Snoring & Breathing Problems at Night

BREATHING-RELATED SLEEP DISORDER

Topics in Mental Health

By Shlomo Y. Radcliffe

What is Breathing-Related Sleep Disorder?

There are two main forms of Breathing-Related Sleep Disorder. One is known as alveolar hypoventilation sleep syndrome - a disorder of shallow breathing that worsens at night. The other type of Breathing-Related Sleep Disorder is called sleep apnea. This is a complete stopping of air exchange during sleep and is potentially lethal. There are two main subtypes of sleep apnea: obstructive and central. In the obstructive type, which is the most common type of breathing-related sleep disorder, airflow through the upper respiratory passages is blocked. A person actually stops breathing for 10seconds or more - sometimes up to two minutes. A loud snore reinstates the breathing process. This can happen many times a night - typically around 30. In the central type of sleep apnea the person stops making the muscular effort to breathe. No matter what the cause of sleep apnea, the blood becomes depleted of oxygen until breathing starts again.

Symptoms of Breathing-Related Sleep Disorder

In order to be diagnosed with Breathing-Related Sleep Disorder a person must meet the following symptoms:

• The person experiences disruption of sleep that causes insomnia or hypersomnia.
• The clinician judges this disruption to be caused by a sleep related breathing problem, such as central or obstructive sleep apnea or central alveolar hypoventilation syndrome.
• This behaviour is not better explained by another mental disorder.
• These symptoms are not the direct cause of any general medical condition or by the use of substances, including medication.

Treatment for Breathing-Related Sleep Disorder

Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most common, medically approved treatment for Breathing-Related Sleep Disorder. However, many people experiment with devices that keep the air passages open. Some such devices have been government tested and approved such as the aveoTSD anti-snoring aid – a small plastic piece that trains the air passages to stay open. People also try specially designed anti-snoring  pillows, essential oils and mechanical devices that open the passages. Some have tried learning to play the didgeridoo – an instrument that requires circular breathing and which has been found in research studies to reduce breathing-related sleep disorders in some people. Weight management may also be helpful for breathing-related sleep disorders in some overweight people. Surgery has been known to benefit Breathing-Related Sleep Disorder as well. Individuals need to explore the variety of approaches to see what works well for them.