Anyone who had a bad night, who did not get a good sleep, or who had repeated interruptions of sleep is fully aware of dozing off at the next day’s boring lecture or meeting, not to mention the other problems with getting to work, to school, or through the day without an overwhelming need to sleep. Society and life imposes the need to sleep at night and to be alert during the day for most people. As a result, sleep disorders can truly interfere with a person’s ability to function well in life.
Breathing related sleep disorder is just like the other dissomnia class of primary hypersomnia. These are the sleep disorders, where repeated waking up during the normal hours of sleep disrupts the natural sleep cycle. Sleep is interrupted and the quality of overall rest is poor, causing excessive and impairing sleepiness during what should be the waking hours.
The true problem with breathing related sleep disorders lie in the physiological ventilation or breathing problem, itself. There are disorders that range from excessive, loud, and habitual snoring, which can cause one person to be the cause of sleeping disorders in other people in a household or even in a community.
In Davis California a woman disrupted the sleep of a next door neighbor and was taken to court for violating the noise ordiinance. Although charges were dismissed, the companions of snorers are actually the ones who can suffer from the breathing related sleep disorder…based on someone elses breathing problem.
Sleep apnea is a specific condition where breathing stops for a period that can range from a few seconds to several minutes. Several of these incidents can go on in an hour. Breathing then starts with a loud and choking process, leading to poor quality of sleep, leading to the common issues with nighttime sleep disorders.
There is obstructive sleep apnea,which is the most common type of sleep apnea. Here, the airway collapses or becomes blocked during relaxed sleep. Either shallow breathing or the full pauses in breathing can occur.
Central sleep apnea involves the brain sending the wrong signals to the breathing apparatus. It is less common than obstructive sleep apnea and can even accompany obstructive sleep apnea.
The physical threats of sleep breathing disorders include high blood pressure, irregular heart rates and even heart failure.
National Heart Lung and Blood Institue: “Sleep Apnea”
“Californian accused of violating Noise Ordinance”, AP, 1994
