Apnea is the Greek word meaning “without breath.”

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disease where the sleeping person stops breathing for short periods (10 seconds or more).

Throat muscles relax during sleep, and they become more narrow. If the airways are narrower than usual, during sleep they may be blocked partially or completely, and the sleeping person starts to lack air.

The decrease in oxygen concentration in the blood stimulates the brain, the sleeper wakes up for a few moments, but then he does not remember it, however, it is sufficient to open the airways. Then you may hear the sounds of inspiration.

For patients with obstructive sleep apnea search cycles of sleep-lack of air-wake are repeated throughout the night. All of the episodes of apnea combined, the sleeper can stay breathless for up to a few hours a day.

Types of sleep apnea:

Obstruction is its most common form. Starts with the constriction in airways.

Central – when the brain does not send the appropriate signals to the breathing muscles. Starts with malfunctioning nervous control of respiration during sleep.

Mixed – begins with obstructive and central apnea together.

People with obstructive sleep apnea have a restless sleep, wake up sweaty and do not feel well-rested. It disrupts sleep quantity, quality, and cause daytime sleepiness.

Sleep apnea provokes arterial hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases and worsens cognitive functions. It is associated with poorer performance at school, at work, increase in frequency of accidents.

The most common symptoms of sleep apnea:

  • noticeable daytime sleepiness (hypersomnia);
  • loud snoring (characteristic of obstructive sleep apnea);
  • episodes patient breathing cessation during sleep observed by family members;
  • sudden awakening, accompanied by a feeling of the lack of air (more typical of central sleep apnea);
  • upon waking the patient feels dry mouth, throat irritation;
  • morning headaches;
  • forgetfulness, mood swings;
  • overweight;
  • frequent getting up at night to urinate.

Often, family members may notice these symptoms earlier than the patient.

The most common cause of obstructive sleep apnea is more limited, or narrower airways.

It does not cause problems in swallowing or breathing when a person does not sleep. Breathing disorders during sleep can be caused by obesity.

This is particularly dangerous for men to whom fat is more likely to accumulate in the area of neck thus further narrowing the airways. Alcohol, antihistamines (allergy medicines), and sleeping pills relax the throat muscles, making snoring and apnea more noticeable.

One of the most important things that help successful treatment of insomnia is the analysis of insomnia causes and understanding that the saying “bad sleep is to blame for everything” is incorrect.

The patient should be sure to consult a specialist, who must pay attention to the patient’s complaints: snoring, respiratory arrest during sleep, sleepiness.

Then the doctor should examine the airways to find a narrowed airway place. Special tests may be performed: oxygen levels in blood are measured during sleep, snoring sounds are recorded, the movement of air through the mouth and nose, chest movements, the depth of sleep is measured, leg movements during sleep are noted, etc.

It is important to make sure that drowsiness is not caused by other reasons.

Treatment of obstruction sleep apnea can be conservative and surgical.

Effective conservative treatment is positive pressure machines used during the night. These apparatuses provides good efficacy of treatment, but they are tolerated only by about 50 per cent of patients.

Surgical methods of treatment are divided into the first and the second phases of surgical intervention according to the global Stanford protocol.

The first phase of surgical intervention is performed in cases of light and moderate sleep apnea. The success of these methods of treatment is up to 70 per cent.

Failing to achieve the desired result, the first phase is followed by a second phase of treatment –orthognathic jaw surgery. The success rate of these surgeries is 96–100 per cent.

These operations are carried out also in cases of mild stage of obstructive sleep apnea, if it is caused by skeletal abnormalities (e.g., incompletely developed lower or upper jaw).

The first or the second surgical phase operations depend on the obstruction area and its scope.

Most important is to determine the diagnosis, the location of the obstructive area, and the selection of the optimal treatment method. Only this will lead to a good outcome of treatment.