ANCSLEEP BLOG

What Exactly is an Anti-Anxiety Drug

Anti-anxiety drugs are a class of medications called benzodiazepines, which, in addition to treating anxiety, are used to treat muscle spasms. Some examples are:

• Valium (Diazepam)
• Xanax (Alprazolam)
• Ativan (Lorazepam)

One side effect of using anti-anxiety medications is that, like sleeping pills, they relax your muscles. For people who already have untreated obstructive sleep apnea or are at risk for developing it, anti-anxiety can induce or worsen symptoms. Continue reading to learn more about the relationship between anti-anxiety drugs and sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a medical condition characterized by repeated interruptions in breathing during sleep, often occurring 40-100+ times per night. These interruptions cause temporary awakenings to resume breathing, which can disrupt the quality of your sleep without you even realizing it in the morning.

There are three types of sleep apnea:

1. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) - a physical obstruction blocks your attempts to breath (back of throat collapses, blocking airway)
2. Central sleep apnea (CSA) – your brain doesn’t send proper signals to muscles that control breathing
3. Complex sleep apnea – you have markers of both CSA and OSA

Over time, sleep deprivation caused by sleep apnea lead can to:

• Shorter life expectancy 
• Lower quality life
• Other medical complications

Central sleep apnea (CSA) is a conditions in which you repeatedly stop breathing throughout the night because your brain periodically stops sending messages to your brain to breathe. In order to begin breathing again, your body temporarily wakes up. This cycle is called an apnea or apnea event. Due to CSA, you may have anywhere from 40 to 100+ apnea events per night. The most common scale used to measure the severity of sleep apnea is number of apneas per hour:

• Mild sleep apnea: 5-14 apneas per hour of sleep
• Moderate sleep apnea: 15-30 apneas per hour of sleep
• Severe apnea: 30+ apneas per hour of sleep

Both mild and severe CSA can lead to a high degree of sleep deprivation and associated consequences. CSA is relatively uncommon compared to the other apnea sleep condition, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Socially unacceptable snoring is a term for very loud snoring that is often so disruptive, you end up being the butt of your family's jokes. Socially unacceptable snoring is not only disruptive to the whole household, but my indicate a more serious underlying disorder. If your loud snoring requires your bed partners to wear earphones, happens consistently every night, and can be heard throughout the house, then it's not just a "quirky trait".

While socially unacceptable snoring may lead to humor or frustration among friends and family, it is crucial to recognize that it could signify a more significant issue for the snorer. It is not just an inconvenience for the bed partner; it is often a primary symptom of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a serious sleep disorder with potential health implications.

Understanding the distinctions between socially unacceptable snoring and potential OSA-related snoring is vital. Identifying the underlying cause of chronic snoring is the initial step towards addressing any health concerns.

Sleep apnea is a condition characterized by frequent pauses in breathing during the night, ranging from 40-100+ times. These interruptions in breathing cause temporary awakenings to resume breathing, disrupting your sleep without you even realizing in the morning.

There are three types of sleep apnea:

1. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) - An obstruction in your airway hinders your ability to breathe, as the back of your throat collapses and blocks the passage of air.
2. Central sleep apnea (CSA) – the brain fails to transmit accurate signals to the muscles responsible for regulating breathing.
3. Complex sleep apnea – you exhibit traits of both OSA and CSA. 

Over time, sleep deprivation caused by sleep apnea can shorten overall life expectancy, lower overall life quality, and initiate or worsen other medical conditions. Therefore, identifying risks for OSA is important for prevention or improvement of OSA symptoms.