People afflicted with sleep apnea move out of deep REM sleep and into light sleep. This lack of REM sleep results in poor sleep quality for those with obstructive sleep apnea.

When you're awake, throat muscles help keep your airway stiff and open so air can flow into your lungs. When you sleep, these muscles are more relaxed. Normally, the relaxed throat muscles don't stop your airway from staying open to allow air into your lungs. But if you have obstructive sleep apnea, your airways can be blocked or narrowed during sleep because:

• You're overweight. The extra soft fat tissue can thicken the wall of the windpipe. This causes the inside opening to narrow and makes it harder to keep open.
• Shape of your head and neck. The shape of your head and neck (bony structure) may cause a smaller airway size in the mouth and throat area.
• Your throat muscles and tongue relax more than normal. When your throat muscles and tongue relax more than normal they can block or restrict the airway.
• Your tongue and tonsils (tissue masses in the back of your mouth) are large compared to the opening into your windpipe. Larger tonsils and a larger tongue can cause airway blockage.

• The aging process limits the ability of brain signals to keep your throat muscles stiff during sleep. This makes it more likely that the airway will narrow or collapses.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Signs /Obstructive Sleep Apnea Symptoms

• One of the most common signs of obstructive sleep apnea is loud and chronic (ongoing) snoring. Pauses may occur in the snoring. Choking or gasping may follow the pauses. The snoring usually is loudest when you sleep on your back; it may be less noisy when you turn on your side. Snoring may not happen every night. Over time, the snoring may happen more often and get louder. Note: Not everyone who snores has obstructive sleep apnea.
• Another common sign of obstructive sleep apnea is fighting sleepiness during the day, at work, or while driving. 

Other Obstructive Sleep Apnea Signs and Symptoms

Others signs and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea may include: 

• Feeling irritable, depressed, or having mood swings or personality changes
• A dry throat when you wake up
• Morning headaches
• Memory or learning problems and not being able to concentrate
  
• Urination at night
  

In children, obstructive sleep apnea can cause:

• Hyperactivity
• Aggressiveness
• Unusual sleeping positions
• Breathing through their mouths instead of their noses during the day
• Bedwetting
• Poor school performance
  

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Risk Factors

• Weight. More than half of the people who have sleep apnea are overweight.
• Body Structure. People who have small airways in their noses, throats, or mouths also are more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea. Smaller airways may be due to the shape of these structures or allergies or other medical conditions that cause congestion in these areas.

• Hereditary. If someone in your family has sleep apnea, you're more likely to develop it.
• Race. African Americans, Hispanics, and Pacific Islanders are more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea than Caucasians.
  
• Gender. Obstructive Sleep apnea is more common in men. One out of 25 middle-aged men and 1 out of 50 middle-aged women have sleep apnea.
• Hormones. Women are much more likely to develop sleep apnea after menopause.
• Age. Obstructive sleep apnea becomes more common as you get older. At least 1 out of 10 people over the age of 65 has sleep apnea.
  

• Smoking. Cigarette smoking increases the risk for obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep apnea caused by smoking often resolves with smoking cessation. 

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Diagnosis

Doctors usually can't detect obstructive sleep apnea during routine office visits, therefore Obstructive Sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed. Because the estimated average life span of someone with untreated obstructive sleep apnea patient is 20 years shorter than the average life span of the rest of the population diagnosis is very important.

Usually, your primary care doctor evaluates your obstructive sleep apnea symptoms first. Your doctor will diagnose obstructive sleep apnea based on your medical and family histories, a physical exam, and results from sleep studies. Based on the evaluation of your symptoms, your medical and family history, and the physical exam, the doctor will decides whether you need to see a sleep specialist and have a sleep study conducted.

Medical and Family Histories

Your doctor will ask you and your family questions about how you sleep and how you function during the day. To help your doctor, consider keeping a sleep diary for 1 to 2 weeks. Write down how much you sleep each night, as well as how sleepy you feel at various times during the day. You can find a sample sleep diary in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's "Your Guide to Healthy Sleep."

Your doctor also will want to know how loudly and often you snore or make gasping or choking sounds during sleep. Often you're not aware of such symptoms and must ask a family member or bed partner to report them.

Physical Exam for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Your doctor will check your mouth, nose, and throat for extra or large tissues. The tonsils often are enlarged in children with obstructive sleep apnea. A physical exam and medical history may be all that's needed to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea in children.

Adults with obstructive sleep apnea may have an enlarged uvula or soft palate. The uvula is the tissue that hangs from the middle of the back of your mouth. The soft palate is the roof of your mouth in the back of your throat.

A sleep study is the most accurate test for diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea. It captures what happens with your breathing while you sleep. A sleep study is often done in a sleep center or sleep lab, which may be part of a hospital. You may stay overnight in the sleep center. Sleep studies are often evaluated by sleep specialists. Sleep specialists are doctors who diagnose and treat people with sleep problems. Sleep specialist include doctors who are lung, nerve, or ear, nose, and throat specialists. Other types of doctors also can be sleep specialists.

Polysomnogram

A polysomnogram (poly-SOM-no-gram), or PSG, is the most common study for diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea. This test records:

• Brain activity 
• Eye movement and other muscle activity
• Breathing and heart rate
• How much air moves in and out of your lungs while you're sleeping
• The amount of oxygen in your blood

A PSG is painless. You will go to sleep as usual, except you will have sensors on your scalp, face, chest, limbs, and finger. The staff at the sleep center will use the sensors to check on you throughout the night.

A sleep specialist reviews the results of your PSG to see whether you have sleep apnea and how severe it is. He or she will use the results to plan your treatment.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment

• Restore regular breathing during sleep
• Relieve symptoms such as loud snoring and daytime sleepiness

Currently, there are no medicines to treat obstructive sleep apnea, however there are other treatment options for people with obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea treatment typically includes one or more of the following:

• Lifestyle changes
• Mouthpieces
• Breathing devices, and/or
  
• Surgery are used to treat obstructive sleep apnea
  

Treatment may help other medical problems linked to obstructive sleep apnea, such as high blood pressure. Obstructive sleep apnea treatment also can reduce your risk for heart attack, stroke, and diabetes and extend your life possibly up to twenty years.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Lifestyle Changes

If you have mild obstructive sleep apnea, some changes in daily activities or habits may be all that you need. These might include:

• Losing weight if you're overweight or obese. Even a little weight loss can improve your symptoms. 
• Keep your nasal passages open at night with nose sprays or allergy medicines, or nasal strips, if needed.
• Sleeping on your side instead of your back to help keep your throat open. You can sleep with special pillows or shirts that prevent you from sleeping on your back.
• Avoiding alcohol and medicines that make you sleepy. They make it harder for your throat to stay open while you sleep.
• Quitting smoking.

Mouthpiece

A mouthpiece, sometimes called an oral appliance, may help some people who have mild sleep apnea. The mouthpiece will adjust your lower jaw and your tongue to help keep your airways open while you sleep. A dentist or orthodontist can make a custom-fit plastic mouthpiece for treating sleep apnea.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Breathing Devices

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most common treatment for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults. A CPAP machine uses a mask that fits over your mouth and nose, or just over your nose. The machine gently blows air into your throat. CPAP treatment may cause side effects in some people. People who have severe obstructive sleep apnea symptoms generally feel much better once they begin treatment with CPAP.

Surgery for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Some people who have obstructive sleep apnea may benefit from surgery. There are different surgical potions depending on the issue. This may include;

• Surgery done to widen breathing passages. It usually involves removing, shrinking, or stiffening excess tissue in the mouth and throat or resetting the lower jaw.
• Surgery to shrink or stiffen excess tissue in the mouth or throat. This is typically done in a doctor's office or a hospital. Shrinking tissue may involve small shots or other treatments to the tissue. A series of such treatments may be needed to shrink the excess tissue. To stiffen excess tissue, the doctor makes a small cut in the tissue and inserts a small piece of stiff plastic.
• Surgery to remove excess tissue. Thus is only done in a hospital. You're given medicine that makes you sleep during the surgery. After surgery, you may have throat pain that lasts for 1 to 2 weeks.
• Surgery to remove the tonsils. If the tonsils are blocking the airway, surgery may be very helpful for some children. Your child's doctor may suggest waiting some time to see whether these tissues shrink on their own. This is common as small children grow.