Do you snore and do you wake up tired? Sleep apnea is a potentially dangerous sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. If you snore loudly and feel tired even after a full night’s sleep, you might have sleep apnea.
Symptoms – The most common signs and symptoms of sleep apneas include:
• Episodes in which you stop breathing during sleep — which is witnessed by your roommate or spouse.
• Gasping for air during sleep
• Awakening with a dry mouth
• Morning headache
• Difficulty staying asleep (insomnia)
• Excessive daytime sleepiness (hypersomnia)
• Trouble paying attention while awake
• Irritability
Sleep apnea occurs when the muscles that support the soft palate, the tonsils, the side walls of the throat, and the tongue relax.
As the muscles relax and you breathe in your airway narrows or closes. This can lower the oxygen level in your blood. You might snort, choke, or gasp. This pattern can repeat itself five to 30 times or more each hour, all night, impairing your ability to reach the deep, restful phases of sleep.
Risk factors – Sleep apnea can affect anyone, even children. Sleep Apnea Risk Factors include:
• Excess weight. Obesity dramatically increases the risk of sleep apnea. Fat deposits around your upper airway can obstruct your breathing.
• Neck circumference. People with large neck sizes might have narrower airways. Men over 17 inches and women over 15 1/2 inches.
• A narrowed airway. Tonsils or adenoids also can enlarge and block the airway, particularly in children.
• Being male. Men are two to three times more likely to have sleep apnea than are women. However, women increase their risk if they’re overweight, and their risk also appears to rise after menopause.
• Family history.
• Use of alcohol, sedatives, or tranquilizers. These substances relax the muscles in your throat, which can worsen obstructive sleep apnea.
• Smoking. Smokers are three times more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea than are people who’ve never smoked. Smoking can increase the amount of inflammation and fluid retention in the upper airway.
• Nasal congestion. If you have difficulty breathing through your nose — whether from an anatomical problem or allergies — you’re more likely to develop obstructive sleep apnea.
Complications – Sleep apnea is a severe medical condition. Complications can include:
• Daytime fatigue. The repeated awakenings associated with sleep apnea make healthy, restorative sleep impossible, making severe daytime drowsiness, fatigue, and irritability likely.
You might have difficulty concentrating and find yourself falling asleep at work while watching TV or even when driving. People with sleep apnea have an increased risk of a motor vehicle and workplace accidents.
You might also feel quick-tempered, moody, or depressed. Children and adolescents with sleep apnea might perform poorly in school or have behavior problems.
• High blood pressure or heart problems. Having obstructive sleep apnea increases your risk of high blood pressure (hypertension). Sleep apnea might also increase your risk of recurrent heart attack, stroke, and abnormal heartbeats.
• Type 2 diabetes. Having sleep apnea increases your risk of developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
• Metabolic syndrome. This disorder, which includes high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, high blood sugar, and increased waist circumference, is linked to a higher risk of heart disease.
• Sleep-deprived partners. Loud snoring can keep anyone who sleeps near you from getting proper rest. It’s not uncommon for a partner to have to go to another room, or even to another floor of the house, to be able to sleep.
Diagnosis – There is an easy questioner that you and your partner can complete that may indicate if you have sleep apnea. If the questioner is strongly positive, then you may be referred to a sleep specialist for testing either by overnight monitoring or by home testing if available. Treatment will be individualized after sleep studies completed.
The questioner can be found linked on the web page. Answer the questions and talk to your medical provider and talk to your medical provider.
Source – https://www.mayoclinic.org
