If You Have These Three Issues, You Probably Have Sleep Apnea

Summary: There are three sleep issues that usually indicate a sign of a problem in sleepers. Loud snoring, frequent waking, and excessive daytime tiredness that occur regularly are signs of sleep apnea and an indication of problems that need to be addressed. See a sleep specialist for advice if you have these symptoms.

Sleep apnea is usually a lot more than just a sleep disorder and is something that needs to be taken seriously. One of the biggest issues about sleep apnea is that those who have it often don’t realize that they have it or how serious sleep apnea can be. Sleep apnea causes numerous pauses in breathing during the night. Not only can the apnea be fatal if the sufferer becomes too tired to wake his or herself, it can also lead to suffering when extreme tiredness from not getting a good night’s sleep also causes problems throughout the day.

What Are Some of the Signs That Those with Sleep Apnea Usually Share?
The most common one is snoring. There are many reasons why people snore and most of them are not serious issues and have nothing to do with sleep apnea. However, it is commonly stated that although not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, everyone with sleep apnea does snore. Snoring with sleep apnea is not gentle, but loud, rhythmic breathing. When you have sleep apnea, snoring is the kind of night-time sound that keeps others in the house awake. It is loud and includes snorts, gasps, and loud rasping noises. If this happens regularly, and others complain, you may have sleep apnea.

Another common sign that is related to the snoring is the way that the snoring affects you in the morning. This kind of snoring leads to very dry mouth in the morning and headaches from the oxygen deprivation caused by not breathing at night.

Someone with sleep apnea will experience night after night of poor sleep, a lack of oxygen, and waking of up to hundreds of times in the night. Another sign of sleep apnea is extreme tiredness, and may have periods of micro sleep during the daytime. This tiredness is confusing since the sleeper is unaware of the amount of times they may have woken up, and think they had an adequate night’s sleep. Often it takes a sleep partner to make you aware of how you are actually sleeping.

Lack of oxygen at night can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes. A lack of sleep also leads to symptoms that are dangerous by association. Depression, poor concentration, and lack of motivation to change harmful behaviours that are worsening the sleep apnea such as diet and weight loss also make things much worse. Sleep is absolutely essential to wellness.
 
Help Is Available
If you think you may have sleep apnea, there are things that can be changed. The initial change is to help yourself to breathe comfortably in the night — once the sleep issue is addressed, you will be more motivated to make further changes. There is one simple way to start. See a CPAP specialist to learn about different sleep masks and breathing apparatus that can keep your airways open at night, so you can deal with the sleep issue. The sleep specialist will advise you on other lifestyle changes to help strengthen your airways and become healthier. Make an appointment as soon as possible to begin to work on positive changes in your life.