Uncommon Sleep Disorders: Causes and Symptoms of Central Sleep Apnea

Court | Nov 15, 2011 |

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Continued lack of sleep over a long period of time can lead to harmful effects on the mind and body. Disorders that contribute to sleeping problems can be a product of mental stress or a physical defect or injury. Because these causes cover such a wide range of affected areas, an accurate diagnosis is hard to come by without seeking professional analysis. Rarer disorders are harder still to identify because their list of symptoms coincide closely with other common problems. The key to a proper diagnosis is a polysomnography, or sleep study, that carefully analyzes a single night of sleep. This test monitors brain activity and the body's response to the changes that accompany the different stages of healthy sleep. Such a study is one of the most effective ways to quickly pinpoint and identify a rare sleeping disorder.

Deceptive Symptoms of Central Sleep Apnea

One type of sleeping disorder that has caused problems for a large portion of the population is apnea. Apnea defines the event or period of a stoppage of breathing. Continued cases of apnea lead to abnormally low levels of oxygen in the blood from the missed breaths. Such stoppages will also in turn lead to increases in carbon dioxide levels. These changes set the body racing to regulate the offending levels back to a normal state. This often includes some amount of ragged or uneven breathing while the body attempts to bring in more oxygen to compensate for the loss.

During sleep, our state of rest is very delicate. A full sleep cycle undergoes as many as five different stages and the inerruption of any of these stages can lead to reduced sleep quality. Increased brain activity to regulate the physiological state of the body can easily break up a cycle of sleep, contributing to sleep apnea disorders. The lack of sleep symptoms that follow from this kind of reduced sleep quality can be summed up simply as excessive daytime sleepiness.

Central sleep apnea in particular shares all of these common symptoms with its close relative, obstructive sleep apnea. The symptoms of these disorders are strikingly similar because they essentially affect the body in a similar fashion, both drawing a response that requires the body to catch up with quickened breathing. Central sleep apnea however is unique because it is a problem of communication rather than a blockage.

Leading Causes of Central Sleep Apnea

This rarer form of sleep apnea is based on a problem related to the nervous system. A person's breathing rate, along with all other major functions of the body, are controlled by messages to and from the brain. Central sleep apnea causes include both the disruption and loss of these signals. The distinction between this case and a blockage is that the body doesn't even attempt to breathe. With no message or signal there is no struggle while a full period of breathing is missed entirely. The only indication that it happened is the distinct decrease of oxygen in the blood. Such changes are best identified by an overnight sleep study involving a professional that constantly monitors oxygen levels.