Sleep Apnoea

Sleep apnoea is caused by the air flow stopping during sleep. This may be caused by an obstruction in the throat which prevents air from reaching the lungs. Many people involuntarily have a pause in their in their breathing which is part of their natural breathing pattern and only becomes a cause for concern if the non-breathing lasts for ten seconds or over and is continuous for over an hour.

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea only occurs when the person is asleep as the lack of muscle tone causes the airway to collapse. When sleep apnoea happens the brain will wake the person and they will start breathing again, usually the person wakes due to a loud snore.

People who suffer with sleep apnoea generally have several wakening episodes every night which will leave them feeling sleepy the next day, the loud snores can also be very disturbing for bed partners who will also be woken by the noise.

The severity of sleep apnoea varies from mild to severe. Anyone who thinks they may be suffering from sleep apnoea will need to consult a sleep specialist who will carry out a sleep study by monitoring sleep during an overnight stay in a clinic or hospital. There are various tests that can be carried out during the study which range from recording nasal airflow to heart monitoring by electrocardiograph, it is usual for both videos and sound recordings to be made as well.

As these studies are expensive to carry out, mini sleep studies are carried out prior to a full study and it is becoming popular to carry out home sleep studies.
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is the most usual form of sleep apnoea, Central Sleep Apnoea can also occur. This type of sleep apnoea is when the brain fails to send the signals to wake the person. Central Sleep Apnoea can also be due to a weakness of the breathing muscles. Some people can experience both Obstructive and Central Sleep Apnoea, this is known as Mixed Sleep Apnoea.

Those who have sleep apnoea may be completely unaware that they have woken during the night, but will feel tired during the day, have a poor concentration time and may experience headaches in the mornings. There are more men than women who have sleep apnoea and lack of sleep may lead to irritability, depression, lack of interest in sex and impotency.