Breathing problems while sleeping

Sleep apnea covers the majority of breathing problems people have when they sleep. After people fall asleep, there are fluctuations in their breathing. There are some cases where people even pause while breathing. Snoring is one of the most common results when people have problems with breathing. Snoring mostly happens to people who work at night, people who are overweight, post menopausal women, people with psychological problems and, of course, those who consume too much alcohol.

Breathing problems at night

Sleep ApneaWhen a person makes continuous breaks while breathing in his sleep, and not by his or her own will, that is the case of sleep apnea. These breaks can last from 10 second to a whole minute. There are three classifications of adult sleep apnea.

Symptoms of sleep apneaThe most common is snoring. Besides snoring, there is a situation when a person wakes up with a sudden snort. Being sleepy throughout the day is also a symptom of sleep apnea.

Types of sleep apnea

Sleep apnea and heartNo matter how ridiculous and harmless snoring and sleep apnea may appear, they raise the chance of getting some cardiovascular diseases. High blood pressure, ischemic heart disease and cardiac arrhythmia are some of them. However, snoring alone cannot cause them. If it is connected with the sleep apnea, only then it is a problem.

Obstructive sleep apneaThis occurs if the airway of a person is completely or partially obstructed during their sleep. People with this type of sleep apnea tend to snore pretty heavy.

Central sleep apneaIn this case, the brain does not succeed in sending the signals to the chest muscle and diaphragm for once or twice. People with central sleep apnea may not snore as much but rather wake up every time this happens. Elderly people are mostly affected by this type.

Mixed sleep apneaMixed sleep apnea is a combination of the two previous types of sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea is followed by an obstructive sleep apnea and that is followed by normal breathing. People with this type snore a lot.

Breathing problems in infants

It is pretty normal for a newborn to have sleep apnea. Usually, it is ranging from 10 to 15 seconds. However, as the babies grow, the frequency of sleep apnea will lessen.

People need to remember that a snooze test is done before the treatment can begin. This test will determine how serious sleep apnea in a person is and how it should be treated.