Mixed Apnea
It’s finally spring! The tulips are poking through, the trees are budding and the grass is even starting to turn green. Nature is changing and that means your sleep could be changing too. I thought it would be a good time to remind everyone that better sleep is possible. Poor sleep is not always due to seasonal changes like allergies, indigestion from the BBQ’s and longer days.
One of the most common sleep problems, sleep apnea, is often confused with simple snoring or awakenings from allergies, BBQ’s and longer days. There are three types of sleep apnea. They are Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Central Sleep Apnea and Mixed Sleep Apnea.
I have written some great articles on Obstructive and Central Sleep Apnea. Here are the links to these articles:
Somnoplasty – An Alternate Fix for Snoring
Snoring Might be Worse than you Think!
The Most Effective Treatment for OSA – Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
“I feel like I have insomnia because I wake up a lot.” – Central Sleep Apnea
Effective Ways to Control Snoring
Did you know that there are three different types of sleep hypopneas?
My husband stops breathing when he sleeps
That thing looks so uncomfortable. You expect someone to sleep with it on?
Sleep Apnea – How do I fix the problem?
In reviewing these articles I noticed that, although I have described Mixed Hypopneas, I have not described Mixed Sleep Apnea.
Mixed Sleep Apnea is a sleep disorder where people experience both, central and obstructive apneas. The respiratory pause always begins with a central apnea and ends with an obstructive apnea. The reverse has not been seen. Patients diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea often have Mixed Sleep Apnea.
The treatment for mixed sleep apnea is usually CPAP.
If you snore or a bed partner has noticed that your breathing pauses, it may be time to seek medical advice.