Snoring – Can Snoring Cause Sleep Apnea?
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Snoring produces a wheezing and snorting sound while you are sleeping. But sleep apnea involves the actual stopping of breathing. When this happens, you will wake up to catch your breath. Then you sleep again until you once more stop breathing. Again you will wake up to catch your breath. This can go on all night long – sleeping and waking to catch your breath. The problem is that most people who suffer from sleep apnea never even know they are waking up to catch their breath. This is a dead serious condition.
While snoring is a common symptom of sleep apnea, sleep apnea is not necessarily caused by snoring. There are three types of sleep apnea. Do you suffer from one of them?
1. Obstructive (OSA): OSA generally occurs in males who are 30 – 50 years of age. The respiratory tract becomes blocked during sleep, which prevents the proper flow of air. This, then, leads to lowered oxygen levels in the blood. The low amount of oxygen in the blood usually signals the person to wake up and inhale deeply to catch his breath.
2. Central: Rather than being caused by an obstruction in the nasal or throat passageway, it is a breathing impairment that is caused by the malfunction of the brain area that controls breathing A head injury or stroke are often responsible for the damage to this part of the brain that manages your breathing. This malfunction in the brain can also cause breathing to cease.
3. Mixed: Although this is rare, it is a combination of obstructive and central sleep apnea.
How do you know if you are suffering form sleep apnea? If you have a partner, he/she can likely tell you if you snore or if you stop breathing and then gasp for breath. Here are some things to watch for that would indicate you are not getting good quality sleep.
loud snoring combined with abnormal snoring patterns – a lot of pauses and gasps
excessive sleepiness during the day
the inability to return to sleep
changes in your personality
erectile dysfunction (impotence)
decreased or loss of memory
an occurrence of accidents from spilling your coffee to an automobile accident
irritability
depression
Several different types of treatment for sleep apnea are available. The type of treatment is determined by your specific symptoms and circumstances. But do get it treated, as it can be deadly.
