Is this sleep apnea or sleep paralysis?

by Stacy
(Austin, tx)

About every 6-8 weeks I wake up from a very deep sleep not breathing.

It happens about every 3 mins and for a long period of time.

I have heard that it can be sleep apnea but it seems like its not happening that much for it to be a problem.

Also I have never been told I snore at night and I also heard that most people with sleep apnea snore. It seems like when this happens my whole body stops, not like I'm gasping for air but I'm just not breathing at all...

I wake up and have to catch my breath and I'm so tired all I want to do is sleep. Is this a possible case of sleep apnea?

Answer


Stacy, when you say that your whole body stops not being able to breathe, but without gasping for air, it reminds me of sleep paralysis.

Sleep paralysis can occur in people with narcolepsy, or in even in normal people. A person finds himself suddenly unable to move the legs, to speak, or even to breathe, and he may have in the same time hallucinations.

Sleep paralysis is not only a symptom of narcolepsy, but can also be symptom of sleep depravation, which can be caused by sleep apnea.

Did you know that there is a type of sleep apnea where the snoring is missing? The name of this disorder is central sleep apnea, where the main cause of the problem starts from the brain.

So you don't need to snore to say that you have apnea episodes. Your breathing may stop if there is a problem with the respiratory center from the brain.

However, a patient with sleep apnea is not aware of his apnea episodes (when he stops breathing in sleep). So...I recommend to visit your doctor, but the best choice is to discover what sleep problems you have, with a sleep study.

If you have other questions, please don't hesitate to ask me.

I hope it helps. Don't be afraid to comment back.

Remy Thierry
Founder of Sleep Apnea Guide

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Apr 30, 2017
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by: Jessie

I'm having a similar issue. I fall asleep, start dreaming, and then stop breathing. What happens next is frightening. I become aware that I'm asleep and can't breath, and can't move. I'm reading on the internet that sleep paralysis isn't dangerous. I call BS. This is the second time or night rather that it's happened. And it happened 3 times before I got out of bed. Now I'm afraid to go back to sleep. It happened to me about a Year ago: Last time that I had similar episodes, I went to a relatives house. They watched it happen several times In a row and also became frightened as they had to keep waking me up after several minutes of no breathing.

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