Awakening to Sleep: Understanding Obstructive Sleep Apnea Many people with obstructive sleep apnea believe that their only symptom is loud snoring. However, snoring is not always a good indicator of polysomnographically confirmed OSA. The word apnea comes from two Greek words, meaning “without” and “air.” When you have obstructive sleep apnea, you experience periods of interrupted breathing during sleep. What Causes Obstructive Sleep Apnea? People with obstructive sleep apnea snore loudly and have difficulty breathing (apnea) during sleep. This is the most common form of sleep-related disordered breathing and is a significant problem in middle-aged adults. Excessive daytime drowsiness can be dangerous, especially if you nod off while driving or using power tools, and may indicate the need for treatment. Modalert 200 is used to treat excessive daytime sleepiness. Obstructive sleep apnea results from the muscles in your throat relaxing too much while you're sleeping. These muscles support the back of your tongue, the soft palate and a triangular piece of tissue hanging from the back of the throat (uvula). When these muscles relax, they can narrow or close the airway, hampering your breathing for 10 seconds or longer. This lack of oxygen causes a drop in blood oxygen and a buildup of carbon dioxide, which prompts your brain to briefly pull you out of deep sleep so that the airway can reopen. This disrupts your sleep and leads to fragmented, poor-quality sleep. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder that disrupts your sleep by causing your airway to become blocked during sleep. The repeated pauses in breathing in obstructive sleep apnea cause the body to lose oxygen. When the oxygen level drops too low, the brain sends a survival signal that briefly wakes you up enough to breathe normally again. This cycle often repeats hundreds of times during the night, leaving you with fragmented and unrefreshing sleep. Most people with OSA are not aware that they stop breathing repeatedly during the night. But their bed partners often hear loud snoring and gasping. Over time, these repeated awakenings can lead to chronic fatigue and mood problems, such as depression and anxiety. Modafinil 200 can improve alertness and reaction precision as well as cognitive performance in areas including attention, memory, and executive functioning. Many factors affect your chances of developing obstructive sleep apnea, including age, and certain anatomical features of the head and neck. Certain medications can also increase your risk of obstructive sleep apnea, especially sedatives and opioids. Your doctor can diagnose obstructive sleep apnea by taking your medical history, asking questions about daytime sleepiness and symptoms, and performing a physical exam. An overnight study in the laboratory is the best way to confirm a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea. OSA is a common sleep disorder People with untreated OSA experience numerous negative health consequences, including high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and obesity. These complications are caused by repeated failures to inhale oxygen during sleep, resulting in low oxygen levels and awakenings throughout the night. OSA affects people of all ages, but it is most common in middle-aged and older adults. It also affects more men than women. People with OSA are at higher risk of developing a range of medical conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and heart attack. A person with OSA may have many symptoms, but the most important are excessive daytime sleepiness and a history of snoring or gasping or choking during sleep. Some people also have morning symptoms, such as a headache or a dry mouth or the need to urinate often. Bed partners and family members are often the first to notice these symptoms. Doctors can diagnose obstructive sleep apnea by asking a patient to complete a questionnaire, as well as taking a physical exam and looking for risk factors. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can be treated Treatment options for OSA are designed to resolve nighttime breathing disruptions, improve quality of sleep and reduce health complications. Generally, treatments for OSA involve using positive airway pressure therapy devices. These devices deliver pressurized air through a mask worn over the nose or mouth during sleep to keep the upper airway open. Treatments also may include weight loss, position changes while sleeping and sleep aid items that can help people who are susceptible to OSA to avoid sleeping on their backs, where the soft tissue that obstructs the throat can collapse. People who have obstructive sleep apnea may be diagnosed by a health care provider or by their family physician, who can ask questions about daytime sleepiness and history of symptoms, including snoring. A home or laboratory sleep study is usually needed to confirm a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, and a variety of other tests may be used to determine how severe a person's OSA is.
