Daytime Sleepiness & Tiredness
If you feel tired even after a full night's sleep and snore loudly, you might have
sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder, where there’s pauses in breathing throughout the night that may cause you to abruptly wake up, often with a choking sound.
Signs & Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
The most common signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include:
- Excessive daytime sleepiness (hypersomnia)
- Difficulty staying asleep (insomnia)
- Difficulty paying attention while awake
- Loud snoring
- Episodes in which you stop breathing during sleep
Causes of Sleep Apnea
Sleep disorders can be caused by various physical, medical, psychiatric, or environmental factors.
The main types of sleep apnea are:
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the more common form that occurs when throat muscles relax causing obstruction
- Central sleep apnea (CSA), which occurs when your brain doesn't send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing
- Complex sleep apnea syndrome, which occurs when someone has both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea
Risk Factors of Sleep Apnea
Certain factors increase the risk of sleep apnea in adults and children.
Obstructive sleep apnea risk factors
- Obesity.
- Thicker necks (neck circumference)
- Being older.
- Being male (two to three times more likely than are women).
- Use of alcohol, sedatives or tranquilizers.
- Smokers are three times more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea than are people who've never smoked.
- Nasal congestion (difficulty breathing through your nose from an anatomical problem or allergies).
- Inherited a narrow throat.
- Family history of sleep apnea.
Central sleep apnea risk factors
- Being older.
- Being male.
- Congestive heart failure.
- Using narcotic pain medications.
- Stroke.
Complications
Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition that can cause the following complications:
- Severe daytime drowsiness, fatigue and irritability.
- Increased risk of motor vehicle and workplace accidents due to difficulty concentrating and falling asleep when driving or at work.
- High blood pressure (hypertension) and heart problems.
- Increased risk of recurrent heart attack, stroke and abnormal heartbeats, such as atrial fibrillation.
- Type 2 diabetes.
- Metabolic syndrome. This disorder, which includes high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, high blood sugar and an increased waist circumference, is linked to a higher risk of heart disease.
- Complications with medications and surgery.
- Liver problems.
- Sleep-deprived partners due to loud snoring that can keep anyone who sleeps near you from getting good rest.
When To Screen Yourself For A Sleep Disorder
If you are complaining of daytime sleepiness and tiredness, or if you are having difficulty sleeping at night, you may have an undiagnosed sleep disorder.
