Sleep Apnea Cause | Sleep Apnea Symptoms

Searching For Your Sleep Apnea Cause?

When people find that they have a medical condition or disorder, there are a few things that inevitable run through their mind. Some of the first of these are, "Is it curable?” “How serious is it?” and “What caused it?” Here we will explore possible answers to the last question.

In order to look into sleep apnea causes, we have to first take into account that there are a few different types of sleep apnea. The most common is called obstructive sleep apnea and occurs when the muscles and tissue in the airway are relaxed and obstruct the path the air needs to take. In central sleep apnea the signals to the body to breathe are interrupted or incomplete and result in a pause in breathing. Mixed or complex sleep apnea is a combination of both types.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

First of all we will address the main obstructive sleep apnea cause. First and foremost, obesity causes sleep apnea. This is because the body’s mass is greater. This is true of the internal structures as well and the ability of the muscles to support those structures is diminished. Another cause might be taking muscle relaxants that prevent the tissue from holding up like it should while you sleep. Alcohol and even nicotine can have a similar effect. People with diabetes have three times the risk of getting obstructive sleep apnea.

According to these causes it is true that losing weight, and avoiding muscle relaxants and alcohol cigarettes can help improve the severity of sleep apnea.

Central Sleep Apnea

This is a much less common type of sleep breathing disorder, but it can sometimes develop in those with obstructive sleep apnea. It is caused by the central nervous system repeatedly failing to send a signal to the respiratory system to inhale and exhale properly.

It is important to understand the sleep apnea cause in order to know how best to treat it sometimes in these cases reversing the causes may help but it’s a good idea to get involved in other treatments as well. Some of these are as simple as a pillow that keeps you in the best position for breathing while you sleep or as complex as a machine that help keep your airways clear as you breathe at night.

Working together with your doctor you can find the causes of your sleep apnea and therefore know a good way to get started on your treatment. Taking the proper precautions and doing what is required to undo as much of what is creating the problem is a good way to begin, but you may then need to look into other treatments in order to get the best possible results.

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