What is obstructive sleep apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when your throat muscles relax during sleep and block your airway. When this happens, breathing may stop for 10 seconds to more than a minute in some cases.
People with OSA experience frequent, recurring pauses in breathing during sleep. Some people experience it hundreds of times in one night. And, while the person may be completely unaware of these disparities, their partners often notice and are shocked.
During these breathing gaps, people take in less air, which causes their blood oxygen levels to drop. While these levels usually return to normal once you start breathing normally again, frequent breathing gaps can cause serious health problems. That's why OSA is something you can't ignore.
Meet OSA
Obstructive sleep apnea is often recognized by a person's sleep partner, but what happens if you sleep alone? One telltale sign is feeling sleepy the next day, even after a full night's rest.
Depending on the severity of the condition, other symptoms may occur, including:
- Snoring loudly, snoring, gasping, or choking while sleeping
- Night sweats
- Nocturia
- Nocturnal acid reflux
- Dry mouth when waking up
- Insomnia
- Headache
- irritability
- memory problem
- frustrated
- low libido
- weight gain
risk factors
You should also suspect OSA if you have risk factors for the disease. People of any age, gender or weight can have OSA, but it is more common in the following people:
- Are you obese?
- is male
- Over 50 years old
- smoke cigarettes
- sleep on their backs
- Frequent use of alcohol or sedatives (medicines to treat sleep and anxiety)
- enlarged tonsils or adenoids
- Have hypothyroidism (low thyroid function)
- Had a stroke
- Have certain head and facial features that cause upper airway narrowing
- Neck circumference 17 inches or more for men and 16 inches or more for women
The role of pulse oximeter
If you get enough oxygen during the day, your blood oxygen level will usually be between 95% and 100%. This is called oxygen saturation. During sleep. Your breathing rate slows down, so 90% is considered normal.
The severity of OSA depends not only on blood oxygen levels, but also on how often and for how long breathing stops, and how much airflow is reduced. Breathing gaps of more than 10 seconds and airflow reductions of 30% or more are considered problematic.
OSA is considered mild if 5 to 15 of these events occur per hour; OSA is classified as moderate if 15 to 29 of these events per hour occur. If 30 or more, the condition is classified as severe OSA.
If left untreated, OSA can cause more than just daytime sleepiness and irritability. Over time, it increases the risk of high blood pressure, coronary artery disease (CAD), atrial fibrillation, and type 2 diabetes . This is why treating OSA is so important, especially when it is moderate to severe.
How to measure oxygen levels during sleep
A nighttime pulse oximeter test is a good initial screening tool to test for signs of sleep apnea. Simply put, a pulse oximeter measures the amount of oxygen in your blood. Blood carries oxygen to your brain, and if the percentage of oxygen in your blood is consistently above 94% during sleep, your brain is getting the oxygen it needs during sleep and you may wake up refreshed. If your brain doesn't get a steady supply of oxygen during sleep, you may experience signs of sleep apnea, namely morning headaches, excessive daytime fatigue, insomnia, snoring, gasping for breath during sleep, dry mouth, etc.
When reviewing a pulse oximeter report, there are several items to look at. The easiest to understand is:
- How long did the unit record during the night?
- SpO2 summary, which is an estimate of the amount of oxygen in the blood, and
- SpO2 distribution
Wellue - O2 Ring Blood Remote Oxygen Monitor
- O2 ring oximeter continuous ring oxygen monitor
- Sleep peacefully
- Medical-grade oxygen monitors vibrate silently when low oxygen levels or abnormal heart rates are detected.
