Taipei City Government

Some people are being woken up in the middle of their sleep due to dry throat, pain or choking, and the seriousness of these conditions affects their sleep. Upon seeking consultation from an otolaryngologist, we find that these symptoms could be due to “sleep apnea”.
Dr. Zhang Xin-Ping, Director of the Department of Otolaryngology at Yangming Branch of Taipei City Hospital, said that sleep apnea is a disorder whereby there is excessive vibration of the narrowed airway and carrying away of moisture while sleeping, causing one to wake up in the middle of one’s sleep.
The cause of this disorder is stuffy nose, enlarged or flabby soft palate or tonsils, large tongue, or small jaw. In less severe cases, snoring is the main symptom. In more severe cases, there is recurring unsmooth breathing, or complete airway obstruction while sleeping, and the person beside will often notice that the patient’s snoring pauses for more than ten seconds, and then s/he starts to breathe again after some struggle. Due to unsmooth breathing, the patient has to breathe very hard, which may cause him/her to repeatedly wake up suddenly, affecting the sleeping quality.
Dr. Zhang suggests that the patient may first visit an otolaryngologist for detailed nose and throat examination, to check if there is a narrowed airway while sleeping. Further sleep respiratory assessment can be done to determine whether there is sleep apnea, as well as its severity if any.
In sleep respiratory assessment, wires that are able to detect brainwaves, breathing, heart beat and blood oxygen are attached to the subject’s body. S/he is then asked to sleep as normal, and the changes for the entire night will be recorded. If the sleep disorder is due to sleep apnea, then treatment should be sought so that sleep quality can be improved, thereby preventing possible future health risks.