Sleep apnea is a serious kind of sleeping disorder that disrupts your breathing as you sleep. There are two categories of this illness – obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. Both variations of sleep apnea are very dangerous and need to be treated immediately. The problem is that most people attribute this disorder to the simple inability to sleep and therefore fail to get it diagnosed and treated in time.

The most common category is the obstructive sleep apnea, which occurs when the breathing passage is blocked by some obstacle. Central sleep apnea, on the other hand, results from a neurotransmitter malfunction, which stops the brain from telling the body to breathe. The latter is the more serious of the two and is usually a side effect of severe brain trauma or injury, but it is also far less common.

The more severe cases of sleep apnea may lead to death if your body fails to wake up and resume breathing. However, most cases just cause a person to lose sleep and feel exhausted upon waking up in the morning. Usually, they don’t even know that their breathing stops periodically throughout the night.

Common Signs of Sleep Apnea

• Loud snoring
• Struggling to breathe
• Frequent sleep disturbances
• Consistent failure to breath during sleep
• Perspiring in the middle of the night
• Headaches and sore throat in the morning

Common Signs of Sleep Deprivation

• Unexplained tiredness after sleeping the whole night
• Memory loss
• Inability to focus
• Irritability and depression
• Feeling drowsy all day
• Increase in weight

Factors That Can Trigger Sleep Apnea

• Excessive weight especially surrounding the neck
• Erratic sleeping schedules
• Smoking
• Alcohol consumption or the use of sleep medication that can result in the blocking of your breathing passage
• Allergies that lead to the blocking of your nasal passage

There are some uncontrollable factors that can trigger sleep apnea such as the structure of your throat and old age, but there are also things that you can do to help prevent it from happening. For instance, you can stop smoking or try to lose some weight.

If your sleep apnea persists despite making several lifestyle changes, consult with your doctor so you can be examined for central sleep apnea. Typically, you will have to take part in a sleep experiment where doctors will monitor your sleep patterns and breathing throughout the night. Following this, the doctor can give you the prescription for the appropriate treatment.

Sleep apnea is not always easily treated mainly because the person doesn’t even know he has it. Without immediate attention, this condition can have serious physical, mental and emotional consequences. The best way to prevent sleep apnea from getting worse is to see your physician immediately after noticing the first few signs of the disorder.

The earlier you seek medical treatment, the earlier you can get rid of your sleep apnea and resume sleeping restfully throughout the night.