The method of diagnosis of apnea is called sleep study or polysomnogram. Sleep apnea is mostly seen in adults but nowadays you can find this problem in kids too. It is mainly caused when you have cough or flu. The treatment of apnea can be done either surgically or using nonsurgical methods.

Apnea usually occurs when there is inadequate supply of oxygen level in the blood. Sometimes this apnea disrupts your sleep and wakes you up as your snoring sound becomes high. This apnea problem is not only a source of disturbance for the person who is having this disorder, but it is also a nuisance for the ones who sleep with the affected person. Some of the side effects caused by this apnea problem are daytime sleepiness, high blood pressure, stroke, insomnia, heart failure, and mood disorders get worsened. You need to treat this sleep disorder quickly so that it cannot cause further problems.

Apnea is found in three types, which are as follows: Central sleep apnea, obstructive apnea and mixed sleep apnea. The central sleep apnea involves the central nervous system instead of airway problem. It involves the failure of brain to send signals to the breathing muscles. Obstructive sleep apnea is one of the most common types of apnea which is caused when the soft tissues relax during sleep. It blocks the airflow and people snore. The third category is complex or mix sleep apnea, which is the mixture of obstructive and central sleep apnea.

It is not easy to find the main reason behind your snoring but some of the major signs and symptoms of apnea are as follows: Daytime sleepiness even if you sleep the whole day, breathing pauses, chronic snoring, choking while sleeping, sore throat, dryness of mouth, depression, moodiness, irritability, you feel out of breath after waking up, forgetfulness, difficulty in concentrating, increased urine during night, restless sleep, fitful sleep, insomnia, awakening at nighttime and morning headaches. The symptoms of apnea in children include the following: Irritability, anger, hostile attitude, low school performance, inattention, hyperactivity, growth problems and developmental problems, breathing through mouth rather than through nose. These are some of the signs in children which show you that your kid is going through the problem.

Now let me tell you that there is a big difference between snoring and apnea. Some of the people confuse in these two problems. Snoring is not a bigger problem but sleep apnea can cause later problems for you. One of the biggest differences between these two terms is that snoring does not disturb the quality of sleep but sleep apnea does make your sleep abnormal. In apnea, you suffer from fatigue and sleepiness daytime. If you want to know that whether you are having snoring or apnea, you need to follow the two strategies. You need to maintain a sleep diary. In this diary, you can record number of hours you sleep. You should record how many times you have snored in one night and several other sleeping and snoring related questions. The next strategy is to make sleeping video or record your audio of snoring while sleeping. This can be done by your partner of course.

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