Types of sleep apnea
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) : This is the most common type, occurring when the throat muscles relax and block airflow to the lungs.
- Central sleep apnea : This occurs when the brain does not send correct signals to the muscles that control breathing.
Symptoms of sleep apnea
Some of the most common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea include:
- Loud snoring.
- Episodes where breathing stops while you sleep (something that should be reported to someone else).
- Gasping for air while sleeping.
- Waking up with a dry mouth.
- Headache in the morning.
- Difficulty staying asleep, known as insomnia.
- Excessive daytime sleepiness, known as hypersomnia.
- Difficulty paying attention while awake.
- Irritability.
Causes of sleep apnea
It could be said that there is an imbalance between the muscles that tend to generate breathing in the lungs (primarily the diaphragm) and those that have to open the muscles of the pharynx. When these are not coordinated, and a contraction of the diaphragm occurs at a time when the pharynx is obstructed, a obstructive apnea .
Much less frequently, there may be apneas because the breathing pacemaker at the brain level does not send an order to breathe to the diaphragm, this is called central apnea . These are usually due to other, less common medical problems.
The factors that promote sleep apnea are the same as those of snoring . It could be said that when the limitation to breathing is milder it manifests as snoring , and if it worsens, hypopneas and apneas appear, first less frequently and then more frequently and for longer periods.
Remember that prevention is better than cure
