The Different Types of Sleep Apnoea
Sleep apnoea causes a person to stop breathing many times throughout the night. It can affect anyone, whether young or old. Learn the different types of sleep apnoea that you may suffer from.
Sleep apnoea occurs when the soft tissue in the back of your throat falls over your airway when you lay down to sleep. Without oxygen moving into your lungs, you temporarily stop breathing. The brain recognizes this condition and tries to reverse it. You wake with a start. Each time you wake up, the soft tissue moves and you can breathe again.
This actually describes the first type of sleep apnoea, obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). It is the most common type of sleep apnoea we suffer from. When the airway is obstructed, the body’s organs, including the brain, are deprived of precious oxygen. This can often lead to problems with different systems in the body.
Obstructive sleep apnoea is caused by obstructions in the back of the throat or in the roof of the mouth. In children, sleep apnoea is often the result of enlarged tonsils and adenoids. This excessive tissue blocks the flow of air and leads to snoring and constant wakefulness at night. Children’s behaviour may change as a result of their lack of sleep: bed wetting, sleepiness during the day and poor performance in school.
Adults that suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea have large floppy soft palates or large uvulas. The extra tissue here flops down when you sleep and covers the airway. If you have a small airway, this can cause sleep apnoea symptoms as well.
The other type of sleep apnoea is called central sleep apnoea (CSA). Central sleep apnoea has to do with the central nervous system which includes the brain and the spinal cord. It is not as common as obstructive sleep apnoea but it does occur.
The airway is not the problem here. Instead, a problem within the respiratory centre of the brain causes a malfunction. As you sleep, the muscles responsible for respiration are not given the signal to move by the brain. As a result, your breathing stops.
Central sleep apnoea usually occurs when there is a disease present that affects the brain or spinal cord in some way. Brain injuries, spinal surgery, neurological disease are all possible reasons why you develop central sleep apnoea. The symptoms of central sleep apnoea are similar to those experiences with obstructive sleep apnoea.
Mixed sleep apnoea is not a different type of sleep apnoea but a combination of both obstructive and central sleep apnoea. Proper diagnosis by your doctor is important to determine the exact type of sleep apnoea you suffer from.
There are two main types of sleep apnoea
Sleep apnoea occurs when the soft tissue in the back of your throat falls over your airway when you lay down to sleep. Without oxygen moving into your lungs, you temporarily stop breathing. The brain recognizes this condition and tries to reverse it. You wake with a start. Each time you wake up, the soft tissue moves and you can breathe again.
This actually describes the first type of sleep apnoea, obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). It is the most common type of sleep apnoea we suffer from. When the airway is obstructed, the body’s organs, including the brain, are deprived of precious oxygen. This can often lead to problems with different systems in the body.
Obstructive sleep apnoea is caused by obstructions in the back of the throat or in the roof of the mouth. In children, sleep apnoea is often the result of enlarged tonsils and adenoids. This excessive tissue blocks the flow of air and leads to snoring and constant wakefulness at night. Children’s behaviour may change as a result of their lack of sleep: bed wetting, sleepiness during the day and poor performance in school.
Adults that suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea have large floppy soft palates or large uvulas. The extra tissue here flops down when you sleep and covers the airway. If you have a small airway, this can cause sleep apnoea symptoms as well.
The other type of sleep apnoea is called central sleep apnoea (CSA). Central sleep apnoea has to do with the central nervous system which includes the brain and the spinal cord. It is not as common as obstructive sleep apnoea but it does occur.
The airway is not the problem here. Instead, a problem within the respiratory centre of the brain causes a malfunction. As you sleep, the muscles responsible for respiration are not given the signal to move by the brain. As a result, your breathing stops.
Central sleep apnoea usually occurs when there is a disease present that affects the brain or spinal cord in some way. Brain injuries, spinal surgery, neurological disease are all possible reasons why you develop central sleep apnoea. The symptoms of central sleep apnoea are similar to those experiences with obstructive sleep apnoea.
Mixed sleep apnoea is not a different type of sleep apnoea but a combination of both obstructive and central sleep apnoea. Proper diagnosis by your doctor is important to determine the exact type of sleep apnoea you suffer from.
There are two main types of sleep apnoea
, obstructive and central. Each has a different root cause but similar symptoms. Diagnosis is done through sleep studies.
Comments