Causes of Sleep Apnea

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Most of the Americans suffer from sleep apnea. More than three percent of Americans are diagnosed from sleep apnea and 40 million of Americans are still undiagnosed. People have started realizing the importance of treating apnea. There are many causes of sleep apnea. All the causes of sleep apnea are related to the body’s ability to receive proper amount of oxygen to lungs during sleep. These inabilities lead to illness, snoring and many other disorders.

There are several causes of sleep apnea and there are numerous treatment options available for treating the sleeping disorder. Sleep apnea is a disorder which pauses or reduces the breath while sleeping. It is more common in adults and rarely seen in children. The diagnosis of sleeping apnea is made by the patient’s medical history. There are many tests that are used to confirm the diagnosis.

An apnea is a time where the breathing stops or is reduced. In simple language, apnea is seen when a person stops breathing for 10 seconds or more than that. If you stop breathing completely or for less than 25 percent of normal breath which lasts for 10 seconds or more, then the condition is known as apnea. In this condition, there is a complete blockage of air flow.

Apneas occur during sleep. When it occurs, sleep is disrupted because of improper breathing and poor oxygen level in blood. In rare cases, this means that the person wakes up or the person comes out of a deep sleep and goes into a shallow sleep.

To know the seriousness of the apnea condition, one must divide the number of apneas with the total number of hours one sleeps. This will result into an apnea index. The higher the apnea index, the more severe the apnea is.

Causes of Apnea

There are several causes of apnea. People who get affected by sleep apnea, do not get sufficient amount of oxygen to the lungs during sleep. The main causes of apnea in adults include having large tongue, tonsils, obesity and the throat muscles that relax greatly while sleeping. The patient may also have a deviate septum; the septum is the middle wall of the nose. The septum is deviated to one side or both the sides which obstructs the flow of air. There are also some filters present in the nose which are known as turbinate. If this turbinate gets injured or swells, it affects the flow of air into the lungs.
The other cause of sleep apnea is if a piece of flesh hangs at the back side of throat known as uvula or palate. If it is too long, it tends to fall backwards and may obstruct the breathing process. If the person lies on the back, the tongue might fall backwards and obstruct the air flow. In case of the older person and obese people, the muscles of the neck might collapse which may result into blockage of air into the lungs. This results into sleep apnea.
The gastro esophageal reflux disease is also the other cause for sleep apnea. This disease is related to acid reflux. All the stomach acids find their way into the esophagus and then damage the esophageal tissues. This results into serious obstructions in the throat and causes sleep apnea.
Asthma is the other cause of sleep apnea. It causes the spasm in the airways and leads the airways to collapse while sleeping. All the allergies lead to congestion and inflammation in throat and increase the risk of sleep apnea.
If there is any disorder in the central nervous system in an individual, then it may result into sleep apnea. This is the rare type of sleep apnea which is known as central sleep apnea. In this type of apnea, the signals from the brain to throat are weak and scrambled. Due to this, the throat stays closed when it is supposed to open. People who possess smaller windpipes have a great risk of sleep apnea. The build of a person’s throat can increase the chances of getting sleep apnea.
A person’s lifestyle can also cause sleep apnea. A smoker irritates the throat and thus, causes the airway spasms and closure to throat which results in sleep apnea.

Above mentioned are the causes of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea has to be treated immediately for avoiding any serious medical consequences.