What is sleep apnea? What are the symptoms?
Sleep apnea is a condition that occurs when a person regularly stops breathing for 10 seconds or longer during sleep. It is a form of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). The most common symptoms associated with sleep apnea include loud snoring, gasping or choking episodes during sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness (falling asleep in work ), morning headache, and cognitive impairment related to fatigue from lack of sleep. There are three types of sleep apnea: obstructive, central, and mixed. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type, it is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapses and closes during sleep. In central sleep apnea, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to command the muscles to breathe. Mixed apnea is a combination of the two. With each apnea event, the brain briefly arouses people to resume breathing, but consequently sleep is interrupted and of poor quality.
