Elevate Your Health Colorado Are you tired of losing sleep?

Frequent, loud, wake-up-the-household snoring can be much more than aggravating; it could be the sign of a potentially serious disorder known as sleep apnea. According to the National Sleep Foundation, more than 18 million adults in the United States have sleep apnea.

This form of sleep disorder is characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing, during sleep. Each pause in breathing, called an apnea, can last from a few seconds to minutes, and may occur five to 50 times or more an hour.

“This condition can cause much more than yawning,” says Neil Mills, lead respiratory therapist with Kaiser Permanente Colorado’s Sleep Apnea Department. “Since the condition disrupts the normal breathing pattern during sleep, it can place stress on the body’s heart and lungs.”

Paused breathing a few times during the night is normal, but when it occurs five or more times an hour, one of these types of sleep apnea could be to blame.

• Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common and occurs when soft tissue such as the tongue, soft palate, and uvula collapse and block the airway. Medication, excess weight, and sleeping with an open mouth can cause the anatomy of the throat to collapse during sleep. “OSA can raise your heart rate and blood pressure over time, increasing your risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, depression, and diabetes,” Mills says.    

• Central sleep apnea is a neurological disorder where the brain doesn’t signal your muscles to breathe during sleep. Congenital and cognitive disorders and certain medications can lead to central sleep apnea, placing you at risk for similar health problems seen in untreated OSA.

Pinpoint your sleeping problems
Most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep per night, which includes periods of deeper sleep. Of the five stages of sleep, stages three, four, and REM sleep are the most restorative. In obstructive sleep apnea, oxygen levels drop and the brain signals the person to wake and take a breath. Therefore, people with OSA are either interrupted or never truly reach the restorative stages of sleep. Warning signs of sleep apnea include:

• Chronic fatigue
• Snoring
• Trouble concentrating
• Problems with learning and memory
• Depression
• Irritability
• Sexual dysfunction

“Fatigue that comes with sleep apnea is often mistakenly blamed on either being overweight, overworked, out of shape, or growing older,” Mills says. “People have to ask themselves ‘How tired am I of being tired?’ The next step is getting the sleep disorder diagnosed.”

Rest Easy
The first step in finding the rest you need is undergoing a sleep study. These studies examine a person’s sleep patterns and measures how often they stop breathing. “After this review, the patient typically comes in for a medical exam, review of the their test results and questionnaire, and discussion of treatment options,” Mills explains.

Managing more mild cases of sleep apnea can sometimes be as simple as losing weight, sleeping on your side, or avoiding alcohol and medicines such as sedatives before bed. Find more tips for good sleep hygiene here.

Moderate to severe cases of sleep apnea can be treated using a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP machine. The device pumps air through a mask to help keep your airways open during sleep. Patients can also try mouth guards to adjust the jaw position and open the airway. In cases involving children, surgery to remove the adenoids or tonsils might be recommended by a pediatrician.

Discover if you’re a candidate for a sleep study by visiting kp.org.