What Are The Different Types Of Sleep Apnea?

The 3 forms of sleep apnea

There are 3 main types of the disorder:

• Obstructive Sleep Apnea. This is the commonest and most severe form of sleep apnea and results from a blockage to the airway. In many cases this is caused by the collapse of soft tissue at the rear of throat, although this blockage can also be caused by a number of other structures including, the tongue, enlarged tonsils and polyps.



• Central Sleep Apnea. This form of the disorder results from the brain's failure to send the necessary signals to those muscles that are responsible for controlling breathing. Central sleep apnea is more common in older people and is often also associated with heart disease or with a variety of neurological disorders.



• Mixed Sleep Apnea. As its name would suggest, mixed sleep apnea is a combination of the first two types of this disorder. It is not uncommon for the primary cause to be central sleep apnea, with obstructive sleep apnea as a secondary consequence. In this case, central sleep apnea causes the initial failure to breathe but, as your brain reacts to the problem and signals your diaphragm into sudden movement to restart your breathing, this creates a blockage, resulting in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

What is sleep apnea and what causes it?

Who suffers from sleep apnea and what are its symptoms?

What is the treatment for sleep apnea?

Additional reading:

• The Danger Of Sleep Apnea



• Child Sleep Apnea May Produce Notably Reduced IQ Scores



• How Effective is CPAP For Treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea In Children?



• Pre-hospital Use Of CPAP

Recommended books from

Good Night: The Sleep Doctor's 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health
by Dr. Michael Breus
Amazon Price:
Customer Review: this book was recommended to me by a colleague who is a sleep specialist. i found the book full of information, suggestions and resources that i can share with my patients. the book contains a 28-day program for getting to the bottom of your sleep problems and includes something for everyone. it com...
 

Questions & Answers About Sleep Apnea (100 Questions & Answers about)
by Sudhansu Chokroverty
Amazon Price: $12.89
Customer Review: I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea a few years ago and prior to that I had no idea why I was always so tired during the day even though I went to bed early every night.

Over the years I have read many books on Sleep Apnea but this one really stands out because of how informative a...
 

Sleep Apnea-The Phantom of the Night: Overcome Sleep Apnea Syndrome and Win Y...
by T. Scott Johnson
Amazon Price: $31.58
Customer Review: This book helped me to understand that there are other consequences to not sleeping well besides daytime sleepiness that I never knew about. I am not happy using a cpap machine, but if it will help prevent other diseases due to not having a good night's sleep, then it makes me feel a little better ...
 

Snoring and Sleep Apnea: Sleep Well, Feel Better
by M.D. Ralph A. Pascualy
Amazon Price: $17.29
Customer Review: I was recently diagnosed with having sleep apnea and since that time I have read every book that I can on the subject. This book is excellent and very informative for anyone who has sleep apnea and wants to learn all that they can about it.
 

AWAKE program to help people with sleeping disorders - Carroll County Times
28 Aug 2010 at 4:54am

AWAKE program to help people with sleeping disorders
Carroll County Times
According to the American sleep apnea association, there are three types of sleep apnea. All three cause people to stop breathing repeatedly during their ...


 
Do you snore? Check for sleep apnea - San Jose Mercury News
23 Aug 2010 at 3:01am

Do you snore? Check for sleep apnea
San Jose Mercury News
According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, the condition literally means sleeping "without breath." There are three types -- obstructive, ...

and more »
 
Sleep helps students to make the grade(s) - Joliet Herald News
26 Aug 2010 at 4:13am

Sleep helps students to make the grade(s)
Joliet Herald News
According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, there are actually three types of sleep apnea: obstructive, central and mixed. Obstructive sleep apnea ...


 
Sleep stage and obstructive apneaic epoch classificationusing single-lead ECG...
19 Aug 2010 at 12:29pm

Sleep stage and obstructive apneaic epoch classificationusing single-lead ECG
7thSpace Interactive (press release)
... sleep and different physiological sleep stages, to assess sleep quality and diagnose many types of sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea. ...


 

The information contained here should NOT be used as a substitute for the advice of an appropriately qualified and licensed physician or other health care provider. The information provided here is for educational and informational purposes only and in no way should be considered as an offering of medical advice.