This is a condition caused by the obstruction of the upper air passage. The observable signs are; pauses in breathing while sleeping which are called apneas i.e. without breathe. It is associated with low blood oxygen saturation. This condition is mainly associated with snoring and those who have it are rarely aware of the situation. Those who sleep alone are prone to suffer the condition for long as compared to those who have people who alert the when snoring.
The people suffer daytime sleep and fatigue due to the disturbances while sleeping. In children it reduces them to being inactive as their age mates. The main cause of the condition is attributed to the relaxation of muscles during sleeping. As a person sleeps the muscles relax. When those at the back of the throat leading to the trachea relax it can result to difficulty in breathing. All people are bound to experience obstructive sleep apnea at some point in their life but in some, it becomes a chronic problem.
The experiences of this condition temporarily can be attributed to alcohol intake, which relaxes the muscles excessively, an upper respiratory infection or tonsils. The condition can be caused by a number of factors; increased amount of soft tissue around the air passage which obstructs the air passage, decreased muscle tone or strength due to age, brain injury which reduces coordination of the muscles and defects in the structure of the airways. These result in snoring among individuals, which is the major indicator of this condition.
The condition is diagnosed and various methods of treatment can be sought for the condition. The treatment methods may be neurostimulation, surgical intervention, pharmaceutical administration and physical methods such as muscle exercises.
Reference
Colin E. Sullivan, Natalie Edwards, 2008, Sleep-Disorders and Sleep Medicine Clinics, ISSN
McGraw-Hill
