Seven Causes Of Sleep Apnea
causes sleep apnea
Sleep Apnea (apnea literally means
"without breath") is a sleep disorder in which a person experiences
interrupted sleep and difficulty in breathing. There are seven causes
of sleep apnea that are known most commonly.
Swelling of the Uvulva
The uvulva is a small piece of tissue
that hangs from the back of a person's throat. When this tissue swells
it obstructs a person's air-passage. This tissue and the tongue relax
during sleep and, particularly for some people, block the air-passage
partially. Thus, after being inhaled, it is difficult for the air to
pass through the bronchial tubes into the lungs. This makes breathing
strained and difficult and often noisy. In fact, a person's breathing
can stop altogether due to sleep apnea.
Obesity
Obesity too is one of the seven causes
of sleep apnea. Overweight people have excess amount of tissues in their
air passage, which causes it to narrow down. A person might feel that
he/she is breathing normally. But the truth is that smaller amounts
of air that are required by the body do not reach the lungs at all.
When a person is sleeping he/she is particularly unaware of this phenomenon.
This causes heavy snoring or small period of no breathing at all. Such
people tend to wake up frequently from their sleep throughout the night.
They also keep falling from light to deep sleep and vice versa, causing
irregular sleeping patterns.
Also read in wikipedia.
GERD
Gastroesophageal reflux disease is
also a cause of sleep Apnea. In GERD, the esophageal tissue is destroyed
due to stomach acids. In severe cases, GERD can scar and damage the
tissues of vocal chords and throat. This causes obstructions that in
turn cause sleep Apnea.
Shape of Head and Throat
The physical shape of head and throat
of a person can also be a cause of sleep Apnea. If a person has a smaller
windpipe, he/she is at greater risk of suffering from sleep Apnea as
a smaller passage can be blocked easily as compared to a normal or larger
air passage.
Enlarged Tonsils
If a person's tonsils or adenoids are
large or inflamed, they might block the air passage causing Sleep Apnea.
Asthma
Asthma is considered as one of the
potential causes of Sleep Apnea. The airways of a person suffering from
Asthma are spasmodic, increasing their risk of collapsing during sleep.
Additionally, allergies also cause inflammation and consequently congestion
of the air passage and increase the risk if Apnea.
Central Nervous System
With age, the ability of a person's
Central Nervous System is reduced. It is not able to send signals to
keep the throat muscles stiff as we sleep. Due to this, risk of air
passage being narrowed down or collapsing is increased, increasing the
chances of Sleep Apnea.
A person suffering from Apnea is unable
to inhale enough oxygen. Conversely, he/she is also unable to exhale
proper amount of carbon dioxide as well. This results in increasing
the level of carbon dioxide in blood. As a result of which, the brain
is alerted to resume breathing and often causes a person to gasp or
snort loudly. Once again, due to this a person can't experience the
much needed "a good night's sleep".
According to researches and their conclusions,
up to 50% of people suffering from sleep apnea experience high blood
pressure. Sleeping tablets will not help, you can buy sleeping tablets but it will not get rith of the apneu. Sleep Apnea also reduces concentration and causes drowsiness
and fatigue. It can also result into irritability, which, if continues
for a long time, can result in depression.
There are various causes and solutions
of sleep apnea. A person needs to know all the options and accordingly
pick up a cure best suitable for him/her.
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