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Types of Sleep Apnea

There are two specific types of sleep apnea patterns recognized by sleep specialists. Obstructive Sleep Apnea Often called upper-airway apnea, obstructive sleep apnea is the most common and severe form. The muscles located at the base of the tongue relax and sag, obstructing the airway causing breathing to become difficult and noisy. A listener hears snores with broken pauses when breathing stops. The muscles of the diaphragm and chest must work harder as the pressure to breathe increases. Sleep is temporarily interrupted, activating the throat muscles and "uncorking" the airway. A listener hears deep gasps as breathing starts, awakening the sleeper. Awakenings are generally so brief and incomplete that the sleeper does not remember them. Someone with obstructive sleep apnea may stop breathing for 10 seconds or longer, dozens, even hundreds of times each night. Each time breathing stops, the level of oxygen in the bloodstream falls, forcing the heart to work harder to circulate blood. Blood pressure rises and may stay elevated after breathing restarts. The heart sometimes beats irregularly and may even pause. Don't take alcohol, sleeping pills, and tranquilizers at bedtime. They further reduce muscle tone and may make the airway more susceptible to collapse. While most people with obstructive sleep apnea have no obvious physical abnormality that interferes with their breathing, some conditions may play a contributing role. Some people have a smaller-than-normal jaw, large tongues, enlarged tonsils, or tissues that partially block the entrance to the airway. A person may experience more than one of these conditions. Obstructive sleep apnea primarily strikes overweight men. Female hormones and a different throat anatomy may protect women until menopause. In later years, the gap between the sexes narrows although it never disappears entirely. Central Sleep Apnea This form of sleep apnea differs from obstructive in that the airway stays open, it is the diaphragm and chest muscles that stop working. The decreased levels of oxygen signals the brain causing the sleeper to awaken and resume breathing. As people grow older, central sleep apnea becomes more common. As many as one in four people age 60 or older experience disturbed breathing during sleep. The problem is usually mild. It tends to be more frequent and severe in people who have congestive heart failure or neurologic disorders. People tend to be more aware of frequent awakenings if they have central sleep apnea than if they have obstructive sleep apnea.