Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

  Home Page      Sleep Apnea: a treatable disorder in which a person stops breathing during sleep

  There are three different types of sleep apnea: obstructive, central or mixed (a combination of obstructive and central).  Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common.  As the tone drops out of muscle tissue during sleep, the soft tissues in the rear of the throat collapses and closes the airway .  Victims of sleep apnea can stop breathing as frequently as a hundred times an hour and often for a minute or longer. Every event causes the brain to signal those with apnea to arouse from sleep to resume breathing normally.  This constant signaling from the brain causes sleep to be fragmented into smaller, less restorative blocks of sleep.  People are generally unaware of the awakenings, but are aware of being sleepy in the day. 

 

                                                                 Do I have sleep apnea?

Text Box: Are you a loud, nightly snorer? Do you feel washed out and tired on awakening? Are you sleepy during your waking hours Have you been told you gasp, hold your breath or choke during sleep? Are you overweight? Do you have a large neck? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you should discuss your symptoms with your physician or a sleep specialist.                        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ASAA logo

 

    American Sleep Apnea Association                      

 

 

 

 

 

copyright © 2004 The Sleep Disorders Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital 
Member, The American Academy of Sleep Medicine