Sleep Apnea Definition: Obstructive, Central and Mixed Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea definition: sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that causes a child or adult to stop breathing for several moments (up to a full minute) when asleep. These breathing pauses happen several times a night (up to 100 times!) and can have drastic consequences.

There are three different sleep apnea types, based on the different causes of sleep apnea, that is how the airway is being blocked: Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Central and Mixed or Complex Sleep Apnea (See below for definitions).

Sadly, sleep apnea, or also apnoea, is quite common: about 2-4% of all adults, and 1-3% of children would suffer from it. Worse, it often goes undiagnosed and untreated.

Note: this page gives a general overview and definitions of sleep apnea: click through for specific pages on sleep apnea in children and babies.

Most people are not aware of their breathing problems at night: they wake up after the breathing gasp but go straight back to sleep. However, they do not spend enough time in deep sleep so they get very poor sleep quality (not to mention that of their partner's or parents' who often wake up at each breathing gasp too!).

The most obvious side effects of sleep apnea are daytime sleepiness and severe fatigue. But untreated sleep apnea will also cause high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases. Frequent headaches, memory and concentration problems, excessive weight gain are all possible sleep apnea side effects too.

The good thing is that it can be diagnosed and that effective treatments for sleep apnea do exist. If you often snore (loudly), are (lightly) overweight, feel very tired during the day, or have been told you wake up gasping for breath, do check with your doctor!

Risk factors for sleep apnea are: being male, being overweight and being 40+ years old. However, many children and women of any age have it too.

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Obstructive Sleep Apnea Definition

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is the most common one. It is when the person's airway is blocked physically. What happens usually is that the soft tissue at the back of the throat collapses during sleep, obstructing the airway.

This closes the airway, until the person wakes up, gasping for breath and consciously opens the airway again.

This is the most common case and as good as the only type of sleep apnea in children.

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Central Sleep Apnea Definition

In Central Sleep Apnea, there is no physical blocking of the airway but a brain signal failure. What happens is that the brain signal necessary to keep the airway muscles functioning, does not go through correctly.

This is the common type of sleep apnea in infants.

Mixed or Complex Sleep Apnea Definition

Mixed Sleep Apnea, also called Complex Sleep Apnea, is when the person has a combination of the two causes: there are breathing pauses due to a physical blocking of the airway and others due to a failed brain signal.

According to a 2006 study^[1], 84% of sleep apnea cases are of the Obstructive type, 0,4% are purely Central. About 15% is the Mixed type.



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[1] Complex Sleep Apnea Syndrome: Is It a Unique Clinical Syndrome? Timothy I. Morgenthaler, MD; Vadim Kagramanov, MD; Viktor Hanak, MD; Paul A. Decker, MS Sleep 2006;29(9):1203-1209.