Insomnia Causes and Events
This article will focus on the causes and events and the elements that lead to insomnia or sleep apnea. An apnea event is defined as “a complete cessation of airflow for at least ten seconds, or a hypopnea in which airflow decreases by fifty percent for ten seconds. A hypopnea is a decrease that occurs in breathing but it is not as serious for a patient’s health as an apnea is.
There are four elements to an apnea event (sometimes referred to as an apneic event):
1)The airway of the sufferer caves in or collapses.
2)The patient attempts to breath but is unable to do so.
3)The level of oxygen in the blood stream drops significantly and finally in the fourth stage, once the brain receives the message of the decreased oxygen level in the blood stream, it sends out the necessity for the person to wake up and resume regular breathing again.
4)A sleep apnea sufferer’s bed partner notices a silence in the person, which is then followed up by the person gasping or choking for air.
When an individual breathes normally air makes it way through the passages of the nose, then goes behind the palate, to the uvula and then to the tongue base. From there the breath maneuvers its way through the muscles of the throat, gets in between the vocal cords and finally arrives in the lungs.
Those who suffer from a deviated septum (meaning the “middle wall of the nose” is separated) can also suffer from a reduction in airflow. In this case the septum can be deviated on one side or both and this can cause a restricted amount of space in which air can flow through. The nose contains what are known as turbinates and these work very much like filters that restrict the flow of air when the nose is infected or swollen.
If an individual’s palate or uvula (which is the piece of skin that is visible hanging from the back of the throat) are large or flop around a lot they can be prone to fall backwards in a patient’s mouth and by doing so, it makes the air passage even smaller. When a person lies flat on their back, the tongue (if it is large) can fall backwards in the throat and obstruct the flow of air. Also, the “side walls of the throat” can come together occasionally and make it very difficult for the proper amount of air to flow.
It is important to note that it is work of the muscles that control breathing which allow for the expansion of the chest and make it possible for the diaphragm to bring breathe into the lungs. The harder a person struggles to draw a breath, the more negative pressure is exerted on their chest. This causes the tissues of the airway to knit together very tightly. which can cause one to wake up in the night and not be able to breath. It is just as important to stay as calm as possible so your blood pressure doesn't go into overdrive.
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