A good night’s rest can help you feel ready to take on the day. In addition to getting your recommended seven to eight hours of sleep each night, it’s crucial to pay attention to the quality of your sleep. One thing that can interfere with that quality is sleep apnea.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a condition that causes you to stop breathing while you’re sleeping. There are three different types:
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA): the muscles in your throat relax while you sleep, blocking the windpipe
- Central sleep apnea (CSA): the brain stops sending signals to your muscles to keep breathing
- Mixed: a combination of OSA and CSA
Common symptoms of sleep apnea include:
- Frequent waking
- Breathing pauses or unusual breathing patterns during sleep
- Snoring
- Shortness of breath or a choking sensation upon waking
- Night sweats
Your partner will likely notice the nighttime signals, but you should also keep an eye out for the following daytime signals:
- Excessive fatigue
- Headaches
- Mood changes
- Difficulty concentrating
How Common is Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea affects an estimated 30 million people in the United States, but many cases go undiagnosed. Central sleep apnea is far less common, but the risk of developing it increases with age.
How Do You Diagnose Sleep Apnea?
If we suspect you may have sleep apnea, we may recommend a sleep test. You have two options for sleep testing:
- In-lab testing. During an in-lab test, usually done overnight, you’ll wear sensors that monitor your heart rate, blood oxygen levels, brain waves and breathing patterns.
- At-home testing. At-home tests are like a toned-down version of in-lab testing. You will still wear monitors, but they won’t measure brain waves, meaning we can’t use them to diagnose CSA. We will likely recommend an at-home study if we believe you have OSA, or if your circumstances have changed since an initial OSA diagnosis. Corrective surgery and weight loss are two common changes that would warrant an at-home test.
What Are My Treatment Options?
Your treatment options will differ based on the type and severity of your sleep apnea. A few standard methods include:
- Sleeping with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine
- Changing your sleeping position
- Wearing a mouthpiece that keeps your airway from collapsing
- Undergoing corrective surgery
- Using neuromuscular electrical stimulation to keep the tongue and airway muscles from collapsing
- Taking medication
Identifying and managing sleep apnea sounds complicated, but we’re here to walk you through every step of the process. Contact Southeast Texas Ear, Nose & Throat, LLP today to schedule your appointment with one of our sleep specialists.
