Sleep Apnea Syndrome: Symptoms, Types, Causes and Treatment

Sleep-related disorders can significantly interfere with daily life of a person, producing symptoms such as daytime sleepiness, excessive tiredness, and restless sleep. repairman.

In this article we will know sleep apnea syndrome, a disorder that affects breathing while we sleep. We will see its types, symptoms, possible causes and treatments.

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Sleep apnea syndrome: what is it?

An apnea is an episode of interrupted breathing. Thus, sleep apnea syndrome is a breathing and sleep ailment, which comes from the repeated collapse of the upper respiratory tube. The result it produces is a series of pauses in breathing during sleep.

Sleep apnea can occur at all ages, although it is most often suffered by men. Depending on the type of syndrome, it occurs more when there is overweight (in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and central alveolar hypoventilation syndrome) and in older people (in sleep apnea syndrome) central).

Diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea syndrome are essential to achieve establish a more restorative night's sleep, be more awake during the day and increase the quality of life of the patient.

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Types

Before talking about the different forms of sleep apnea syndrome, we are going to define three key concepts to understand the differences between the types of syndromes:

• Apnea: are episodes of interrupted breathing.
• hypopnea: This is abnormally slow or shallow breathing.
• hypoventilation: Abnormal O2 (oxygen) and CO2 (carbon dioxide) levels.

Thus, the three types of sleep disorders related to breathing (and included in ICD-10 and DSM) are:

1. obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Apneas or hypopneas appear due to upper airway obstruction.

2. Central sleep apnea syndrome

Apneas or hypopneas occur without airway obstruction.

3. Central alveolar hypoventilation syndrome

Exists hypoventilation without apneas or hypopneas.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of sleep apnea syndrome are:

• daytime sleepiness
• Headache in the morning.
• Loud or loud snoring.
• I gasp during sleep.
• Difficulty staying alert.
• Depression.

Also, many times the bed partner (even someone who sleeps next to the person), may be the first person to notice the problem, hearing loud snoring and noticing the person “struggling” to breathe while sleeping, added to the spaces of time where breath is lacking.

On the other hand, family members, as well as study or work colleagues, may observe that the person is tired during the day (daytime sleepiness), or that you have trouble staying alert or awake. All of these signs can be symptoms of sleep apnea syndrome and should not be ignored when seeing a doctor.

Causes

The most frequent cause of sleep apnea syndrome is a partial or total obstruction of the flow of respired air, produced by relaxation of the muscles around the throat and tongue.

Sleep apnea syndrome can be life-threatening, as it is associated with an irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke; that is, it can even cause death.

Most of the time it is related to obesity and aging (the latter in some cases).

Treatment

The treatment of sleep apnea syndrome can be of various types:

1. behavioral approaches

These kinds of approaches may be effective for people with mild to moderate sleep apnea, and would include the following guidelines:

• Losing weight can help improve breathing and sometimes reduces incidents of pauses in breathing.
• Exercising helps you lose weight and can help your lungs work better.
• Avoid alcohol, nicotine, sleeping pills, and antihistamines.
• Sleeping on your side rather than your back relieves pressure on your airway. Pillows or other means can also be used.

2. physical devices

Physical devices can also be effective and used individually or in combination with the above:

2.1. Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

Sometimes it can be very effective to use this mask sealed over the nose and mouth, or just over the nose. How does it act? The mask blows air into the upper airway so that it does not collapse while the patient sleeps.

2.2. Dental or oral artifacts

These can be used to create an unobstructed airway, and may be prescribed for patients with mild to moderate sleep apnea.

3. Other treatments

Other treatments that may be effective for sleep apnea syndrome include:

3.1. Surgical procedures

can be taken into account to permanently widen the airway; however, they are not always effective.

3.2. Pharmacological treatments

Actually, these do not currently exist. However, while oxygen can produce improvements, it itself not considered an effective treatment.

Bibliographic references:

• friend, i (2012). Psychological manual of health. Madrid: Pyramid.
• Perez, M.; Fernandez, J.R.; Fernandez, C. and friend, i. (2010). Guide to effective psychological treatments II: Health Psychology. Madrid: Pyramid.
• National Sleep Foundation. (2018). sleep apnea