Sleep apnea is a condition where the person literally stops breathing during sleep and is often mistaken for simple snoring. This problem can become potentially life threatening overtime, if left untreated.

Three main type of sleep apnea

• Central sleep apnea
• Mixed sleep apnea
• Obstructive sleep apnea

Central sleep apnea

During sleep, the brain instructs the muscles of breathing to take a breath. Central sleep apnea occurs during when the brain becomes fail to send the signal to the muscles of breathing to take a breath. This disease usually occurs in infants or in adult with heart diseases, by birth diseases but also can be caused by medications.

Obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs, when the brain instructs the muscles to take a breath but the muscles efforts becomes fail to take a breath due to airways because airways obstruct and prevent the flow of air.

Mixed sleep apnea

Mixed sleep apnea is the combination of central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep . Mixed sleep apnea occurs when the individuals have both the problem, sometimes during sleep brain becomes fail to send the signal to the muscles of breathing to take a breath and sometimes brain instruct the muscles to take a breath but the muscles effort becomes fail to take a breath because of airways obstruct and prevent the flow of air.

What are the Causes of sleep apnea

When you have obstructive sleep apnea, your throat becomes collapse during sleep, obstructing the airways and preventing the air from getting to the lungs .causes of an obstructed airways are:-

• Head and neck shape may create smaller than normal airways
• Adenoids
• Being overweight (50% of people with sleep apnea are not overweight)
• Throat muscles and tongue becomes relax than the normal size during sleep (this can be due to wine or sedative use before bed time)

Other risk factors for sleep apnea include irregular sleep hour, snoring, smoking, Nasal congestion, family history of sleep apnea.

What are the treatment for sleep apnea

• self treatment
• physical treatment

Self treatment

Minor sleep apnea we can treat our self by using some precautions such as

• by loosing weight
• by avoiding wine and tobacco
• by eliminating the use of sedative such as sleeping pills
• by regularizing their sleep hours

Physical treatment

Mechanical therapies are effective in treating of many cases of sleep apnea. These are the treatment for sleep apnea:-

• surgery
• oxygen administration
• dental appliances
• continuous positive airways pressure

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