Definition of "awakenings and arousals"

[shewhorn]

"The patient's sleep EEG was abnormal. Sleep onset occurred in 22 minutes; normally it is 15 to 20 minutes. He slept 4.7 out of 6 hours in bed. While he was asleep though, he had at least 191 awakenings and arousals, averaging out to 40.1 per hour of sleep, well above the normal of 5 per hour of sleep.

REM sleep onset was delayed at twice as long as usual at 186 minutes and made up just 3% of the night's study. Did have 18% spent in slow-wave sleep."

Alright, so I asked professor Google for a definition of "awakenings and arousals", and I searched here as well, but I didn't come up with anything. So, how is A&A defined and how is it related to apnea?

[OpalRose]

Welcome to the forum shewhorn,

Here is a helpful link which includes the definition of "awakenings & arousals."

http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...efinitions

[metsfan302]

Thanks Opalrose that link helped me a lot also!

[Dawei]

My thought is that A&As could be the result of apnea events (when one is partially or totally awakened by the stress of a blocked air passage) in the case of obstructive apnea. I recall the time I was awakened gasping for air which led me to take the idea of apnea seriously and got me to a sleep clinic. At the same time, A&As could also be due to other reasons.
Does the report also indicate any findings about apnea, AHI in addition to AAs?

David