Sleep apnoea is a condition in which a person’s breathing periodically stops and restarts while sleeping. This occurs when the airway becomes obstructed or when the brain fails to send the appropriate breathing signals. It can cause poor sleep quality, loud snoring, and daytime fatigue, even after a full night’s sleep. If left untreated, it might lead to major health complications.
Certain risk factors
If you’re wondering whether you have sleep apnea, here are some signs and steps to help you identify the condition:
Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
- Loud Snoring: Frequent and loud snoring is a frequent symptom of obstructive sleep apnoea. Snoring, however, does not always indicate sleep apnoea.
- Choking or gasping during Sleep: If you wake up suddenly, gasping for air or with a feeling of choking, it could be because your airway was temporarily obstructed while sleeping.
- Pauses in Breathing: One of the most reliable signs of sleep apnoea is if your partner observes that you stop breathing while you’re asleep.
- Excessive Daytime Sleepiness: Your sleep is disturbed by sleep apnoea, frequently without your awareness. As a result, regardless of how much sleep you believe you are getting, you may experience tremendous fatigue during the day.
- Headaches in morning or feeling heavy headedness: experiencing frequent morning headaches, which is due to low oxygen levels and disturbed sleep during the night.
- Mood Changes or difficulty to concentrate: Sleep apnea can cause an impact on productivity, as one experiences difficulty concentrating, develops memory problems, irritability, or mood swings.
- Dry Mouth or Sore Throat Upon Waking: Breathing through your mouth while you sleep, which is frequently the result of blocked airways, might lead you to wake up with a painful throat or dry mouth.
- Restless Sleep: Other symptoms include feeling exhausted in the morning, waking up several times during the night, and tossing and turning a lot.
- Risk Factors: Being overweight or obese, neck circumference: A smaller airway may be indicated by a thicker neck. Its prevalent among older adults, but it can occur in young adults and in children as well. Certain diseases such as Down syndrome, have tendency to develop sleep apnea. Using alcohol and smoking. History of sleep apnoea in the family. Obstructions of the nasal passages or airways
How to Identify Sleep Apnoea
Self-Assessment: Pay attention to your symptoms, especially if you have problems breathing, snore loudly, or are too sleepy during the day. Keep a sleep journal where you log how often you wake up throughout the night and how tired you feel during the day.
Question your bed partner: If you share a bed, find out if your mate has heard you snore, gasp, or take short breaths while you are asleep.
Consult a doctor: If you believe you have sleep apnoea, see a doctor. They can examine your symptoms and risk factors.
Sleep Study (Polysomnography): Polysomnography is done overnight, either in a sleep lab or at home. Sensors are placed on the body to monitor brain activity, heart rate, breathing patterns, oxygen levels, and muscle action. The patient sleeps as usual while the data is captured, allowing clinicians to diagnose sleep problems such as sleep apnoea.
Home Sleep Test
A portable home sleep test, which can measure your oxygen levels and breathing patterns while you sleep at home and do not monitor brain activity. It’s less comprehensible and is used only for obstructive sleep apnea.
Conclusion
If you are experiencing loud snoring, daytime tiredness, or other sleep apnoea symptoms, you should see a doctor. Early diagnosis can help in preventing the development of complication related to untreated sleep apnea. Once diagnosed treatment choices such as CPAP or BiPAP therapy or lifestyle adjustments can greatly improve your sleep and general health.