How Can I Tell if I Have Sleep Apnea?

Many people suffer from sleep apnea and do not know it. This condition can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and headaches. It blocks your air passageways or causes them to collapse while you sleep. The pause in breathing often lasts for 20-30 seconds at one time. This happens several times each night. If you want to know if you have sleep apnea, here are ways on how you can tell.

Restlessness during sleep

This shows by tossing and turning during sleeping. Jerking or gasping awake may be a sign of sleep apnea. Struggling to breathe while sleeping will wake the patient up. This results in sleep disruption.

Sore throat or dry mouth

Gasping for air while sleeping can dry the throat. Experiencing this several times each night can abrase the throat. This then results in a sore throat. Feeling this each morning is a sign of sleep apnea.

Morning headaches

A pause in breathing at night causes little oxygen content in the brain. Carbon dioxide builds up in the brain tissue because of low blood oxygenation. This causes pain. It could cause other health issues down the line.

Noisiness while sleeping

A person suffering from sleep apnea snorts and snores. These are warning signs of upper airway obstruction. Louder snoring increases a person’s risk of developing this condition. Snoring happens when the throat and mouth muscles relax. This causes the tissues to produce vibrations in every breath.

Gasping for air also produces a loud noise. The upper airway blockage warns the brain of low oxygenation. Gasping is the brain’s way of telling the body of its low oxygen supply. This can be disrupting to other people, especially if the person gasping does it several times during the night. The person gasping will be awake most of the night because of the noise it makes. The sleep-deprived partner often notices this pattern because it happens every night.

Traits for increased risk

Studies show that men are more prone to developing sleep apnea than women. The risk for sleep apnea in women increases after the menopausal stage. Obesity or being overweight increases one’s risk for this condition as well. Speaking with the attending physician may result in a sleep study. This will determine what kind of breathing pattern the person has while sleeping.

Constant tiredness

Waking up exhausted or feeling sleepy the rest of the day could be a sign of this sleep condition. Pauses in breathing each night can wake the person many times at night. This results in poor sleep quantity and quality, which leads to poor productivity during the day. Constant mistakes, accidents, and wrong judgments often happen.

Tiredness from poor sleep often shows when the person dozes off while watching TV or working on the computer. It also shows through the person’s irritability. Lack of sleep weakens a person’s immunity. The person could feel sicker as each day passes.

Catching sleep apnea early can result in early treatment

Sleep is an important part of maintaining your health. Any disruptions in sleep can cause chaos in your body. Knowing the signs of sleep apnea can help reverse your symptoms. You can then work with your doctor to improve your sleep and your health.

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