Sleep Apnea Sleep Disorders

All over the world in millions of homes, each night people are having a lousy nights sleep caused by our infamous dreaded enemy. Every night we all look forward to a peaceful night’s sleep and every night like clockwork we get a call from that dreaded enemy in the form of our partner or spouse. You no sooner start to fall asleep than your partner or spouse starts to snore. This results in sleep deprivation. Snoring can be more far-reaching than the cause of frustration and sleep disturbance. Snoring could possibly be a symptom of a more serious sleep disorder known as Sleep Apnea.

If you stop breathing for 10 or more seconds at a time and more than ten times an hour during sleep, and if you snore, you may have what has been widely diagnosed as Sleep Apnea. Many people, who are overweight fight an endless battle with restless sleep at night and find themselves nodding off during the day. If you stop breathing during sleep, your brain receives a signal telling you to wake up. The more times you wake from a deep sleep, the more restless you become. In the morning you awaken only to find that you feel like you never slept at all. If you suspect that you have Sleep Apnea, consult your health care provider who will send you to a specialist who can make the diagnosis.

Sleep Apnea is a rather serious problem as it blocks the throat and causes the sleeper to stop breathing for several seconds. As a result you awaken several times a night trying to catch your breath. Such breaks in your sleep pattern can result in significant health issues. Over time snoring could lead to other problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, and stroke and in some severe cases even death. Other symptoms of the sleep disorder Sleep Apnea include choking/gasping while sleeping, morning headaches, and tiredness during the day, personality changes, memory impairment, poor concentration, poor judgment, mood swings, recent weight gain, polyurea, and impotence. The signs to look out for are obesity, senility, stress (including anxiety and depression), hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, hypothyroidism, and acromegaly, dislocated temporomandibular joint and neuromuscular disease. Tonsillar Hypertrophy is the most common cause of Sleep Apnea in children.

The idea behind treatment of Sleep Apnea is to keep the airway open and prevent stoppages in breathing during sleep. Various methods used to alleviate Sleep Apnea include:

Behavioral Therapy, which should include avoiding alcohol and CNS depressants close to bedtime, weight reduction and sleep posture modification.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), which is an effective noninvasive medical treatment to eliminate snoring and prevent Sleep Apnea. The machine gently blows pressurized air through the nasal passage at a pressure high enough to prevent collapsing of the throat during sleep.

Oral appliances may be used to reposition the lower jaw and tongue, thus opening the throat to allow air to flow freely, while helping treat Sleep Apnea. There are various devices used to prevent the tongue from falling back over the airway.

Surgery such as Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP)
UPPP is the most common type of surgery used to treat Sleep Apnea. It removes all the redundant tissue from the pharynx.

Laser-assisted Uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP) is a procedure which is performed by a specialist in his/her office. It involves the use of a laser to remove a part of the soft palate, shorten the Uvula (the soft tissue that hangs from the roof of your mouth at the entrance to your throat) and remove excess tissue from the Pharynx.

Tracheostomy, in which a small hole is made in the Trachea or windpipe below the point of obstruction and a small tube is inserted. This tube is only opened during sleeping hours, so that air is able to flow freely and directly into the lungs, by bypassing the blockage that occurs in the throat during sleep.

Another relatively new procedure in the treatment of the sleep disorder Sleep Apnea is radiofrequency ablation (RFA), which makes use of radiofrequency energy to remove tissue from the Uvula, soft palate and tongue thereby helping treat Sleep Apnea. The removal of enlarged Tonsils or Adenoids is the most viable option in the treatment of Sleep Apnea in children and adolescents.

Snoring

Snoring is one of our most dreaded enemies and it’s a well documented fact that about forty five percent of adults snore occasionally, it is also known that at least twenty five percent are habitual snorers. Problem snoring is more prevalent in males and overweight individuals. This usually worsens with age. Snoring occurs when there is an obstruction of the airwaves at the back of the mouth and nose. This area is the collapsible part of the throat where the tongue and upper throat meet the Uvula and the soft palate. While breathing these structures strike each other and vibrate causing that insatiable sound we call snoring.
Sometimes loud snoring can be interrupted by frequent episodes of totally obstructed breathing, known as obstructive Sleep Apnea. Serious episodes can last more than ten seconds and can occur more than seven times an hour. Individuals with Sleep Apnea can experience anywhere from 30 to 300 episodes per night. This reduces the blood oxygen level which causes the heart to pump harder. If you have Sleep Apnea you are forced to sleep much lighter and keep your muscles tense in order to keep oxygen flowing to the lungs and brain. Because you did not obtain a good nights sleep you may find yourself sleepy during the day, impairing your performance at work, or while driving a vehicle or operating heavy equipment. After many years with this disorder, you could possibly develop elevated blood pressure and/or heart enlargement.
Heavy snorers, those of you who snore in any position or disrupt your families sleep should seek medical attention to ensure that Sleep Apnea is not the problem. An Otolarngologist can give a thorough examination of the nose, mouth, throat, palate, and neck. To determine how serious your snoring is and what effects it is having on your health, your doctor may request a sleep study in a laboratory environment.
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) is surgery for treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea. It tightens the flabby tissues in the throat and palate, and expands the airways.
Thermal Ablation Palatoplasty (TAP) refers to procedures and techniques that treat snoring and some of them are used to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Different types of TAP include Bipolar Cautery, Laser, and Radio Frequency Ablation. Laser Assisted Uvula Palatoplasty (LAUP) treats mild Obstructive Sleep Apnea and snoring by removing the obstruction in the airway. A laser will be used to vaporize the uvula and a specified portion of the palate in a series of small procedures in a doctor’s office under local anesthesia. Radio Frequency Ablation..... Some with temperature control approved by the FDA …. Utilizes a needle electrode to emit energy to shrink excess tissue blocking the upper airway including the Palate and Uvula (for snoring), base of the tongue (for Obstructive Sleep Apnea), and nasal turbinates (for chronic nasal obstruction).

There is always a reason for your snoring and many of you may have one of the following problems:

 Obstructed nasal airways. A stuffy or blocked requires a lot more effort to pull air through. This creates a vacuum effect in the throat, the floppy tissue pulls together and snoring results. So snoring sometimes occurs, more often then not, during heightened allergy season or with a cold or sinus infection.
 Excessive bulkiness of throat tissue. Overweight people have bulky neck tissue, whether you know it or not. Cysts and/or tumors can also cause bulk but they are rare.
 Long soft palate and/or Uvula. A long Palate narrows the opening from the nose into the throat. As it dangles, it acts like a noisy flutter valve during sleep. A long Uvula makes the problem even worse.
 Poor muscle tone in the tongue and throat. When your muscles are too relaxed, either from alcohol or drugs that cause sleepiness, the tongue falls backwards into the airway or the throat muscles draw in from the sides into the airway. This usually happens during sleep.

There is help for the mild or occasional snorer. You could try the following self-help remedies:
 Adopt a healthy and athletic lifestyle to develop good muscle tone and lose weight.
 Avoid tranquilizers, sleeping pills, and antihistamines before bedtime.
 Avoid alcohol for at least four hours and heavy meals or snacks for three hours before retiring to bed.
 Establish regular sleep patterns.
 Sleep on your side rather than on your back.
 Tilt the head of your bed up four inches.

According to Dr. William C. Dement of the Stanford Sleep Center, anyone who snores and has daytime drowsiness should be evaluated for sleep disorders.

The loudest snore on record was 93 decibels.

Remember, snoring means an obstructed airway and the obstruction can be serious. Consult you doctor and remember that there is hope and help for snoring.