Snoring and sleep apnoea are common Sleep-Disordered Breathing (SDB) problems that can affect your sleep, health and quality of life.

Approximately one in every five adults have SDB.

One in every five adults have Sleep-Disordered breathing (SDB)

In the UK, that's almost 10 million people.

Up to 80% of these are unaware of their condition and remain undiagnosed and untreated.

 

Snoring and sleep apnoea often occur together. Your airway may:

  • Narrow, limiting airflow as you breathe
  • Vibrate, commonly heard as snoring
  • Collapse, so you stop breathing


This third type of change is called Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA). It is the most common type of SDB and incidents may last for 10 seconds or longer.

 

What happens to your airway during sleep apnoea?

Click on the questions below to expand and reveal more information.

 

What does a healthy upper airway look like?

1

 

What does an obstructed (blocked) upper airway look like?

1

 

What are the main reasons for upper airway obstruction during sleep?

Lack of muscle tone

Gravity

When tissues obstruct the upper airway completely, they prevent breathing, they work to suffocate the sleeper

The sleeper wakes up enough to regain control of the upper airway, breathe again, and then fall back to slee. This happens from dozens to hundreds of times per night for people with OSA, but they usually don't remember waking

 

What does a partially obstructed airway look like?

1

 

    What are the potential problems resulting from a partially obstructed upper airway during sleep?

    • Each obstruction deprives the body of oxygen and forces it to retain carbon dioxide that it would normally breathe out
    • As a result, the body's blood gases get out of balance, and the body is subjected to a 'toxic' environment
    • When the body sets off 'alarms' that it needs more oxygen, the brain wakes the sleeper, breathing resumes, and the individual falls back to sleep until the next obstruction occurs
    • These obstructions increase heart rate, raise blood pressure, and eventually blunt the body's automatic response system, resulting in increasingly more severe apneas and hypopneas
    • The brief wake-ups that people with OSA experience also diminish their quality of sleep, resulting in sleep deprivation


Symptoms from lack of sleep are often what prompt people with OSA to visit their doctor. These may include:

  • Excessive daytime sleepiness
  • Poor concentration
  • Poor memory
  • Depression

 

Find out more about the causes of Sleep Apnoea.

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