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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the muscles in the back of your throat relax too much to allow normal breathing. These muscles support structures including the soft palate, the uvula — a triangular piece of tissue hanging from the soft palate, the tonsils and the tongue.
When the muscles relax, your airway narrows or closes as you breathe in and breathing may be inadequate for 10 to 20 seconds. This may lower the level of oxygen in your blood. Your brain senses this inability to breathe and briefly rouses you from sleep so that you can reopen your airway. This awakening is usually so brief that you don't remember it.
You can awaken with a transient shortness of breath that corrects itself quickly, within one or two deep breaths, although this sequence is rare. You may make a snorting, choking or gasping sound. This pattern can repeat itself five to 30 times or more each hour, all night long. These disruptions impair your ability to reach the desired deep, restful phases of sleep, and you'll probably feel sleepy during your waking hours.
People with obstructive sleep apnea may not be aware that their sleep was interrupted. In fact, many people with this type of sleep apnea think they sleep well all night.
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- Sleep apnea. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/SleepApnea/SleepApnea_WhatIs.html. Accessed March 16, 2009.
- Kline LR. Clinical presentation and diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 16, 2009.
- Kryger MH. Management of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 16, 2009.
- Olson E, et al. Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome. Primary care: Clinics in office practice. 2005;32:329.
- Ballard RD. Management of patients with obstructive sleep apnea. The Journal of Family Practice. 2008;57(suppl):S24.
- Welch KC, et al. Sleep disorders. In: Lalwani AK. Current Diagnosis and Treatment in Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2828912. Accessed March 16, 2009.
- 510(k) summary: Pillar palatal implant system. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/pdf4/k040417.pdf. Accessed March 18, 2009.
