Sleep apnea is when somebody involuntarily doesn't breath during sleep. It can be either obstructive or central.
Central apnea, which is less common, is when the brain forgets to tell the body to breath. Obstructive apnea occurs when the muscles or soft tissue in the throat prevents the normal movement of air.
Sleep apnea must be diagnosed by a medical sleep study which is usually done at your local sleep center. A sleep study measures the heart rate, breathing patterns, and brain waves of the person while they sleep.
It is absolutely vital thatthis study be done on anyone suspected of having sleep apnea.
The treatments for sleep apnea include weight loss, avoidance of sleep depressants (alcohol, sleeping pills, etc), CPAP ( a mask used at night to keep the airway open), dental repositioning devices, and surgery.
During regular breathing, air passes through the throat on its way to the lungs. The air travels past the soft palate, uvula, tonsils, and tongue.
When an individual is awake, the muscles in the back of the throat tighten to hold these structures in place preventing them from collapsing into the air passage.
During sleep, these structures can fall into the air passage causing snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty with or without tonsillectomy are surgical procedures designed to circumvent this sleep related collapse of these structures.
The new Laser assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP) is a LAUP laser procedure designed to sequentially cut and shorten the palate preventing or reducing snoring. Its result on sleep apnea is unproven.