5 Common Clues That You Might Have Sleep Apnea

20 Mar 5 Common Clues That You Might Have Sleep Apnea

One of the most common sleeping disorders is sleep apnea. It affects more than 20 million people in the United States alone. However, what’s even more fascinating is the fact that almost 80 percent of those suffering from it have never been officially diagnosed.

Being that sleep apnea not only affects one’s quality of sleep but also one’s normal breathing pattern while they’re resting (because the muscles of the tongue and throat relax and block one’s air passage), it’s important to know what some of the common clues of sleep apnea are.

If you happen to have one or more of the following, make an appointment to see your doctor as soon as you possibly can. Your ability to sleep and your overall health depend on it.

You are a loud snorer.

Although a lot of people tend to snore (especially if they are extremely tired or they choose to sleep on their back), if your snoring is so loud that the person sharing the bed with you cannot sleep, you wake yourself up or people in other rooms can hear you, it may be because you have sleep apnea. Snoring is caused by a vibration in the upper airways of your respiratory system. When you are snoring loudly, it’s an indication that you may be struggling to give your body the air that it needs as you’re sleeping. It’s something that should not be ignored.

You have breaks in breathing (while you’re asleep).

If you find that you are waking up several times in the middle of the night, that is not normal. In most cases, it indicates that either you have a bladder control issue or that you have sleep apnea. Thankfully, your body is made in such a way that if your tongue or throat muscles prevent you from getting air, it will awaken you to get the oxygen that you need. However, it’s still a good idea to get tested for sleep apnea so that you can explore helpful forms of treatment; ones that will help you sleep through the night.

You are tired all of the time.

If you happen to sleep alone at night, another sign that you should look for is if you wake up still feeling tired. It could be due to snoring that was loud enough to be disruptive but not disturbing enough to awaken you.

You wake up with headaches (frequently).

If you went to a website that features machines that treat sleep apnea and you read an article on signs that you may have this kind of sleep disorder, one of the things that it might mention are frequent headaches. That’s because the less oxygen that goes to your brain, the more your blood vessels will widen which can ultimately lead to headaches.

You are overweight.

If your doctor has been talking to you about your weight, but you’ve been struggling with finding the motivation to shed a few pounds, a sleep apnea diagnosis may be the inspiration that you need. A lot of people who are an overweight battle with sleep apnea. The good news is that by losing extra fatty tissue, their sleep disorder is often cured. For tips on how to lose weight quickly and safely, visit Health and put “ways to lose weight fast” in the search field. For information on how to get tested for sleep apnea, visit related doctors.