The negative pressure leads to a fall in blood pressure and a fall in blood flow to the brain. In central apnea, the nervous system does not tell the body to take a breath, so the chest remains still until the end of the episode, the researchers explained. When the person does breathe, the unobstructed airway creates no negative pressure and, therefore, is less likely to affect blood flow to the brain. A vibration of the soft palate and uvula causes all snoring. Mild snoring, or social snoring, poses no health problems, says Kingman P. Strohl, M.D., co-author of the study and director of the Sleep Research Center at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Sufferers wake themselves hundreds of times each night in an effort to get enough oxygen.
They get up exhausted and tend to fall asleep at work or while driving. Obstructive sleep disorders affect men more than women and occur most often in moderately or severely overweight people who sleep flat on their backs, although individuals of normal weight also can be affected. Another sleep disorder, central apnea, occurs when the nervous system's breathing center temporarily stops sending the body instructions to breathe. Heavy snoring is less common in that condition, he says.