Obstructive Sleep Apnoea  [ Return to  About Sleep Apnoea  ]

Many things can affect the quality of your sleep.

Stress, caffeine, or rich food can prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep. But unknown to most, Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA), can have negative effects on your sleep and health.

The good news is there is a highly effective treatment for OSA called CPAP, which stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. CPAP doesn’t involve drugs or surgery and can give you almost instant relief, ensuring you get a good night’s sleep.

Why is sleep so important to my health?

Good sleep is vital for healthy living. In fact, it is as important as good nutrition and physical fitness. If you’re not sleeping properly, you’ll be tired and unable to enjoy life to the fullest. Your work and relationships may suffer, and you could even develop serious health problems.

Untreated OSA can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Studies also indicate that 50% of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) have some form of Sleep Apnoea.

If you have OSA, you may experience the following: 

• fatigue or daytime sleepiness
• depression
• high blood pressure
• sexual problems
• intellectual deterioration
• memory lapses
• morning headaches

What is OSA?

During normal sleep [A], the muscles that control your tongue and soft palate hold the airway open. If these muscles relax, your airway may narrow [B], partially blocking the passage. As you breathe in, the soft or floppy part of the throat vibrates and the noise of snoring results.

If your throat is already narrow, or the muscles relax too much, your airway can become completely blocked [C], preventing breathing. If this happens repeatedly over the night, you may have Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA).

If a blockage happens, it may last anywhere from ten seconds to two minutes or longer. The brain will alert the body to wake up in order to open the airway and breathe again. Although you may not be aware of it, this cycle can occur several hundred times during the night, severely disturbing sleep and causing daytime fatigue the next day.

There are several factors that can cause or worsen throat narrowing during sleep. They include being overweight, drinking alcohol, abnormalities of the nose and throat, smoking, and the use of sleeping pills.

Why treat OSA?

There are two main consequences of OSA. The first is excessive sleepiness during the day which can lead to decreased attention, affecting your ability to work, socialise, operate machinery, or drive automobiles.

The second consequence has to do with the physical harm OSA has on your body.

When oxygen levels in the blood drop to a certain level, your heart detects this and responds by beating faster to try and compensate. This stresses your heart and when it happens over and over again, it can cause long term damage. High blood pressure and heart problems have been strongly associated with OSA. There is also evidence that strokes and heart attacks can be associated with untreated OSA.

“Untreated OSA can increase your risk of cardio- vascular disease and high blood pressure. Studies also indicate that 50% of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) have some form of Sleep Apnoea.”

How common is OSA?

Studies show that 1 in 5 adults (20%) has mild OSA and 1 in 15 (6.6%) have at least moderate OSA. OSA affects people of all ages, including children. The condition affects both males and females.

• Affects 6.6% of the adult population (to a clinically significant degree)
• As common as adult asthma
• Majority are undiagnosed and untreated
• Symptoms are often treated, while underlying cause is undetermined

How OSA is treated?

The most common treatment for OSA is CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) therapy. CPAP provides light air pressure to hold your airway open and, as a result, allows for uninterrupted sleep throughout the night [D]. Normally the air is delivered through a small mask worn over your nose during sleep.

Successful CPAP therapy means sleeping better and getting more enjoyment out of waking hours, and it can also mean lowering blood pressure and resolving the symptoms associated with Sleep Apnoea.

Successful CPAP users report feeling improvements in:

•   vitality and motivation
•   job performance
•   mood
•   sexual drive and performance
•   alertness while driving
•   quality of life

In some people lifestyle changes are enough to control snoring and possibly OSA.

* 1 Logan, A.G., et al. (2001). High prevalence of unrecognized sleep apnoea in drugresistant hypertension. Journal of Hypertension, 19, 2271-2277.
   2 Resnick, H.E., et al. (2004). Diabetes and sleep disturbances: findings from the Sleep Heart Health Study. Sleep Heart Health Study, 26(3), 702-9.
   3 O’Keeffe, T., & Patterson, E. (2004). Evidence supporting routine polysomnography before bariatric surgery. Obesity Surgery, 14(1), 23-6
   4 Rebecca, L., et al. (2008). Neural alterations and depressive symptoms in obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Journal, 31(8), 1103-1109.