Sound Sleep Guide

Posts Tagged ‘health’

Sleep apnea symptoms are most commonly observed in men who are over forty and also overweight although they can appear at any age in both women and men and are being seen increasingly in children.

The clearest symptom of sleep apnea (which is only one of several common sleep disorders) is snoring which is difficult to spot yourself and often needs to be pointed out to you by a sleeping partner. However, there are many reasons for snoring and the mere fact that you snore is not in itself an indication that you have sleep apnea. It is a fact however that most sleep apnea sufferers snore.

The second clear symptom of sleep apnea is undue tiredness during the day. Sleep apnea sufferers stop breathing frequently while sleeping and the body’s natural reaction is to wake you enough for you to start breathing again, but not sufficiently for you to be conscious of the fact that you are being awakened. This means that your sleep is constantly interrupted and therefore very light so that you do not enjoy the deep sleep that your body needs. As a consequence you grow more and more tired during the day.

If left untreated the effects of sleep apnea begin to appear and you will start to experience further symptoms which could include headaches (particularly in the morning), tetchiness and even depression. You may also notice that you are beginning to put on weight.

Yet another not quite so obvious symptom of sleep apnea is an increase in blood pressure that can give rise to several cardiovascular difficulties. If you are one of the increasing number of people who are starting to monitor their own blood pressure regularly at home then you should pick this up fairly easily but, otherwise, it will not be found unless and until you visit your doctor for a routine physical.

One further symptom is that of increasing difficulties with memory retention and learning difficulties. This is once again not something that it is easy for you to notice yourself but other people might well notice that you are not as fast on the uptake as you once were.

Finally, some sleep apnea sufferers will notice a decline in sexual function that can result in impotency.

Any of these symptoms in isolation can of course be indicative of just about any problem you can think of. When you begin to see these symptoms appearing alongside one another however there is a good chance that you are suffering from sleep apnea and you should consult your physician and consider having a sleep apnea test.