According to the National Institute of Health, sleep apnea affects more than 12 million Americans. Many are not even aware they have it until the symptoms cause them problems with work or driving. Spouses of those suffering from it often notice the early symptoms, but they often think a little snoring is nothing to worry about.
What is sleep apnea? Apnea is the Greek word for “without breath”. There are three basic types of sleep apnea.
- Obstructive sleep apnea-this is where the apnea is caused by a blockage or obstruction in the airway. It is usually the soft tissue in the back of the throat that collapses and then closes while the person is sleeping
- Central sleep apnea- this is where, even though the airway may not be blocked, the brain still fails to signal the muscles to breath
- Mixed-is simply a combination of the two types listed above.
Who is At Risk? What Are the Symptoms?
Older obese men have an increased risk, but as many as 40% with obstructive sleep apnea are not obese.
A large tongue, a narrow airway, nasal obstruction, or some shapes of jaw and palate, or those that have had dental extractions seem to have an increased risk. A larger neck or collar size is also strongly associated with obstructive sleep apnea.
The classic example of someone with obstructive sleep apnea starts off with episodes of heavy snoring that begin soon after falling asleep. The snoring often gets louder, followed by long silent periods where they are not breathing (apnea). Then suddenly a loud snort and gasp for air will seemingly snap the person back into repeating the same pattern all over again.
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea in Adults:
- Heavy snoring
- Stops breathing while sleeping and suddenly snorts or gasps
- Restless sleeping
- Mouth breathing during sleeping
- Dry mouth upon waking up
- Excessively sleepy during the day
- Morning headaches
- High blood pressure
- Depression
- Severe anxiety
- Temperamental behavior
- Poor job performance
- Impotence
- Short-term memory loss
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea in Children:
- Snoring
- Hyperactivity
- Development delay
- Poor concentration
- Bed wetting
- Nightmares and/or night terrors
- Headaches
- Restless sleeping
- Obesity
- Large tonsils
- Noisy breather
- Chronic runny nose
- Frequent upper respiratory infections and ear aches
As you read the list of symptoms for the child you may have noticed similarities in this list and the symptoms of someone with ADD/ADHD. According to a study in 1997, 81% of snoring children diagnosed with ADD/ADHD could have the ADD/ADHD issues resolved if they simply addressed the snoring issue.
Startling Statistics You Cannot Ignore
- When the person with sleep apnea is not breathing, the oxygen level in their blood falls. Oxygen-deprivation can cause pulmonary hypertension leading to right-sided heart failure.
- People with sleep apnea have an 8 times greater chance of auto accident.
- It’s estimated that 40% of truck drivers have sleep apnea. Is this who we want driving the 18 wheelers on our highways? My guess is they go undetected since no one observes them sleeping to tell them.
- People with sleep apnea are 23 times more likely to have a heart attack and twice a likely as a smoker!
- Approximately 50% of the patients who are prescribed the CPAP machine (CPAP=Continuous Positive Air Pressure) actually wear it nightly.
What You Can Do
Anytime you are around others sleeping, take note of anyone displaying any of the symptoms listed above. Don’t worry about hurting their feelings, you need to tell them. Don’t ignore the symptoms and tell yourself it’s nothing to worry about. It is something to worry about. The person doesn’t know they’re doing it. They have to rely on someone else to tell them. If they deny it, record them. Be gentle when talking about it with them, but express your concern. Show them this article.
If you recognize any of these symptoms in yourself, or if someone has told you that you display some of these symptoms, you owe it to yourself to have it checked out.
Snoring looks to be a simple and common problem and people thus tend to avoid going in for medical treatment. They normally try out some kind of a self cure or go in for across the counter solutions.
The dangers of undiagnosed sleep apnea are too great to ignore.
