What is Sleep Apnea Anyway?

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Simply put sleep apnea is a condition in which airflow which normally goes from the nose or the mouth to the lungs is restricted or stops altogether. It is common for overweight people to have the form of sleep apnea known as obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA.

OSA can be made up of a few components, snoring and apnea. Let’s a take a closer look at them.

Let’s start with snoring, while loud and often obnoxious, it really can’t hurt you right? It might even mean that when traveling with friends you get to have your own room- that’s a bonus! WRONG, it can hurt you and is often the first audible sign that something is blocking your airway preventing air from reaching your lungs. When airflow is blocked it results in less oxygen that is able to get into your lungs and therefore into your body. This means that your heart has to work harder to pump the blood around your body. Ideally, when you are sleeping your body should be resting, not having to work harder.

What about the apneas themselves? Well, to actually say someone has had an apnea, they have to stop breathing for a minimum of 10 seconds at a time. Yes, I said a minimum of 10 seconds. Often people with sleep apnea can stop breathing for upwards of a minute or more at a time. So if you can imagine your heart having to work hard while snoring, imagine what it has to do when there is no air at all coming into the body for more than a minute at a time! For many people with sleep apnea this can happen literally hundreds of times over the course of the night.

There are MANY risk factors as well as signs and symptoms of sleep apnea. There are even a few simple screenings which can be done to see if you or a loved one might have this potentially serious and possibly even life threatening condition.

Risk Factors: Characteristics which put you at a higher risk for developing sleep apnea

• Obesity
• Male gender
• Post-menopausal women
• Increasing age (men & women)
• Family history of snorning/apnea
• Alcohol use
• Sedative use
• Anatomic abnormalities of the upper airway (large tongue, small jaw, etc.)
• Smoking
• Hypertension
• Diabetes

Signs and Symptoms: What you may feel or complain of to your doctor about a condition.

• Loud snoring
• EDS
• Witnessed apneas
• Irregular breathing during sleep
• Nocturnal choking and coughing
• Hypertension
• Mood swings
• Diabetes
• Restless sleep/heavy sweating
• Impaired concentration
• Morning Headaches
• Short-term memory loss
• Impotence
• Social and marital problems

The Epworth Sleepiness Scale is a simple “quiz” you can take to see just how sleepy you are. The more sleepy you feel during these activities/situations, the greater the risk of you having some form of a sleep disorder.

How likely are you to doze off or fall asleep in the following situations, in contrast to feeling just tired? This refers to your usual way of life in recent times. Even if you have not done some of these things recently try to work out how they would have affected you.

Use the following scale to choose the most appropriate number for each situation:

• 0 = no chance of dozing
• 1 = slight chance of dozing
• 2 = moderate chance of dozing
• 3 = high chance of dozing

Situation/Chance Of Dozing

• Sitting and reading
• Watching TV
• Sitting inactive in a public place (e.g a theater or a meeting)
• As a passenger in a car for an hour without a break
• Lying down to rest in the afternoon when circumstances permit
• Sitting and talking to someone
• Sitting quietly after a lunch without alcohol
• In a car, while stopped for a few minutes in traffic

To check your sleepiness score, total the points:

• 1 - 6: Congratulations, you are getting enough sleep!
• 7 - 8: Your score is average
• 9 and up: Seek the advice of a sleep specialist without delay

So, if you think you or a loved one may have sleep apnea, speak with your physician right away, this condition can be treated, and it can save your life!

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