Forms of sleep apnea

Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS for short) is caused by breathing stops, called apneas in technical circles, during sleep. Symptoms of sleep apnea syndrome include microsleep, daytime fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and more. The word apnea originates from Greek and is pronounced Ap-No-E. In Germany, the version Apnö is also common.

Sleep apnea syndrome leads to a reduced oxygen supply during sleep phases and thus to increased wake-up reactions - these are an alarm reaction of the body to the reduced oxygen). Often the patient does not wake up, but the pulse is accelerated. Even if the patient does not wake up, sleep is often not very restful and chronic daytime sleepiness is often a consequence of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea syndrome is one of the major medical sleep disorders.

There are two types of sleep apnea. One is called obstructive and central apnea. However, it can also happen that a patient has both forms, then this is called mixed sleep apnea syndrome.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is the most common. In professional circles it is abbreviated OSAS. The cause of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is in most cases a retraction of the upper and lower jaw, this retraction in turn narrows the upper airway (posterior airspace). Thus, the upper part of the trachea can no longer offer sufficient resistance to the negative pressure that occurs during inhalation. The trachea upper part collapses and the airway and breathing becomes obstructed. These respiratory arrests can sometimes last for more than 60 seconds, which in turn leads to hypoxemia. This refers to a drop in the oxygen content of the blood. There is a deficiency in the supply of oxygen to the tissues and the body reacts with an arousal reaction so that breathing resumes. As a result, sleep becomes less restful for the affected person and it is hardly possible to fall into the deep sleep phase, which is important for recovery. If only a part of the upper part of the trachea collapses, the respiratory volume is reduced. This is called hyponoea. Although the oxygen content in the blood also decreases in this case, it is not as extreme as in sleep apnea. The collapse of the upper airway also causes the heavy snoring that is symptomatic of all sleep apnea syndrome patients. So, if you are a heavy snorer and also very tired during the day, you should have a specialist check whether you might not be suffering from sleep apnea syndrome. Snoring in itself is not dangerous to health. In Germany, about 5 million people are affected by sleep apnea syndrome, twice as many of them men as women, mostly middle-aged. Children are hardly affected by sleep apnea syndrome. The sleep apnea syndrome can result in breathing pauses, so that the mixed form is very common.

Very rare, however, is the central form of sleep apnea. This is caused by damage to the central nervous system and the brain forgets to breathe. Central sleep apnea is often caused by neurological damage or is inherited.

Sleep apnea syndrome is usually triggered by an interaction of several factors. Sleep apnea is favored by the following factors:

• Overweight
• Sleeping pills, nicotine, alcohol, drugs
• Enlargement of the adenoids (in children)
• Curvature of the nasal septum
• Polyps
• Assessment
• Malformation or malposition of the upper and lower jaws
• enlarged tongue or other soft tissues caused by acromelagia