Sleep apnea: What are the underlying causes?
Snoring and night sweats may be the first signs of sleep apnea. If you are affected, you may have breathing pauses at night, which can have life-threatening consequences if the condition persists. It is therefore important to know the causes of this condition and its risks.
What is sleep apnea?
In sleep apnea, there are multiple breathing pauses during normal sleep, here we are talking about more than 5 pauses. Their duration can be as short as ten seconds in mild cases, or as long as several minutes in the most severe cases. The body reacts to this loss of oxygen by briefly waking you up in order to quickly get its breath back. As a sufferer, you normally don’t notice this process at all.
The consequences of sleep apnea can be very serious
Even if the natural wake-up process and the resulting self-protection of our body work properly, the condition can permanently lead to various secondary diseases. There is a high risk of heart problems, which can primarily be explained by the high blood pressure that is triggered by the constant natural wake-up reactions. In addition, a permanent state of fatigue puts extreme psychological strain on our bodies in the long run.
In summary, these possible consequences of sleep apnea are probably the most common:
- Diabetes
- Heart attack
- Heart failure
- Stroke
- Headaches and migraines
- Libido and potency problems
- Psychological problems
- Depression
In addition, the lack of concentration resulting from sleep loss significantly increases the risk of accidents, for example on the road or during physical work. Quite a few sufferers fall into microsleep unnoticed during the day.
Snoring doesn´t always mean sleep apnea
What a person with sleep apnea definitely notices is that he or she is tired and unfocused during the day for a long period of time, even though he or she has gone to bed early enough. Other common indications also include night sweats and complaints from their partner of frequent snoring. But don’t worry, because snoring does not always mean that you are suffering from sleep apnea.
Who gets sleep apnea?
In principle, anyone can develop an apnea disease. However, statistics show that men are almost twice as likely to develop it as women. The risk also increases with age. Furthermore, various other factors play a role.
Finding the cause: What causes sleep apnea in the first place?
Within the causal development of sleep apnea, medicine distinguishes between two different types of the disease.
We all know that we get less air when we have a respiratory infection. However, in the case of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), the condition of blocked airways at night is permanent. The most common causes can be:
- Your anatomical conditions: These include, an enlarged tongue, enlarged tonsils, a narrow throat, or a recessed jaw position. Some people also have naturally weaker control of their airways, such physical characteristics are often inherited.
- The sleeping position: Muscles can relax really well in other sleeping positions compared to sleeping on your back. But at the same time, your tongue muscles also relax and they slip down your throat during sleep. That’s why you often snore when sleeping on your back.
- Overweight: Obstructive sleep apnea is particularly common in people who gained extra weight, which is why researchers consider this to be another cause of its development. Among other things, this has something to do with the fact that overweight people have a large neck circumference.
- Lifestyle: If you smoke regularly, drink alcohol, or even use drugs, you have a higher risk of breathing pauses at night. This is because your muscles are often more relaxed than your body would allow without the influence of the products. Long-term smoking/ drinking can also trigger this condition.
The cause of so-called central sleep apnea, on the other hand, does not lie within the respiratory tract, but in a short-term malfunction of our brain. We breathe whenever our brain center tells us to. Normally, this also happens continuously at night.
However, if you suffer from central sleep apnea, your brain sometimes suspends this command for a short time. It only becomes active again when the oxygen level in your blood drops so low that your brain reacts again and wakes up your body as an SOS signal.
Possible causes of central sleep apnea, which rarely occurs, include:
- Heart failure
- Stroke
- Cardiovascular disorders
- Tumors
Sleep apnea test: How can I find out if I am affected?
- Check out our website at https://sleepiz.com
- Simply place the Sleepiz device next to your bed at night, press the button, and have your breathing rate, pulse, and other metrics measured completely wireless
- Even if a person is sleeping next to you, only your breathing patterns will be measured.
- You don’t have to do anything. Your data is automatically uploaded to our cloud. It is located in our Swiss data center, so the transmission and storage of your personal data are absolutely safe.
- After using the Sleepiz device, you simply send it back to us.
- You will then receive your results within 3-5 days.
What can I do against sleep apnea?
In the most favorable case, you can successfully prevent your tendency to develop sleep apnea through certain lifestyle changes.
6 tips for a good and restful sleep
Refrain from smoking
Enjoy alcohol occasionally and in moderate quantities. Also, make sure there is at least four hours gap between alcohol consumption and bedtime.
Exercise regularly and reduce excess weight.
The best temperature for sleeping is around 18 °C.
Open the windows and let fresh air in your come into your bedroom regularly, before going to bed.
Any questions?
Do you still have questions about Sleepiz? Then feel free to contact us at any time and let our team help you. We look forward to hearing from you!
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