Sleep Apnoea

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea – Interrupted Breathing while Sleeping 

Obstructive sleep apnoea – OSA is a condition which causes interrupted breathing while sleeping and there are two kind of breathing interruption known as apnoea wherein the muscles and soft tissues in the throat relax and collapse to cause a total blockage of the airway which occurs when the airflow is blocked for ten seconds or more.

Hypopnoea is partial blockage of the airway resulting in reduction of airflow which is greater than 50 percent for a period of ten seconds or more. Sleep apnoea may result the way one breathes while sleeping. In the case of untreated sleep apnoea, breathing get interrupted for a brief moment or becomes very shallow during sleep and these breathing pauses last between 10 to 20 seconds and can take place several times at night waking the person out from their natural sleep.

This results in spending more time in light sleep with less time in deep restful sleep to be bright and energetic the next day. The outcome of sleep apnoea is slow reflexes, a feeling of sleepiness all through the day, poor concentration with risk of accidents and other serious health issues over a period of time such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, weight gain and stroke.

Sleep – Natural Brain Activity

Sleep being a natural brain activity is essential for every individual. Sufficient amount of deep sleep is needed in order that the body and mind gets refreshed for the next day. With only limited amount of sleep the person may experience a feeling of tiredness even after waking from short intervals of sleep, For effective functioning of the body, a person needs an average of seven to eight hours of sleep and around 15 to 25 percent of the time could be spend in the deepest phase of sleep which is known as slow wave sleep.

People with OSA may come across repeated incidents of apnoea and hypopnoea. During these incidents, the person is drawn out of their deep sleep into a lighter state of sleep or brief period of wakefulness, due to lack of oxygen, in order to restore normal breathing though further recurrence of apnoea and hypopnoea may take place after falling back into deep sleep. This may even take place more than once, throughout the night for a minute.

OSA – Snore Loudly/Breathing Noisy

People with OSA condition tend to snore loudly and their breathing can be noisy and often interrupted by gasping and snorting with each incident of apnoea. Repeated interruptions to sleep due to OSA could lead to tiredness during the day.

Moreover the person with this condition may have no memory of breathlessness and be unaware on the lack of sleep at night. OSA is common in people between the age group of 35 to 54 though it can affect people of any age including children. OSA can be treated with a variety of treatment options to reduce the symptoms of this ailment.

Losing excess weight, lifestyle changes, could help in resolving mild cases of sleep apnoea besides use of breathing apparatus while sleeping could also be helpful.