This stratification assists in determining the direction of treatment. For example, some treatments that are excellent for mild sleep apnea nearly always will fail for severe sleep apnea. Basically, the MSLT measures how fast someone falls asleep during the day. It must be done after an overnight sleep study , which documents adequate opportunity for sleep the night before. The test is composed of four to five naps that last 20 minutes and are spaced2 hours apart.
If the palate is too short or it cannot move far enough back, sometimes liquids may enter the nose during swallowing. Velopalatal insufficiency frequently is a temporary problem after surgery, but it may become permanent in up to 2% of people. This can result in nasal and pharyngeal stenosis, a difficult problem to treat. An UPPP operation is performed under general anesthesia and the patient is completely asleep. In simple terms, the tonsils are removed, the uvula is removed, and the palate is trimmed. UPPP may require an overnight stay in the hospital to monitor breathing and to control pain. UPPP is a painful operation similar to a tonsillectomy in an adult .

In these studies, they were shown to have little or no effect. They may be temporarily successful in increasing attention; however, they do not treat the sleep deprivation or the cause of obstructive sleep apnea. People who have obstructive sleep apnea due to hypothyroidism is uncommon.
If a patient has nasal congestion or a septal deviation; it is important to have these evaluated since they can be treated . Some people do not like the inconvenience of sleeping with the mask or traveling with the machine. Others do not like the image of having to sleep with a mask. The noise of the machine blowing air can also be bothersome to some people using the CPAP or their bed partners.

The strap muscles elevate or depress the larynx during swallowing. As part of a surgery to bring the tongue and soft tissues up and forward, the hyoid bone may be suspended. This is usually performed with other surgical procedures, such as an UPPP or genioglossus advancement. One job of the palate is to close the back of the nose and direct food and liquids down the throat during swallowing.
When adjusted properly and tolerated, it is nearly 100% effective in eliminating or reducing obstructive sleep apnea. A dental appliance is similar to a mouthpiece and holds the jaw and tongue forward and the palate up, thus preventing closure of the airway. This small increase in airway size often is enough to control the apneas.
However, some have improved with thyroid replacement therapy. People with normal thyroid function will not improve with this therapy. Obstructive sleep apnea can be categorized as mild, moderate, or severe.
Some groups are more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea. the side walls of the throat can fall together to narrow or close the airway. Sleep apnea is formally defined as an apnea-hypopnea index of at least 15 episodes/hour in a patient if he or she does not have medical problems that are believed to be caused by the sleep apnea. This is the equivalent of approximately one episode of apnea or hypopnea every 4 minutes. Another index that is used to measure sleep apnea is the respiratory disturbance index .
Frequently, it is recommended for patients undergoing UPPP to take 10 days to 2 weeks off from work. In the postoperative period, people usually are on a liquid only diet and require liquid pain medication. It is not easy to sleep with a mask that is blowing air into the nose. Some people are claustrophobic and have difficulty getting used to any mask.
The average time to fall asleep is calculated for all four or five tests. Normal time would be greater than 10 minutes to fall asleep. Excessive sleepiness is less than 5 minutes to fall asleep. For someone who reports being sleepy during the day, it is sometimes helpful to measure how sleepy they are. Also, after treatment of sleep problems the doctor may want to measure improvement in daytime sleepiness. Source can be measured with a Multiple Sleep Latency Test . Men are more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea than women before age 50.