Sleep Apnea can be a cause of waking in the morning feeling like you have had a very poor nights sleep, as it disrupts your sleep pattern meaning you don’t get enough REM sleep to feel fully rested. Sleep Apnea can be life threatening if it is left undiagnosed and untreated so it is important to rule it out if you find you are constantly feeling like you have had a poor nights sleep.

Sleep Apnea is caused when breathing stops during sleep. This leads to a depletion of oxygen and an excess of carbon dioxide in the body. Depending on the type of apnea there are different causes for the cessation of breathing, but ultimately the bodys emergency arousal response will kick in to snap you out of sleep to get you breathing again. This can be so quick you are not even aware that you have woken and gone back to sleep again.

There are three types of sleep apnea and they are classified according to their cause. Central sleep apnea, obstuctive sleep apnea and mixed sleep apnea. It is important to understand which type of apnea you are suffering from in order to get the correct treatment.

Central sleep apnea is the least common type. It is caused by the respiratory centre in the brain or the central nervous system stopping working during sleep. This means the chest muscles don’t receive signals to make the movements required for breathing. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused when the upper airway is blocked by either the tissue of the soft palate or throat, or the tongue. Instead of just stopping breathing as with Central sleep apnea, someone with obstructive sleep apnea will struggle to breathe through the obstruction, and while the chest muscles are making the correct movements, no air is getting in or out of the lungs. Mixed Sleep Apnea is a combination of Central and Obstructive, it is unknown which triggers which, some believe that obstructive apnea causes overbreathing which then creates unusually low levels of carbon dioxide, which in turn triggers a central response, others believe that some kind of central reflex problem actually creates the obstructive apnea aspect.

Snoring can really affect the quality of your sleep, whether it is your own snoring or that of a partner. Snoring occurs when your soft palate vibrates, and this can be caused by many different factors. The muscles in your tongue and soft palate relax when you sleep and this can cause them to collapse together, which contributes to snoring. Older people are more pre-disposed to snoring as age affects muscle tone. Other things such as tonsils can add to the noise of snoring. The position that you sleep in can also affect how much or little you snore, lying on your back is the most common position to snore in as it allows your tongue to fall back and block your airway slightly. You may also find that you are more likely to snore if you have a cold or hayfever as this causes your airways to swell and therefore be restricted. Some medications can cause snoring and of course most people will have noticed that consuming alcohol also seems to contribute to snoring.

There are several ways to alleviate snoring, which in turn can lead to a better nights sleep. For starters make sure you (or your partner!) are sleeping on your side. Try to avoid alcoholic drinks before bedtime and if you are taking any kind of medication, check to see if snoring is listed in the possible side-effects. If you suffer from hay fever and therefore “seasonal snoring” you may find it beneficial to take an anti-histamine about an hour before you go to bed to help relieve any airway irritation, of course always check with your GP first if you are on any other type of medication. If you are overweight, you may find loosing some weight will help you stop snoring. If it is your partner that is snoring, and none of the above seems to help, invest in a pair of soft foam earplugs to help you get a good nights sleep.

While snoring in itself isn’t harmful, it can seriously disrupt sleep, which leads to feeling tired and unrested in the mornings, being grumpy and slightly dysfunctional during the day, and not being able to enjoy spending time with family or friends in the evenings as all you can think about is getting to bed. If you think that snoring is disrupting your sleep then try the simple steps above that can help prevent it and see if you wake feeling well rested the next morning.