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Key Differences Between Sleep Apnea And Obstructive Sleep

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The topic that I chose is very dear to me personally. A few years ago, the year before I came to Southeastern, I began to have sleeping issues. I would stay awake for all hours of the evening and would become restless. At first glance, I thought that I had sleep insomnia and in the mornings, even if I got six to eight hours of sleep I would still wake-up completely exhausted. It never mattered what I was doing, even if I would take a nap, the end results were the same: complete exhaustion upon waking up. After several months of this I began to complain to my parents and tell them that I felt that something was wrong with my sleeping. They never believed me at the beginning. After the summer, they still were unable to do much about my sleeping …show more content…

Sleep apnea is characterized in a similar manner to hypopnea, a lack of airflow and oxygen levels at night whilst sleeping. However there are some key differences. Sleep hypopnea is a part of the obstructive sleep apnea family, and therefore has to deal with any obstructions that occur in the airways whilst sleeping (Phillips, 2015). Central sleep apnea, is another type of sleep apnea that can occur in people. This apnea is very different from obstructive sleep apnea. This apnea is caused because the brain temporarily fails to signal to the muscles that are in charge of controlled breathing. Obstructive sleep apnea is referred to as a mechanical problem, whereas central sleep apnea is referred to as a communication problem (Phillips, 2015). Central sleep apnea is much less common than obstructive sleep apnea and it can be caused by medical conditions that affect the brainstem. The symptoms of central sleep apnea are very similar to obstructive sleep apnea: stopping breathing or irregular breathing during sleep, shortness of breath leading to awakenings, chronic fatigue, excessive daytime drowsiness, morning headaches, poor/restless sleep, difficulty concentrating, mood changes, and snoring (Phillips, 2015). The treatment for central sleep apnea is by using a CPAP machine or a BPAP machine (which is very similar to a CPAP), certain medications have also been known to help stimulate proper breathing whilst sleeping (Phillips, 2015). Finally, the last kind of sleep apnea that can occur is complex sleep apnea. This type of sleep apnea is a mixture of obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. Essentially, this type of apnea occurs because of slight obstruction and the brain failing to properly inform the muscles to breathe (Phillip, 2015). BPAP machines and Adaptive servo ventilators “have shown successful use as the machines are capable of performing a

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