The most common type of Sleep Apnoea is Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. Pauses in breathing while asleep, which can occur several times a night, can causes abrupt starts throughout the night, intermittent gasping, often with loud snoring, whilst struggling to breathe (The Mayo Clinic Sleep Centre). These intermittent gaps in breathing are known as Apnoea episodes and they occur when the airway collapses in on itself, preventing air flow.
This can trigger a series of events:
- When breathing stops, oxygen levels fall, which activates the sympathetic nervous system which controls the fight or flight response
- Adrenaline levels rise
- Heart rate increases with an accompanying rise in blood pressure • Snoring often accompanies this pattern as the body works to breathe. • Nightly sleep then becomes chaotic in pattern and often an intermittent noisy struggle to breathe, with gasping.
It is often a bedpartner, witnessing this interruption in sleep, accompanied by erratic nighttime noise, who raises the topic of investigation into a worrying pattern of noisy, broken sleep. Sleep, instead of being a period of restoration and relaxation, has become a source of worry and fractious morning conversation, as neither bedpartner has slept well. This pattern becomes the source of ongoing sleep deprivation, leading to interpersonal challenges, often with bedpartners sleeping apart.
The severity of Sleep Apnoea is determined by the number of times in an hour that a person stops breathing, lasting at least 10 seconds. Sleep apnoea can be mild, Moderate or Severe.
If you or someone close to you is concerned about erratic nighttime sleeping patterns, please contact us by email to:
info@beaconshc.ie
or info@beacondentalsleep.ie
We will guide you through the process of referral, Sleep testing, diagnosis and treatment options.
www.beaconshc.ie
www.beacondentalsleep.ie