A couple weeks ago, Dr. Faist introduced snoring and sleep apnea to our blog. In this article, Dr. Faist discussed several things that cause snoring, sleep apnea, and many potential side effects of snoring.

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea occurs in two forms: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Central Sleep Apnea (CSA). OSA is much more common than CSA. Sleep apnea is a disease that is seen quite often in the medical world and might be the underlying reason for your snoring. If you are suffering from sleep apnea, your airway is not necessarily being obstructed as in many other cases of snoring. Instead, in many cases you actually stop breathing for seconds at a time at various times throughout the night. When this occurs, your brain triggers you to wake up in order to resume breathing. If you suffer from one of the forms of sleep apnea, treatment is critical!

Below, Dr. Faist gives a brief overview of the two types of sleep apnea.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA):

OSA is the much more common form of sleep apnea. OSA occurs when your airway becomes completely, or almost completely, blocked and air cannot pass through. If this is occurring for you, your brain will not receive enough blood and oxygen and will trigger you to wake up. After your brain wakes you up, you may have a sudden grasp or choking for air.

What are signs of OSA?

• Frequent snoring
• Morning headaches
• Excessive daytime drowsiness
• Waking up feeling poorly rested

What are frequent causes of OSA?

• Your age
• Being overweight
• Excessive consumption of alcohol
• Smoking cigarettes

Central Sleep Apnea (CSA):

CSA is very different than OSA. If you are suffering from CSA, your airway is not blocked, but your brain is actually forgetting to send signals to your body to breathe. While OSA is a physical health problem, CSA is a problem with your brain not communicating with the rest of your body.

What are signs of CSA?

• Being short of breath when you wake up
• Fatigue that is chronic and excessive
• Mood swings
• Difficulty focusing on tasks throughout the day

What are frequent causes of CSA?

• Cardiovascular disease
• Select prescription medication
• Parkinson’s disease

Dr. Faist hopes that this post can help you determine what may be causing your snoring and identify if you might be suffering from a form of sleep apnea. The best way to determine why you are snoring, and if you are suffering from sleep apnea, is to undergo a sleep study.

Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Also, keep an eye out for our next blog post where we will explore and evaluate what treatment options are available for snoring.